The Trials of Jesus

Last week we talked about the betrayal and arrest of Jesus. Jesus knew he was going to be arrested, he knew he was going to be betrayed. And he knew the horrible death that was to come. So after dinner, Jesus went to the garden with his friends and prayed. Even though Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to stay awake while he prayed, they couldn’t do that for him. They fell asleep.

When he was done praying, Judas showed up with the chief priests and elders, and Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss—identifying Jesus to the chief priests with an act of friendship. They arrested Jesus—and the disciples, who moments before had been ready to fight for Jesus, all scattered to the wind, terrified.

Jesus was betrayed and abandoned, but he didn’t go straight from this to his death. Even back then, they needed some sort of trial, to convict him of something. We’re going to see that Jesus was put before three different authorities, and how each of those trials went.

Someone please read Matthew 26:57-61.

57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58 But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. 59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’”

Jesus is taken to Caiaphas, who is the high priest for this year. Everyone is gathered there. And Peter, even though he ran away at first, does follow—but at a safe distance so hopefully no one will associate them together. He wants to know what’s going to happen and I doubt he’s the only one. Despite the high priests trying to do this under the cover of night and quietly, word gets around fast even in the ancient world. Peter makes it as far as the courtyard and sits with the guards so he can see what’s going on.

The chief priests and the whole council are present to try Jesus. They are looking for anything, any believable lie they can use to have him put to death. And even though they have a bunch of liars lined up to trump up charges against Jesus, they can’ really find anything that sticks, until one guy comes forward and says, “Jesus says he could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.”

Jesus did say that. In John 2:19 Jesus says “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again three days.” But once again Jesus was talking metaphorically. He was not actually saying he was going to destroy the temple to God. He was talking about himself—that if they destroy him he will raise himself again in three days. But they didn’t know that. So the high priests take this as both a threat—a threat that Jesus wants to destroy the temple—and something close to blasphemy—because saying he could rebuild the temple in three days is ridiculous and only something someone like God could do.

Remember blasphemy means demeaning God, or saying something wrong or bad about God. As a human, claiming to be God, is demeaning to God—to say that you or I could be God. But Jesus wasn’t just human. He was God. So it’s not actually blasphemy but people would take it that way.

Someone read Matthew 26:62-68.

62 The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” 63 But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you,

From now on you will see the Son of Man
    seated at the right hand of Power
    and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your verdict?” They answered, “He deserves death.” 67 Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?”

All of these accusations are brought against Jesus and he says nothing in response. No defense, no words, nothing. And it makes the high priest angry. He’s like, “Have you nothing to say for yourself? All these people came forward against you and you have nothing to say?”

For most of us, when we’re accused of something—rightly or wrongly—our first instinct is to make excuses, to talk our way out of it. But Jesus didn’t do that. He just stood there, quietly.

Then the high priest says, “I put you under oath to God—under oath, are you the Messiah and the son of God?” And Jesus says, “You have said so.” Which isn’t quite an answer. He’s saying that’s what you have said I am. In the verses in Mark he is more direct and says, “I am.” Answering that he is the son of God. But regardless in these verses, he continues and says that they will see him—the Son of Man, as Jesus was often known—seated at the right hand of God and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Being seated at someone’s right hand is the greatest honor—it means you are second to no one but the person who’s right hand you sit at. So Jesus is second to no one but God. And saying that makes the priests go berserk. He’s like, “You all heard him. He blasphemed against God. We don’t need any other witnesses. This is enough because we all heard it ourselves. So what are we going to do with him?”

And all the priests and elders here agree that the price for blasphemy is death. And then they mock him. Slapping him and spitting on him and hitting him. Anything they can think of to belittle him. Someone read Matthew 26:69-75.

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” 71 When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment the cock crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Peter is sitting in the courtyard listening to all of this when a girl comes up to him. She’s like “Hey, weren’t you with Jesus?” And Peter is like, “What? Me? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

But now he’s a bit nervous to he moved from the courtyard to the porch. There he runs into another girl, and this time she speaks in front of lots of bystanders who are around and is like, “hey, this guy used to hang out with Jesus.”

And Peter responds with “I swear I do not know Jesus.”

But then the bystanders are like, “But your accent sure is Galilean, and isn’t Jesus from Galilea? You must be one of those Galileans who hang out with him.” And Peter is like, “You stupid idiots, just take me at my word, I swear I do not know him at all. Like ever. I have no idea who this Jesus guy is.”

And then…the rooster crows.

Just the night before Peter was swearing he would die rather than deny Jesus, but Jesus knew this would happen. He told Peter this would happen. But Peter didn’t believe it. He couldn’t imagine any future where he would not be by Jesus’s side fighting the good fight, and yet here he was, less than a day later so afraid for his life that he denied even knowing who Jesus was.

So Peter leaves and goes and cries. He cries because he betrayed Jesus. He cries because he realizes he wasn’t the man he thought he was. He cries because it was all coming to an end, everything was crashing down around him. He thought he was going to be by Jesus’s side forever. And here he was. Frightened and alone.

Someone read Matthew 27:1-2.

27 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. 2 They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

But as much as the priests and elders want to just take Jesus out and kill him, they can’t, because they’re not actually the authority in the land. It’s not the Jewish people who rule Israel, after all, in this time period. It’s Rome. And the high priests can’t just go vigilante justice on Jesus. They need buy-in from the Romans, unless they want to cause a bunch of issues. So Jesus needs another trial, this time in front of a Roman authority. And that man is Pontius Pilate.

But before we get to that trial we need to revisit Judas. Someone read Matthew 27:3-10.

3 When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” 5 Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.” 7 After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners. 8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

 Judas sees everything that is happening to Jesus, and it’s like reality begins to dawn on him. Maybe this isn’t going like he thought. Maybe he’s just faced with the reality of a man he called his friend being mocked and belittled and beaten. I don’t know, but he suddenly realizes he has done a very wrong thing.

This is very human, I think. I know there are times we plot things against our siblings or friends—either as a joke or because we want to knock them down a peg or whatever—and then when the thing happens, we’re like, “Oh crap, I didn’t realize it was going to be like this. I shouldn’t have done this.” That’s what Judas is experiencing now. Except instead of a prank on his sibling that went wrong, he’s literally betrayed Jesus to his death—Jesus is being condemned to die.

He tries to make up for it. He takes the money back. I don’t know what he thought he was going to accomplish. Maybe he thought he could bargain for Jesus’s release. Maybe he just thought he had to get rid of this blood money. But the high priest is like, “Whatever man, we got what we wanted, we don’t need your money.”

Judas is wracked with guilt and he can’t handle it. He doesn’t know how to go forward from this. He betrayed Jesus—the man he followed for three years, the man who was his friend. Jesus had trusted him—with his money, with his thoughts, with his time, with his friendship, and Judas threw it all in his face.

Judas can’t handle it, so he kills himself.

Suicide is never the answer. Judas killing himself is a tragic end to a tragic tale, but it’s not the end that needed to be. Judas couldn’t see a future, and like Peter he couldn’t face the reality of who this trial had revealed him to be. But he could have come back from this. Judas could have pulled an Edmund Pevensie—you guys have read Narnia, right? Or see the movie. Edmund betrays his siblings, he betrays Aslan, but he repents and comes back and is known as Edmund the Just, because he knows no one’s sin will ever be as great as his own. So he judges with mercy and compassion. That could have been Judas’s story. God can forgive anything. He could have forgiven even this betrayal. Judas could have become a great asset for the kingdom of God.

Instead he takes his own life.

We can’t say for certain where Judas is now—whether he is in heaven or hell. Generally tradition says Judas is not in heaven. But the Bible is not clear. Matthew says he repented. Did he just repent of his wrong doing or did he truly acknowledge that Jesus was God? I don’t know. We will never know until we are in heaven ourselves one day. But we do know Judas’s life didn’t have to end like this. He could have thrown himself at God and Jesus’s mercy. He could have continued to live and continued his story, and his repentance, if that was what he wanted. But repenting and turning your life around from a major betrayal and sin like this is incredibly difficult and arduous work, and Judas just couldn’t face that. He couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Killing yourself is never the answer. We have a whole separate lesson on this we do in the Spring so I won’t harp on it too much. But not even Judas couldn’t have turned his life around from this, with the help of God. There is always hope. While you breathe, there is hope. Never forget that. And never give up.

But now let’s switch gears back to Jesus. Someone read Matthew 27:11-19.

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

15 Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. 17 So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” 

Jesus goes before the Roman governor, Pilate. And Pilate is like pointblank, “Are you the King of the Jews.” And Jesus is like “*Shrug* you say so.” Jesus is so clever with his answer, neither denying but nor really full heartedly going, “yep.”

The Chief priests are all like, “He’s totally claimed that! Don’t listen to him! He’s a terrible person let’s kill him.” And Pilate is like, “Dude, Jesus, do you hear all that? You hear those accusations? What do you have to say for yourself?”

And Jesus says….nothing. And Pilate is just like stunned.

Now remember it’s Passover, and every year at Passover Pilate shows some mercy and releases one criminal the people want back—because remember the Romans didn’t just arrest like dangerous criminals but political criminals, and sometimes those were people that the Jewish people wanted back. So Pilate is like, “You know this Jesus guy isn’t that bad. I should release him for Passover. But it’s got to be the people’s choice. So maybe I’ll give them a choice between this Jesus whose a cool guy and like the worst murderous criminal I have.” Which was a guy who happened to be Jesus Barabbas.

While Pilate is thinking about these things his wife sends him a message and is like, “Dude, the man you have—Jesus?—he’s totally innocent. I’ve been having these horrible dreams about him. You don’t want to be the one who puts him to death.”

Someone read Matthew 27:20-26.

20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

24 So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Pilate thought it would be an easy choice—Jesus, the innocent man, or Barabbas the criminal. But the high priests and elders had persuaded everyone to have them release Barabbas. So Pilate goes forward and is like, “Hey guys, which one should I release?” And to his surprise the entire crowd answers, “Barabbas.”

And Pilate is like, “What? Did I hear that right? You do know I have Jesus of Nazareth in here too, right? What about him? What do you want me to do with him?”

And they respond “Crucify him.”

And Pilate is like, “Why?”

And they’re just changing as a crowd, “Crucify him.”

There are a couple of things going on here that I want to point out. This thing where crowds chant terrible things, is a group-think phenomenon that does happen in crowds, even today. There is something about being in a mob that makes people do things they would never ever do individually. It’s the peer pressure combined with the anonymity I think, with a dose of an extreme feeling of belonging to know that you and the entire crowd are chanting the same thing.

The good aspects of this you see at like football games, when everyone might be singing the fight song together or like chanting some pro-team chant. There is nothing wrong with that, and it can feel good to be in a crowd all aimed for one purpose. But we also see how this turns dark all the time. You see this in political rallies, where crowds are chanting terrible things.

You’ve got to be really careful if you’re ever in a crowd like this. Are you just going alone because everyone else is and you’ve been sucked into the group think? Or are you doing it because you really believe it?

Because the thing is, these people, the ones who are shouting to crucify Jesus—they are the very same people who earlier in the week were shouting Hosanna and praising Jesus as the Messiah. So which do they really believe? That he should die? Or that he is the Messiah? How many of them were just doing these things because it was what everyone else were doing? How many of them even stopped to ask what they actually believed or thought?

Maybe if they had taken a moment, stepped away from the crowd, they would have made another decision. I don’t know. All I know is that in a few short days they went from proclaiming Jesus as their savior to wanting him to die.

Pilate doesn’t really know what to do with this. He doesn’t want a riot to start, but he also doesn’t think Jesus should die. So he washes his hands before the crowd.

This is symbolic. You may have heard your parents or teachers say “I was my hands of you.” This is what they’re referring to, this Roman tradition.” It means, “This isn’t my fault. I have nothing to do with this.” If someone washes their hands of you, it means they’ve basically given up on you and that what you do next is not on them.

Or at that is how they see it, and that is how Pilate saw it. He thinks it’s not his fault when he releases Barabbas and instead sends Jesus to his death.  And inexplicably a lot of Christians go along with this even today, and are like “Oh yeah, Pilate is completely innocent of this whole affair.”

But that is not true.

Pilate is an accomplice to Jesus’s death. Pilate may have thought he washed his hands of it and had nothing to do with him, but he was the man in power. He could have made a different choice.

This is like being the person who drives your friends in the burglary. You’re like, “Well it’s not my fault they robbed the store.” Yeah, maybe, but you also didn’t try to stop them. You are an accomplice. You will go to jail to, since you drove them there. You aided and abetted.

The blood of Jesus is just as much on Pilate’s hands as it is on the people’s who shouted for him to be crucified. No one gets away from this crime clean, as much as they wish to. They all participated. No one is innocent. Not Pilate. Not Judas. Not Peter. Not the crowd. Certainly not the high priests. No one is innocent of Jesus’s death, not even us.

And that’s today’s lesson. Next week we’ll continue with the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus' Arrest

In our last lesson about Jesus we discussed Jesus’s last meal with his friends. It was a Passover meal, celebrated in the upper room, with Jesus and his disciples. Jesus knows his betrayal and arrest is coming, he knows Judas is going to be the one to do it, but he’s going to have this one last time with his disciples before it happens.

Last lesson we talked about how Communion also known as the Lord’s Supper comes from this. The act of taking the wine and bread in remembrance of Jesus. It was an act Jesus asked us to do, so Christians across the ages have done it.

But that’s not all Jesus did or said at his last meal with his disciples. He spent the time talking with them, trying to prepare them for what was coming, trying to tell them what it all meant. But we’re going to see that they did not get it.

Someone read John 14:1-6.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus tells them to not let their hearts be troubled—a tall task when Jesus knows what is coming. He is trying to give them strength, make them brave, because the road ahead is not going to be easy. He tells them to believe in God—but also to believe in him, Jesus. Believing in Jesus is going to be a hard thing to do when they see him get arrested and beaten and tortured and killed. Jesus is asking them to do the impossible, to believe even in the face of what is going to seem like a defeat.

Of course the disciples don’t know that, so I’m sure they’re all nodding, like “of course Jesus we believe in you!”

Jesus continues on and tells them that in his Father’s house there are many dwelling places—in God’s house, there is room for everyone. And he says he is going to go ahead to prepare it for them, and that while he is going ahead he will come back for them, and they will join him there.

They don’t get it. They don’t understand that he’s talking about his own death—going to heaven to prepare a place for the Christians to come—and that Jesus will be resurrected and return so all can return with them. And you can tell they don’t get it, because one of the disciples—Thomas—asks how can they follow Jesus when they don’t know where he is going?

And Jesus tells them “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This is one of Jesus’s big I AM statements that we’ve talked about before, where he is basically claiming to be God. Jesus is saying he is the only gate, the only path to God. And he will get them there.

But they still don’t get it.

Someone read John 14:7-14.

7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

Jesus continues and says that if they know Jesus then they know God—that since they know Jesus they have seen God. But once again, the disciples don’t get it. Philip says, “Jesus, just show us God, and we’ll be satisfied.”

And Jesus is like, “How do you not get it? I have been with you this whole time. You have seen me. If you’ve seen me, how can you ask to see the father? I am the Father. The Father is me.” Jesus is saying he is God. That by seeing Jesus they are seeing God. Jesus is not just their friend and their teacher, he is there God.

But once again, they still don’t get it.

These are the people who know Jesus the best, the people who are around him all the time, the people who have seen everything he’s done, and they still don’t get it.

Someone read John 14:15-21.

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Jesus tells them that even though he is going away he is not going to leave them alone. He is sending someone to them, another Advocate who unlike Jesus will be with them forever. He calls it the Spirit of Truth, we know it as the Holy Spirit. Jesus isn’t going to leave them alone—orphaned he says—he says “I am coming to you.” He says he is coming right after he says he was going to send someone else? That’s a little confusing. But this is more pointing the Trinity.

God. Jesus. The Holy Spirit. They are all different but the same. Jesus is God. Jesus is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. But they are also separate. Jesus will not leave them alone, God will come back to them in a different form, in the form of the Holy Spirit.

This hard for us to understand today. The disciples were basically clueless, and weren’t sure what Jesus was saying. All they understood was that Jesus was saying he was going away. And they did not want him to.

Let’s flip back to Matthew. Someone read Matthew 26:31-35.

31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written,

‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

32 But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 33 Peter said to him, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And so said all the disciples.

Jesus is talking about what is to come and he tells them they will all become deserters because of this night. That because he—the shepherd—is going to be struck that the flock will disappear. And Peter—good old loyal brash and bold Peter is aghast. He’s like, “What? Jesus, I tell you, everyone else may fall away, every single other person may leave you, but not me. Never me. I will never leave you!”

And Jesus is like, “Peter, before morning breaks tomorrow you will deny knowing me three times.”

To which Peter responds, “I would rather die than deny you.”

All the disciples say this. Every single one is like, “Jesus, I will stand by you through anything, I would die rather than fall away from you. I will never leave you.”

They thought they were loyal friends to the end, loyal followers. They thought they were brave and true. But when faced with reality, we will see they are not.

Do you guys know, when Jesus is hanging on the cross, are any of the twelve disciples present? Are any of these men there at his feet standing by him to the end? Do you know how many stood with him?

[Let them answer]

One. Just one. Based on the bold words of this passage you would think that one is Peter, that brash and bold Peter would be loyal to the end, following Jesus to his death. But it’s not Peter. The one who stays is John.

Jesus had twelve close male friends, twelve disciples. One betrayed him. And we’re going to see by the end of this lesson the rest are going to flee. Out of Jesus’s male followers, only John stays with him. Only the one.

For all their words, when it came time to stand with Jesus, they fell away.

Someone read Matthew 26:36-41.

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. 38 Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” 39 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” 40 Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

After dinner, Jesus decides to go on a little walk to the garden of Gethsamane. He wants to go there and pray, because he knows what is coming. Judas has already left for the night. He takes the rest of the disciples with him. When they get to the garden, he tells the rest of them to stay and only takes three disciples with him deeper into the garden, his three closest friends: Peter, James, and John.

He tells them he is very upset, deeply grieved, to the point of death, and Jesus—who has done so much for these men, Jesus who is looking at his three closest friends asks them one thing. To be with him and stay awake.

Then Jesus goes a little farther and starts praying. Jesus knows what is coming. He knows he is going to be tortured and killed. And he asks God, if it’s possible that this cup pass from him. He is asking for the burden of the torture and death to not be on him. Jesus is God and he knows this is God’s plan, which is why he says “It’s not about what I want, but about what you want, God.” He knows this is God’s plan and he has to do it, but he is not looking forward to being tortured and killed. He knows its going to be awful. And he is wishing there is any other way. And he is sharing that anxiety and pain with God. And in the end, Jesus is going to go willingly into this, he will follow God’s plan, but it’s okay to tell God you’re anxious about his plan, or that if you had your way, maybe you wouldn’t have to go through this. And that’s exactly what Jesus is saying here. He wishes there was another way.

He finishes this prayer, and gets up. He goes back to Peter, James and John and see them sleeping. His three closest friends—two of which are going to abandon him in the near future. His three closest friends who he has done so much for and so far have been with him through everything, and they could not even do this one little thing he asked of them. They could not even stay awake for him.

Jesus is frustrated with them. He is about to pay the ultimate sacrifice for them, beaten, tortured, and die a horrifically painful death, and they couldn’t even stay awake one hour.

He wakes them up, and is like, “Wake back up and pray. Pray that you too don’t have to go to the trial I’m going into.” And then Jesus goes back to praying. Someone read Matthew 26:42-46.

42 Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

Jesus goes back and prays. He says, “If this burden can’t be passed, then I will do it. Your will be done.” Jesus—who was just disappointed by his friends who couldn’t even stay awake for him—tells God he is willing to go into this to save them, to save them all, even though the people don’t get it and don’t even seem to want it. Jesus is willing to die for us because he loves us, even though we don’t love him back the same way he loves us. Even though we can’t even stay awake for him.

He goes back again and again the disciples are sleeping. He then goes back and prays again. Then he goes and wakes the disciples and says, “Time to rest is over. The hour is at hand. I’m about to be betrayed. So get up, and be ready.”

Someone read Matthew 26:47-49.

47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

While Jesus is telling the disciples the betrayer is at hand, Judas shows up with a large and hostile crowd. Judas had told them that he would greet one of the men, and that would be Jesus and the one he should arrest.

Its sometimes weird to us that Judas greeted him with a kiss, but this isn’t like a romantic kiss. It’s more like how the French kiss each other whenever they see each other. In French culture, in scenarios where we might give someone a handshake, the French kiss each other on the cheeks. This is just a form of greeting. If we were translating this to modern America, it might say it would be the one he would great with a handshake or a high five.

It’s still a personal greeting between friends though. Judas greets Jesus like a follower and friend, calling him Rabbi.

And with a friendly greeting, he betrays him.

Judas’s betrayal didn’t have to be this personal. Surely the high priests and elders knew what Jesus looked like. Surely he could have just pointed them in that direction. And it’s not like the high priests couldn’t have just arrested them all and sorted out which disciple was Jesus later.

But that’s not what Judas does. He is there and betrays Jesus by acting as his friend.

Someone read Matthew 26:50-56.

50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. 51 Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?” 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Jesus calls Judas his friend and tells him to do what he is there to do. Judas is still Jesus’s friend, still someone Jesus loves, even at the end.

The high priests and elders move to arrest Jesus and one of the disciples jumps forward with a sword and cuts of the ear of a dude. Other books of the Bible identify this disciple as Peter, and it does seem like a stereotypical Peter action. He’s going to leap into action and protect Jesus! He’s not going to let them take Jesus without a fight!

Peter is prepared to go to battle for Jesus, but he’s not prepared for Jesus to surrender, which it was Jesus does. He tells him to put his sword away.

After all, Jesus says, if he was meant to survive this, doesn’t Peter think God would send legions of angels to protect and defend Jesus? But that’s not what’s meant to happen. This is God’s plan, this is how it must go. Jesus must be arrested.

Jesus then turns to the crowd of people and is like, “Why do you come with all these weapons like I’m some dangerous criminal? All I’ve done is teach. I taught in public places like the Temple and you don’t arrest me there. No it happens like this so that scriptures can be fulfilled.” And then Jesus lets them arrest him.

And then all the disciples desert him and flee.

Why? Why did they flee when five minutes ago they were ready to fight?

This goes back to the fact they didn’t understand Jesus, they didn’t understand who he was or what he had come to do. They wanted Jesus to fight. They wanted Jesus to rise up and overthrow the authorities. They were ready to help him fight and do that.

And then, he didn’t.

Jesus told them to put down their weapons and he just let himself be arrested. Their leader, the guy they followed everywhere, the one they thought would start the revolution, just surrendered and let himself be arrested.

And they thought they would be next. And since Jesus told them not to fight, what choice did they have but to either let themselves be arrested or flee?

So they ran. They scattered into the night. And they left Jesus alone to face the most horrific thing he would ever have to face.

Earlier that night Jesus was having a relaxing dinner with friends. Earlier that very night they swore they would follow wherever he went, face anything he had to face, be with him by his side forever. And here only a few short hours later, they betrayed and abandoned him.

Jesus was left alone to face the coming trial. Both a metaphorical and actual trial, but that is the topic for next week.

The Last Supper

As we talked about last week, Jesus spends the days before Passover, in Jerusalem. And instead of laying low, if anything he makes even more trouble—throwing tables in the Temple and preaching things that in the eyes of the leadership that make him seem crazy and dangerous. The chief priests want to arrest him, but Jesus has evaded every trap they have laid for them. So they need another way. They need an inside man.

Someone read Luke 22:1-6.

22 Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. 2 The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people.

3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; 4 he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. 5 They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

Judas Iscariot is the one who chooses to betray Jesus. Judas is one of the twelve disciples. In the book of John, he’s described as the twelve disciples treasurer, the one who held the money for everyone. So that’s got to mean he’s pretty well trusted amongst the twelve, if he’s someone everyone is willing to give money to. This is a guy who has seen everything Jesus has done, who has walked beside him, talked with him, someone that is one of the closest people to Jesus on earth—a position most Christians would envy today. And he decides to betray Jesus to the people who want to kill him, all for some money.

I mean 30 pieces of silver is not an insubstantial amount in those days—we don’t know exactly how much those pieces of silver were worth, but to someone in Judas’ position I’m sure it was a lot of money. But there is no amount of money that should be worth betraying your friend and certainly no amount of money will convince anyone to betray the person they think is their savior. So why did Judas do it?

Luke in his words right here, presents one theory. He says that Satan entered Judas. Basically the old “The devil made me due it” excuse. Does Luke mean that Satan actually entered and possessed Judas? Maybe. That may be what Luke thinks—because that may be what he thinks it would take to betray Jesus. Or he may mean it metaphorically—that this desire of Judas was a desire like Satan would have. Judas was giving in to a temptation and he does an evil deed. He betrays his friend.

Why?

We don’t know for sure, and this is an old question—one that theologians, artists, and philosophers have been struggling with since it happened. The musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” is literally a modern-ish take on this question—presenting the story of Jesus from Judas’s perspective. But we don’t really know why.

A common thought—and one I suspect as well—is that like the crowds that surrounded Jesus, Judas wanted Jesus to be something other than he was. Judas wanted Jesus to be a conquering hero, to be the next King David, and Jesus wasn’t doing that.

Perhaps Judas was just disappointed in Jesus, that Jesus wasn’t the conquering hero, and he was done with him, and wanted it to be over. Perhaps he thought he was serving a purpose—that by creating a situation where Jesus would be in danger that Jesus would rise up to the challenge and become the conquering hero Judas thought he should be. Maybe he thought that by making Jesus a martyr the people would rise up. We don’t know. We just know he did it.

And Jesus did too.

Someone read Matthew 26:17-25

17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

20 When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; 21 and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” 25 Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”

The first day of Passover has come, and Jesus and the disciples find a room to go and celebrate. They don’t have a house in the city so they essentially have to ask someone to borrow his upper room, where Jesus and the disciples could relax and celebrate Passover.

So they go up there to have a nice relaxing Passover—or so the disciples think—but then Jesus drops a bomb on them by saying, “One of you will betray me!” And all the disciples look at each other and at him and they’re like, “What? I would never do that! Not me!”

And Judas is like, “I would never betray you, Jesus!” And Jesus is like, “So you say…” But Jesus knows the truth. He knows Judas has already taken the money.

Perhaps Jesus was doing this as a warning to Judas—because it wasn’t too late. Judas could still at this point choose not to betray Jesus. He hasn’t actually brought anyone to arrest Jesus yet. Judas could at this point—now that he knows Jesus knows—change his mind, listen to the warning, and turn his heart back to Jesus. But he doesn’t.

And Jesus says it would be better to never be born than be the person who betrays him. But Judas doesn’t take the warning. As we’re doing to see, he still does it. But there is a whole supper between this and Judas betraying him.

Someone please read Matthew 26:26-29.

26 While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

They are eating the traditional Passover meal, which involves unleavened bread—flat bread that is—and win. Jesus picks up the loaf of bread, blesses it, and then says, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he does the same thing with the wine saying, “Drink from it, for this is my blood –a sign of a new covenant.” Remember the old covenant was the one with Abraham, the one God made with Abraham that set up the Hebrews as God’s chosen people. But with Jesus there was a new covenant.

The bread and wine are symbols of this new covenant, something we do in remembrance of Jesus. This is something that Christians across all denominations do—though we may all do it a little differently. It’s a tradition, a sacrament, that Christians have been doing for two thousand years since this intimate moment of just Jesus and his twelve friends. When you take the bread and the wine—or grape juice as it often is these days—you are partaking in an act that has bound Christians through the ages, an act of remembrance of our savior who died for us.

We take Communion at a church fairly often—we will be doing so next Sunday, Oct 6. And whenever we do the Pastors say the same thing:

                The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, took break,
                and after given thanks to God,
                he broke it, and give it to his disciples saying:
                Take, eat.
                This is my body, given for you.
                Do this in remembrance of me.

                In the same way he took the cup, saying:
                This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood,
                shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
                Whenever you drink it,
                do this in remembrance of me.

                Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup
                you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord,
                until he comes.

This is why we do communion. To remind us of Jesus, to proclaim him our savior, who was broken and died for us. Who gave his body and blood for us. He told us to do it, and so we do. Liturgy changes, the songs we use change. The language we use changes. But this stays the same. We eat the bread. We drink the wine, and we are the body of Christ.

But the story of what happens at the Last Supper doesn’t end there, it keeps going. Someone please read John 13:3-5.

 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

It says Jesus knew that God had given him all things. He knew he was from God and he knew he was going back to God. And what does he do with that knowledge? Proclaim himself king and leader? Proclaim himself great? No. Instead he gets up from the table, ties a towel around himself, and goes to wash the disciples feet, like a servant.

We’ve talked about before that feet washing back then was a dirty job. Remember the people in Jesus’s time wore sandals. They walked roads that horses and donkeys pooped on. Their feet would be caked in dirt and other disgusting things. This was very dirty and disgusting work, but Jesus was willing to do it for his disciples.

Someone read John 13:6-11.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

Jesus is washing all the disciple’s feet and he comes to Simon Peter. Remember Simon Peter is the bold and brash one, the one who is always first to speak up and to rush into trouble. And Jesus goes to wash his feet and he’s like, “Jesus? What are you doing?” And Jesus is like, “You will understand later what this all means.” And Peter is basically like, “Jesus you shouldn’t be washing my feet!” He’s thinking Jesus is his savior, his king, his leader. It should be Peter washing his feet!

And Jesus says, “Unless I wash you, you have no share of me.” Unless he washes them, they are not of him. And then Peter is like, “Then heck, wash all of me! I’m your guy Jesus!” And Jesus is like, “That’s not necessary. You are already clean. Except for one of you.” Which once again is Jesus foreshadowing about Jesus.

But all of this is confusing. What is this whole foot washing business about? Well, Jesus goes on to explain. Someone read John 13:12-17.

12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Jesus explains and is like, “Do you know why I’ve done this? You call me teacher and lord, and you are right, that is totally what I am. And I—your lord and master—washed your feet. If I do this for you, you should do this for others. I have set the example. Because no one is greater than their master.” Jesus here is displaying the idea of servant leadership. Yes he is their leader, and as their leader he serves them. And he wants them to do the same for others. Because if God can get down on his knees and wash your feet, than you can wash other people’s feet, you can serve other people. You can help other people. Because that is the example Jesus set, and that is what we should do. Jesus calls us to serve others.

That is not all Jesus calls us to do. Someone read John 13:31-35.

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

We’ve talked about these verses before. Moses gave people the law, a series of laws that all Hebrew people were supposed to obey. But Jesus gave them a new commandment. To love one another.

This is part of the two commandments Jesus already explained: Love God, love one another. But Jesus here specifically calls out that his followers are to be known for their love. He wants them to love so deeply, serve so greatly, that that is what they will be known for. That people will look at them and be like, “They must be followers of Jesus, because they love so much.”

Jesus loved us. He served us. That is what he calls for us to do for others.

But this is hard. Christians these days aren’t exactly known for loving others, not even each other very well. But if we truly love God, if we truly want to be followers of Jesus, that is what we should be doing. Loving one another, serving each other. Washing each other’s feet.

And that is where we’re going to stop the lesson for today. We will leave Jesus and his disciples at dinner, enjoying each other’s company. Jesus knows what horrors lie in their near future, but the disciples do not. They just think this is another Passover with their Lord and friend Jesus. They do not know that in a few short hours its all going to come crashing down around them. And that is for next time.

Jesus in the Temple

Last week we talked about how the leaders of Jesus’ time wanted Jesus dead. They were afraid of him—they were afraid that he was going to lead the people in a revolt against Rome, and they knew such a revolt would not be successful. Rome was too powerful, too big, and Rome would squash Israel like a bug—which as we talked about last week Rome did do in the 70s AD—decades after Jesus.

The religious leaders of the time—in fact most people in Jesus’ time, even his followers—thought Jesus was going to set himself up as the king of Israel. They did not know that Jesus did not come as a conquering king but rather a suffering servant.

Even though Jesus knew he was a wanted man, he still came back to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. Passover was one of the Jewish holidays that required all people travel back to the Temple as part of the festival. Remember, the Temple was not just like a church is today. Today we say things like the church is the people and not the building, and you can be a church here at Sandia Pres or out in the middle of the wilderness, it doesn’t matter! But that’s not how the Temple worked. There were synagogues, which were similar to churches, where you could worship and do other festivals. But for the bigger ones, you had to go to the one and only Temple. The Temple was viewed as God’s home on earth, the place where God lived. It was different and holy in a way nothing else was, because it was God’s home. So certain religious events could only happen at the Temple, in Jerusalem.

Everyone came back for Passover, not just Jesus, and a lot of the people who came back were fans of Jesus. The religious leaders were afraid to arrest Jesus in broad daylight in front of all their fans—they were afraid that would start the riot they were trying to avoid. So they watched and waited, waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

Which means for the time being Jesus can watch about Jerusalem freely. Let’s see what he does in the time before Passover. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 21:12-13.

12 Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written,

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’;
    but you are making it a den of robbers.”

Jesus—who is a wanted man who is supposed to be lying low—goes into the Temple. And is he well behaved and makes his sacrifices and move on? Nope. Instead Jesus enters the Temple and sees a bunch of people buying and selling things in the Temple yard. Remember the Temple had a huge courtyard, and that is where this would take place.

What were they buying and selling? Well one of the big things in Jewish practice of this time was the need to make sacrifices. To cover for your sins and the things you had done wrong, but also just part of the standard worship, you would sacrifice an animal to God. Depending on what you were making up for—or atoning for—you might sacrifice a dove or you might sacrifice a sheep or you might sacrifice a bull! The size of the offering mattered, because it mattered on how dear it was. A bull is worth far more than a dove. So for a big sin or for a lot of people, you might need a top of line bull.

The idea of this system is that you give something dear to you to God. This goes all the way back to Cain and Abel, who made sacrifices to God. Abel sacrificed something dear to him, while Cain sacrificed something he didn’t care about. That’s why God wasn’t pleased with Cain’s sacrifice. It’s about giving something precious to God.

But not everyone in Jesus’s time was a farmer or rancher who owned animals. They might be carpenters—like Jesus was—and therefore not own any animals. They would therefore need to purchase animals to sacrifice.

Now on face value this is not such a terrible thing. People need animals and they don’t have them. Money is dear to most people, so using your precious money to buy an animal to sacrifice isn’t really that terrible of a thing. The people are still giving up something precious—their money—to the Lord.

So what’s the problem? The Bible is not super clear; however, the traditional interpretation of this verse is that Jesus is angry because these merchants and money changers are taking advantage of the people who come to purchase animals. They are charging too much, trying to make a profit off of these people’s desire to sacrifice to God. They are lying about exchange rates so when people come to exchange their money to the type used in the Temple, they are being given back a much less amount of money than they should. So these merchants were in God’s house taking advantage of God’s people.

Of course this made Jesus angry! This was his Father’s house—God’s house—and instead of people finding sanctuary and the presence of God here they were being taking advantage of! So Jesus turned over the tables and threw out the merchants, telling them they had made a house of prayer into a den of thieves.

Someone please read Matthew 21:14-17

14 The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard[b] the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry 16 and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,

‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies
    you have prepared praise for yourself’?”

17 He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

Once the temple was cleared, and word of Jesus being there got around, sick and hurt people from all around came to Jesus to be healed. And the children once again began singing Hosannas to Jesus, praising him.

The religious leaders go to Jesus and they’re like, “Why are you allowing this?” And once again Jesus is like, “Out of the mouths of babes you hear the truth.” The children believe in Jesus, as children do, with their whole heart and also not fully understanding—which perhaps makes them the most right and humble people following Jesus. Because everyone else thinks they understand Jesus, but they don’t. Just like these religious leaders.

This is not the only time the religious leaders question Jesus. Someone read Matthew 21:23-27.

23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Jesus comes into the temple again and the chief priests and elders confront him. Basically they’re like, “You come in here disrupting everything, pretending you have all this authority. But where does your authority come from, hmm?”

Jesus pulls a classic Jesus move and instead of answering responds with a question. He’s like, “If you answer my question, I’ll tell you where my authority comes from. Deal? So tell me, remember how John the Baptist was doing all those baptisms? Were those baptisms from heaven or just a human thing.”

The chief priests pull back and argue amongst themselves what they should answer Jesus. They’re like, “If we say it’s from Heaven, then Jesus will be like, “Then you should have listened to John the Baptist better, because his authority was of heaven.” If we say of human origin, the crowd around us who is listening to this conversation will freak out because they think John’s baptisms are of God.”” So they debate back and forth and then in the end they decide on an answer of “I don’t know.”

And Jesus is like, “Well you had to give an answer, and you didn’t. So I’m not telling you.”

What is this about? These people are trying to trick Jesus into saying something wrong, into saying something that will either turn the crowds or the Romans against him. Because if the crowds are against Jesus than they can arrest him with no issues. If the Romans are against Jesus then the Romans can arrest Jesus and the crowds can’t do anything about that.

But Jesus refuses to rise to their bait. He doesn’t tell these people who only want to trick him and not honestly know where his authority comes from. Because it doesn’t matter what Jesus says. They don’t want to hear the truth. They only want to trap him.

Someone read Matthew 21:28-32.

28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

Right after that exchange with the religious leaders Jesus tells a story—a parable. And he’s like “A man has two sons. He tells the first to go work and he’s like, “Nah, I’m not gonna do that.” But then after thinking about it for a bit, he feels bad and goes out into the field and does his work. The father than goes to his second son and also asks him to work. And the other son is like, “I got it, Dad. I’ll do the work.” But then he doesn’t!”

So on the one hand you have one son who in his words defied his father and then in his actions followed his orders, and another son who said the right words but in his actions disobeyed his father. Jesus asks which one did the will of the father. And everyone is like, “Obviously the one who went and worked in the fields.”

And Jesus is like, “yep. And that’s what I’m saying to you. The people you view as sinners? People who messed up like tax collectors and prostitutes, they are the first son—the ones who at first said they weren’t going to do anything but then did. Whereas the religious leaders are the second son, who claim they are doing the fathers will but are not. And nothing we say will make them do that.”

I imagine the religious leaders did not like hearing this message. And well certainly they didn’t stop trying to trap Jesus. Let’s read another one of their attempts to trap him. Someone read Matthew 22:15-22.

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21 They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

The Pharisees come to Jesus with another test. First they butter him up and flatter him all like, “Jesus we know you are the best and teach in the way of the truth. Therefore answer us this one little question: is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”

What they want is for Jesus to say “No, all money belongs to God and Caesar is a thief who steals our hard earned money.” Because if he said that, then the Pharisees could go to the Romans and have the Romans arrest Jesus.

But Jesus doesn’t take the bait. He asks for a coin. They bring him one and Jesus is like, “Whose picture is on this coin?”

Everyone is like, “Uh the emperors.”

And Jesus says a famous line that is often translated in other verses, “Give unto Caesar what is Caesars and give unto God what is God’s.”

Basically the money belongs to Caesar so pay Caesar his taxes. Which is not at all what they were expecting Jesus to say. Because remember, they thought Jesus was someone who wanted to overthrow the emperor and start a separate kingdom of Israel. Instead Jesus was chill and said, “Nope. You gotta pay taxes.” And they are stumped and amazed by this.

Jesus isn’t behaving like they expect him to behave. And because of that, they can’t trap him.

On the one hand Jesus says stuff like that—saying to pay taxes to the government, and then on the other hand he says stuff that make people think he will be a conquering king. Someone read Matthew 22:41-46.

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: 42 “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,

44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
    until I put your enemies under your feet”’?

45 If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” 46 No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

The Pharisees gather again and this time it’s Jesus who asks them a question. He says, “Who do you think the Messiah is? Whose son is the Messiah?” And they’re like “Uh David.”

Remember Jesus—the Messiah, the anointed one—is David’s ultimate heir. David was the legendary king of Israel—that everyone looked up to and kind of wanted to go back to those days. Israel was powerful and independent under him. David was a conquering king who led them victorious. They wanted the same from the Messiah.

And Jesus is like, “If I am David’s son, then how is it David said these verses in Psalms.” He is reference Psalm 110:1. It is generally believed that David wrote a lot of the Psalms. And Jesus is basically like, if David wrote this Psalm, who is David’s lord? Because that first sentence says “The Lord said to my Lord.” So God said to David’s Lord. Who is David’s Lord? It clearly can’t be God in this scenario. There’s gotta be someone else that David is talking about. Someone who is over David

And this Lord who is over David sits at God’s right hand and God shall put his enemies under his feet. Not David’s feet. But David’s Lord. And Jesus asks them “How can David’s Lord be David’s son?”

And they don’t know. They’re stumped. They don’t know what to make of this. Because they don’t know—they refuse to accept that Jesus is God’s son. That Jesus is more than just a man. They don’t see the truth, but to be fair no one does.

No one understands. And they won’t until after Jesus dies and comes back.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

We’ve been talking about Jesus for a while now. Jesus was this massive super star that people flocked to. Everyone wanted to see Jesus, they wanted to hear him, be near, and more importantly from their perspectives—be healed by him. We looked at many stories where Jesus preached to large crowds, but we also looked at more personal stories, where he had one-on-one interactions with people. Jesus was always willing to meet people where they were at, whether it was a well at noon or in the dead of night. He fed and healed people to meet their needs, so that they would listen to him and to his teachings.

His teachings were radical—they were different. He said it was intent and not action that mattered—it wasn’t enough to just not murder your brother, you had to not hate him to. He said that it was okay to not hold the law so stringently—that as long as you were loving people and loving God you were upholding the law, even if it meant you were doing work on the Sabbath. And most crazily, he claimed he was God.

Before Abraham was, I am, he said. Before the progenitor of the Hebrew people existed—Jesus existed. He said he was God, and the people knew it.

Some wanted to kill him for it—because it seemed to be blasphemy, an offense against God.

Jesus terrified the socks off of the religious and political leaders of the time. He was claiming seemingly crazy things, radically altering people’s ways of life, and people were claiming him to be the Messiah. The Anointed One. The heir of David.

David was king of a sovereign and powerful Israel, and the Israel of Jesus’s time was not that. It was conquered by the Romans—and the Jewish people were not happy about it. They wanted to be restored—they wanted to be independent and sovereign—and they expected Jesus to do it. They wanted Jesus to make Israel great again.

And the religious and political leaders of the time knew that’s what the people wanted, and they were afraid that was what Jesus wanted. Israel was a powder keg and they were terrified Jesus was the spark. They were afraid Jesus was going to lead a rebellion, and that is not what they wanted.

Why? Why didn’t they want a rebellion? We’ve talked about this before, but the Romans were powerful and scary. And history proves out the leaders were right to be scared, because the Jewish people did end up rebelling a few decades after Jesus. The Romans didn’t just come in and say “Now, now, you guys need to behave,” and give them a slap on the wrist. Politics back then wasn’t like it is today where if a country does something bad all we really do is politically sanction them and stop trade to that area.

No, the Romans came in and destroyed Jerusalem completely, they burned it down, killed half of the civilian population—which means non soldiers, like men women and children—and they pulled down the Temple. They took everything valuable—gold and the like from inside of it—and then they didn’t just leave the empty building. No, they pulled down the stones so that there wouldn’t be anything left.

The only part of the Temple that remained was a part of the western fence around the temple—which we call the Wailing Wall today.

And the Romans weren’t done there, they wanted to completely eliminate any threat that this people group might have, so they did something that seems strange to us—but they changed the name of that area of land from Judea to Palestine. This was to take away the naming that gave the Jewish people a tie to the land, and to be like, “This land is no longer yours, you no longer even get to control the name. It’s ours now. So here is a new name for your land.”

The Romans made an example of Israel, so that every other conquered nation in Rome who might even think of rebelling could look at Israel and say “Yeah, let’s not do that.” And it worked.

This is why the religious leaders were scared of Jesus. They thought he was going to start all of this. They did not know that Jesus did not come to be a conquering king but rather a suffering servant. No one did.

And they were scared.

But for the most part their policy on Jesus was to watch and wait. He hadn’t done anything too crazy yet and they didn’t want to have their plan backfire by accidentally starting a riot when they arrested Jesus. So they watched and waited, waiting for something that would be Jesus being too powerful or going too far.

For some that act was when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. We studied that story last spring—how Jesus had three friends: Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. They were all siblings and though they did not follow Jesus around like some of the disciples, they were Jesus’ good friends and often provided a home base for him when he was on his way to Jerusalem. Well one day Lazarus fell sick and Mary and Martha called for Jesus to heal him. But Jesus loitered a few days, and ended up coming too late—he came so late that Lazarus had already been dead for four days.

Lots of people were at the house, comforting the sisters, and then in front of tons of witnesses, Jesus raised a very very dead man and brought him back to life.

There was no questioning or denying that it happened. There were too many witnesses, and the rumors spread too fast. Lazarus wasn’t someone you could argue had just been in a coma and maybe Jesus healed and woke up. Lazarus had been dead for four days—if he had been in a coma he would have been dead by the fourth day just from dehydration. Jesus brought a very dead man back to life in front of like everyone.

And a lot of those people took reports back to the religious leaders. Someone read John 11:45-53.

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. 53 So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, some people went and told the Pharisees—who remember were religious leaders. And these leaders called a council to completely freak out. They were like, “What are we going to do? If we let him keep on like this people are going to riot and the Romans will come and destroy everything we love and hold dear—our holy places and our nation.”

And like we already said, their fears weren’t wrong.

The high priest for that year was a guy named Caiaphus and he shushed everyone, all like, “You need to calm down. We’re not going to let the Romans destroy the whole nation. We’ll kill Jesus and he’ll be a sacrifice for all of us, so the rest of the nation lives.”

And well, Caiaphus’s motives to kill Jesus were questionable but whether he knew it or not he wasn’t wrong. Because Jesus did come to die for all of us, just not the way Caipahus was talking about. Jesus didn’t die to save us from the Romans. He died to save us from our sins, from death. So Caiaphus was sort of right and didn’t even know it.

Someone read John 11:54-57.

54 Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus[a] was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus basically had to go in hiding for a bit—because he knew the religious leaders were after him. It was no longer safe for him to go about publicaly.

But Passover was coming. Passover was one of the annual festivals where every Jewish person was required to come back to Jerusalem and the Temple for the celebration. So as a good Jewish man, Jesus would be expected—and would want to go. But the religious leaders were like, “Surely Jesus won’t be that stupid, surely he won’t just walk straight into the lions den where we are waiting for him?” But then just to be sure, they put out word that if anyone knew where Jesus was—if they heard he was coming into town, to let them know, and they would arrest him.

What would you guys do if you were Jesus? Would you stay hiding or would you go in for the festival?

Well let’s see what Jesus does. Someone read Matthew 21:1-7.

21 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.

Jesus goes to Jerusalem. Even though he is a wanted man, even though people are on the look out for him, he goes. He sends two of the disciples to look for a donkey and a colt—which is a male baby donkey. And he gives them instructions to take them and if anyone questions to see that the Lord needs them. And the book of Matthew was written for a Jewish audience, so the writer is always quick to point out when things are references to the Old Testament—and Jesus riding in on a donkey is. Let’s find where it is in the Old Testament. Someone flip back and read Zechariah 9:9-10.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
    triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus was this king, this leader. He is supposed to be arriving victorious in Jerusalem. But what’s going to happen when he arrives? Will he be immediately arrested? Or will be allowed in. Let’s see. Someone read Matthew 21:8-11.

8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus wasn’t immediately arrested! Instead a multitude of people come out and praise him, putting their cloaks down before him, waving palm fronds, celebrating Jesus like he’s a victorious conqueror returned to Jerusalem. This is how the Jewish people had greeted people like Judas Maccabees in the past—people who had fought for and liberated Israel.

Which Jesus hadn’t done, but they were hoping for. That’s what they wanted. For Jesus to be their king! For Jesus to come in and push the Romans out and restore Israel’s rightful place as God’s nation.

So yes the people are praising Jesus, they are worshiping him—but are they really worshiping the actual Jesus? Or just the idol of who he is supposed to be that they have made in their heads?

These people who are praising Jesus—in very little time they are going to be the exact people demanding his death. The people who today cry out, “Hosanna! Blessed is the king” will be calling in a week instead “Crucify him.”

We people are so fickle. We want Jesus to fit in our boxes—we want him to do what we want him to do. To make our nation great. To make our people great. To make our lives great. To save us from politics or bad jobs or whatever. We want him to give us what we want. And when he doesn’t fit into that—into our idea—we turn on him, because we say he betrayed us first.

But Jesus never promised those things. He didn’t come to liberate Israel from Rome, he came to liberate them from their sins. He never promised them life would be good or easy, he promised them that he and God would be there with them every step of the way.

We still do this today. All the time. God didn’t give you want you want, so you turn on God. But that’s we—like these people—aren’t understanding the nature of God and Jesus. We’re trying to make them something they are not. And then we get mad they don’t live up to the false image of them we have in our mind.

Jesus deserved their praise, but they were praising him for the wrong reasons. And then they turned on him.

It’s so easy for us to become them. We have to learn from this. We have to do better. That’s why it’s so important for us to study the life and stories of Jesus for ourselves, and not what people say about him. So we can try to grapple with and understand the nature of Jesus and God, like Jacob wrestling with God. So that we do not become these fickle people, who only turn to God for things we want and then we doesn’t give it to us, pout and turn on him.

We’re called to love God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds. Not to just love God when it’s convenient.

As for the question of why the Pharisees didn’t have Jesus arrested at this moment that’s actually answered a little later in the Bible. Someone read Mark 14:1-2.

14 It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; 2 for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

The Pharisees knew if they arrested Jesus now, at his peak, while everyone loved him, that it would cause a riot, which was the opposite of what they wanted. So they needed to find a way to do it privately, quietly, without many witnesses, so no one could protest. They needed a different way.

More Stories of Jesus

Today we’re going to cover a couple of disconnected stories about Jesus, so we’re going to be flipping around in the Gospels a bit. Last week we talked about how Jesus came to help people who needed him—those who were sinners and needed help—which is all of us! This week we’re going to look at a handful of other important stories related to Jesus and his teachings.

When we talked about the Old Testament, we studied the people of Israel—that is the descendants of Jacob. These people were considered to be God’s chosen people, who God had a covenant with—a covenant where he looked out for them. Now that didn’t always seem to mean much to the people—God’s covenant didn’t stop them from being Exiled, but even during the Exile they took solace in their status as God’s chosen people. That no matter what happened, no matter who conquered them, God would be there for them, eternally.

But most of us in this room are not Jewish! Most Christians are not Jewish! We are what people back then would consider “Gentiles,” which just basically means non-Jews. So if we are not God’s chosen people, how does this all work? What that’s a great question, and it gets into the New Covenant verses the Old Covenant which we’ll discuss more at a later date. But I want us to turn in our Bibles to where Jesus first addresses this question—the first time Jesus interacts with a Gentile and grants her request. So let’s flip to our Bibles to Matthew 15:21-28.

21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

This is a weird story on the surface level, which is why we have to dig deeper into it. So first off, as we’ve already established: Jesus is a Jewish man. The woman who came to him is described as a “Canaanite” woman.

Does anyone remember who the Canaanites were?

Back in the Old Testament Abraham was promised the land of Canaan by God. But then his descendants ended moving to Egypt and being stuck there for 400 years until Moses liberated them. During that 400 years, some other people moved into the Promised Land. These people were for centuries the enemy of the Israelites. The Israelites tried to conquer them and constantly fought them.

In Jesus’s time there is no one left who identifies as a Canaanite. Those people groups had been absorbed into other empires—like the Assyrians and the Persians. So if the Canaanites don’t exist anymore, why is does the writer—Matthew—identity her as a Canaanite?

Well because the author is making a point—(1) this is a woman of this land who is NOT Jewish, but (2) not only is she not Jewish but she is the direct opposite of the sort of person a Jewish person should like or hang out with. Matthew is making the point that she is the enemy.

If Jesus was just a Jewish man, this woman is no one he should talk to. No respectable Jewish man would ever talk to her. And the conversation plays out like that—Jesus plays the part.

She comes to him asking for healing, and Jesus doesn’t answer her. The disciples are like “ew, Jesus, make this woman go away.” And so Jesus tells the woman he came to help the lost of Israel. And she kneels before him asking for help again.

And Jesus says, “It’s not fair to take food from children and give it to the dogs.” He’s comparing the people of Israel to the children of God and saying this woman is less than that. But the woman has a smart reply. She says, “Yes, but even dogs eat crumbs that fall from the table.”

Jesus responds that her faith is great and because of it her daughter has been healed.

But this is a weird conversation! Jesus seems to turn this woman away! He compares her to a dog! This doesn’t seem very nice. It doesn’t seem very Jesus like. Well, this is actually Jesus’s first recorded encounter with a Gentile person in Matthew’s Gospel. We’ve studied later how he reacts to the Samaritan woman, the Roman centurion, and other Gentiles and how gracious Jesus is to them, and how he wanted everyone to come to him. But that is all after this story. So why is Jesus behaving badly? Well it can be argued that Jesus is doing this to teach the disciples.

He is acting as they would act, as any Jewish man in his position would act, to teach them—to show them the persistent faith of this woman, and to teach them that Gentiles too need Jesus. That even this woman—who is viewed as a Canaanite, the enemy of the Jewish people—is worthy of Jesus’s power and mercy.

It’s very Socratic method, like when your teacher pretends she doesn’t know what she’s doing so that you’ll teach her, or explain to her something, so that you learn it. That is what Jesus is doing here.

So that is the story of Jesus’s first encounter with a Gentile woman, and how he opened the table—not just to include the children of Israel but the children of the whole world. We are all welcome at Jesus’s table.

This woman came to Jesus asking for healing for her daughter’s demon. And we’re going to use the next story to talk about that and the concept of that. Someone read Mark 1:21-28.

21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

In this story Jesus is in Capernaum, which is his home base, where he lives most of the time during his ministry. And one day he is teaching in the synagogue, amazing everyone with his wisdom and awesomeness when a man with an “unclean spirit” shows up. And this man with the unclean spirit confronts Jesus—says he knows who he is, God’s Holy One—and that Jesus has come to destroy him. Jesus tells the unclean spirit to be quiet and get out of the man. And the spirit does! It leaves the man. And everyone is amazed because the spirit obeys Jesus.

So there are two things to discuss here: two possibilities, two interpretations which are both generally accepted and okay.

The first is that this man was actually possessed by some sort of spirit or demon. That there was something bad inhabiting this man and that Jesus recognized that and freed this man of this bad spirit that inhabited him. This is perhaps the more traditional reading, and the moral of this sort of story from this perspective is that Jesus has power over the demons and spirits.

Whether you think that this story is really about demon possession or not, that fact is true. Jesus does have power over the demons and spirits. Jesus is God. He has power over everything. He is the ultimate authority, the ultimate power. This is true and underscored throughout the Bible.

The other interpretation of this passage is a more modern view-point. Which is that maybe the man wasn’t demon possessed, but maybe he was struggling from some sort of unsettling mental illness—the sort of thing we might be able to fix with medicine today but back then they didn’t understand or know how to fix. In this scenario, Jesus healed this man, just as he had healed so many. Jesus heals and restores this man so he can come back into society.

Either interpretation is acceptable. One of the reasons why modern people lean towards the second interpretation is because ancient peoples tended to blame anything they didn’t understand on spirits or demons. If you got sick, they might think it was a demon. If you were in a bad mood, it might be because you walked through a bad spirit. To ancient people, the world was mysterious and mystical. All of the things that existed in the world had to have supernatural explanations because they had very few natural explanations.

That said, the danger of this explanation is that we as modern people, tend to go too far the other way and think that because we have many things that do have natural explanations there can absolutely be nothing that has a supernatural explanation. The reality is probably somewhere in between. There are many things the ancient people over classified as supernatural. And we as modern people probably dismiss too many things as non-supernatural.

Either way, if it was a demon or a mental illness, Jesus has the power to restore and heal. He has power over it—the soul or the brain. Jesus has the power to handle it all.

We’ve seen before that Jesus often brings the unwanted and rejected of society to him. We’re going to see that again in our next section. Someone read Luke 18:15-17.

15 People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. 16 But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 17 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

This is a famous verse that’s often quoted at churches, especially in children’s ministry. People are bringing babies and children to Jesus so he can touch them, and the disciples do not like it. Why? Well they think Jesus is too important! They think he needs to only talk to the serious people and deal with serious issues. And to them children are like the opposite of that. Back then children were property owned by their parents, and they had even way less rights than you have today. Children were just not very important—they were important emotionally to families and to family legacies—but little children were not considered an important part of society that should be paraded out and about.

But Jesus tells the disciples “No. Let the children come to me.” And then he says it’s children who belong in the kingdom of God, and unless you receive the kingdom like a child, you will never enter.

What does that mean?

Well, Jesus is talking about small children, and I don’t know if you know a lot of little kids—like toddlers and early elementary schoolers, but they believe things fervently. Whether it’s believing in Santa Clause, or the goodness of people, or any fact, they don’t really question it. They just believe with their whole selves. That is what Jesus is talking about. We should believe like small children. With confidence and basically not even considering that we might be wrong. This is often called a “child-like faith.”

Believe in Jesus like a child believes, without hesitation or question and with complete confidence!

With that kind of faith, it is easy to enter the kingdom of heaven. Then in another passage, Jesus gives us the opposite side—the person who struggles to enter the kingdom of heaven. Someone read Luke 18:24-27.

24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”

So one end we have little children with their confident faith. On the other end, we’re given the idea of a rich man. Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

Camels are huge. They’re at least the size of horses if not bigger depending on the horse. The eye of a needle is tiny. I don’t know if you guys have ever sewn anything but I’ve definitely struggled to get a tiny piece of thread through the eye of the needle. That’s almost impossible sometimes! And Jesus here is taking about getting an entire camel through that small thread sized hole.

The people who hear Jesus say this are like flabbergasted, and they’re like, “Whaaaaaat. Then who can be saved?” Why did they ask this? Well rich people were considered the most blessed by God! People thought if you were rich that means God loves you more. That’s not true, but that’s how people thought of it. There are still a lot of people today who think that way. So these people listening to Jesus were like, “If even these people who are extra blessed can’t be saved, who can be?”

Jesus says, “Yeah it is impossible for a rich man to get saved. Except through God. What is impossible for the man is possible for God.”

There are a couple of things I want to highlight here. First off, we all need God to enter heaven. None of us here are the little sort of children Jesus was talking about previously. On most days we don’t have that blind childlike faith. We need God to change our hearts and minds, to work on us, so that we can have faith and follow him. This is true for everyone, rich or poor.

But the issue with a rich man—the reason why riches are often highlighted as a stumbling block—is that the rich man often does not need anyone else in life. The rich man can rely on his riches and wealth to get him through life. Because the rich man relies on himself so much, he often doesn’t think he needs God. The rich man is like, “Psh, I’ve got this. I got all this wealth and stuff on my own merit! I don’t need God!”

And it’s not true. No matter how content you are in life or how hard you think you worked, everything you have in life, including your life, is a gift from God. We are all sinners, we all need God to free us from that sin, and we should all thank God for everything we have in life.

Jesus Interacts with People

A while back we did a lesson on two crucial conversations Jesus had with two vastly different people: Nikodemus, the Pharisee who came to see Jesus by night, and the Woman at the Well, the Samaritan outcast who Jesus talked to in broad daylight. Those weren’t the only times Jesus interacted with people one on one, but those were two critical conversations that I wanted us to go through. Today we’re going to look at a few more of Jesus’s interactions with people—and how often the people Jesus interacted with were surprising considering his cultural times.

Someone read Luke 7:36-39.

36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 37 And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” 

One day a Pharisee invites Jesus over for dinner. Remember Pharisees were religious leaders of the time, very well-respected people. They knew the scriptures back and forth and did their best to live according to what they thought God wanted. But as we often see sometimes this led them to taking things a little too far. Some Pharisees were threatened by Jesus—by his teachings and his power. But some Pharisees honestly wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. And this Pharisee is obviously interested in what Jesus has to say because he invites him over for dinner!

Being a superstar, Jesus couldn’t really enter any city without everyone in the entire city knowing about it, so word traveled fast where Jesus was and who he was having dinner with. A woman that is described her as a “sinner” hears about Jesus and comes to the Pharisees house with an alabaster jar of ointment. That would have been an expensive jar—the jar itself would have been expensive as it was made of alabaster and the ointment itself would have also been expensive. It wasn’t like today where you could just go down to Bath and Body Works and buy some lotion or oils. These were considered luxury items, things you had to save up to buy, and therefore usually reserved for special occasions—most often you saved your oils and ointments for burials, as part of the preparation of the body for burial.

And this ointment is brought by this woman—a woman whose reputation is so bad that everyone who sees her knows her on sight to be a sinner. We don’t know what she did. But as we’ve often seen while studying the scriptures, and we saw with the Woman at the Well and will see with other stories we study today, women got branded as “sinners”, tarnished forever, at higher rates than men. Not because women are more sinful than men—but because women were more vulnerable during this time period than men. All it took was one big mess up as a woman and no man would have anything to do with you—and women needed men to protect them, to survive in society, to provide shelter and food. This woman may have been a horrible sinner who did terrible things—she could have been a serial killer! Or she could have been a woman who made one mistake and was therefore branded on the outside of society. We don’t know. All we do know is how people react to her.

This woman comes and she is broken by the weight of her sin and burdens, so she comes to Jesus and washes his feet with her expensive ointment, bathing his feet with her own tears and wiping them with her own hair.

Washing someone’s feet was a part of society back then—because people wore sandals. The roads were dirty and they wore sandals so their feet would be filthy. So often upon entering a well-off house, a servant might wash everyone’s feet so they don’t track that dirt in. And this woman washes Jesus’s dirty feet with her hair.

The Pharisee is not moved by her actions, of this repentant woman coming to Jesus with her tears. He’s disgusted. He’s like, “If Jesus really is a prophet, he should know the sort of woman this is and not allow her to touch him.”

Let’s see how Jesus responds. Someone read Luke 7:40-50.

40 Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” 41 “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Jesus turns to this Pharisee whose name is Simon and says, “Hey Simon, I have something I want to say.” And the Pharisee is like, “Okay, shoot.” And then Jesus tells a story.

He says there is a creditor—someone who gives out loans-- with two people in his debt. One of these guys borrowed like 500,000 dollars and the other borrowed like 5,000. Neither could pay their debts, so the creditor just cancelled them and was like “No worries, you don’t owe me anything.” And Jesus asks the Pharisee, “Which man would be more grateful, the one who borrowed 500,000 or the one who borrowed 5,000?”

And the Pharisee is like, “Umm, I guess the one who owed way more money?” And he’s right—because the guy who owes more money owes so much he’s probably wondering how he can ever pay it back, whereas the lesser amount isn’t as big of a deal. So Jesus is like, “Bingo.”

So what’s the correlation to the woman, well he points it out. This woman is a sinner—she is a known sinner. She has done something that has caused society to brand her a sinner and cast her out. Her sin is great. The Pharisee is not known as a sinner. He is known as a well respected man who follows God.

Jesus is the creditor—their sin puts them in debt to God. But the woman’s debt to God is much greater than the Pharisees. So which one will love him more? To which one does Jesus’s forgiveness mean more? Well, of course it’s the woman whose sin is great, for whom forgiveness is unimaginable and impossible.

But it’s not impossible with Jesus. So he turns to the woman and says, “You’re sins are forgiven.” Which of course leaves the Pharisee flabbergasted because he does not understand. Only God can forgive sins—and he doesn’t realize that Jesus is God.

Let’s look at another interaction between Jesus and a known sinner. A famous one that you’ve probably studied before. Please turn to Luke 19:1-10.

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Jesus goes to visit Jericho and once again his reputation proceeds him, so everyone rushes to come see this man, to see Jesus. In the crowd is a man named Zacchaeus. He’s the chief tax collector of the town and therefore very rich. We’ve talked about before that tax collectors back then weren’t like IRS agents today. Today the government calculates how much you owe and then you pay it. And if you pay to much, the government refunds that money to you. Things didn’t work like that in Jesus’s time. Rome expected a certain amount of taxes from a city or an area. They would tell the tax collectors, “I need $5M dollars in taxes.” But the Romans didn’t pay the tax collectors—not like the USA pays IRS agents. So to get money for themselves the tax collectors would ask for more money than they needed from the people they were taxing.

Now if this was like some sort of 5% flat fee we might all understand. But it wasn’t. They asked for exorbitant amounts of money, as much as they thought they could get away with. So they might only need $100 from you but they would ask for $1000! And there was no way to appeal this, and if you didn’t pay it you would get in trouble with the government for not paying your taxes.

So the average tax collector was basically a thief and extorter who stole money from people, to make themselves rich. And Zacchaeus wasn’t your average tax collector—he was the head tax collector, the boss tax collector that all the other tax collectors in the city answered to. So he was ridiculously wealthy, and all of that wealth was earned by extorting money from people. So yeah, Zacchaeus was not a person people liked and he was a bad person—a sinner.

But hears about Jesus. And he runs out to go see him. But he’s so short that he climbs a tree to get a better look. Jesus as he’s walking by, sees him. And he’s like, “He Zacchaeus, you better get down from there because I’m staying with you today.”

Zacchaeus was happy—he gets down from the tree and runs back home to prepare, but the people who heard this are mad. Because Zacchaeus is a terrible person. And Jesus is going to stay with a sinner? What? That doesn’t make sense to them. Surely this good man should come stay with other good men, and not rub elbows with such terrible people!

But Jesus knows what he’s about, because having dinner with Jesus changes Zacchaeus’s life. Like the woman who washed his feet, Zacchaeus needed Jesus. He needed this encounter to turn his life around, to be forgiven. And Zacchaeus tells Jesus he is going to change his life, he’s going to make amends. He’s not just going to say “I’m forgiven” but then sit on all his stolen wealth. Instead he’s going to give half of his possessions to the poor and then for everyone he stole from, he’s going to pay them back four times as much. So if he made them pay $100 that they weren’t supposed to, he’ll pay back $400.

Zachaeus turns his entire life around after meeting Jesus.

It’s not the people who are living their life right who need Jesus it’s these people, the lost people. When we studied the twelve disciples we saw a similar story, when Jesus stayed with Levi the tax collector in Mark 2:17, Jesus says, “Those who are well  have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but the sinners.” Jesus is the doctor; the sinners are the sick. And we are all sinners, we are all sick.

Let’s look at another passage where Jesus deals with a sinner. Someone read John 8:2-11.

2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.

Jesus is out at the temple and he’s talking to the people, teaching them, when he’s interrupted by a bunch of religious leaders. They drag a woman in—a woman who has been caught in adultery. They say, “Hey Jesus, this woman was caught in the act of adultery, and according to the law that means we should stone her to death, what do you say?”

We talked about earlier how it was often women who got branded and hurt over things more often than men, this is a perfect example. They say they caught this woman in the act of adultery—as in they caught her physically having sex. To be caught in adultery, means she wasn’t alone. She was caught with a man. And yet where is the man in this scenario? They let him go. They didn’t care about punishing the man. They only wanted to punish the woman. Even though the law is very clear. It is not just the woman who gets punished. The law they are referencing is Leviticus 20:10 and it reads, “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.”

Under the law, both the man and the woman should be killed. Both of them. But people often liked to contort and pervert the law, so it only punished woman. This is an affect of the patriarchy—which favors women over men. While both are held equal in the eyes of the law, in the eyes of society, they’re like, “ehh, it’s okay if a man commits adultery, but not a woman.”

That is against the law. And they wanted to kill this woman and let the man go scott free. It’s ridiculous!

So how does Jesus respond. Is he like “sure, stone her?” Sort of. Jesus looks at them and says, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” He says, if you’ve never done anything wrong, if you’ve never slipped up, if you’ve never sinned, then yes, you can hold this woman to your exacting standard.

And of course…they’ve all sinned. Because they’re all human. The only one among them who hadn’t sinned was Jesus! So these scribes and Pharisees think about it, and maybe they’re confronted with their own sin—and how would they feel if someone just decided to stone them over their sin. And they walk away, they’re not willing to do it. And in the end it’s just Jesus and the woman.

And Jesus is like, “Huh, no one condemned you?” And she’s like, “no.” And Jesus is like, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Jesus forgave her and let her go.

Jesus believed in people above the law, always. He wanted to give everyone a chance to turn from their sin. This woman was a sinner. Zacchaeus was a sinner. The Pharisees were sinner. We are all sinners.

Jesus came for the sick and the not the healthy. We are all sick. We all need Jesus.

Jesus and Peter

This week we’re going to look at a couple of different stories of Jesus, most of them having a focus on the disciples, but particularly Peter. The first one is a story that you’re probably familiar with, you’ve probably studied it in Sunday School before. So let’s grab our Bibles and flip to the book of John.

Someone read John 6:1-7.

6 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.[a] 2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages[b] would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 

We’ve talked about before how Jesus was a bit of a superstar. Everywhere he went people crowded around him. They wanted to be near him, to hear him speak, to touch him and be healed, to just see him so they could claim they saw the Jesus everyone was talking about. Jesus was the biggest superstar of his time! When people heard he was in town, they dropped what they were doing to rush to see and hear him!

Unfortunately for Jesus this meant he was mobbed quite a bit. In this case, to get a bit away from the crowd he went up a mountain a bit—like he had done at the Sermon on the Mount, so he would be up high and everyone would see him. The people were crowded around him, they had come to hear him speak, and because they dropped everything to come hear him, they hadn’t necessarily packed lunches or anything like that!

Remember this was a time period where if you didn’t work for a day—if you dropped everything to go listen to Jesus—that might mean you didn’t eat that day. Most people lived from meal to meal. If they didn’t work they didn’t eat. And Jesus knows that, and he sees this large group of 5000 people and is like, “we should feed them.”

Philip one of the disciples is like, “Umm, Jesus, we don’t exactly make a lot of money these days and it would take six months of work for us to earn enough money to buy lunch for all of these people!” Let’s see what happens next.

Someone read John 6:8-15.

 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they[c] sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Andrew—another disciple—is like, “if it helps, Jesus, I found a kid with five loaves and two fish. But that’s all the lunch I found and that’s not exactly enough for 5,000 people.” But Jesus is like, “Perfect! I can work with this. Make everyone sit down!”

So all five thousand people sit down and Jesus takes the loaves and fish and starts breaking off a piece at a time from the loaves and the fish and passing it around. He breaks off a piece, then another piece, then another, and on and on and on. Somehow the bread and fish never ends in his hands, there is always some to break off and hand around. In fact there is so much that there is leftovers!! Twelve baskets of leftovers, and I don’t mean like little Easter baskets. I mean big baskets, enough to feed them for quite a bit.

The people who see this, who are part of this, they know that Jesus is someone special, that only a great prophet of God could do this. They don’t necessarily realize Jesus is God, but they realize he’s something special. After all he just fed at least five thousand people with five loaves and three fishes.

I say at least five thousand people, because many scholars think that way more than five thousand people would have been there—that often in stories like this they just counted the men present. So it was five thousand men, and probably their wives or sisters and kids! So it could easily have been double or more of that number! With just a handful of little loaves and fishes, Jesus fed probably around ten thousand people.

Why did Jesus feed these people? Was it just to do something wonderful that would prove he was God? I think yes and no. This was definitely a sign of Jesus’s power, but I think more importantly Jesus knew that people who are hungry, people who can only think of their rumbling of stomachs, can’t think about spiritual things.

Jesus knew that if he wanted people to listen to his message, he needed to meet their needs first. Hungry people do not have time for spiritual things.

This is actually a proven thing, by the way. People who are hungry can only think about finding their next meal. They can’t think about their spiritual needs or their education. This is why as a nation we provide free lunches to children who can’t afford their own lunches. We know kids can’t learn when they are hungry. Jesus knew this too.

To reach people, first he had to fill their stomachs and heal their bodies. Because hungry people who are in pain can’t focus on your words. This is why as a church we do things like Family Promise, to help homeless families get back on their feet. This is why we have soup kitchens and outreach programs to help the homeless and hungry. We have to take care of people’s physical needs first, and then they will listen.

Let’s move on to the next story, which actually takes place right after this one. This is another famous one that you may have also studied before. Someone read Matthew 14:22-34.

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

After Jesus feeds all those people he tells his disciples to get in a boat and go to the other side of the lake, Jesus meanwhile needs some alone time. After being with all those crowds and his disciples, sometimes Jesus just needed time to himself, to be alone and pray and recharge. Jesus was God but he was also fully human, and like us humans sometimes he just needed some peace and quiet and time by himself!

So Jesus goes up the mountain to pray, meanwhile the disciples are out on the lake being buffeted by the winds. I wonder what Jesus told the disciples about when they would meet up again. Were they expecting to come back to shore and pick him up? Were they expecting him to meet them on the other side of the lake? I’m not sure, but I am sure what happens next is not expected by the disciples. Someone read Matthew 14:25-33.

25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Jesus, deciding it’s time to get back with the disciples, decides that he needs to meet up with them—in the middle of the lake. So he gets up and takes an early morning walk on the water. When the disciples see him they freak out! Which I think any of us would do—if you saw someone in the early morning walking on top of water you’d probably think it was a ghost too!

But Jesus calls out to them and says “Don’t freak out! It’s me!”

Peter answers, “if it is you, command me to come to you on the water!” This is like typical Peter—he’s a very bold and brash person, you can think of him as a text book Gryffindor, bravely running into trouble without really a second thought, even though sometimes he should take a moment and think before he goes into action.

If that is Jesus walking on water, Peter wants to be the one walking with him. And Jesus is like, “Okay. Come out, the water’s fine.”

Peter gets out of the boat—and he’s walking on water too! He’s walking towards Jesus!

But then his brain starts to catch up with his actions. He’s like the Coyote, chasing Road Runner, when he realizes he ran off of a cliff. A moment ago he was walking fine, and suddenly he’s like “This is crazy.” He gets scared and because of it, he starts sinking. His doubt got in the way—even though he was literally walking on water fine, doubt and fear got into his mind and caused him to sink. But Jesus is there to catch him as he falls, to pull him back into the boat.

And everyone is like, “Wow, this guy really must be the Son of God.”

That’s not the only time Peter was brash or the disciples realizes Jesus was the son of God. Someone read Matthew 16:13-20.

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

One day Jesus is out hanging with the disciples and he asks them, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man, but that term comes from the Old Testament, and Jesus was wondering who people thought that Old Testament Son of Man was. And they’re like “Some say it’s John the Baptist others say it’s Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet.” And Jesus is like, “Okay, who do you think I am?”

And then Peter, brash Peter who is not afraid to step forward and do or say things is like, “You are the Messiah the Son of the Living God.” Remember Messiah means Anointed One—the one who will come in the line of David and reinstate the Davidic kingdom. Which is totally who Jesus was, so Peter got it right! He gave what these days we would call the Sunday School answer but back then was a new and crazy answer, that Jesus was the Son of God.

Jesus blesses Peter for his answer, and tells him he is the rock on which the church will be built. This verse is why Roman Catholics think of Peter as the first pope, because Jesus said the church would be built on him. Also the verse that refers to Peter having the keys to the kingdom is why people often envision Peter sitting at the gates of heaven, letting people in. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, because I’ve never been to heaven, but it’s clear that Jesus trusted Peter and thought of him well.

But then Jesus tells Peter and the others to not go around saying Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus wasn’t ready for everyone to know—because this is a dangerous idea, that Jesus is the Messiah. If Jesus comes forward proclaiming himself to be the heir of David, people will think he means to set himself up as the new king of Israel, and overthrow the Romans—and there were a lot of people who wanted Jesus to do just that. If it came out that Jesus was calling himself the Messiah, the political powers would be after him to stop him.

And if it came out he was calling himself the son of God, the religious leaders would be after him to stop him—which we also saw when we studied the times Jesus basically told people he was God. When he said, “Before Abraham was, I am,” the people wanted to stone him. It was dangerous to claim the things Jesus claimed. It threatened people and the current order. Which in the end, is why Jesus was put to death. His ideas and existence were dangerous to the powers that be.

But that is skipping ahead, we’re still here talking about bold and brave Gryffindor Peter.

Immediately right after Peter affirms Jesus’s position as Messiah, we get this exchange. Someone read Matthew 16:21-23.

21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Jesus begins to talk about how Easter is coming: that he will be tortured and killed and then resurrected three days later. Jesus tried to prepare his disciples for this coming occurrence as much as he could—but they often didn’t understand what he was trying to tell them and we’ll see later when we get to the Easter story, that even though Jesus told them it was coming they were unprepared for it.

So Jesus is talking about all this bad stuff that is going to happen, and Peter, good old Peter, pulls Jesus aside and is like, “Jesus! This will never happen to you!”

Peter thinks he’s being a good friend, I’m sure. He probably thinks Jesus is just in a dark place, thinking of the most pessimistic version of the future. We do this for our friends sometimes when they get into anxiety spirals, thinking they’re going to fail a test or get sick or whatever it is. We’re like “That’s not going to happen! Stop thinking about it!”

But unlike our friends, Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to him. And he calls Peter Satan. This is not saying Peter is Satan or that Peter is being possessed by Satan or anything like that. What Jesus is saying is that Peter—like Satan—is tempting him.

Because Jesus doesn’t want to suffer and die. That’s not something he’s looking forward to. Jesus is God but also man, and the suffering is going to hurt. His death is going to hurt. This is not something he wants. But he knows it’s something that must be done, because he knows his suffering is for everyone’s betterment, it’s for the world’s salvation.

So Jesus tells Peter he is being a stumbling block, that he is focusing on the human concerns of the suffering and death, when Jesus needs him to focus on the divine repercussions of his death—the salvation of everyone.

But Peter doesn’t get it. How can he? It’s all crazy to him. Now someone read Matthew 17:1-9.

17 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I[a]will make three dwellings[b] here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved;[c] with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 

Peter, James, and John were the three disciples that Jesus was probably closest with. If the disciples were all his friends, they were probably his best friends. So one day he takes those three and only those three up a high mountain. And when he gets up there, he is “transfigured.” That means he is changed, and the God part of him shines through the man part of him, so suddenly just by looking at him they could tell he was different, that he was more than the rest of them.

And if that wasn’t enough then Moses and Elijah—the two greatest Old Testament prophets—appear beside Jesus.

Peter is flabbergasted and impressed and in true Peter fashion he wants to do something about it—because it’s not enough for Peter to just observe he has to act. So he’s like, “I’m going to build three dwellings for you three to live here.” Basically he wants to build them little altars and temples. But then his desire to act is interrupted when God then speaks.

God says Jesus is his Son, his Beloved, and that they are to listen to him.

Peter, James, and John, they were amazed enough to see Jesus transfigured, flabbergasted by the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and then to hear God himself speak? It’s overpowering. They fall to the ground in fear.

But Jesus touches them and tells them to get up and not be afraid. And when they get up no one else is there.

Jesus tells them to tell no one else what they saw, until after he is raised from the dead. Because that will be when everyone realizes he is God. But Jesus needed these three guys, his closest friends, to know now. Because not even Jesus wanted to face things alone.

It’s okay to need your friends and tell them your secrets. Good friends will strengthen you, just like Jesus’s friends strengthened him.

And that’s where we’re going to stop for today!