WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.759 The teaching text is Mark 14, verses 12 through 31. 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:09.759 In our series on the Gospel of Mark titled He is Good, this is what Mark writes. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:14.800 I said Ceres and Siri freaked out. 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:16.399 Sorry, hold on one second. 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:30.480 On the first day of the festival of the unleavened bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover? 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:37.679 And so he sent two of his disciples, telling them, Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:38.640 Follow him. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:45.520 Say to the owner of the house, he enters, The teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:48.719 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:50.719 Make preparations for us there. 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:55.280 And the disciples left, went into the city, and found things just as Jesus had told them. 00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:57.039 And so they prepared the Passover. 00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:00.079 And when evening came, Jesus arrived with the twelve. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:08.799 While they were reclining at the table, eating, he said, Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:13.359 And they were saddened, and one by one they said to him, Surely you don't mean me. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:19.760 It is one of the twelve, he replied, one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.879 And the Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:25.680 But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man. 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:28.400 It would be better for him if he had not been born. 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:38.400 And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take it, this is my body. 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:43.680 And then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:48.879 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, he said to them. 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:55.280 Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:59.760 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:02.959 You will all fall away from me, Jesus told them. 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:06.239 For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:09.439 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you in the Galilee. 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:12.240 And Peter declared, Even if all fall away, I will not. 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:19.599 Truly I tell you, Jesus answered, Today, yes, tonight, before the rooster crows twice, you yourself will disown me three times. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:24.400 But Peter insisted emphatically, even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:26.159 And all the others said the same. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:27.759 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:38.240 The day I uh proposed to my wife, the day I proposed to Rainey, um was awesome. 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:44.800 Um and I made sure like I had it set up exactly the way that I wanted it to go. 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:46.719 Okay, the whole thing was set up perfectly. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:51.120 The day before that day, I had gone to Evanston, Illinois on this beach and found the spot. 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:57.759 I was like, this is gonna be just the best spot for us to come here and sit at, and we'll have it here. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:11.120 Um the day of, I actually I had her, we had bought her favorite foods and some of our favorite snacks, packed our favorite books to like lay on the beach and read, and we packed some games and stuff to play, and we had a blanket there and the whole thing. 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:19.680 I had a cameraman hiding in the trees to uh like document the whole thing because that was something that she wanted, and so I had like prepared everything. 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:22.639 Uh, this is even before Instagram, so we were just bawling hard. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:24.479 It was just what we needed to do. 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:34.240 Um I had the ring, it wasn't in a pocket, I think it was in my backpack or something, but it was in this special spot that I could get to really fast, but she wouldn't know that it was there and she wouldn't find it. 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:47.280 Everything of that day, everything for that day was set up exactly the way that I wanted it to go because to me, I needed to ask something very important and I needed the answer to go a very specific way. 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:49.360 Like I need this to go this way. 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:51.599 I need to tell you something very important. 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:58.240 And so everything has to be set up very, very perfectly in order to communicate this message to you. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.800 I say that because that's what Jesus is doing here. 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:03.199 He's doing something similar with the Passover meal. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:09.680 You see in verse 13 through 16, he has set up everything exactly the way that he wants it to go. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:19.600 He's already communicated this to somebody, he's already got a plan in place, he wants to express something to his disciples and to us now who are reading this text. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:23.040 But he is setting this meal up to communicate something very, very important. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:23.920 N T. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:27.759 Wright in his commentary says this meal is not just another meal. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:31.759 This meal will say what Jesus most wants to say to his followers. 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:35.680 This is exactly like I want to say something very, very specific. 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:39.120 And so, what I want to do today is look at two things that are communicated. 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:41.519 That Jesus communicates through this meal. 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:49.360 And the first thing that he communicates is that he chose to suffer for us, and the second thing that he communicates is that he wants to set us free from slavery. 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:50.639 So the first. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:55.759 First thing that Jesus communicates through this meal is that he is choosing to suffer for us. 00:04:55.920 --> 00:05:02.000 In verses 18 through 21, Jesus tells the group that he knows that he's about to be betrayed. 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:05.439 He tells them about the betrayal, and he gets super specific when he does it. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:09.360 And so he says, he starts with like, it's one of you, then he gets a little deeper. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:16.800 One of you will betray me, one who is eating with me, it's definitely one of the twelve, and it's the one who dips bread in the bowl with me. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:19.439 Like he keeps digging deeper into this thing. 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:20.480 And it's like, which one? 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:22.560 It's like, well, it's gonna be the one of the twelve, which one? 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:24.240 It's the one who dipped bread in the bowl with me. 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:25.279 They still didn't really get it. 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:26.879 But he is very specific. 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:32.639 And what he's doing, what he's showing everyone by saying this, he's like, I know what's coming. 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:34.399 This isn't a surprise to me. 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:40.319 The person, the betrayer who is sitting in this room, like, I know this is about to happen, and I know who you are. 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:44.480 I know exactly what's about to take place, and I could clearly stop this. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.360 And what he's saying, like, I could clearly stop my suffering. 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:52.399 I could steerly, I could clearly stop the betrayal because I know exactly who's going to do it. 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.920 But instead of stopping it, he chooses to move through with it. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:04.720 He chooses to suffer for us, he chooses to allow what's going to happen, he chooses to allow it to happen for him to lay down his life so that he could suffer for us. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:09.680 He could have easily said to Peter, who is ready to chop somebody's ear off, anyways, he's just ready to go. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:14.319 He could have easily said, like, hey, it's Judas, it's this guy, let's get him and let's avoid this thing. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:16.000 He absolutely could have done that. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:18.079 But he chooses not to do that. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:24.560 Instead, he chooses to actually allow this thing to happen and to enter into the suffering, to enter into the pain. 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:32.959 He chooses to allow it to be this space where he suffers for us in order to bring us to God and to bring something about in our lives that blesses us. 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:35.199 He wants to and is choosing to. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:40.240 I'm not just accidentally laying my life down as a sacrifice and a ransom for many. 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:42.560 I am choosing, I could stop it if I want to. 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:47.199 I know what's about to happen, but I'm choosing to lay my life down as a ransom for many. 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:55.360 And among other things that exist, but more than anything, this separates Jesus and the Christian faith from every other religion. 00:06:55.519 --> 00:07:00.639 Other religions get a lot of play, and I know we have a lot of conversations about like, how do we know that ours is real and whatever. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:08.639 But among all the different things, what separates Jesus and the Christian faith from every other religion is every other religion says you suffer. 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:09.600 You suffer for it. 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:12.639 If you want something great, you suffer for it. 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:14.959 Like if you want to, if you want it, you do the work. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:19.199 So Buddhism says that if you want to reach enlightenment, you have to master the eightfold path. 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:21.439 You want it, suffer for it, you do it. 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:23.439 Hinduism says you want a better life? 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:24.160 That's up to you. 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:28.160 Just do more good in this life than bad, and then you'll have a better life on the other end of it. 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:29.199 You suffer for it. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:32.399 Judaism says we got to keep the covenant, keep the law perfectly. 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:34.399 Islam says, you want that? 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:36.319 Like you've got to follow the five pillars. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:38.160 Judgment will be based on your deeds. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:39.439 How well did you do? 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:41.040 How much good did you do? 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:43.680 How much work did you actually do that was good? 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:46.800 Atheism, not really religion, although it can be. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:50.079 Atheism says, hey, look, there's nobody coming to save you. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.040 If you want a good life, it's, I mean, just figure it out on your own. 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:54.639 There's no one coming to help you. 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:55.600 It is up to you. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:58.800 If it's going to be something that you experience that's good, it's going to be up to you. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:12.160 And so they all say, every other religion says, if you want something better, if you want a better life, if you want something good on the other side of it, if you want to get to God or enlightenment or however they talk about it, if you want that, that's fine. 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:16.399 But somebody has to suffer for it, and they all say, you gotta suffer for it. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:20.639 Jesus is the only one that says, I will actually do that thing for you. 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:21.759 I will pay the price. 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:23.519 I will be the one who suffers for you. 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:26.879 I'll do the work that you're actually supposed to do. 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:29.120 I will do the work in order to bring you to God. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:35.600 And to me, in this, all the other religions and all these questions about like, is one of them more real than the other one and stuff like that. 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:47.039 Like, when you see someone choosing suffering, like we all recognize in our hearts somewhere that like that is more admirable, that is more lovely, that's more kind, that's more gracious. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:52.960 Like, there's just something about that that we are actually drawn to when you see somebody going, I'm not calling you to suffer. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:54.879 I tell you what, somebody needs to suffer. 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:58.320 I will do it for you so that you don't actually have to experience it. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:04.960 I was talking to my dad this week, and I was fact-checking a story I was gonna tell about him because I wanted to make sure it was correct. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:10.720 But um my dad, he still works at Delta, he's retiring in a couple of weeks. 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:26.960 And um he worked at Delta during 9-11, and during after 9-11, there was a lot of layoffs, um, there was a lot of pay cuts and things like that, and he was able to keep his job, uh, thank God, but he did have to deal with a lot of pay cuts and different things that were happening. 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:38.159 And uh we were able to uh afford our bills and pay for our bills, but that particular year um he we just weren't gonna be able to have Christmas. 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:42.639 Like we had no money left over at the end uh for Christmas and Christmas gifts. 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:45.360 And so what my dad decided to do was to get a second job. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:55.759 And so he woke up at 5 30 in the morning to go to Delta for work, got home around uh or left work around 5, and then got home around 5.30 if the traffic was good. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:10:07.919 Then he would have dinner with his four kids, talk about our days, he checked our schoolwork, shoot basketball, throw the baseball, whatever, and then he would head back to work to the Toys R Us shipping warehouse that was right up the street, and he would work from 7 p.m. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:08.799 to 2 a.m. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:18.000 And he'd get off at 2 a.m., drive 15 minutes home, get in bed around 2.30, sleep until um 5.30 in the morning, and then do that again. 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:25.840 And he did that five days a week, uh, every week for a number of months in order just to make sure that we could have a magical Christmas. 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:30.879 And uh as a kid, like I didn't understand that. 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:32.559 Like I didn't understand what he was doing. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:50.159 I was actually, I told him, I was like, I got mad at him for leaving every night, and then some nights he'd be driving from Delta from Atlanta down back into Henry County where we're from, and he'd hit traffic, and so he actually would be so late in traffic he couldn't come home for dinner, he would have to just continue going straight on to Toys R Us so he could be there on time. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:54.559 And uh I was so mad at him for doing that, and just like, why are you doing this thing? 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:54.960 Not real. 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.440 I'm like, Santa brings us gifts. 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:03.440 And uh and and he was he just he was just you know like didn't say anything about any of that. 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:05.759 He just he was just doing his thing. 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:08.720 And uh he told me, he goes, y'all never knew. 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:14.320 He goes, but there were some nights when I I couldn't make it home because of traffic, so I had to go straight there. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:17.600 And there were some nights where like three nights in a row, like I didn't see you guys at all. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:22.399 Like I left in the morning before you were up, I got home while you were in bed, and that just happened over and over. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:31.919 And he's like, every time I'd sit in the parking lot at towards the rest, and I would just weep because I could not see my kids, like, like this whole thing that he was just walking through and just not unable to see his kids. 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:35.600 But he was like, But I'm doing this for something good, I'm doing this for something good. 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:41.440 And uh I was talking to him about it on the phone, and I got him like I was like, as a kid, I was stupid and didn't understand. 00:11:41.600 --> 00:12:04.879 But as an adult, like it does, it makes me emotional because he was just choosing to suffer on behalf of his kids, choosing to do something that we obviously couldn't do, and he was choosing to do that for his kids, all because he wanted to give us Christmas presents, which honestly we probably you know played with for two weeks and then forgot about or broke real fast, and it was like, but he was still trying to do this thing to make our Christmas great. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:09.120 And to me, it's like people like that, like it demands admiration. 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:14.960 There's something about like he could have been like, no, five-year-old, seven-year-old, ten-year-old, like you go get your own job. 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:15.519 I have a job. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:17.120 I work at Delta, what do you do? 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:18.639 But he didn't do any of that. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:21.279 Like, he obviously he didn't say any of that to his kids. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:24.159 He was like, I will take the hit, I will do the thing. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:28.799 And so he chose, my dad did, chose to find a way to buy stuff for us. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:33.440 And I think to me, like when you look at Jesus and what he's done, he's like, he has done that and more. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:34.960 He has done completely more than that. 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:38.080 Every other religion is telling you, like, you go buy your own Christmas presents. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:40.720 And Jesus is like, No, no, I'm not gonna make them do that. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:45.519 I actually want to make a way where they can actually experience something better for themselves and they don't have to do it. 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:46.480 I will take that on. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:48.000 I will suffer for them. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:57.840 Greg Boyd, one of my favorite quotes, he says, Despite our sin, despite our sin, our creator thinks that we are worth experiencing a hellish death for. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:02.080 In fact, it was for the joy of spending eternity with us that Jesus endured the cross. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:07.360 In other words, the cross reveals our unsurpassable worth and significance to God. 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:10.399 Our unsurpassable worth and significance to God. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:20.320 So every time we take the bread and the cup, every time we do that every single week, it's supposed to remind us that like we he believes that we are worth experiencing a hellish death for. 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:28.879 And so this is why he's worthy of our worship, not just like our consideration, like he's worthy of our actual worship to like lay down everything for him. 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:30.879 Like no one has treated us this way. 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:34.159 No one has done to do this, no one has chosen to do this except him. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:37.519 Everybody else requires us to pay the price, and he's like, I'll pay it for you. 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:39.120 This is why he's worthy of our trust. 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:48.960 Anybody who's willing to lay down our life, their life for us, will also take care of the other needs that we we have throughout our world and throughout our days and all the different things. 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:53.679 If he is willing to lay down his life for us, how much more will he willingly take care of my everyday needs? 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:57.519 And so Jesus is communicating, I could stop it, but I'm choosing not to. 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:03.840 Out of love for you and to do something for you, I am choosing to suffer so that you can actually experience something far better. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:05.279 So that's the first. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:09.679 The second thing that Jesus communicates is that he wants to set us free. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:12.320 He wants to set us free from slavery. 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:14.480 He wants to set us free from slavery. 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:30.960 We see this in verse 22 through 24, but before I read it, because I'm gonna read it here in a second, in order to actually understand that Jesus is saying this to us, that he is saying, like, I want to set you free specifically from a slavery, you have to understand what he's doing at this meal. 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:48.000 And so Jesus is celebrating this time, this text that we read with the bread and the cup, he's celebrating the Passover, the ancient practice of Passover, where they took food and they took drinks and they took liturgy and they took all these things, and it was a way for them to behold and remember and be reminded of. 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:52.879 Do you remember the time that God redeemed us and saved us out of slavery in Egypt? 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:56.799 This is what the practice is, and that's what Jesus is actively doing right there. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:58.559 It's a Passover celebration. 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:08.639 And everything at this Passover celebration was supposed to remind everybody sitting around the table, it's supposed to point back to what God did in Egypt and how he redeemed them and saved them out of slavery. 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:13.919 And so there were six elements, um, symbolic elements that they were required to have on hand. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.600 And if you come to the Seder Supper with us here in March, you'll experience some of this. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:22.159 But the six symbolic elements that they were supposed to have in order to recall what God had done. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.960 Uh, the first was they needed to have unleavened bread. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:32.159 Unleavened bread, and you had this because when Israel left Egypt, they left in such haste that they took their dough before it had it had leavened. 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:35.120 And then there was a bowl of salt water that they had on the table. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:39.279 This was to remind them of the tears that Israel shed while in bondage and slavery. 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:43.919 Also to remind them of the waters of the Red Sea through which God had brought them out on dry land. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:48.240 Then there was a collection of bitter herbs, horseradish, celery, parsley. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:53.919 These were to be eaten with the Passover meal to remind them of the bitter experience that Israel had endured as slaves. 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:57.360 Then there was this fruit paste or sauce called Kerasheth. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:00.399 This was made of apples, dates, pomegranates, and nuts. 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:02.799 Running through it were sticks of cinnamon. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:10.480 This was to remind them of the clay with which they had to make bricks in Egypt, and the cinnamon was to remind them of the straw that they had to add to the clay. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:14.320 Then there were four cups of wine, each one representing something else. 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:19.919 And it all kind of symbolized the four promises that God gave to them in Exodus 6. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:27.279 And so one promp one cup would be like the first cup is then they would talk about, I will bring you out from under the yoke of slavery in Egypt. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:31.200 Then the s they'd drink the second cup, and they would remember, I will free you from being slave to them. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:33.840 The third cup, I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.759 Then the fourth cup, I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:39.840 And then there was the Passover Lamb. 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:51.120 It was to be a year old without blemish, to remind the people of the blood of the Lamb that was put on the doorposts of their homes, that caused the judgment of God to pass over Israel's households, but then fell on the Egyptians. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:54.080 So they had these six elements, and everything was to point back. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:55.200 Do you remember the time? 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:56.240 All of these things are meant. 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:57.360 Do you remember how he redeemed you? 00:16:57.440 --> 00:16:59.600 Do you remember how he saved you out of slavery to Egypt? 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:05.680 And then there were 16 steps to this Passover meal, 16 things that they were supposed to do to remind them of these things. 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:12.000 I don't have time to read all 16, but I do want to read the final five, 12 through 16, because that's what Jesus does here in this text. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:15.519 You're seeing the 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 in this. 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:16.880 But there are 16 steps. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:22.319 Step 12 was the remainder of the Passover bread was to be brought out and eaten. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:26.559 And so Jesus takes bread, and then step 13 was to pray a prayer of thanksgiving for that bread. 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:28.799 It says that after he took bread, he gave thanks for it. 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:29.920 And so he's doing those things. 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:38.880 Step 14, all would drink the third cup, the cup of redemption, which corresponds to the promise, I will also redeem you, with an outstretched arm. 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:45.839 And then they would sing a hymn, step 15 and step 16, they would drink the final cup, the cup cup of consummation and restoration. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:50.799 And that would correspond to, then I will take you as my people, I will be your God, and you will be my people. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:18:01.759 And again, all of it, all of these steps, everything, all of it was meant and was supposed to remind the people, do you remember how God saved Israel out of slavery to them? 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:03.039 You need to remember that. 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:21.680 He's like, as God saved people out of slavery, I want you all to start thinking about me and what I'm doing. 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:37.839 And so Sean Merrithu is a pastor and a writer, he rolls through this and says, Steps 13 and 14, or excuse me, 12 and 13, instead of saying the traditional words that Jesus is supposed to say, this is the bread of the affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt, Jesus says, Take, eat. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:39.119 This is my body. 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:41.039 Not the bread of affliction that you guys are going to eat. 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:42.960 This is the bread of affliction that I'm about to eat. 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:44.240 This is my body. 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:47.839 Step 14, he takes the cup of redemption, the third cup of wine. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.160 He gave thanks and gave it to his disciples. 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:58.319 And instead of saying the promise, God will redeem them with an outstretched arm, he says, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 00:18:58.400 --> 00:18:59.359 This is my blood. 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:05.200 And so instead of God's outstretched arm going to save people, it's Jesus' outstretched arms that are going to save people. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:12.480 Step 15 and 16, then he told them that he would not drink the final cup, this cup where God's people are finally his people and they dwell together. 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:14.000 He's like, I will drink that cup. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:20.079 I will just drink that later when we actually sit together in my kingdom and enjoy that time. 00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:22.400 And then they sing a hymn and they leave. 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:29.279 And so Mark Strauss adds to this: he says, Jesus takes the traditional Jewish Passover celebration. 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:34.160 He takes the traditional Jewish Passover celebration and transforms its significance for all time. 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:45.440 What was formerly a celebration of Israel's redemption from slavery in Egypt will become a remembrance and celebration of a new exodus where Jesus delivers his people from the power of sin and Satan. 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:46.960 It will be a new exodus. 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:55.920 You had this old exodus where Israel was saved out of slavery, and now you will have this new exodus that Jesus does where he saves his people from sin and Satan. 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:14.160 And so the point of all of this is that using this meal, like, because it seems that Jesus could like have done this at any particular time, but he wants to use this meal, and he wants to use this space, and he wants to reinterpret it in such a way because he's trying to communicate something very important. 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:22.640 And what he's saying, he's like, just as God came to rescue Israel out of slavery to Egypt, I have come to rescue you and to save you out of slavery to sin and to Satan. 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:24.160 That is what I've come to do. 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:34.559 And it's supposed to be this thing, like that we were minded, and it's like the shift that happens between they needed to actually be saved out of they they knew, like we are enslaved in Egypt. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.640 You need to know you are enslaved to sin, and that he actually wants to do that thing. 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:49.200 The same way that the rejoicing and the joy that the Israelites must have felt when they were finally let go from their slave masters and their chains had fallen off, and they were able to actually leave and leave their bondage. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.880 He's like, I want to do the exact same thing for every single person that comes to me. 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:58.480 And so the blood of the Lamb back then that you dabbed on the doorpost released Israel out of slavery to Egypt. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:02.799 Now the blood of Jesus, who is the Lamb of God, will release us out of slavery to sin. 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:04.640 That is what Jesus wants to do for you. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:07.359 And so if you've ever wondered, like, what does he want with my life? 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:08.400 What does Jesus want to do? 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:09.680 I'm new to this Jesus thing. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:10.480 What does he want to do? 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:15.839 Like what he wants to do is he wants to free you and he wants to free me from being enslaved to sin. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:23.920 He sees us as people who are enslaved to something, something lesser, something worse, something death-like instead of lifelike. 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:25.599 He sees us enslaved to those things. 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:31.839 He does not see you, and he does not see me as someone who is a sinful rebel needing to be punished. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:37.680 He sees us as someone who is bearing the weight of sin, enslaved to it, and we don't need to be punished for it. 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:39.039 We need to be released from it. 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.680 He's like, I see you as slaves, not as rebels. 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:43.759 I want to free you, I don't want to punish you. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:45.039 That's what he wants to do. 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:47.039 He sees us as enslaved to sin. 00:21:47.279 --> 00:22:07.519 And I I was at a conference this whole week, and I was talking to Boyd, and I've talked to my wife about this, but like my trouble with telling people that they're enslaved to sin is If you were to go to an Israelite slave and go to a slave in Egypt and say, Hey, Israelite slave, good to see you. 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:08.799 Uh, sorry about this. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:13.359 Um, you're enslaved to sin, or excuse me, you're enslaved to Egypt. 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:14.559 They would say, Of course I am. 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:15.599 I know that, I know that. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:17.759 I know that I'm enslaved to Egypt. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.519 If you told them that, they would know that. 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:24.240 To me, now, if I tell someone you're enslaved to sin, people look at me like I have two heads. 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:25.519 They're like, What are you talking about? 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:26.400 No, I'm not. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:28.240 Like, that's not even that doesn't make any sense. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:31.920 Like, it's so hard to communicate to somebody that, like, hey, no, genuinely the scriptures say that. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:34.400 It's like, well, I don't believe the Bible, therefore, that doesn't apply to me. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:35.920 It's like, I can't. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:40.240 And so it's so difficult to say this to someone. 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:46.559 And so Jesus' good news of like, I want to release you from slavery is supposed to hit us as like, thank you, thank God. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:50.880 Because if somebody, when God came to Israel and said, I'm gonna save you out of slavery, they were thrilled. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:52.640 This is gonna be amazing. 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:57.200 And so Jesus makes this exact same statement to people, like, I'm gonna save you from slavery too. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:22:58.799 And people are like, I don't know. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:01.759 I don't, I I could stop sinning whenever I want. 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:04.000 I'm actually not actually trapped into this thing. 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:15.759 And so if that's you, if you're just like, I don't think any of this is real, I don't think I'm actually enslaved to sin, what I would encourage you to do is just consider other people in your life that you do think are like trapped in something. 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:18.880 Because I think we're pretty good at seeing in other people's lives. 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:24.480 Like, honestly, if you would just make this decision, this decision, and this decision, all of your problems would basically go away. 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:29.759 You're just terrible at living, and if you would do something different, it would be better. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:37.039 And so we have people in our life, sometimes it's your kids, sometimes it's your best friend, you just can't say anything, sometimes it's co-workers, and they're like, I just don't know why life is so hard. 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:40.480 And it's like, I have three reasons, and they're all about you. 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:45.119 I can like you can look at those people and you can see them trapped in something. 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:47.680 And you could say that like all they need to do is something different. 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:48.880 It's like, but they're trapped. 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:50.960 They're blind to it, they can't even see it. 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:58.240 And to me, if you can see that in someone else's life, you just see them stuck, and you're like, dude, until they change, they're never gonna have something different. 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:01.359 They want something different, but until they change, they're never gonna experience it. 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:06.400 If you can think of somebody where that's true of you, there is somebody that can think that about you as well. 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:10.720 If you can see that in somebody's life, they can see it, they can see it in your life. 00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:18.160 And if you just know, if you're like, no, I know I'm trapped in sin, like I have some things that are just ruling my life, if you know that, then I have good news for you. 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:20.079 Jesus' one and only goal. 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:24.960 He's like, I am choosing to suffer to set you free, to break those bondage chains. 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:26.799 The chains are invisible and they're hard to see. 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:31.519 Your slave master is invisible and is hard to see, but they still exist and I want to set you free. 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:36.640 And so Jesus is saying, what I want to do is I want to set you free from those who are enslaved to sin, and that's all of us. 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:46.880 And you get this picture of what slavery to sin actually looks like because it's so subtle and it's so small, but you get a picture in the disciples of what it actually looks like to be enslaved to sin. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:50.240 And so look at verse 27 through 31. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:55.599 Jesus says, Jesus basically says, You're gonna live a life you don't want to live. 00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:56.880 And they're like, No, we're not. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:57.920 And he's like, Yes, you are. 00:24:58.079 --> 00:24:58.880 You're gonna fall away. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:02.319 I will strike the she the sheep or the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.799 After I've risen, you know, I'll go ahead and you to Galilee. 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:07.759 And Peter declares, look, man, I'm not gonna fall away. 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:08.640 I'm the best. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:10.640 All these fools could fall away, not me. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:11.359 I will not. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:14.000 And he says, Truly I tell you, you're actually gonna double down. 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:19.519 Tonight, you're gonna, before the rooster crows, twice yourself will disown me. 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:21.920 Oh, excuse me, you will disown me three times. 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:28.559 But Peter insisted emphatically, even if I have to die with you, even if I have to die, I will never disown you. 00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:31.039 And then all the others are like, Yeah, us too. 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:39.039 And so it's this space where like Jesus is telling them, you are going to live a life that you're actively trying to avoid. 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:41.519 And like, what does it what does it mean to be enslaved to sin? 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:46.480 It means making every single decision in our lives, trying to lead us to abundance. 00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:49.119 I want to make this decision in order for this to go well in my life. 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:55.039 No one is sitting there going, like, I can't wait to blow my life up into a million pieces and make it as miserable and as terrible as possible. 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:56.799 So I'm gonna make decisions in order to get that way. 00:25:56.880 --> 00:25:57.359 Nobody does that. 00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:02.079 All of our decisions are made to make our lives more comfortable, more easy, and to lead us into abundance. 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:03.440 All of our decisions are that way. 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:04.559 And that's theirs as well. 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:08.400 They're like, we want to make decisions that make our lives better. 00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:09.839 And you need to see that. 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:13.279 They do not, they actually don't want to fall away. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:15.039 They don't want to live that life. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:16.480 They don't want to be those people. 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:18.400 They don't want this written down for eternity. 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:21.039 Like, they don't want to be the people that walked away and ran away. 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:26.079 Peter really does want to be able to like not deny Jesus. 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:27.519 He really has it in his heart. 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:31.519 Like, I really do want to be able to die with you, to stand beside you. 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:33.359 I want to be able to be that person. 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:35.440 I do not want to be controlled by my fear. 00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:37.920 And Jesus is like, I know, but you are. 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:40.240 You are controlled by your fear. 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:42.640 You are controlled by all these things. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:46.960 And so even though Jesus gave them a heads up, hey, here's what's coming. 00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:58.240 Even though all of their best intentions are, I want to live a better life than what you're telling me I'm gonna live, even though I'm aiming at something better, even though I'm trying to make different decisions, somehow, somehow they still do this thing. 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:01.680 They live the life that they were trying actively to avoid. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:03.599 I'm trying to not live that life. 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:04.960 How did I end up living that life? 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:05.680 And that's us. 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:07.119 I was trying to make my life great. 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:08.400 How is my life still bad? 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:10.079 I was trying to fill my life with things. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:11.440 How am I still not full? 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:13.279 Like, how is this possible? 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:18.480 And what Jesus is saying is like, you guys are enslaved to sin inasmuch as everybody else is. 00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:25.920 Trying to aim at something better and always finding yourself in a space that's worse, trying to miss the life, trying to, I'm trying to avoid that life. 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:27.440 How did I wind up in it? 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:30.720 And it's almost like there's someone else calling the shots. 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:34.480 It's almost like that they're enslaved into something that they cannot escape. 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:36.319 And that's what it looks like. 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:40.400 And this is what Jesus is saying like, I actually do want to rescue you from that. 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:48.079 Constantly working yourself to the bone, trying to avoid a life and then finding yourself in it sounds like a slave master. 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:49.519 Like, I just want to be free. 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:50.799 I just want to do something better. 00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:53.440 I just want to make a decision that leads me into something else. 00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:56.799 And all the decisions, everything just keeps leading me to something lesser. 00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:59.519 And he's like, I want to free you from that. 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:02.400 You are enslaved to decisions that you don't even want to make. 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:05.119 You're enslaved to a way of thinking that you don't even want to think. 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:06.640 You want to avoid it. 00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:09.680 You want abundance, but you just can't get there. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:11.680 And that's what Jesus wants to rescue us from. 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:18.720 And if we do not allow him to do that, if we just continue to push him off and go, I don't, I'm not enslaved to sin. 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:30.319 I don't need a, I don't need an abolitionist, I don't need someone to actually free me from slavery, I'm not enslaved, then you will continue to live a life where you're trying to avoid something and you will find yourself in that space. 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:37.039 Because we are enslaved to something worse, and he has come in kindness to actually set us free from that thing. 00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:45.839 And the way that he does that is like if you place your trust in him, if you just ask him to do that, like I would like to be free from my sin. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:49.200 I don't want to be held down by these things. 00:28:49.599 --> 00:29:00.960 If you can actually see things in your life where it's like, this is still gripping me, this is still holding me, this is still, this is doing something to me, this is doing something to my family, this is doing something to my future. 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:06.720 This is just, there's something in me that seems to hold me into a space where I cannot be free from this thing. 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:09.759 If you will ask him, that is what he has promised to do. 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:11.440 That's what he wants to do. 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:17.200 And as you walk with him inside the church, you're supposed to do this in community. 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:22.000 As you walk with him, he will free you over and over and over again. 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:25.519 He will set you free in these progressive ways that he does. 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:27.920