Matthew 26:17-25 The Last Passover

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.”’” The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray me.” Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.”

Without divine knowledge, some of these verses are hard to understand. When Jesus sent the disciples into town to find a colt just where he said it would be, this is a similar situation to Jesus placing a coin in the mouth of a fish and having Peter catch this fish to pay taxes. This would be labeled divine providence. Within the scriptures it is said that any sin committed against the Son of Man will be forgiven him, but the one who sins against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven in this age, or the age to come. But here Jesus tells Judas that it would have been better for him had he not been born. Remember, Peter denied the Lord, but he was reestablished in ministry. But Judas is not reestablished and kills himself. It was said that Satan came into Judas for this occasion. In some way it would appear that Judas committed the unforgivable sin. This side of heaven, we may never know.

Daily Prayer: Jesus, forgive us our sins, and have us forgive those who trespass against us. Let us not be too bold in declaring what we can do for You, because apart from You, we can do nothing. Instead, let us build our faith in the source of our faith which is found in You.

In Your Holy Name I pray Amen.

Matthew 26:6-13 An Everlasting Good Work

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. When she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

God always desires to be revered as God. And the Son of God desires to revere as the One who was sent by the Holy One of Israel. In this scene, the disciples lost their focus and placed greater importance of the pot instead of the potter. Jesus has not lost His focus when He sends another reminder that soon He will lay down His life for salvation of many. Yet the disciples, this chosen group of men do not honor their Savior, but instead they preach to the man without sin. Jesus has always said that the last will be first and the first will be last in His Father’s Kingdom, so he honors the one who treated Him as Redeemer so that she would always be remembered.

Daily Prayer: Holy Redeemer, let me not follow the ways of error, but instead learns from them. Let the people who I come in contact with know that I am one of Yours by the way I honor You in my life. In Your Holy Name I pray Amen.

Matthew 26:1-5 Chief Priest & Leaders Plan to Slay Jesus

When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people.”

This is another time when Jesus councils His disciples that His mission in Jerusalem is to die at the hands of the Romans and Jews. It may be that since Jesus often times speaks in parables that they did not believe him. Also, because Jesus has worked miracles that they believed that He would not be slain. Jesus knew that when all things had come to pass, they would remember His words and believe. To the zealots, Jesus was a blasphemer declaring that He is the Son of God. To the Pharisees, He was a threat to their positions in the Temple and feared that if Jesus grew any further in recognition, that the Romans would crush the Jews for rebellion. But to the world and to His Father, Jesus was the unblemished Lamb of God, who came to take away the sin of the world. Finally to Satan, he was losing his grip on the situation because Jesus never yielded to him or to the circumstances and now was facing judgment when the Son of God would be raised from the dead to extinguish death. Oh death, where is your victory? Where is your sting?

Daily Prayer: Father, daily we celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of the Living God. Though man was appointed to die because of sin, now by Your great grace, we can live again because Jesus suffered death and was raised in glory so that all who come to Him in faith can be reconciled to You in life. We thank you in Jesus name Amen.

Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus Separates the Sheep from the Goats in His Judgment

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Jesus knows which of us belong to Him. Not all who say, “Lord, Lord know Him or received by Him. Jesus has said that you will know them by their work. Those who carry on His work are a part of Him. Those who serve the prince of this world, belong to Satan. The time will come when there is no more grace, only judgment. Those who are in Jesus will receive a son’s inheritance. Those who were never saved by grace will be stricken into everlasting torment, the kind of torment reserved for Satan and his followers.

Daily Prayer: Lord, you are more than generous by giving us a time to repent of our sinful ways and be restored to you by grace. Let us not miss this opportunity, because surely the day will come when the door will close. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Matthew 25:14-30 Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them^. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Father, just as you are abundant with equipping me for every good work, let me not be slothful with the responsibility that comes with your bestowed talents. Let me live a prudent and life filled with wisdom, using all that you have given me for your good and your glory. This way, I can be a responsible son of the Most High. In Your Holy Name I pray Amen.