Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Read Luke 22:7-20.
TEXT: And He said to them, "I have earnestly desired
to eat this Passover with you before I suffer"
(Luke 22:15).


The day has finally come when the Passover Lamb
must be sacrificed; Jesus' time is drawing near. He
sends Peter and John to make preparations for their
Passover. This memorial feast recalls the night when
God sent His angel of death to kill the firstborn of Egypt.
However, the angel passed over the houses of His people
whose doors were marked with the blood of the Passover
Lamb. By His mighty hand the Lord forced Pharaoh to
free His people Israel.

When evening comes they are reclining at the table.
Jesus tells them how much He has desired to share this
Passover together. He has just a few hours to prepare
His disciples for an ordeal that will shake them to the core.

Everything He says and does points to His sufferings,
which they have been trying so hard to ignore:

"This is the last Passover I will eat with you."

"Take, eat, this is My body, do this in remembrance of
Me."

"This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant
in My blood."

And yet with the sorrow of these words, Jesus institutes
a new feast-a memorial feast far beyond Moses' Passover.
In, with and under the bread He miraculously gives us His
body, which suffered God's wrath in our place. In, with and
under the wine He gives us His blood, poured out in death,
so we might live with Him forever. Forgiven, fed and
nourished with this heavenly meal, we have the full
assurance the angel of death will pass over us on Judgment
Day.

THE PRAYER:

Almighty God, Your Son gave Himself to suffering and death
to satisfy Your wrath at my sins, and to secure my place with
You in heaven. Receive my thanks and praise. In Jesus'
Name I pray. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Scripture:

Read Luke 22:1-6.
TEXT: Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew
near, which is called the Passover
(Luke 22:1).

Luke tells us the great Jewish festival of the
Passover with its Feast of Unleavened Bread is
drawing near. It is the reason the huge crowds have
come from all over the Roman Empire to Jerusalem.
It recalls Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt
by the death of the Egyptian firstborn. It was called
"Passover" because the Lord caused the angel of
death to pass over the Israelite houses marked with
the blood of the Passover Lamb.

The Jewish high court is meeting. Having already
determined to put Jesus to death, they are looking for
the best time and manner to accomplish this. They
won't consider an assassination; they want to find
Him guilty of a capital crime and persuade Pilate to
execute Him.

They keep coming back to one key problem: the huge
crowds of pilgrims are thronging around Jesus,
hanging on His every word. As long as the crowds are
in town, there is nothing they can do to Jesus. They
decide they must wait to kill Jesus after the Passover
is complete, when the crowds leave Jerusalem to
return home.

Suddenly, an unexpected possibility arises. One of
Jesus' hand-picked disciples, Judas Iscariot, offers to
betray Jesus to them for the modest price of 30 silver
pieces. The priests rejoice in this unforeseen opportunity.
They never could have predicted a defection from within
Jesus' camp. Now they have a man on the inside,
watching for the opportunity to hand Jesus over to them
before the Feast.

Jesus' predictions are falling into place: "the Son of Man
is about to be delivered into the hands of men."

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, You knew Judas was plotting against You,
yet You continued to reach out to him in love. Reach out
to me with Your forgiveness and grace. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Scripture:

Read Luke 20:45-47.
TEXT: And in the hearing of all the people He said
to His disciples, "Beware of the scribes...."
(see Luke 20:45-46).

Jesus has faced every question, challenge and riddle
from His enemies, and has come out shining, while
they have been completely humiliated. We might
expect gentle Jesus to turn down the heat on His
enemies now. But no, turning to His disciples He
speaks loud enough for everyone to hear. And that
includes the great crowd of Jews filling the temple
courts as well as the scribes standing nearby. They
certainly weren't pleased to hear Him say, "Beware
of the scribes."

The scribes started as simple copyists, laboriously
copying the Old Testament scrolls into new ones.
They had come to be seen as Bible experts, but in
their busyness had completely missed Scripture's
central message of salvation from sin, death and hell
through the coming Messiah. The people looked at
them as experts, and the Pharisees based their living
on the traditions and interpretations of these scribes.

Jesus exposes them, warning His disciples to avoid
their false teachings. He points out how they love to
be recognized and honored in the marketplaces,
sitting in the front seats of the synagogues and at
the choicest seats at meals.

They greedily devour widows' houses and cover up
their robbery with long, elaborate prayers to deceive
and impress the unknowing masses. On the Day of
Judgment, they will face steep punishment for the
way they misused God's Word for their own selfish
benefit.

Publicly embarrassed and put to shame, yet unable
to find any way to turn the crowds against Jesus,
the scribes rage within, looking for an opportunity to
take their revenge. That opportunity will come sooner
than any of them expect.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, I easily fall into the same sins as those
scribes, possessing my own pride, selfishness and
arrogance. Forgive me and teach me to live in truth
and humility. I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)