This was the Son of God’s last week on Earth before His arrest, sufferings, trials, death, burial and resurrection, and Yeshua, who was a prophet, knew it. He knew that He would die, overcome death, leave the planet, ascend to Heaven, which is a very real place, and then return to Earth to establish the Kingdom of God for 1,000 years here on Earth.

Rabbi Yeshua is the Most Important Person who ever lived. This is Messiah’s last week, and arguably the most important week of human history. We are in the most important week, and getting to the most important events connected to the most important day in the life of the Most Important Man who ever lived!

Without these most important events, we would never be able to be reconciled to the God from whom the whole world is estranged. We would never be able to enter the Kingdom of God. We could never have eternal life. The life of every human being who ever lived would be a complete disaster and end in total failure and absolute catastrophe!

These important events are connected to a very special season – Spring, and to a very special holiday in the Spring – Passover. Passover is an annual celebration of the supernatural rescuing of God’s people from slavery to the powerful and evil nation of Egypt. That first Passover forms a prophetic background to this greater Passover and greater Lamb who provides a greater deliverance, a greater rescue and salvation from darker and more powerful forces than those of Egypt!

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the scribes – the experts in the Torah, were seeking how they might put Him to death; these leaders had already decided to kill the young Rabbi from Nazareth. They did not believe He was a good teacher or a good man. They did not believe He was the Messiah. But, Yeshua’s popularity among many of the people had kept them from openly carrying out their plans. For they were afraid of the people.

But, many adversaries don’t give up easily, and if public arrest followed by execution wouldn’t work, a quiet betrayal might. And, the ultimate Adversary of all, who is a real being, a real fallen angel, was also at work behind the scenes, to kill the Son of God. And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot – Judah, the man from Kiriot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them.

They were glad and agreed to give him money. Money is almost always a good incentive to get someone to do something, or reinforce a person’s determination to do something. And, it helped. So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.

Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed – and special preparations needed to be made for this first day of Passover. And Yeshua sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it”. A place where they could eat a Passover lamb needed to be prepared. A lamb had to be obtained and sacrificed at the temple. The lamb needed to be cooked. Bitter herbs and matzah and wine and water needed to be procured.

They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it”? Either through prior preparations or through God’s providence, Yeshua knew where and how the preparations for obtaining a room would take place. And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Rabbi says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples”?’ And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there”. And since Yeshua was always right, everything happened exactly as He had said it would. And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

Everything had been prepared. A spotless Passover lamb, a male in the prime of its life, had been sacrificed at the temple. Its blood been poured out in the temple. The Greater Passover Lamb had also been prepared. The Son of God and the Son of Man was in the prime of His life. He too was uniquely spotless, a righteous and good and holy Man who always did the will of His Father, and resisted all temptations and never, ever sinned. His body was ready to be sacrificed. His blood was ready to be poured out to make ultimate atonement for all of mankind!

When the hour had come, He reclined at the table (as is traditional at Passover), and the apostles – His special representatives who He would send into the world – with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God”. Messiah knew that He was only hours from dying. He knew this was His last meal. These men were His closest friends and most loyal followers. They had sacrificed much to be with Him. He really wanted to share His last meal, a special Passover Seder, celebrating God’s goodness and victorious saving power, with these special men, before His time of suffering and death. This Passover reminder of God’s help and the support of these faithful men must have brought comfort and some strength to the young Rabbi from Nazareth.

“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God”. The One who is rightly called Immanuel knew that He was about to suffer and die, but He also knew that death would not be able to hold Him! Death would not be the end of His story! He would be vindicated! He would rise from the dead! He would be honored before God and the angels, with every creature bowing and acknowledging that Yeshua is Lord! He would live forever, enjoying an even greater Passover celebration in the very real and wonderful Kingdom of God! And, so will we – if we remain loyal to Him!

Although the Torah does not command wine to be drunk at Passover, drinking the fruit of the vine, which makes human beings happy, had over time become a Jewish tradition and part of the Seder. And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes”.

For those who enjoy drinking, sharing a glass of wine with friends can be a very enjoyable experience. It brings a sense of closeness and pleasure. I think this was that kind of moment. But, as good as that glass of wine was, shared among the Rabbi and His friends, an even better time of sharing an even better glass of wine awaits Messiah, and us, in the future – in the kingdom of God. That time of sharing a glass of wine together won’t be marred by the unpleasantness of betrayal, suffering or death – only unending peace and happiness! I am looking forward to drinking some really great wine with Messiah and with my friends in the Kingdom of God. How about you? Trust Him, remain faithful to Him and His mission in good times and bad times, and prove that you are one of His loyal friends, and you will!

Drinking wine at Passover is a tradition – not one of God’s commandments. But, eating matzah is a command. We eat unleavened bread at Passover to remind ourselves that when we left Egypt, we needed to leave very quickly. We left in haste. Matzah is called the bread of affliction, and it reminds us that life in Egypt, and also the beginning of our exodus from Egypt, was difficult. We also eat unleavened bread to remind ourselves to rid the cycle of sin from our lives.

I am sure the disciples were thinking about these things. They must have been surprised when their Rabbi gave this special bread additional meaning that pointed to Himself. And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me”.

I want to make several observations about this very important ceremony. First, the Lord was speaking symbolically – not literally. He was not telling His disciples that the matzah was literally His body. We know that for sure, without question, because His literal body was with them and separate from the bread. The bread was not His body. His body was not the bread. This is symbolic language – not a literal statement of truth. This is reinforced by the words: Do this in remembrance of Me. This is a reminder of the Son of God, a memorial of what He did for us by means of His life and death and resurrection. Therefore, there is no absolutely basis to conclude from the statement – this is My body – that the matzah is the literal body of Messiah, or that the bread was ever intended to or can turn into the literal body of the Son of God. That is ignorance and foolishness!

Second, when Messiah indicated that the bread was His body, the bread was matzah. Throughout the Special Writings, leaven is repeatedly used as a symbol of sin. The unleavened bread used here tell us that Messiah resisted every temptation, and unlike all other human beings, never yielded to sin. He never did the least little thing wrong. Because He was sinless, He alone, of all human beings, could overcome the very real and powerful forces of sin and death that have dominated and destroyed humanity! And, when we are joined to Him by our faith, we can too!

Third, when we eat physical bread, the bread is absorbed by our bodies and gives us strength. Bread gives strength to the body and sustains human life. This ceremony of eating this special bread is an expression of a greater reality, a greater eating and a greater union with a greater bread. Eating the bread of this ceremony is an expression that we know who Yeshua is, that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, and our Lord and Savior and King and Kinsman Redeemer and Elder Brother. Eating the bread of this special ceremony means that we have genuine faith and confidence in Him. We believe in Him, and we are part of Him, and He is part of us. When we know who Yeshua is, and we trust Him, His sinless life is shared with us. We absorb more and more of His life and goodness and strength, and that will enable us to overcome sin and temptation. It will enable us to continue serving God on a daily basis throughout our lives. And, as we continue eating the bread throughout our lives, and by that I mean believing in Him, and getting close to Him, we will continue absorbing strength and power from Him, and like the One we are part of, and who is part of us, we will eventually completely overcome sin and death! We will live forever in a completely sinless and holy condition! How cool is that?

Along with the bread, Messiah took a cup of wine, and gave it new meaning that pointed us to Himself, and what He has done for us. And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood”. According to Jewish tradition, four cups of wine are drunk during the Passover meal – two before the meal and two afterward. Wine makes happy the heart of human beings, and is a symbol of happiness. We drink wine at Passover because we are so happy that the Lord rescued up out of the miseries of slavery in the powerful Egyptian empire. After He took us out of that misery, the Almighty made a new covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai. The leaders of Israel had a meal on Mount Sinai, in the presence of God, eating and drinking and celebrating Israel’s new covenant with God.

Through Yeshua, by means of what Messiah came and did for us, God was making a new and better covenant with the Jewish people. The mediator of this new covenant was not Moses, but the prophet and priest and leader who was greater than Moses – Yeshua. This new and better covenant was about to be made possible by the death of the Son of God. So, in a sense, this too was a celebration of a covenant, maybe a pre-celebration of the actual enactment of the covenant, but a celebration none-the-less – a covenant meal enjoyed in the presence of God, but specifically in the presence of Immanuel – God With Us; a celebration with the new leaders of Israel eating and drinking the making of this new and greater and everlasting agreement between God and Israel – not on Mount Sinai, but on Mount Zion!

When Messiah said: This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood, Yeshua was not speaking literally. He did not mean that the wine in the cup was His actual blood, or that when we drink wine as part of the Lord’s Supper, that it literally turns into His blood. When He spoke these words, His blood was literally and actually in His body. His blood was different from the cup of wine that they were about to drink. They did not drink His literal blood. This is symbolic language. Wine is a symbol of happiness, and what Messiah is teaching us is that the New Covenant brings us eternal happiness, an amazing inheritance, tremendous status and the sons and daughters of God, and kings and queens of the new Heavens and the New Earth!

But, bringing us that eternal joy came with a very high price. The cost was the blood of the Son of God. It was His suffering and His death on a torturous Roman cross and the shedding of His blood that made the New Covenant possible. But, it was a price that the Son of God, motivated by a great love for us, was willing to pay.

The conditions of this contract are that we must know the Three-In-One God of Israel; we must know that Yeshua is the Messiah and the Son of God who came and died and rose and ascended; we must commit ourselves to follow Him and live according to His teachings; God, on His part, will completely forgive all of our sins. He will give us His Spirit to live in us in a fresh new way; we will be transformed from the inside; we will have a new power to live a life that is pleasing to God; we will have a greater understanding of the Word of God; we will live forever. The Lord will be our God, our eternal Guardian and Protector and Provider; and will be by His loyal sons and daughters and subjects. A covenant has terms, and these are the terms, and the terms were made by the Almighty and All-Wise Creator God. You must come to God on His terms, not your terms, and these are the terms of the New Covenant. Have you entered into the New Covenant?

This new covenant is a binding and eternal and joyous agreement that is possible between God and human beings. It was made first with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, but later opened up to be enjoyed by people from all the nations. It doesn’t matter who you are. The question is, no matter who you are, have you entered into the New Covenant?

The New Covenant is real. It is the most important contract, deal, agreement that you can ever be part of. Believe me – you want to be part of this New Covenant! It is vitally important to you and to your eternal well-being to become part of this covenant. Have you entered into the New Covenant?

Messiah alone paid the price of atonement and Messiah alone made the New Covenant possible. What was humanity’s contribution? Betrayal and execution! Betrayal in the person of Judas, and execution though Jewish and Gentile leaders. In one sense, Judas represents all of us. Each one of us, at various times has been a Judas. Each one of us in various ways – by our thoughts, by our words, by our deeds, by things we have done that we shouldn’t have done, and by things that we should have done but didn’t do – have betrayed the Lord. But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed”!

There are levels of betrayal, and this is very very serious betrayal. Judas is the epitome, the icon of betrayal. Judas, who saw so much, and who even did so much – even miracles, and yet betrayed the Son of God, the righteous Messiah, the sinless King of Israel, will be seriously punished for his lies, his treason, his betrayal. He is perfectly good and altogether righteous. He is also a God of justice. Such a supremely good and just being will not tolerate liars and betrayers.

Yes, Judas was bad and will get what he deserves. But, what about you? Are you betraying the Lord, or are you standing solidly, firmly, with Him on His side? Through your faith and your life, are you supporting Him? Or, are you playing both sides?

A betrayer among the 12 who would work against their Rabbi? Those 12 men who had been with Him for years, and heard His great teachings, and witnessed His many great miracles, and even did miracles themselves? Those 12 men who heard Peter declare that He was Messiah? Those 12 men who heard a great multitude acknowledge the Rabbi from Nazareth as the King of Israel? Now that they were so close to achieving the goal of Yeshua taking over the nation of Israel, one of the 12 was going to betray Him? Who could do such a thing?

And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing. On their own, the 11 disciples weren’t able to figure out who the betrayer was. Messiah knew who the betrayer was, and could have exposed him, but chose not too. Judas’ freewill would be respected. The plans of the adversaries of Messiah would be allowed to play themselves out and Messiah would die, so that the ultimate plan of God for our salvation could succeed. Fascinating! Deep. Wise!

Maybe the disciples couldn’t figure out who would betray King Messiah, but at the Lord’s final meal, they could figure out which one of them was the most important among them!