The day before Passover, Wednesday contains more behind the scenes planning and less direct teaching. It is on Wednesday we have the gospels speaking to the chief priests’ plot to kill Jesus & Judas’ plans to betray Him. Wednesday is also the day we find Jesus’ disciples preparing the upper room for Passover and the Last Supper.
In Luke 22:1-13, we find Wednesday’s events spilling over into Thursday. It would have a busy day for the disciples and the entire city. Markets would have been filled with locals, pilgrims and those from surrounding areas. During Passover, Jerusalem was a bustling city full of life and energy. It would be in this city God would reveal His ultimate plan for the redemption of mankind.
One of the themes we see throughout the gospels is the Jewish leadership’s hatred for Jesus. Jesus was everything they wanted to be. He was popular with the people, He taught in a way that was captivating, He had power to do things that no one else could do. Jealousy and hatred fueled the flames over the past years and now the chief priest were going to act.
Luke’s account in chapter 22 speaks to the plotting of the Sanhedrin and immediately includes Judas Iscariot. One of the twelve would betray Jesus into the hands of sinners and lead to his eventual death. For someone reading the gospel story for the first time, it is no doubt a shock. Judas was one who ate, traveled, and witnessed the coming of the Kingdom of God through his Master—and yet jealousy and greed gave way to his heart. Luke’s account speaks to Satan’s involvement in the betrayal, connecting Luke’s previous point in the temptation of Jesus,
13And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
— Luke 4:13 (ESV)
This “opportune time” was now, and Satan in all of his cleverness, used one of the Twelve in his plan to defeat the Son of God.
But one thing is very clear in all of the gospel accounts, Jesus is aware of what is going on around Him and is in complete control.
1When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
— Matthew 26:1–2 (ESV)
Jesus is in control. He knows His time has come. He knows He will be betrayed. He knows it is by one of His own. He knows He will die. Thursday’s intimate meal in the Upper Room proves all this to be true.
For us today reflecting on all the events of Passion Week, we see the devotion of Jesus and His obedience to His Father’s plan for redemption. He knows there is only one way to restore creation to its pre-fall state. He knows there is only one way to redeem mankind. He know the only way is the cross. And so he presses on. With the enemies gathering outside the gates, and a betrayer in the camp, all that is left is a final meal with his faithful (but often at times oblivious) disciples. All that is left is for the sacrifice to be made and the final enemy defeated.
Jesus is worthy to be praised, not only for His sacrifice on the cross, but also for His willingness to go as far as needed to save us from sin and restore our relationship with God. May Jesus Christ be praised.