Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 March 2024 Matthew 26:28.

28 Mar 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 26:28.       For this is the blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins.

And it’s a bright and sunshiny Maundy Thursday friends, the day in Holy Week before Christ was crucified. It’s when we commemorate Christ’s Last Supper, the Passover, with His disciples where He established the practice of communion and also gave us His most servant-like example; His washing of their feet. Now that was a most interesting, contemplative and memorable day in the annals of our faith. So let’s recount some of it to refresh our memories and uplift our faith. (smile) And though all four synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) have some information on the day, none of them seem to have it in its entirety, so this first portion comes from the gospel of Luke. 

He writes: ‘Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh (near), which is called the Passover. (The God-sent plague during Israel’s bondage in Egypt, when the death angel passed over the land and killed all the first born of the houses that did not have lamb’s blood above their door. (Ex. 12). And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him (Jesus); for they feared the people. Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve (disciples). And he went his way, and communed (conferred) with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted (agreed) to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absences of the multitude.’ (Luke 22:1-6)  

Now, Judas Iscariot’s upcoming betrayal set the stage for this next part. Luke continues: ‘Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed (sacrificed). And he (Jesus) sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water, follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the goodman (master) of the house, The Master (Teacher) saith unto thee, where is the guestchamber where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.’ (Luke 22:7-13) 

That reminds us of the previous Sunday, Palm Sunday, the same kind of positive direction, when Jesus sent His disciples into the village to locate the donkey and her colt for Him to ride into Jerusalem. (Matt. 21:1-7) And we pick up the story from Matthew. ‘Now when the even (evening) was come, he (Jesus) sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master (Rabbi), is it I? He said unto hm, Thou hast said (it).’ (Matt. 26:20-25) 

That further enlightens us on the betrayal story, which was an important part of the whole scenario. Matthew then continues: ‘And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it (drink from it all of you); For this is the blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’ (Matt. 26:26-29) And that’s basically where we’ve gotten our present communion ceremony from. 

But that wasn’t the only memorable thing that happened that Maundy Thursday evening. Listen as John tells this most compelling story. ‘And supper being ended, the devil having now (already) put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him (not Simon Peter’s son); Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went (was going) to God: He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. 

Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest (understandeth) not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith unto Him, he that is washed (bathed) needed not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit (completely clean): and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should (would) betray him; therefore he said, Ye are not all clean.’ (John 13:2-11) 

And that’s where we get our Maundy Thursday ritual of washing each other’s feet. But that story is not complete until we hear these words of Jesus. John writes: ‘So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master (Teacher) and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, Your Lord and Master (Teacher), have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord (master); neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.’ (John 13:12-17) 

There we have it my fellow believers, Jesus makes it very plain that none of us is greater than the other, and that we’re supposed to be servant and service oriented, rather than expect to be waited on hand and foot. And since time and space are against us, we cannot tell the other momentous tale of Jesus going to the Garden of Gethsemane after the Passover supper and being very despondent and agonised about the upcoming crucifixion, prayed to the Father: ‘If thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.’ Luke 22:42-43) Yes friends, both Jesus and the Father knew that His crucifixion could not be retracted if sinners were to be saved, and so the Father sent his angel to strengthen His Son, in the midst of His agony. 

Then Judas came into the garden with a band of soldiers, kissed Jesus, an agreed sign, and they arrested Him and took Him before the high priests, where His fate was sealed. But likewise, the Lord has not left us in a lurch in our tough times, being the ever-faithful God, He’s also given us strength and blessings, to do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings, so let’s declare them so they can be activated. 

Altogether: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having activated those undeserved blessings, we now need to go out and share them with others just as generously as the Lord shared them us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…holy communion reminds us of Christ’s sinless sacrifice…on Good Friday…and His triumphant resurrection on Easter Sunday…

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ

Today’s Scrip-Bit   14 April 2022 Matthew 26:26.

14 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 26:26.     ‘And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.’ 

Oh friends, on this Holy Thursday morning of 2022, with the weather playing musical chairs out there; first wet and cloudy, then sunny, then cloudy, I want to open today with a big apology. I humbly apologize for labelling yesterday’s Bit as the 12th instead of the 13th of April. I don’t know how many of you noticed that, but I didn’t either. And the truth is that I scrutinize the Bit, especially the headings before I send it out. And I remember doing just that yesterday. But I guess that the Lord was trying to show me that I am human and thus liable to make mistakes even when looking for them. (smile)  

But you can’t imagine my displeasure when I opened my computer this morning and found two Bits with the same date. I couldn’t see it yesterday, but it was quite obvious today. Ah Lord eh! Anyway, there are more important things to consider today, than my making a mistake yesterday. Let’s hope though that I learn from it. (smile) And today being Holy Thursday, it’s important that we consider the passion of Christ on that fateful evening before His crucifixion when He held the Passover supper with His disciples. 

The Good Book tells it thus. ‘Now when the even (evening) was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: (Isaiah 53- The suffering servant) but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He (Jesus) said unto him, Thou hast said (it).’ (Matt. 26:20-25) 

No doubt that set the tempo, the atmosphere for the evening. With betrayal in the air, and Jesus having already told them about His upcoming death, it could not have been a comfortable or joyful occasion, especially after Jesus acknowledged that Judas was His betrayer. And the scholars tell us that ‘the statement He that dippeth reveals the personal and intimate nature of the betrayal.’ And so it should, with such a close-knit group. The Good Book then continues: ‘And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.’ (Matt. 26:26) 

Now that was a momentous occasion, for according to the scholars: ‘Jesus took bread: The head of the Jewish household was accustomed to doing this during the Passover feast. Jesus gave a whole new significance to the action, when He said, ‘This is my body,’ for during that meal, the head of the Jewish household took the bread in his hand and said, “This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt,” meaning, of course, that one represented the other. By His words the Lord changed the whole significance and emphasis of the feast from looking back to the typical redemption from Egypt to faith in the redemption from sin accomplished by His death.’ 

And that’s how we now view the breaking of bread in the Holy Communion. But it didn’t end there though, because according to the Good Book: ‘And he (Jesus) took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it (drink from it all of you). For this is my blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my father’s kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.’ (Matt. 26:27-30) 

Yes my people, that ceremony now of breaking bread and drinking wine which we call Holy Communion is a celebration of what is, that’s Christ’s death, and what is to come, His triumphant return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, when peace and LOVE will become a factual and established, not imagined way of life! 

And the scholars offer a couple of interesting explanations. Re, ‘My blood of the new testament (covenant),’ they say that it’s taken from the Greek Septuagint version of Exodus 24:8., which reads: ‘And Moses took the blood, (of oxen) and sprinkled it on the people, and said, behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.’ (Ex. 24:8) 

The scholars explain that thus: ‘The blood of the covenant is the terminology from which the Old Testament (or covenant) gets its name. Because Israel failed to keep this conditional covenant of works, God promised through Jeremiah the institution of an unconditional covenant of grace (Jer. 31:31-34), which will be fulfilled in Israel during the Great Tribulation. But this covenant of grace is based upon the atoning work of Christ, and for this reason the church also participates in it through His blood (Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:6-13, 9:15-18; 12:24).’ 

Please take a moment and read those scriptures, they are very interesting and help us to better understand the way which Christ changed up things with His death and resurrection. And it all just shows the amazing compassion of our great God! We could not do the works detailed in the old covenant, so He promised a new one, but this through grace, rather than works, accomplished through the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ atoning for our disobedience. 

And the scholars tell us that Jesus words in the Last Supper: ‘Shed for many for the remission of sins,’ is a clear statement that the death of Jesus was necessary to enable God to forgive sins. It, in fact, made it right or morally justifiable for Him to do so. Please remember: ‘For the wages of sin is death, (eternal separation) but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23) 

And now that we have a li’l better understanding of the Holy Communion ceremony, (smile) let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Thursday Blessings that the Lord in His grace and mercy has so generously bestowed on us, remembering the passion of Christ and all that He suffered on our behalf. As one strong and confident voice. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! 

I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

We are now expected to go out and share those blessings just as generously with others as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!

…the passion of Christ…should ignite in us…a passion for Him… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8