God Himself Will Provide the Lamb - Matthew 26:17-25

And well if you'll turn with me your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26 As we've said previously this last few chapters of the gospel of Matthew he Matthew Takes the timeline of Jesus's earthly ministry and he zooms in on this last week of Jesus's earthly ministry.

What we oftentimes refer to as as Passion Week or Holy Week. The time that basically was from Jesus's entry into Jerusalem on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday until his resurrection a Week later and so the passage that we come to today is on Thursday of Holy Week.

Sometimes it is it is referred to as Monday Thursdays Monday Thursday, which I always thought when I heard it as a kid Monday ma u and D Y and It refers to Jesus's command that John records in his gospel of serving one another of washing one another's feet and so the passage that we're looking at today and in Matthew's gospel particularly as is of the disciples gathering together for the Passover and Lord willing next week We will look at The Lord's Supper of Jesus instituting the Lord's Supper.

Lord willing we will also observe the Lord's Supper next week. So a great opportunity to to do and practice what we What we will read and what we'll look at again Lord willing next week so we're seeing this this this last half of Holy Week of Of the last week of Jesus's earthly ministry, which will culminate with his death his burial and his resurrection and we come today to a to a passage that is no less than the fulfillment of Of a promise that was made at the very beginning of the nation of Israel.

And so we're going to start in Matthew today we're going to read passage in Matthew and then we're also going to be looking at a couple of other passages in Genesis and Exodus and And seeing how the passage that we read today is really a fulfillment of these promises and these these these prophecies that were made types and foreshadows that were made Hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth and his earthly ministry.

The Passover Meal in Matthew 26

So let's read again. We are looking at verses 17 through 25 this morning of chapter 26. Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?

And he said go into the city to a certain man and say to him the teacher says my time is near I am to keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. The disciples did as Jesus had directed them and they prepared the Passover.

Now when evening came Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples and they were as they were eating. He said Truly I say to you that one of you will betray me Being deeply grieved. They each one began to say to him.

Surely not. I Lord. And he answered he who dipped his hand with me in the bowl is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man is to go just as it is written of 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 and Judas Who was betraying him said surely it is not I rabbi Jesus says to him you have said it yourself father, we thank you that you are.

A.

Loving and a gracious God you are slow to anger and you are abounding in steadfast love. We thank you father that you are a God who makes promises and you keep those promises perfectly. Father, we thank you that in your grace and in your in your good pleasure and your mercy you bring us to a passage today That that points back to a rich history.

Throughout.

Salvation history throughout the pages of Scripture. It points back to a Festival a feast that that was prescribed for the Israelites. That was intended to point forward not to point backward but but to point forward to the coming of Jesus Christ as our perfect and true and only Passover lamb.

And so father as we read your word today and as we. As we consider the meaning that it has for our lives today. Father, would you fill our hearts with a fresh thankfulness a fresh awareness? This great love that you have shown toward us.

That while we were still sinners your son our Savior Jesus died for us. We ask this in his name.

Amen.

Last week we saw this comparison that that that read drew out for us of the Savior's worth a question that read asked. What what is Jesus worth to you. We saw on one hand this worship of Jesus the woman who anoints Jesus.

Does this this costly perfume this this small? Minute measure as valuable as it was but this small measure and at the same time a sacrificial act on her part. That spoke to the value the immense worth the immeasurable worth of Jesus Christ.

That Jesus identified this act as a preparation for his burial. He was pointing forward again, and he's telling the disciples that that he is dying. His death is imminent. He is going to accomplish that which he came to earth to do.

He says that this worship and the commemoration of his death will accompany the gospel anywhere it is proclaimed. That the real message behind what this woman was doing of proclaiming Jesus's death that would go forward that message would go Into the world as the gospel was proclaimed.

It's always striking to me that when we read those words as we did last week We are fulfilling that promise that Jesus made this act of worship is Contrasted it's sandwiched between these two acts of treachery.

At the same time Matthew makes the striking comparison between the woman's worship and the treachery of. First of all the the religious leaders the scribes and the Pharisees. They meet with Caiaphas. Probably at his house in the courtyard of his home.

Which is is within the temple precincts, it's it's attached to the temple. The palace of Caiaphas was or the high priest was such that the high priest could could walk from his house he could walk into the temple and.

So it was there within the shadow of the temple where these sacrifices are being made. Presumably in the name of the one true God. And so they meet there and they they are scheming together Planning and plotting for how Jesus can be killed on the on the other side of this worship of the woman is is the the treachery the Deceit that is practiced by by Judas as he goes to those religious leaders.

And he offers up his services as a as a traitor. That he would deliver Jesus into the hands of the religious leaders.

An.

Act which. Which showed very clearly that Judas had no faith. He had no he had no belief that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. But he was just a human who could be killed who could be silenced. This week we're looking at Jesus's observance of the Passover with his disciples.

As.

This commemoration that the Jews the Israelites celebrated for centuries that the commemorated the deliverance of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. But it is also a commemoration of the care and the provision that God showed to the Israelites.

After all it was this act of painting the blood of the the male goat on the the doorposts Of the Israelites homes. It was a sign that they did in faith that would would mark that household as belonging to God.

And so the angel of death would pass over it would not visit them with death before they left Egypt. This Passover celebration. Also, this passage we're looking at today comes just mere hours before Jesus goes to the cross.

And so his atonement as we'll talk about more next week is is really the fulfillment of this observance this Passover celebration. The Passover then rightly points forward to the atonement. It is a commemoration of something that had not yet happened as the Israelites were celebrating.

And looking at our passage today and also looking at these passages in the Old Testament. We'll see three realities Jesus's work on the cross as atoning work on the cross that again Lord willing will be coming to in the coming weeks in the Gospel of Matthew.

Abraham, Isaac, and the Lamb God Will Provide

First of all, we see that Jesus's atonement is foreshadowed in the Old Testament and to see this there are a couple of passages in Genesis and Exodus that are helpful for us to look at the first one in Genesis chapter 22.

This is.

The account of Abraham and he's being he's being told by God to to take Isaac and Sacrifice him. Now keep in mind the context here. God has already promised to Abraham that he's going to make of him a great nation and that his descendants will be reckoned through Isaac and not through any of the other offspring that Abraham has had up until that point.

We read in chapter 22. Now it came about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him. Abraham and he said here I am. He said take now your son your only son whom you love Isaac and Go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and he split wood for the burnt offering and Arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will go over there and we will worship and Will return to you.

Abraham took the word of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son and he took in his hand the fire and the Knife and so the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said my father and he said here I am my son.

And he said behold the fire in the wood, but where is the lamb? For the burnt offering. Abraham said God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering my son. So the two of them walked on together.

Then they came to the place of which God had told him and Abraham built the altar there and Arranged the wood and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said Abraham Abraham. And he said here I am. He said do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing to him. For now, I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son your only son from me.

Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

Abraham called the name of that place. The Lord will provide as it is said to this day in the mount of the Lord. It will be provided. We see in this passage.

Of.

God's testing of Abraham of God calling him to do something that is unthinkable that even we as Believers read this passage and sometimes can wonder why would God test Abraham in this way? There are many ways that God could have tested Abraham's faith and did test his faith.

Why would he have called him to sacrifice his own son? We see first of all that command. Again after God has promised to make Abraham a great nation from Isaac's descendants. We can recall from our study of Hebrews previously that the writer of Hebrews in the New Testament Says that that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son knowing that God could raise him and would raise him from the dead in order To be faithful to his promise.

This was a faith that only God could give him because after all what Abraham was believing is logically is. Is in human terms impossible? It would be irrational for Abraham to believe that we see Isaac's question in verse 7.

This innocent question of Isaac the whole father. Here's the thought. Here's the fire and here's the wood, but where's. Where's the lamb. This question for shadows that there is a need for a lamb that without the shedding of blood.

There is no forgiveness of sins. We see in the next verse in verse 8 Abraham's declaration in fact his prophetic answer God himself Will provide the lamb for the burnt offering the provision. Would ultimately come in one way or another from the hand of God.

It was not something that Abraham would provide. And we see in verse 13 that God provides a substitute. He provides this ram caught and the thicket this male goat. Again, this this act of substitution that points forward to Christ's substitutionary death for us.

That his death on the cross accomplished something that you and I could not do on our own we have no way of earning our own salvation of Meriting God's forgiveness. And finally we see the significance the geographical significance of this setting.

We're clear here in where the setting where this event takes place. It is on Mount Moriah. As Mount Moriah would later become a central focal point in the city of Jerusalem such that when the temple is Constructed God commands that the temple would be built here.

And so all of this teaching that Jesus has been doing that we've been seeing over the last few weeks and months when Jesus is in the temple and he's teaching and he's proclaiming truth to to the Israelites.

He's doing so in this same place. Where God gave this foreshadowing this promise of a substitutionary atonement. Of a ram that God would provide. We see secondly in Exodus chapter 12 the account of the Israelites.

You remember they are in Egypt. He followed through the rest of Genesis and into Exodus. The the Israelites become this great nation. They they they are wandering around and they end up in Egypt and they multiply and there comes a point at which Pharaoh dies.

And there's a new Pharaoh who knew not Moses and The Pharaoh does not have any regard for the Israelites and they are put into slavery. We see as God is preparing to leave the Israelites out of bondage out of slavery.

He.

Commands them to keep this this observance this Passover observance, which commemorates at least for a time this deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt out of physical bondage and we see in chapter 12 of Exodus you see first of all the the context in verses 1 through 6 that God is judging Egypt.

He's going to strike down the firstborn of every household in Egypt and he's going to deliver the people from slavery. We see in in verse 5 we see this command to sacrifice a lamb again. This is a male lamb the specific instructions are a male lamb without blemish.

This is a clear Prophecy a pointing forward to Jesus Christ the male lamb without blemish. We see the significance of the blood in verses 7 and 13. The blood of the lamb that is to be applied to the doorposts.

The provided protection from God's judgment this this foreshadows the saving power of Jesus's blood. The feast of the unleavened bread as the Israelites are commanded to keep this. That symbolizes the purity the need to remove sin.

And so we see these These foreshadowings that are in the Old Testament that that speak clearly to the coming of Jesus to this festival. This this observance that the disciples are now keeping with Jesus in the upper room.

Jesus’ Sovereign Preparation and the Meaning of the Passover

We see secondly that Jesus atonement is accomplished in His sovereignty it's foreshadowed in the Old Testament. It is accomplished through the sovereign work of Jesus. So this whole this whole account this this passage in Genesis and then in Exodus and this ongoing observance that the Israelites keep for hundreds and hundreds of years until Jesus is born.

This is the background of this Passover celebration. So when we read this passage in Matthew, and it says they're going to celebrate the Passover. This wasn't just another feast. It wasn't just another festival.

It wasn't just an opportunity merely to eat there was this was rich with meaning and significance. The timing of the events here is Important for us to read if you've if you've read the four Gospels and you compare them together there's there seems to be at first a discrepancy between when these events are taking place and Some of that is is part of the confusion that arises because we reckon a day from being 12 a .m.

Until 11 59 59 p .m. The Israelites and in fact much of much of the world at the time did not determine days in that way. Israelites specifically reckoned days from sundown to sundown. And so from the time the Sun set that would start a new day.

And then when the Sun set again, that would be the end of that day. There was also another way that some Some of the Jews considered days particularly those who were outside of Jerusalem the Galilean Jews.

They would they would determine the day from Sun up to Sun up and so when we're reading these different accounts in the Gospels Sometimes they're using they may be using different different reckonings different reasonings and determining what day it was.

But what we do know is that this was on Thursday as these events were taking place on what we would call Thursday night. Now, how do we how do we know that? Well, we we know that because in John he makes reference to the fact That that this this whole event this Passover meal takes place before the Passover actually occurs because in In the morning on early morning on Friday the Jewish leaders take Jesus to the the house of Caiaphas.

They have a hearing there and then they take him to Pilate who again was the Roman leader the Roman ruler over this area. They take him early in the morning because the Jewish leaders wanted to be able to keep the Feast of Passover.

John specifies that. So we know that those events were taking place Early in the morning on Friday. In any case, it seems that the Disciples are celebrating the Passover a day early. Or technically they're celebrating at one evening early.

This also explains the lack of any reference to a young goat that would have been Slaughtered and would have been prepared and eaten at the Passover meal. Some scholars see this as a problem they try to reconcile it in different ways.

And and while there were different calendars in use and different ways of determining the day. Really the logical and the much more simpler reason for why Jesus was celebrating on Thursday night instead of Friday night Was because the Passover the real Passover was going to happen not in the homes of the people in Jerusalem.

It wasn't going to happen in the Temple Mount, but the Passover was going to happen right on schedule on the cross as Jesus was slaughtered as the perfect and the true and the everlasting Passover lamb.

Notice the actions of the disciples. First they asked Jesus. Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover and Then in verse 19, we see that they do as Jesus directed them. They asked Jesus What do you want us to do and then they do it?

Again Matthew is giving us a stark contrast between the actions of the disciples and the actions and the words of Judas. We saw these last week. Judas goes to the religious leaders and says, what do you give me?

What will you give me if I turn Jesus over to you and they weigh out the 30 pieces of silver? They give that to him and then we're told from then on out. He looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus. So the disciples asked Jesus what you want us to do for you.

Judas asks the religious leaders. What can you do for me? The disciples obey Jesus and Judas obeys himself. He is seeking and serving only his own interests. I can't help but think that as as the disciples are in this room and they're preparing the Passover.

They had to have been thinking about the history of the Passover of what the significance of the Passover was. Even even for nominal Christians who celebrate Christmas as this cultural celebration there's usually at least some little time where we think about the reason for the season right.

And hopefully those of us who are a part of this church who are who are raising our children who are Training them in the love and the admonition of the Lord. We're teaching them throughout the whole year of Jesus's incarnation and the importance of that but especially at this time of the year when we come to the Christmas season that we're we're we're teaching them we're talking about and being intentional about the incarnation of Jesus the coming of Jesus to earth and.

So these disciples would would would surely have been thinking about the the meaning the significance of the Passover. Maybe they did what we do a lot of times and think about previous Passover's that they celebrated with their families as they were children.

Did they reminisce like we do. Did they talk among themselves about Passover's? Gone by. They think about how their fathers would recount of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. And how much more was Jesus preparing his disciples for a deliverance from the bondage of sin?

In this exchange, we can also see the sovereignty of Jesus his omniscience and his omnipresence on display. Matthew tells us that Jesus tells the disciples to go to a certain man in the city. Literally the Greek here is is equivalent to saying go to so-and-so.

It's Matthew's way of saying he's not telling us who Jesus said to go to. But Jesus is giving the disciples some kind of idea. This is who you need to look for and of course when we read Mark and Luke and John we see those details.

There's a man who's going to be carrying a water pitcher very specific go to that man and and the other Gospels actually say the man will come to you and. And he'll find you you you look for this man and then he's going to take you to his house there there is a a sovereign work of God of Jesus Christ God with us working and orchestrating these events.

So that when the disciples get to this house to this upper room they find it fully furnished. They find all of the tables. All of the furniture that would be needed is already there and so they only need to prepare the food presumably for the feast.

This is a clear indication that Jesus knows things that a mere human would not know. That he had been at work in ways that only the Son of God only God Emmanuel God with us could have known Jesus. The sovereignty is also seen in the words That Matthew records he says That the disciples are to tell the man when they find him.

The teacher says my time is near. The crucifixion was not merely something that happened to Jesus that happened upon Jesus. There are some that would take This event of Jesus being crucified and they would try to try to twist it and co-opted into some kind of social gospel that Jesus Is this social this social justice warrior who was downtrodden and he knows what it's like to be.

Be spit upon and be trodden upon by those who are in charge. That is true. But you can also be sure that this was part of the plan of God that Jesus Christ was fully obedient to this plan. This was not merely something that happened to Jesus he was no unwitting participant.

He ordained and orchestrating what is happening and what will happen over the coming hours as We'll see Within 24 hours. He'll be laying in a tomb. Having his Sabbath rest and the curtain of the temple will be torn in two.

What is happening and will happen is the fulfillment? It's the reason that God told Abraham sacrifice your son your only son whom you love. It is the reason that God led Abraham to have faith to say God himself will provide the lamb.

It's the reason that God provided specifically a ram a male lamb. To be killed in Isaac's place. It's the reason that God told the Israelites to kill an unblemished male lamb. To take the blood of that animal and take a strand of hyssop and dip it into the blood and paint the blood over their doorways as a mark of identification with the people of God.

The same hyssop that John tells us was dipped in vinegar and was offered to Jesus as he hung dying on the cross. The same hyssop that David Prayed to God and saying to God in the Psalms purge me with hyssop and I shall be white as snow.

These things in the Old Testament didn't just happen by accident they weren't just random testings of some God who tells people to sacrifice their sons and paint their blood on the doorways of their houses without cause.

We see these accounts in the Old Testament as nothing less than the gospel. The work of a sovereign God who is preparing the way for the one who is both the Passover lamb. And is the high priest who is both our perfect prophet and our perfect and righteous King.

What an undeserved love and grace and favor that we're able to read these words today and see the mighty acts of God for what they are. That we're able to see the promise of the salvation in the Old Testament fulfilled in the New Testament fulfilled in the acts of Jesus.

Judas, the Betrayer, and the Son of Man’s Sovereign Death

Finally we see that these acts did not go unopposed by the enemy. All throughout Matthew's gospel. We've seen Satan at work. We've seen him attempting to stop God's plan of salvation. We saw this at the very beginning of Jesus's life when Herod driven by hatred and evil Kills all of the the males.

Around Jesus's age in this attempt to kill and destroy Jesus we see at the beginning of Jesus's earthly ministry. Satan's attempt to tempt him in the wilderness to get Jesus to to give in to the desires of the flesh even the base ones of Nourishment of eating of drinking drinking water.

We see the devilish acts of the religious leaders trying to trap and and and and trick Jesus to discredit him. Now we're seeing these acts of Judas to betray Jesus. John says that in his gospel that the devil put into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus because.

And.

The words of John Satan knew that God the Father had given all things into Jesus's hands. As Jesus and the disciples are eating the Passover We tell it we're told that they are reclining at the table.

In other words, they're eating their meal in the Greco-Roman way of reclining at a table. They didn't sit in chairs like we do today. Rather they laid on couches on their left side and then they would eat with their right hand and There would generally be in a group this large.

There would be a u-shaped table and there would be couches lined around it. So. Yeah, the picture of Michelangelo with everybody sitting there and they're all kind of positioned perfectly towards the you know.

The painter it didn't happen. Wasn't like that. I think it's Michelangelo. I I didn't. I probably failed art class. But anyway that picture we all see, right? Jesus and the disciples are reclining at the table and then in the midst of dinner Jesus tells them one of you is going to betray me.

Probably not the best mealtime conversation it strikes all of the disciples immediately. We're told. The English translation is deeply grieved. Here in here in the the English translation of the Greek it doesn't do justice to conveying the idea that is here.

We could say that they were vile violently or vehemently. Grieved or troubled or vexed? I remember in the days after after September 11th 2001 There were pictures of course of the buildings. But one some of the most some of the most compelling pictures that I remember seeing.

That in the days after that were the photographers and the the camera operators who weren't looking at the building. But they turned around and we're looking at the crowds of people as they're watching this.

Untold horror and tragedy unfolding in front of them the looks of pure terror on these people's faces of unbelief of being stunned. This gets closer to the response that the disciples would have had according to Matthew when Jesus says these words.

Their responses. Is it me Lord? It's not me. Is it am I going to be so foolish or Or hexed or misled or lied to that that I would betray you. There's a humility that the disciples show here that when God when Jesus tells them one of you is going to betray me.

They don't say oh, no, that's not gonna happen. They also don't say oh, I Know who it's gonna be, right? Is it me Lord? That's their response. They don't see themselves as being immune to sin even a sin of this magnitude.

Jesus then says that the person who dips his hand into the same bowl as Jesus. This is the one who will betray me now again. It's helpful to know the the context the cultural context that the diners would have been eating out of a communal bowl or dish.

Much the same way as as is the custom in the Middle East today.

And.

So of a group the size there were probably there were possibly three maybe four bowls of the same food set out over across the table and. And John provides one additional detail that that he says that Jesus actually gave a piece of food to Judas.

Which means that Judas was probably close to him. But the betrayer is near to Jesus in another sense as well. Not only has he physically close to him, but Jesus has walked with Jesus. Judas has walked with Jesus.

He's seen the dead raised to life. He's seen the lame be able to get up and walk and they hear the deaf be able to hear. And Judas may have even eaten of the may have eaten of the fish and the bread that Jesus multiplied.

The betrayer Judas has seen and he's heard the truth. And so for this reason Jesus says that his punishment will be just Woe to the man who betrays the Son of Man. We've seen this word. Woe previously in Matthew.

We saw it most recently back in Matthew chapter 23 when Jesus is pronouncing these eight woes on the religious leaders. And this word woe meaning this idea of impending doom and pending judgment and punishment.

John tells us in chapter 17 of his gospel that Jesus calls Judas the son of perdition. The son of hell and damnation that is the word perdition there. The son of eternal punishment and the sad and gut-wrenching Statement from the Son of God.

It would have been better if this man had never been born. But we see again even in this betrayal of Judas we see Jesus's sovereignty. Jesus says here the Son of Man is to go verse 24. It's going to happen.

I know it's going to happen. Go being here a clear reference to Jesus going to the cross and Jesus dying. But Jesus also points back to the Old Testament. He says the Son of Man is to go. Just as it is written of him.

Words that the Holy Spirit the pre-incarnate Christ inspired and the writers of the Old Testament. See in Psalm 22 in explicit detail the account of Jesus's crucifixion. See in Isaiah and especially in Isaiah 53 Speaks of God being pierced for our transgressions.

Of Jesus suffering and dying a Specificity that was such that that at one point in time. There there was a suspicion that Isaiah 53 it had it had to be a forgery. It had to be something that somebody slipped in afterwards.

Until the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and it was proven that Isaiah 53 was written hundreds of years before Jesus came and died. Exactly the way Isaiah said that he would we see Zechariah 12 and 13 speak of Jesus dying of God as it says being pierced and that the shepherd will be stricken down and the sheep would be scattered words again.

Which we will see Come true in the coming weeks in Matthew's Gospel. So Jesus calls Judas out and he says whatever you're going to do do quickly. John tells us this account this exchange. Go and get your treachery over with do it now.

Matthew records Judas's response. It's interesting that Judas responds after the other disciples do they're all saying is it me Lord? Is it me Lord? Judas says. Surely it is not I rabbi. It's interesting that Jesus again he asked this question.

All of the other disciples respond. Judas responds afterwards and Only when prompted by Jesus. Matthew seems to be also intentional and in noting that Judas uses this word rabbi teacher. Judas is happy to acknowledge Jesus as a teacher.

But not as Lord. So this morning as we as we read this passage Last week read asked the question. What is the Savior worth to you? Is he worth 30 pieces of silver? Is he worth everything you have? We saw the comparison last week between the actions of Judas last week and these actions of Jesus.

Of the disciples rather this week Judas asked what can I get for myself? And then he went out and Got it for himself. The disciples asked. What do you want us to do and they went and did it? What strikes me in this passage is that?

Jesus orchestrated the preparation. He told the disciples exactly where to go who to look for what to say what to do when they got there. But they still had to obey him. It required them to get up and do what Jesus was telling them to do if you're in Christ.

Paul tells us it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. Not of yourselves. It is the gift of God not a reserve will result of works so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

If you're in Christ, Jesus has prepared works for you to do. Are you doing those works. Are you praying about those works. God has gifted you and positioned you. To do those works. What are you doing today to obey Jesus?

Secondly, what is Jesus to you? This is really a more foundational question. When it comes up second in our text, but but really informs. The question of what we're doing. Judas called Jesus teacher a teacher and Jewish culture as we saw previously in our study of Matthew a Rabbi a teacher was someone who would take disciples unto himself and he would he would be supported by those disciples.

They would pay him and they would learn from him. Eventually, the idea was that a disciple would learn enough that they would become a rabbi themselves. As we would say sometimes the the student has surpassed to the master and this was the idea.

Ultimately the rabbi or the teacher was just a human being and he could be and would be surpassed. There are plenty of people today who are happy to acknowledge Jesus as a good teacher. He was a good man.

He taught some good things. They won't acknowledge him as Lord. They won't go so far as Paul to say I Paul a bondservant a doulas a slave of Christ Jesus. To be sure Jesus was a teacher. He is the teacher.

He is the source of truth. But he must be more than that. He must be your Lord. He must be my Lord. What is Jesus? To you today. Is he merely a teacher. Or is he the Lord who created you and gifted you and called you to good works that you should walk in.

The Call to Humility, Obedience, and the Danger of Sin

Finally.

Do you acknowledge the danger the reality of sin? It's final point of application. I believe we can see in the response of the disciples. Is it I Lord is it me? Well, we could say that the disciples question indicates some kind of insecurity.