(Mark 14:17-25)
17 When it was evening He came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me.” 19 They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” 20 But He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips bread with Me in the bowl. 21 For the Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many. 25 Truly I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again, until that day when I drink it, new, in the kingdom of God.”
TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:
The eleven disciples who loved Jesus were grieved to hear that one of them would betray Him. Typically, when one is grieving or guilt-ridden, one loses their appetite. So, the one who was going to betray Jesus, was able to continue eating. Most likely, Judas Iscariot was preoccupied in his plotting, and so consumed with hared, and so used to disregarding Jesus and His words, that when he dipped his bread into the olive oil, he suddenly realized he had been outed. As mentioned in other scripture, he then rushed off to tell the Pharisees and scribes that, as was HIs habit, Jesus was going to go to the Mount of Olives after their meal to pray.
God knows who is never going to become a believer, and knows what they will do in all circumstances. And in His sovereignty, God will use the sinful actions that have evil intentions to accomplish His will. While Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, which led to Jesus going to the cross, it was only in this way that the Lord could pay for all sins, of all people, of all time. And then, in His resurrection, having victory over sin and death, the Lord provided the way for us to be reconciled with Him- to receive His indwelling Holy Spirit of promise- and to have a close, personal, and eternal relationship with Him.
God also knows that even once we are believers, we will still struggle with sin, even when we don't want to. When we do sin, we grieve the Lord's Holy Spirit within us, and just so, we should be grieved when we do this, and go back to Him to confess, and continue on in our walk with Him. Grieving will always lead to healing when we hunger after the Lord. Thankfully, because of God's mercy, we do not receive the eternal punishment that we so deserve, and because of His grace, we receive blessings that we do not deserve. As believers, no matter what we say or do, we cannot lose our salvation, but we can certainly make our relationship with the Lord extremely awkward... for ourselves!
God also knows that even once we are believers, we will still struggle with sin, even when we don't want to. When we do sin, we grieve the Lord's Holy Spirit within us, and just so, we should be grieved when we do this, and go back to Him to confess, and continue on in our walk with Him. Grieving will always lead to healing when we hunger after the Lord. Thankfully, because of God's mercy, we do not receive the eternal punishment that we so deserve, and because of His grace, we receive blessings that we do not deserve. As believers, no matter what we say or do, we cannot lose our salvation, but we can certainly make our relationship with the Lord extremely awkward... for ourselves!
Thankfully, the Lord Jesus is so very patient, faithful and understanding, NOT to justify or tolerate our bad decisions, but, His arms are always open wide for us to continuously run back to Him. Just as Jesus led the disciples in this communion, the Lord wants us to continue "returning" to Him, to remember, and to enjoy being nourished, healed, refreshed, strengthened and equipped by Him.
