Day 59: March 26

SCRIPTURE READING: MATTHEW 26:1-29

SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHTS: 
OBSERVATIONS:
Jesus' crucifixion occurred at the time of the Feast of Passover.

The religious leaders plotted to have Jesus arrested and killed. Those who prided themselves on being righteous children of God and worshipers of Yahweh were murderous thugs!

A poor woman used up a very expensive jar of ointment (i.e. perfume) and poured it on his head. This fit the Jewish custom of anointing the heads of guests of high social status.
Her actions were criticized as being a waste but Jesus commended her actions as an example of pure sacrificial devotion.

Judas' actions are in stark contrast to the women. Whereas she was willing to sacrifice her resources to honor Jesus, Judas seized an opportunity to enrich himself by betraying Jesus.

Jesus used the Passover meal to help the disciples associate what God had done for his people in Egypt with what God was about to do for his people through Jesus.
 
APPLICATION:
Those we most expect to act righteously and honor Jesus do not always do so. The religious leaders knew the scripture but it was of no value to them because their hard hearts prevented them from following Jesus, the very one the scripture pointed to.

Judas, one of the twelve who lived closely to Jesus and benefited from his presence and teaching, was so hardhearted that he was willing to send Jesus to his death for some silver!

On the other hand, Jesus is honored by both a leper and a woman; two people that the religious leaders and Judas had contempt for. The Kingdom is not for the self-seeking, self-righteous, self-sufficient people of the world. It is for the humble who bow before Jesus as their Savior-King.
 
Jesus used the bread and the cup at the Passover meal as symbols of his death in order to show that he was fulfilling a number of OT passages and events. Jesus was declaring that his death was timed to occur at Passover to reveal that the sacrificed lamb whose blood brought liberation from slavery and judgment in Egypt was pointing forward to Jesus' sacrificial death which would bring liberation from spiritual slavery and eternal judgment.

When Jesus said, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many”, his language referred to the covenant (i.e. binding relationship) God established with the Israelites at Mt Sinai in Exodus 24 and God’s promise of a new covenant which He would establish with his people that would result in their sins being forgiven (Jer. 3:31-34). The old covenant at Mt Sinai was ratified with the blood of an animal but the new covenant between God and man would be ratified with the blood of Jesus.

Finally, Jesus’ words portray himself as God’s suffering servant; the one whom Isaiah prophesied would be “a covenant for the people” (Isaiah 42:6; 49:8) and bear (i.e. take away, forgive) “the sins of many” (Isaiah 53:12) through his sacrificial death.
 
Jesus did not merely fulfill random isolated events and prophecies in the OT. His life, death and resurrection fulfilled the whole OT narrative. All of God’s redemptive acts in the OT find their fulfillment and completion in Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus we can shout, “IT IS FINISHED!!!”
 
PRAYER:
Lord, I praise you for all your works but most of all for sending your Son to redeem us from the power of sin and Satan. I am humbled by the realization that forgiveness and new life are not granted to me based on my own righteousness. All my righteousness is as filthy rags. Mere proximity to you and your word cannot save me anymore than they could save Judas. Bible study and religious observance cannot save me anymore than they could save the Pharisees. All my hope is in humbling myself before you and embracing you as my Lord and Savior. May my heart never grow cold towards you and may my ears never become closed to your voice. Thank you Lord, that because of Jesus and only because of Jesus, I AM YOURS!