In this sermon, Pastor Babij makes four observations regarding the Passover Jesus celebrated with the disciples. Pastor Babij shows that Jesus is not a tragic hero battling events beyond Jesus’ control but that, instead:
- Jesus was in total control of all the Passover preparations
- Jesus prophesied His betrayal
- Jesus has divine providence and is the causality of all things, including His betrayal
- Jesus personifies the elements of the Passover and transforms the Passover into the Last Supper
Because of these truths, Pastor Babij then exhorts all men to repent and believe the gospel.
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okay let’s take our bibles this morning and turn to the gospel of mark as we continue to move through our this gospel chapter 14 we’re going to be looking at verses 12 through 21 this morning as i said last time that this is a transition chapter which really brings us into the third and last part of this gospel and of course the last part of the passion week really moves rapidly into the sufferings of jesus christ which focuses our attention on the self sacrifice of the servant jesus christ and of course according to the other gospels matthew mark and luke jesus repeatedly talked about going to jerusalem to die and of course his followers even up to this point those closest to him found those predictions to be unthinkable they didn’t even want to think about those kind of things and uh today we are as i looked at it last week in verse number one it says now the passover and unleavened bread were two days away and of course two days away would be thursday mark has taken us from tuesday evening to a day of rest on wednesday and now it is thursday of the passion week so in our text today really what jesus begins to explain is he makes preparation for unlocking the meaning of his death and that’s what we’re going to look at today let’s pray father this morning as we come before you we know that we can only come into your presence in the name of jesus christ no one can be saved apart from the name of jesus christ and lord we really find out this morning in our text the reason why and i pray lord as we see those things and as we even prepare our hearts for the lord’s table this morning that our passages directly connected to the lord’s table i pray lord that you would help us to understand more of the truth of the word of god so that we would be more serious in following you and serving you that we would be more apt to use the spiritual gifts that you give in your children to build up the body and that you would also strengthen us and give us insight to our own sinfulness that we would quickly identify confess and put our sin to death and learn to put on righteousness i prayed that for us help us to understand this crucial truth of your death today in christ’s name amen so verse number 12 of chapter 14 of mark it says on the first day of unleavened bread when the passover lamb was being sacrificed his disciples said to him where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the passover all right let me just stop there because i do want to go back to the old testament for a moment because most of us today don’t really know what unleavened bread is or what that is as a feast or a holiday or what the passover lamb may be and so i would like to say that the first of the seven day feast was thursday afternoon the 14th of either march or april when the lambs were slaughtered and a one-year-old unblemished male lamb or goat was ritually sacrificed in the temple in jerusalem one lamb for every extended family up to sometimes 10 or 12 people could be partaking of this one lamb and one is it one thing that was important is that that lamb had to be eaten completely you could so you couldn’t just have one lamp for one person unless you that one person can eat the whole lamb uh then that that wasn’t gonna happen all right so that was very important to the old testament because it was a family thing everybody got together to eat that’s why our lord’s table is a is a congregational thing we get together and we eat and drink together all right so that that’s in the mind uh should be in our mind as we continue so um the actual passover feast and the eating of the passover lamb were to be celebrated by all the jews uh whether they were able to make it to jerusalem or not they were to do it in their homes during this time the meals were to be eaten in family gatherings and private homes and the families removed all the leaven or the yeast from their homes and the women prepared the herbs and the wine and the unleavened bread for the passover meal that evening and that would be at twilight on the 14th of either march or april so go take your bibles and turn to exodus chapter 12 and let’s look at some verses this is the background from uh to give us some background on what we’re talking about here in the gospel of mark exodus chapter 12 verse number 17 says this exodus 12 17 you shall also observe the feast of unleavened bread for on this very day i brought your host out of egypt the land of egypt therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance verse 18 in the first month on the 14th day of the month at evening you shall eat unleavened bread until the 21st day of the month at evening so that’s seven days and verse 19 seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses for whoever eats what is leaven that person shall be cut off from the congregation of israel whether he is whether he is an alien or a native of the land you shall not eat anything leavened in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread then moses called for all the elders of israel and said to them go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and slay the passover lamb so that was the background of that text now the passover remember had to do with the last plague the tenth plague upon egypt that god poured out upon egypt which was the death of the firstborn child see god said that if the israelites follow his word then they would be spared that tragedy again in chapter 12 look at verse number five go up to verse five of exodus chapter 12 verse five it says your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old you may take it from the sheep or from the goats you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month then the whole assembly of of the congregation of israel is to kill it at twilight verse 7 moreover they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and upon the lentil of the houses in which they eat it then in verse go down to verse 12 of exodus 12 for i will go through the land of egypt on that night and will strike down all the born in the land of egypt both man and beast and against all the gods of egypt i will execute judgments i am the lord verse 13 the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live and when i see the blood i will pass over you no plague will befall you to destroy you when i strike the land of egypt all right so this was the situation that the people were to put the blood from that particular lamb on the lentils of the doors and the door post that that’s the top they used to have a top uh level and then the side post and they were to just just take a hissa branch and then just smear it all over it and of course this passover had a historical significance because it commemorates the deliverance of the children of israel from bondage in egypt that was 430 years of bondage on that terrible night when the angel of death was to slay the first porn of every home the israelites were to slay a lamb then with that the lentils and the doorposts with the lamb’s blood and when the angel saw the applied blood he would pass over that house and its occupants would be safe so see that is the picture of the passover and so before they went on their way they would of course eat a meal together of roasted lamb bitter herbs and unleavened bread so this the feast of unleavened bread was celebrated in connection with the passover in preparation for the festival of passover the jewish people were to clean all the leaven from their homes before the arrival of the passover and of course the ancient sages say that leaven symbolizes sin and evil and must be dealt with accordingly in fact in exodus 13 if you’re still there in exodus it says there in chapter 13 verse 6 it says for seven days exodus 13 6 for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the lord verse 7 unleavened bread shall be eaten shall unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days and nothing leaven shall be seen among you nor shall any leaven be seen among all in all your borders all right so that was very clear so yeast or leaven remember cause dough to rise so positively it could be used to symbolize growth or advancement but here it is used in a negative way to indicate the spreading of evil and corruption and often it is symbolized with evil influence the evil influence of sin so leaven is really to be representative of evil or the sinful impulses of the human heart immoral sensual and corrupt conduct all those things would symbolize this leven and it also would symbolize something else it would symbolize the just the nature of the this this particular feast and sacrifice that there would be no sin connected with the lamb because the lamb was to be unblemished and of course that was going to be a picture of what would happen someday someday because we are redeemed by the blood of christ our passover and that redemption provides for us a standing before god that is without sin or unleavened in fact there are passages of scripture in the new testament that really tell us that once we become believers once we become part of the family of god we are to live an unleavened life and this is how it’s recorded in first corinthians chapter five it says therefore let us celebrate the feasts not with old leaven nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth i wrote in my letter not to associate with immoral people all right so in other words as far as christ is concerned the lamb of god unleavened bread was representative of christ’s sinless and pure and spotless body alright so let’s go back now to the gospel of mark with that background and let’s look at the rest of this particular text this morning in math in mark chapter 14 and if you notice in verse number 12 the second part of that verse says this his disciples said to him where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the passover see the mood of expectancy and urgency can be found among the lord’s disciples as for this reason the the responsibility for preparing the passover fell to them so jesus sends two of his disciples again mark doesn’t name them but of course in luke we know who they are they are peter and john and these two were on in a sense a covert mission a secret mission and the reason for that secret mission is they they were to keep that place away from a particular individual finding out at least at this point and so they were to go into the city and a very crowded jerusalem remember millions and millions of people were in jerusalem doing the same thing they were doing so it was extremely crowded and they were to uh of course prepare the passover so the lamb had to be taken had to be actually eaten within the walls of jerusalem so the disciples had to find a room inside the city and how do i know that is because that’s what deuteronomy tells us it says in deuteronomy you shall you are not allowed to sacrifice the passover in any of your towns which the lord your god is giving you but only in the place where the lord your god chooses to establish his name you shall sacrifice the passover in the evening at sunset in that place all right and we know that place is jerusalem at this particular point so with all that said the focus of this section of scripture is the control that jesus has concerning everything that takes place on this particular feast and so the first thing the first observation that we see concerning jesus and the surrounding events is this that jesus was in complete control of the passover preparations now look what it says in verse number 13.
it says and he sent two of his disciples and said to them go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water follow him and wherever he enters say to the owner of the house the teacher says where is my guest room in which i may eat the passover with my disciples and he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready prepared for us there in verse number 16 the disciples went out and came to the city and found it just as he had told them and they prepared the passover so we see something happening here that jesus tells them everything that will happen and he is displaying before them a foreknowledge about all the events that will take place meaning that jesus christ is in control of everything jesus is not a tragic hero caught in events beyond his control this is the lord in control in fact we even know as we go to the cross on the cross all the things that are taking place on the cross jesus is in complete control of everything from the very point where he gives up his spirit to the father he does that precisely in his timing so we see something here very unique about jesus that we can’t pass over a second observation is in verse 17 and 18 that the second observation is this that jesus beforehand announces the prophecy of his betrayal in verse number 17 it says when it was evening he came with the 12 and as they were reclining at the table and eating all right so now what they’re doing here is they’re actually eating the passover meal uh jesus really desired to eat this passover meal with his disciples according to scripture all right it’s thursday evening the time for the passover meal uh the passover of course was a family gathering as i mentioned with uh with usually several families and enough people to consume the whole passover lamb and of course for your information a rabbi with his disciples were considered a family because sometimes rabbis were with their disciples in jerusalem and the extended families were somewhere else so of course in this case we see that mark is recording this with just jesus and his disciples there’s really no one else there all right so the the women and the children were present at uh the passover however mark is focusing only on jesus betrayal and his impending death now usually you see the last supper uh pictures of the last supper jesus is uh and his disciples are around some english type of table with english chairs and he’s sitting at the front and all of them are lined up to the right and left of him however that is not the setup that took place in scripture in fact in verse number 15 back to 15 it tells us that he himself will show you a large room furnished and ready ready prepared for us there that word furnish actually is the word the word that means to spread out rugs right if you trans if it was they fully translated the word they can put that it’s the spreading out of rugs and carpets on which his disciples would recline on see the carpets were called triclina and of course these were called also couches holding three people each in a you pattern around a low table uh elevated just about above the ground of course high enough above the ground where one could stretch out lie down and lean on their left elbow while they eat with their right hand so they were actually laying down all right in angles jesus probably and um two other disciples were sitting in front and in in this u-shape thing and he was always at the head because even then where you sat at the table was very important the most important person would sit at the head and usually it would be the most the inner core of the disciples would sit with him at the head in this case it could be uh peter and most likely it was peter and john or james and john peter james and john it probably was uh james and john that were sitting there in front with jesus so so see this was jesus final gathering with the 12 in his earthly ministry so this becomes a very very important passover for jesus it becomes all that the last supper which it really is but it could also be called the first supper because the lord does something quite dramatic in how he interprets the lord’s supper or this passover meal now the passover meal was a bitter sweet time of remembrance remembering the past deliverance from slavery and bondage and a time of anticipating the future redemption of the messiah that’s what they did there in fact the closing passover celebration would end with singing that’s why in our text it says and they went out and sung at him well they probably sang one of the hillel psalms from chapter 113 to 118 one of those psalms would be sung along the way of this meal and they would close with a singing and then with the hardy next year in jerusalem that’s how they would end it because they would want to be in jerusalem and hopefully they would say next year in jerusalem with the messiah present with us that was in their mind and so the bittersweet is represented in how they ate too they had bitter herbs uh they had um of course sweetness that went with the herbs and of course those those those foods were to remind them of the bitter and sweet things that happen in the nation of israel when god delivered them from this particular event so the fellowship also of this gathering had a soul-searching conundrum connected to it and if you notice in verse number 18 in the middle of the verse this is while they were eating the passover meal jesus is at the front and this is what he says in verse number 18.
he says and as they were reclining at the table and eating jesus says truly i say to you that one of you will betray me one who is eating with me so just think for a moment this righteous man and all the things that he has done in his ministry up until this point all the miracles that he has done jesus is betrayed by a friend at the most holiest of feasts matter of fact some people connect this with what happened to david in the old testament where psalm 41 verse number 9 david records even my close friend in whom i trusted who i ate bread with has lifted up his heel against me and that was of course a hit the fell uh who ate at david david’s table and turned traitor to david and so a hit the fell in the old testament are considered by some to be a type of judas a type of one who betrays a friend and that is exactly what is going on here but just notice the question that jesus or the statement that jesus says he says to them listen one of you here at my table will betray me so jesus announces this and it of evokes an inner soul-searching not just in one of the disciples but in all the disciples if you notice in verse number 19 is look what it says and they began to be grieved and to say to him one by one surely not i why is it that they all felt a certain level of grief and sorrow why is it they all protested of the possibility that they are the guilty ones why is it that all are suspect with a level of uncertainty mixed with a level of assurance why is it that these disciples felt that they could have been the betrayer now of course the answer to that would be that they were quite aware of their own sin they are quite aware of their own weakness of their own vulnerability so and of course if you really search out your own heart and your own life you would have to say that if you were there you would say you know what i have the capability to be someone who betrays jesus also i can betray him in just the way i live my life i can betray him by going through the motions hypocritically but not being serious about any of it right i can betray him by betraying others by betraying other people in the body i can betray jesus in many different ways so see all are are feeling guilty of betraying jesus and jesus says in verse number 20 he said to them it is one of the twelve one who dips with me in the bowl now from all the gospels none of them caught on it was judas at this particular point only in other words only jesus knew the one who was betraying him again showing a level of foreknowledge about the events taking place being in control of all of them so all the disciples uh we know from the rest of the passage which i’ll not get to today did not betray jesus in this final sense like judas did but we will see that they do defect from jesus because of some weakness in their life because of fear of jesus being arrested now and now they’re going to be connected with jesus so they were afraid and they were pretty much cowards and weak because when jesus says pray for me they end up falling asleep all right so the wheat fall in so in in a very real sense we can all be guilty of all these things we are made of the same stuff as the disciples and often we act just like them and so the lord needs to help us in that particular area that’s for sure now there’s one last observation i want to i want you to notice in our text and it’s the observation today uh this last one concerning jesus foreknowledge of his adherence to scripture now notice what it says in verse 21 and here here’s the observation that jesus displays side by side human providence and also divine or excuse me divine providence and beside that human responsibility right and the first one in verse 21 is the divine causality of things in verse 21 it says for the son of man is to go just as it is written of him in other words right that section of scripture here jesus refers himself again not to the messiah but to the son of man what takes place when the son of man comes to this earth and the son of man is following a pre-ordained path already laid out in scripture he’s not doing anything new he’s doing everything that’s the prophet said in the old testament he’s doing everything in other words he’s doing it by the book that’s what he’s doing it he is not diverting at all from what has been recorded in scripture and what are some of those things that have been recorded well he must be betrayed he must be betrayed if in fact take your bibles for a moment turn acts chapter 3 and verse 17 and 18. look at how it’s recorded there by of course luke is writing acts the writer of the gospel of luke is is a doctor he’s a phys he’s actually a medical doctor and he’s writing luke and he says and records there in the historical book of acts in chapter 3 verse 17 notices and now brethren i know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also but the things which god announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets that his christ would suffer he has thus fulfilled in other words what christ did in his suffering was prophesied many many years ago before the lord was even born all right of course in isaiah 53 he must suffer again and then also he must die and atone for others he must do that as it says recorded in chapter 3 verse 19 therefore repent and return so that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the lord in other words there must these must happen according to god’s predetermined plan there’s nothing by mistake this is not just happening as things go on and that nobody knows the outcome of it god’s planned it all in detail even the man carrying the jug of water was planned and you know what the betrayal of judas was planned acts 2 23 if you’re there notice what it says there it says in acts chapter 2 verse 23 this man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of god you nailed to the cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death so in that passage there you have two things going on you have the providence or the sovereignty or the causality of god being something being pre-derma predetermined and four known by god before it ever would take place and nailed to the cross by godless men human responsibility all right god’s sovereignty never cancels out human responsibility in fact back in mark chapter 14 if you notice in verse number 21 it tells us there for 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 so this next thing side by side with divine providence is human responsibility judas was in an awful condition because it says in verse number 21 but whoa that is a kind of a cursing type of statement but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed see divine providence neither cancels human freedom nor relieves responsibility for mortal choice judas’s betrayal was divinely foreordained and yet the betrayer is not exonerated from his guilt or his act why look at the awful fate in verse 21 it would have been good for that man if he had not been born in other words it would have been better to have no life at all rather than a life that has such a deed and such an end see divine sovereignty and human right responsibility has been described by one person as a railroad track with ties that go side by side they’re kind of joined together but they never really meet on this earth they meet somewhere in eternity but they are both there and they are both active all the time so the context of the passover was all important because it would be here in this event that jesus reveals himself as the passover lamb that is sacrifice which through his death he will inaugurate a new covenant in his own blood as it says in mark chapter 20 chapter 14 verse 24 it says and he said to them this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many of course that would be the lord’s table there so john the baptist said of jesus in the gospel of john the next day he saw jesus coming to him and be said behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world so jesus is identified in scripture as the passover lamb the passover lamb could have no defect jesus was sinless and had no defect the passover land had to be a male jesus was a man the passover lamb was killed dying in the place of the firstborn and when the death angel came whenever he saw the blood applied he would pass over that particular house so see the lesson is simple jewish or gentile old or young rich or poor on that night in egypt the only issue was whether or not the blood was on the doorpost see sincerity did not count on that night good deeds did not count on that night degrees and pedigree did not count on that night if the blood of the lamb was on the door then death did not come if there was no blood then death was certain so another in other words that if we go back to judas in this matter judas the betrayal of judas is one who has no blood over his door he is one who’s betrayed and you know the requirement has not changed for us today god still demands a blood sacrifice to atone for sin but the amazing news is that god himself provided that sacrifice in his own son so in the same way god provided a way for his judgment to pass over us that is those who by faith believe in jesus sacrificial death and in doing so all the judgment that we deserve comes to rest on jesus christ who died in our place so his blood is in a sense on our doorpost and when the lord sees the blood of jesus christ over our doorpost he passes over us that means there’s no more condemnation there’s no more judgment for sin in fact it tells us this in first corinthians 5 7 clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump just as you are in fact unleavened when you come to christ and then it says for christ is our passover also has been sacrificed see so jesus died the passover lamb and jesus died in the right way in the right manner at the right time meaning that jesus just as the blood was applied to the doorpost and a lentil of the house and safety was found for those inside the house so only trusting in jesus shed blood on the cross brings us safely from eternity how narrow christianity is there’s there’s no pluralism here there’s not many ways to god there’s not many religions that have some sense of getting there the same way it’s not this one mountain where everybody’s climbing up a different way but everybody makes it to the top no it’s only one way in other words if god doesn’t see the blood of christ upon your account you are under judgment and you will be eternally judged see so the question is clear for us is christ your passover lamb when the father looks upon your life does he see the blood of christ because you have repented of your sin and believed in him alone or are you still trying to save yourself are you trusting in something other than what god provided for our salvation if that is the case you’re in big trouble you’re in the same trouble judas is in it would may have been better if you’re never born if you don’t trust christ so as we partake of the lord’s table today we have to make sure that we make the right connection that christ is only your passover lamb if you have repented of your sin and trust turned and trusted received and followed jesus christ if he sees the blood he’ll pass over you if you haven’t repented of your sin and received jesus as your lord and savior in other words if you have not come to the place in your life that you called upon the lord to save you i can’t save you your mom and dad can’t save you another christian sitting next to you cannot save you you must call upon the lord for salvation if he doesn’t see the blood he must judge and condemn that’s what he must do so god’s sovereignty and humor responsibility are still in play with us if in your human responsibility you decide to say i have my own way i have my own belief system i’m satisfied with that i have my own church i’ve gone through all these things uh and therefore i’m gonna just rest in that well that’s the human responsibility that you have towards what you know right but god’s sovereignty is still in play remember just because somebody makes a choice other than the right choice doesn’t mean that they are exempt from judgment and that god is somehow going to look at them and say you know what i’m just going to let that slide god’s character cannot let it slide he’s a just god he can’t fudge on justice he must tell us the truth and he mis he must do everything he says he’s going to do or he’s not god of course the solution is to come and trust christ right as many of you have many of you have come and trusted christ and so this morning this one cup that we drink is the third cup in the celebration of the lord’s table and it is called the cup of communion or the cup of redemption it’s the cup that represents god buying us out of the condemnation of sin of rescuing us from where sin would bring us and condemn us before god so we’re drinking this cup jesus took that cup and blessed it and it instead of the cup re representing the blood of an unblemished lamb it now represented his blood as it tells us in luke in the same way he took the cup and after he had eaten saying this cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood in the meal that we are about to partake of there’s bread the bread that is before us represented uh comes to represent the body of jesus christ the messiah and through his death he brings deliverance from sins condemnation sins curse and sins bondage the cup that had represented the lamb’s blood smeared on the doorpost and the lentils now came to represent the blood of the lamb of god shed for the salvation of lost sinners his blood not just providing a covering for our sin but his blood totally washing away and wiping away sin forever that’s what it does so the bread and the wine which is eaten remind us of ourselves that our salvation is achieved through christ’s death alone and his resurrection secures ourselves salvation for all eternity under the old covenant under the mosaic covenant it brought condemnation it could never save it identified sin but it never could save us but under the new covenant it’s based on jesus blood that covenant frees from all condemnation and so that means therefore the passover was transformed into the lord’s supper of which these are the things that we are to carry out until jesus comes again that jesus explained his death and resurrection as typology uh typological of fulfilling what was celebrated in the passover of exodus in egypt look at the lord’s table now if you’re not yet a christian then you come to the table not but then you can speak to me or because you could speak to somebody else in our church and we can help you lead you to how to come to believe in jesus christ now if you are a christian who hasn’t been baptized as a believer you also come to the table but not eating and drinking either but by remembering all that jesus has done for you through the gospel which is the reality that the bread and the cup what they symbolize is death and of course on his behalf and he shed blood to wash away your sin that now you should be in obedience to what the lord tells us about the lord’s table in other words baptism is the initiation right of christianity and of course the lord’s tabul table is the continuation of that right but you can’t you you can’t of course continue something you haven’t started so in other words baptism comes first and then the lord’s table where it says in acts chapter 2 verse 41 it says so then those who had received peter’s word were baptized and they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship and the breaking of bread and of prayer so there is the believing and receiving first and then baptism that means any baptism before believers baptism is not legitimate if you were baptized as an infant is not legitimate baptism it’s not a biblically based baptism you believe first you believe and understand the gospel and then you come and in obedience get baptized so if you are a christian and you have been baptized as a believer then eat and drink at the table trusting in the reality behind the elements of the bread and of course of the fruit of the vine that jesus lived for you that jesus died for you and that jesus will return to get you you know that right see that’s all wrapped up in the lord’s table and we’re to do this until he comes again so we’re to enjoy jesus and all that has been done to make us right with god that’s what we do we come to the lord’s table so with all that in mind you have to make some choices this morning i don’t know everyone where everyone is at spiritually god does know and you know what in some respects you know too you know if you haven’t or you have uh come to christ and so this morning let’s prepare our hearts make our hearts ready uh to come and partake of the elements that the lord has given us that represents the focal point of everything he’s done and that’s the gospel of jesus christ lamb of god who becomes our passover and that when we see the blood and when god sees the blood because the blood has is applied to us when we actually believe then we are safe in god’s arms and believe me if that’s not something to sing about i don’t know what is you know so let’s take a few minutes and prepare our heart for the partaking of the elements and men who are serving please come forward