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Bro. Bill Nichols
Let's take a moment to pray. Most gracious heavenly father, thank you for this day. And thank you for all the many blessings that you've given us. Thank you for giving us your son who came and died on the cross for us.
Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit and your word so that we may study and read your word and have understanding through the help of the Holy Spirit. Bless us and keep us and go with us throughout the day.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Verse one, now the feast of the unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called Passover. Now, strictly speaking, Passover was a single day, but immediately after Passover came the feast of unleavened bread.
The entire celebration lasted eight days. The celebration is sometimes called Passover. Other times it's called the feast of unleavened bread. We'll see it called both ways today. Jesus knew full well what was coming.
What was ahead of him were a set of appointments. Each one agreed to by the triune counsel of God before time began and spoken of in the Old Testament by the prophets. They were not accidents. They were not left to chance.
God would fulfill each and every prophecy concerning his death and resurrection. Now, you should note that the gospel definition includes this key fact. Jesus died for our sins according to the scripture.
Not just that he died, but that he died his death in accordance with all of the specifications that were laid out in the scriptures beforehand over the centuries. I'm gonna look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
We'll start at verse one where Jesus, or Paul, describes the gospel. He says, moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I have preached unto you, which also you have received and wherein you stand, by the which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.
Now, I'm gonna follow a little bit of a rabbit trail now for just a second. Is it possible to believe in vain? Well. I would say yes, or else. Apparently, apparently it is. James tells us, thou believest there is one God, thou doest dwell.
The devils also believe and tremble. So we believe and look forward to our destiny. The devils believe and look forward to their destiny as well, but they do so with fear and trembling. If you can believe that there is one God and still perish, all right, that's what the devils believe.
They believe there's one God and they still wanna perish. If you can believe that there is one God and still perish, then what actually saves you? Well, it can't be the belief that saves you if you can believe and still perish.
So what does save you? Something that comes before. What saves you is your faith. That is faith. And that not your faith, but the faith of Jesus, which he gives to all of his children. If you've been given that faith to believe, when you receive that faith, your very first act, that is the very first piece of work that you do, is you believe.
You believe before you walk down the aisle to accept the Lord and proclaim your acceptance in public. You believe instantly after God gave you his faith to believe. And you can't believe until that happens.
You can't believe until Jesus gives you his faith so that you can believe. Otherwise, the belief that you have is your own belief and it's not a saving belief. So certainly, Paul was correct when he said, unless you have believed in vain.
Because it is possible to believe in vain if you're believing, even if you're believing the right thing, but for the wrong reason. Not having been given the faith of God to truly believe. Continuing what Paul said in Corinthians, for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died according to the scripture. And that he was buried and he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures. Now Luke will begin to chronicle the events that led to the ultimate offering.
The offering of Jesus on the cross as the Passover lamb that taketh away the sins of the world. So I'm gonna go back to verse one and read it again and we'll continue. Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover, and the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him for they feared the people.
The religious leaders planned to kill Jesus, but their plan did not include his death occurring during Passover. I'm gonna say that again. The religious leaders planned to kill Jesus, but their plan did not include his death occurring during Passover.
For they feared the people. Matthew 26, verse one. Matthew 26, verse one. And you'll get a cleaner explanation of this. And it came to pass when Jesus had finished, he said unto his disciples, you know that after two days is the feast of the Passover.
And the son of man is betrayed to be crucified. Now all of that was prophesied. We've talked about that before. All of that was prophesied. Then assembled together the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of people into the palace of the high priest who was called Caiaphas.
And they consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill him. But they said, not on the feast days, lest there be an uproar among the people. So they planned on killing him. They just didn't plan for, to kill him on the Passover.
But their plans are of absolutely no consequence. The only plan that matters is the plan set in motion by God from before time began. And right on schedule, Satan appears. They didn't count on Satan appearing at just this moment in time.
That was in God's plan, not their plan. Who scheduled? God's schedule. And God's schedule, God's plan required that Judas meet with the chief priests and elders to agree on the price of the 30 pieces of silver to be paid for his betrayal of Jesus.
And that meeting had to take place before the Passover so that Judas could betray Jesus on the Passover. Satan is gonna enter Judas twice, once now to set up the plan and once later to actuate it. Then entered Satan unto Judas, surnamed Asteriot, being a number of the 12.
Now, Jesus was possessed by Satan himself. Satan evidently gained control over Judas on two equations. Watch here. Just before Judas arranged his betrayal with the chief priest, and again, during the Last Supper, immediately before he actually betrayed him.
Now, we're gonna look at John 13 and we're gonna begin with verse one, and we're gonna stay there for a while. And we'll get the description of the Passover from John's point of view. John 13, verse one.
Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them until the end.
And supper being ended, so this is the end of the Lord's Supper, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Asteriot, Simon's son, to betray him. So they've eaten the meal, and Judas has reentered Satan and has now informed Satan that now is the time to betray Jesus.
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hand, and that he was come from God and went to God, he riseth from the supper and lay aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself.
He's getting ready to wash the feet of his servants to teach them one last lesson before he leaves. He riseth from the table and lay aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself. After that, he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel for which he was girded.
And he cometh to Simon Peter. Then Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? And Jesus answered and said unto him, what I do knowest not now. What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.
And Peter, clearly not understanding, said, thou shalt never wash my feet. And Jesus said unto him, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. And then Simon is going to improve on God's plan. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
And Jesus saith unto him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet. But it's clean every whit, and ye are clean, but not all. So not everyone whose feet he washed was clean. Whose feet did he wash that was not clean?
Judas's feet. Judas was on the grill, his feet was washed. He said in the last supper, he ate the meal. Now, he had his feet washed, for he knew, this is Jesus, for he knew who should betray him. And therefore, said he, ye are not all clean.
So after he had taken, after he had washed their feet and had taken his garments and was set down again, okay, now again, every disciple's feet had been washed. And that includes Judas. And then he said unto them, know ye what I have done to you?
You call me Lord and Master, and you say, well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. Neither is he that sent greater than he that sent them. If you know these things, happy are ye if you do them. And now we come to the verse that we were looking for, John 3, 18.
I speak not of all of you. If you know these things, happy you are if you do them. I speak not of all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. All right, let's go back and look at that again.
I know whom I have chosen. God did not make a mistake when he chose his disciples. Judas was not a mistake. Judas was chosen by Jesus. Jesus chose each of his disciples. When he chose them, each one was chosen by his design.
Jesus planned to choose the ones he chose. And he chose them to carry out the role assigned to them. And one of them, Judas, was chosen to betray him, that the scriptures may be fulfilled. Judas was preordained for that purpose.
I'm gonna read that verse again without my interruption. I speak not unto you all. I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his steel against me.
That came from Psalms 41, verse nine, where it says, yea, my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. That's what Jesus is quoting in that verse.
Now I tell you before it come, that when it has come to pass, you may believe that I am he. Thank you. Now, if you look carefully at your Bible, he is on italics. You notice that? He is on italics. That means that the word he did not appear in the original text, in the Greek text.
What the Greek text actually said was, you may believe that I am. Remember what God told Moses when he asked how to answer, when he was asked who sent him? That we find in Exodus three, verse 13. Exodus three, verse 13.
And Moses said unto God, behold, when I am come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus thou shall say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. So what Jesus is telling his disciples is that he is God, even though they heard him, they were not at this time able to process that thought.
But that also was by design. It was by design that they would not understand Jesus at this particular point. He told them the reason that he did it when he did, so that later they would believe. This would come to mind and they would believe and understand.
They already believed. They believed when he called them. I'm now gonna reread John 13, 18 and 19. I speak not to all of you, I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. Now I tell you before what come, that when it is come to pass, you may believe that I am.
Now, I wonder if the delay in their understanding was necessary to allow Judas to go through with his betrayal. What do you think? Had Jesus known, I'm sorry, had Judas known that Jesus was the Messiah, would he have betrayed him?
I'm sorry? Doubtful.
Doubtful? I don't, it depends on, Jesus, Satan had the interest to choose again. Did he stay there? Did he leave there? And Judas came back and said, I have betrayed as implied. He didn't do that. But it was too late, he'd done it.
Mm-hmm.
Well, that was almost a trick question. What we're speculating on, what did not happen? We're speculating on what did not happen. What would, would Judas have betrayed Jesus had he known for certain that Jesus was the Messiah?
Well, you can't really ask that question because he didn't know for certain that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus had not let him understand that at this point. So he went through with his plan, prompted by Satan.
Okay, let's go on. Verily I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. And when Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit and testified and said, verily, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me.
Now, when are we now in time? We're now in time after the Lord's supper, after the washing of the feet, after Judas' feet has been washed, after Peter protested and Jesus said, you don't need to be washing more than your feet.
If you're clean all over, but not all of you. Now he is saying, again, verily, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. Now, they're all certain who it is, right? Then the disciples looked one upon another, doubting of whom he spake.
So he's saying, is it one of them or is it me? That's what's going through their mind. Now, they was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of the disciples whom Jesus loved. Now, we know that's John. Simon Peter, therefore, beckoned to him that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.
He then lying on Jesus' breast said unto him, Lord, who is it? And Jesus answered and said, it is he to whom I shall give a slot. And when I have dipped it, and when I have dipped it, and when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
And after the slot entered Satan into him. And after the slot, Satan entered unto him. Then said Jesus unto Judas, that thou doest do quickly. Now, no man at the table knew for what intent Jesus spake this unto him.
For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, he was a treasurer, that Jesus had said to him, buy those things that we need of against the feast, or that he should give something to the poor. Now back to Judas.
He then having received the slot, went out immediately and it was night. So it's after the Lord's supper, after the feet had been washed, after everything is done, Jesus gave the sock to Judas Iscariot and Judas left and went into the night and went directly to the priest to fulfill his agreement to betray Jesus.
And so now the wheels of the betrayal have begun to turn. Now I'll take a minute at this point to note that even though it was prophesied that Judas would betray Jesus, Judas made his own choice. Judas made his own choice.
This is one of the clearest to me, one of the clearest illustrations of the fallacy of the concept of free will. I've got a question there. Yes.
Judas, did he make his own choice? Because after the supper, then Satan entered into Judas. So who's making the choice?
Judas is making the choice. Now we'll know that Judas is making the choice because it's Judas that is going to pay for it, for the choice he made. Yet, but now, that doesn't mean that Judas was not influenced by Satan.
He was. Judas made the choice, but the choice was not, as Brother David always calls it, a sovereign free will choice. There is no such thing as a sovereign free will choice. Every choice you make is influenced by something or someone.
And Judas made the choice, but Satan influenced the choice. No choice is ever free. It's always influenced. Satan may influence the choice, or the Holy Spirit may influence the choice, or just your experiences may influence your choices, but your choice will be influenced.
Nevertheless, the choice we make are important. It was important that Judas made his choice. We are held accountable for the choices we make. As Brother Otis always said, we always do what we want to do.
We do. We always do what we want to do. Sometimes we do what we'd rather not do, but we'd rather not have what would happen to us if we did them more than we want to not do the choice.
Lots of times we plant the seed and then pray for crop failure, you know, so. That's true too.
And I think that's what's gonna happen to Judas in a few minutes. He is gonna pray for crop failure, but the crop is already in. It's too late. It's too late now. Now, the choices we make are important, and we're held accountable for them, and Judas is held accountable for his choice.
Now, here's what Matthew 26, verse 24 says about Judas. It's only gonna be one verse, so you don't have to go there if you don't want to, but you can. The Son of Man goeth as it is written of Him. The Son of Man is gonna die on the cross just like it was prophesied that He was gonna do, but woe unto the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It had been good for that man if He had not been born. That's interesting too, isn't it? Not that He didn't betray, that He hadn't been born. It would have been better if He hadn't even existed at all.
Exactly. From the time He was born, the plan was in motion. Of course. From the foundation of the earth. From before the foundation of the earth. From before the foundation of the earth. The Son of Man goeth as it is written of Him, but woe unto the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It had been good for that man if He had not been born. Okay, moving right along. We're back in Luke now, and we're now in verse three, but I'm gonna go back to verse four, verse one, so that we can catch back up, it won't take long.
Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes saw how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then entered Satan into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, being a member of the 12, and he, that's Judas, went his way and communed with the chief priests and the captains how he might betray Jesus unto them.
And they were glad, and they covenanted with Him. I read that badly. And they were glad and covenanted to give Him the money. Of course, the details of that meeting had been prophesied. As well as some of what followed.
I'm gonna read this passage right now, and I'm gonna comment more extensively on it later, but let's just read it right now. And I want all of you to go to this place, kind of mark it if you have a way of marking it, to come back to it, because we are gonna come back to it.
Zechariah 11, verse 12. Zechariah 11, verse 12. And I said unto them, if ye think good, give me my price, and if not, forbear. And they weighed for my price, 30 pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, cast it to the potter, a goodly price that I was prized at of them.
And I took the 30 pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Well, I actually got to that passage earlier than I thought, we won't go back to it, we'll discuss it now. That is an interesting structure.
I'm gonna read it again, and I'm gonna highlight some words as I read it the second time. And I said to them, who do you think is talking here? You think that's Jesus talking? Okay, if you think it good, give me my price.
If not, forbear. And so they weighed for my price, 30 pieces of silver. Whose price? Jesus' price. What was his price? 30 pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, that would be God the Father, I guess, cast it to the potter.
A goodly price that I was prized at of them. That was the price of the slave, by the way. 30 pieces of silver, at the time of the Lord was the price of a slave. And I took the 30 pieces of silver and I cast them to the potter in the house of God, of the Lord.
Now, it struck me as I went through that this time, that in the prophecy, it is Jesus that is in control. Jesus is controlling the entire event. That in spite of the fact that Judas, under the influence of Satan, actually negotiated the deal with the leaders.
Now we're gonna go to Matthew and see what happens to Judas. Matthew 27, verse three. This is after the betrayal. This is after the conviction. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself and brought again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood.
And they said, what is that to us? They don't care. They knew from the beginning that they had convicted an innocent man. They had to make up the stuff that they convicted him for. What is that to us?
See thou to that. If you've got problems, you take care of them. And he cast, that's Judas, and he cast down the pieces of the silver in the temple, in the house of God, he threw them down and left and went and hanged himself.
And the chief priest took the silver pieces and said, it is not lawful for to put them into the treasury because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel and they bought with them, with the pieces of silver, the potter's field to bury strangers in, to meet some of their expenses.
So what was the price? 30 pieces of silver, just like it was prophesied. Where did Judas cast it down? In the house of the Lord, just like it was said. And where did the money ultimately go? To the potter, just all of which was prophesied.
And that was in the Old Testament ready for any of them to read if they had wanted to. Back to Luke. Now this is Judas speaking. And he, that's Judas, promised and sought an opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of a multitude.
So he's agreed to the deal. Now, obviously part of the negotiation included arranging for the betrayal to take place in the absence of the multitude. And Judas knew exactly such a place. Now, time passes in Luke's count.
Then came the day of unleavened bread when the Passover must be killed. Now, Luke as a Gentile is not precise concerning the Jewish holidays. The Passover lamb is killed between the evenings on the 14th of Nisan, that's April.
And their calendar is a lunar calendar. So it always starts and always is the 14th of Nisan. Easter is always on the 14th, not Easter. The Passover is always on the 14th of Nisan. The feast of unleavened bread begins on the 15th.
The feast of first fruits is always the following Sunday, the morning after the Sabbath after Passover. So the entire celebration lasts eight days. Now, Jesus sent Peter and John saying, go and prepare us a Passover that we may eat.
So this is leading up to the Passover meal. Now, only Luke defines the two disciples. Everywhere else it just says a couple of disciples. And they said unto him, where will now that we prepare? So Jesus tells them.
He says, behold, when you are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water. Now that was unusual. That was a task that usually left to the women. So a man carrying a water container would certainly draw attention.
Follow him into the house where he entereth in. Now, John MacArthur said this, normally carrying water was a woman's work. So a man carrying a pitcher would stand out. It's unlikely that this water pitcher was any sort of prearranged signal.
Jesus' knowledge of what the man would be doing at the precise moment the disciples arrived appears to be a manifestation of his divine omniscience. Okay, in any case, verse 11. And ye shall go unto the good man of the house, and ye shall say unto the good man of the house, the master saith unto thee, where is thy guest chamber where I shall eat Passover with my disciples?
And he shall show you a large upper room furnished there made ready. Now, of course, it's possible that as John MacArthur suggests that Jesus used his omniscience to know the details of the guest chamber.
But I believe it's more likely that there'd been some sort of previous meeting. I believe that, in fact, there was an agreement between the owner and Jesus or his representatives to meet at that house for that purpose.
And I think it was partially made ready. And when they went, they found, as he had said to them, and they made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down and the 12 apostles with him.
Now, that was at sundown, marking the official beginning of Passover. Now, this is the day in which the sacrifice will begin. And he said unto them, with desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
Now, even though the Passover is still celebrated by the Jews, this will be the last Passover from God's perspective. There won't be any more Passovers. Within a day, within one day, Jesus will be crucified.
And with him on the cross will be all the sins of all believers. Now, John MacArthur says this, and this I do fully agree with. Christ's death on the following day fulfilled the symbolism of the Passover meal.
The Passover was both a memorial to the deliverance from Egypt and a prophetic type of the sacrifice of Christ. The dispensation of the law is over and the dispensation of the church is about to begin.
But there'll be another time later when the church age will be over and then we'll again be in for more changes. Verse 16 of Luke. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And then he took the cup and gave thanks and said, take this and divide it among yourselves, the cup. Now, there were actually four cups in the traditional Jewish Passover ceremony.
There was a cup of thanksgiving. There was a cup of deliverance. There was a cup of blessing. And there was a cup of communion. Those are the four cups, thanksgiving, deliverance, blessing, and communion.
In our view of the Lord's Supper, we only do one cup. When we have the Lord's Supper, we only do one cup. Historically, there were four, each with its own blessing and its own story to tell. They represent the four I wills that God declared in Exodus 6, 6 and 7.
And they remind us of our journey as consecrated followers of Christ. The cup of thanksgiving, when Jesus said, I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and that should have been, that should have been at the time of the thanksgiving, Brother Hubert, that should have been the time that they gave thanks, shouldn't it?
Yeah, you would think so. You would think so. The cup of deliverance, I will rid you out of their bondage. So we deliver them out of the bondage. The cup of blessing, I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with eight judgments.
There's the first three, the cup of thanksgiving, the cup of deliverance, the cup of blessing. Now, the cup of communion, when he says, I will be your God and you shall know that I am your Lord. Now, it's interesting that it's very possible that Jesus did not drink of the fourth cup.
Yes. Instead, after the third cup, he says this, after the cup of blessing, he says this, but I say unto you, I will not henceforth of this fruit of the vine, I'll read that again. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom.
So he didn't drink of the fourth cup. That cup is his promise that he will return for us. And when will he drink it? At the marriage supper of the Lord. I'm gonna read what John MacArthur said about Luke's comment.
Luke mentions two cups. The first cup was the cup of thanksgiving, and it was preliminary to the institution of the Lord's Supper. It represented the end of his time eating and drinking with the disciples, particularly partaking of the Passover.
And the cup of blessing, that's the second cup that Luke mentioned, is the proper name given to the third cup during the Passover feast. At the last Passover with his disciples, Jesus used the third cup as the symbol of his blood shed for sin.
You remember he said, this is my blood, take it and drink it. That cup became the one to initiate the Lord's Supper. Whoops, I went back. That cup, the third cup, the one that he represented as being his blood shed for them, he represents that to institute the Lord's Supper as we celebrate it.
And then he set the third cup aside, the fourth cup aside, and didn't drink of it, and said, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. So Jesus has declared that this would be the last Passover.
And he would not even drink wine with them again since this was his last meal until the millennial kingdom in which the believers will share in the memorial meal. And that's when he will again drink of the fruit of the vine.
And that went just a little bit further than I intended to go today, but I didn't wanna get into the actual Lord's Last Supper. Because that would take us too long. And we always have next week. Any questions or comments?
Thank you for exposing that more than I heard before. I appreciate it.
Well, thank you, sir. Most gracious heavenly Father, thank you for this day and thank you for all our many blessings. Bless us and keep us and go through the rest of the services today. Keep us in your will.
Help us to live a life patterned after the life of Jesus. And we know we can't do exactly as well as he did, but certainly we can do our best to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and not wander in the wasteland.
I'll say it. Thank you again. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.