24 Hours That Changed the World - Adam Hamilton
Introduction
the day he was crucified
this 24 hour period changed the world, and each Gospels drives toward it
Beginning Thursday evening after sunset and lasting on through Firday, Jesus woudl eat the Last Supper with his disciples; pray in garden of Gethsemane; be betrayed and desereted by his friends; be convivted of blasphemy by Pontius Pilate; be tortured by Roman soldiers; and undergo crucifixion, death, and burial.
The suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ represent the pinnacle of the gospel and the completion of God's saving work through Jesus.
1. The Last Supper
Mark 14:12, 22-25
Thursday Evening An Upper Room in Jerusalem
Jesus returned to the Temple courts each day that week; and as he taught, he pushed harder on his religious reforms, challenging those same religious leaders again and again.
The tension grew each time he entered the Temple. By Thursday, it was clear the city's religious leaders were plotting to put him to death.
Preparing the Passover Seder
Exodus 12 records how God commanded the Israelites to prepare the meal - to sacrifice and roast the lamb and to eat unleavened bread and bitter herbs in memory of their deliverance from slavery to freedom.
Betrayal and Repentance: Preparing Ourselves
Mark 14:18 One of you will betray me.
Judas would betray Jesus; Peter would deny him; and the disciples would desert him, leaving Jesus utterly alone as he faced trual at the hands of his enemise.
When have you been Judas? When have you been Peter or the other disciples? When have you betrayed Jesus or denied or deserted him? The reality is that all of us will at some time betray him- every one of us.
All of us will diappoint God.
John 13:3-5 Jesus still washed their feet, then shared the bread and wine with them. Despite knowing what they would do, he said to them, "I do not call you servants any longer...but I have called you friends"(John 15:15) We take comfort in the knowledge that he will do that for us as well.
"This is My Body..." (Mark 14:12) From Seder to Eucharist
Jeremiah 31:31-34
the Last Supper was the establishment of the new covenant by the blood of Jesus, not only with the tribs of Israel, but with all humanity. In this meal and through his death and resurrection, Jesus invited all humankind to become God's covenant people.
1 Corinthians 11:25 "Do this... in remembrance of me"
This meal, this new Passover Seder, the Eucharist or Holy Communion, would be a perpetual reminder of God's love, his grace, and the sacrifice of his Son.
A Meal That Defines Us
In transforming the Passover into the Eucharist, I believe Jesus was expecting this meal to define who we are.Through it we remember that someone saved us; that our freedom came at the cost of a person; that God, walking in human flesh, suffered and died for us. Every time we take the bread and wine, we remember; and it reshapes us. It reminds us where we came from, and it defines who we are and who we will be. It is a celebratory event, filled with joy because it represents our salvation. We call Eucharist form the Greek word for thanksgiving. It is a profound and holy meal, filled with good news.
If you knew you had one more day to live, that it was time for your last supper, who would be sitting around your table?
At the Last Supper, Jesus sat with his disciples, a band of misfits and ragamuffins. He taught them one last time. And from that time to the present, every time Jesus' disciples have shared this meal of bread and wine, it has bound them together as his followers and reminded them that he is never far away.