WEBVTT

00:00:01.960 --> 00:00:05.400
This is your daily reminder. God has not run

00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:09.199
out of mercy, not for you, not today. Welcome

00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:12.640
to the New Mercies Podcast. Welcome. Today is

00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.699
Friday, March the 13th. If you are new to the

00:00:15.699 --> 00:00:18.059
podcast, I want to say welcome. I'm glad you're

00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:20.719
here. Be sure you like and subscribe and follow

00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:23.079
and all of the things so that you get... every

00:00:23.079 --> 00:00:25.920
one of these episodes on your phone or on your

00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:28.179
device as soon as they come out every single

00:00:28.179 --> 00:00:31.160
morning, Monday through Saturday. Very thankful

00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:33.799
that you are here. Also, you may notice we are

00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:36.979
ad -free. There's no advertisements on this podcast.

00:00:37.340 --> 00:00:39.820
I just recently stepped away from the ad company

00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:42.380
we were using because I wanted everything that

00:00:42.380 --> 00:00:44.640
comes out of this, each of these episodes to

00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:47.060
be focused on the mission and the values. So

00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:48.979
if you found any encouragement through this and

00:00:48.979 --> 00:00:51.060
you want to help support or donate, you can do

00:00:51.060 --> 00:00:53.359
that with the link that is in this episode description.

00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:56.079
Thank you so much for being here. Let's jump

00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:58.939
into the word together today. Our reading takes

00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:03.119
us to Luke 22. Now, if you are following along

00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:04.459
and you're part of our church family, you know,

00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:07.549
Luke 22 is what I'm going to be. preaching this

00:01:07.549 --> 00:01:11.670
coming Sunday, Lord willing, and this is a big

00:01:11.670 --> 00:01:13.450
chapter. It's huge. We've already read it once

00:01:13.450 --> 00:01:15.310
this week. This is the second time this week.

00:01:15.390 --> 00:01:16.769
We're going to look at it on Sunday, and then

00:01:16.769 --> 00:01:18.189
we're going to talk about it again on Monday

00:01:18.189 --> 00:01:20.689
on the podcast. But each of these times, hopefully

00:01:20.689 --> 00:01:21.909
you're getting something a little bit different,

00:01:22.010 --> 00:01:25.269
a little bit extra maybe. I was going through

00:01:25.269 --> 00:01:27.269
this chapter again today, and something stood

00:01:27.269 --> 00:01:29.069
out to me that I wanted to share a little bit.

00:01:29.150 --> 00:01:31.310
It's not very long or not going to be a whole

00:01:31.310 --> 00:01:33.150
lot, I don't think, in this episode today, but

00:01:33.689 --> 00:01:36.430
I hope and pray you are reading along and that

00:01:36.430 --> 00:01:38.290
you read the whole chapter. I want to just share

00:01:38.290 --> 00:01:39.390
with you a couple things that stand out to me

00:01:39.390 --> 00:01:41.890
at the beginning of the chapter today to give

00:01:41.890 --> 00:01:43.670
us a little bit of maybe some background and

00:01:43.670 --> 00:01:45.930
context so that whenever we read the full chapter,

00:01:46.090 --> 00:01:48.150
you can see a little bit more of what's happened

00:01:48.150 --> 00:01:50.609
and how it's been set up. So, without further

00:01:50.609 --> 00:01:53.709
ado, let's jump into Luke chapter 22, beginning

00:01:53.709 --> 00:01:55.469
at verse 1. I want to read the first two verses

00:01:55.469 --> 00:01:57.150
and then we'll talk about them. Ready? Here we

00:01:57.150 --> 00:01:59.870
go. Now the feast of unleavened bread drew near,

00:02:00.030 --> 00:02:09.939
which is called the Passover. Now, a couple things

00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:13.020
to note here. I believe it is very interesting

00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:17.199
for us to see this scene take place at this specific

00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:19.979
time. It says, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:22.300
It's called the Passover. I want to share with

00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:24.300
you a little bit of Jewish culture, a little

00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:26.740
bit of what's happened up to this point. There

00:02:26.740 --> 00:02:31.159
are three main big, big festivals that were going

00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:34.699
on in Jewish history. The first... was Passover,

00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:39.360
the second was Pentecost, and the third was Tabernacles,

00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:41.699
the Feast of Tabernacles. Here's what all of

00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:44.639
those kind of stood for. The Passover was, we

00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:47.379
know out of Exodus chapter 12, we read that this

00:02:47.379 --> 00:02:51.180
week, the Passover was the moment that commemorates

00:02:51.180 --> 00:02:54.819
or remembers when Israel was set free from Egypt

00:02:54.819 --> 00:02:58.159
and from slavery. Then they were delivered out

00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:02.340
of Egypt. Then 50 days later, they celebrate

00:03:02.340 --> 00:03:06.750
Pentecost. Pentecost is the 50th day. Now, what

00:03:06.750 --> 00:03:10.110
happened 50 days after they left Egypt? Something

00:03:10.110 --> 00:03:13.550
really cool. The law showed up. Mount Sinai,

00:03:13.569 --> 00:03:16.150
they were there and God brought the law. Very

00:03:16.150 --> 00:03:18.289
powerful moment, very powerful thing. That was

00:03:18.289 --> 00:03:21.259
50 days later. That's Pentecost. Then there was

00:03:21.259 --> 00:03:24.419
the Festival of Tabernacles. Tabernacles meaning

00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:28.180
it was commemorating, remembering how the Lord's

00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:32.379
presence is with his people. So you've got whenever

00:03:32.379 --> 00:03:35.319
we're freed from slavery, whenever we get the

00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:37.919
holiness, how to live holy, and then his presence.

00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:40.680
Those are the three main festivals. That's a

00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:42.900
really wide view. There's a lot to be said about

00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:45.060
each of them. But I hope and pray that maybe

00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:46.699
that covers what we have to understand today.

00:03:46.819 --> 00:03:49.330
So one of the things that we need to know. Passover

00:03:49.330 --> 00:03:52.729
was the biggest Jewish festival by far. It was

00:03:52.729 --> 00:03:55.710
a time when every Jewish man was supposed to

00:03:55.710 --> 00:03:58.770
make his way to Jerusalem to celebrate. Now,

00:03:58.789 --> 00:04:02.009
in the culture... Most of the time, this was

00:04:02.009 --> 00:04:04.870
the biggest crowd that Jerusalem had. That means

00:04:04.870 --> 00:04:07.710
a lot is going on. This is what the timeline

00:04:07.710 --> 00:04:11.009
is in Luke 22. This is the moment. This is the

00:04:11.009 --> 00:04:13.169
most crowded, the most packed it's going to be.

00:04:13.389 --> 00:04:16.930
Why in the world would the chief priests and

00:04:16.930 --> 00:04:20.170
the scribes think this is the best time to commit

00:04:20.170 --> 00:04:24.360
a crime? Right? There's the most amount of witnesses.

00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:26.860
There's the most amount of people all around.

00:04:26.980 --> 00:04:29.439
This doesn't even make sense. The more I read

00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:31.139
this today, I just kind of jumped out at me.

00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:33.800
I thought, well, that's weird. Why in the world

00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:36.779
would they do this on the busiest holiday? Like,

00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:39.759
what's going on? and not to mention just those

00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.339
chief priests and scribes. This is when a lot

00:04:42.339 --> 00:04:44.139
of times, if you go back into history and you

00:04:44.139 --> 00:04:47.800
look, a lot of Rome was the governing body in

00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:51.040
Jerusalem at the time, and Rome would send their

00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:55.339
high generals and their high leaders into Jerusalem

00:04:55.339 --> 00:04:59.040
for this Passover. Why? Not because they wanted

00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:00.740
to celebrate Passover, but because they wanted

00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:02.959
to be there to make sure that the peace was kind

00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:05.759
of kept because they didn't want a Jewish uprising

00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:08.660
to try to overthrow Rome. It's when most of the

00:05:08.660 --> 00:05:11.439
Jewish people were together in one place, so

00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:13.959
they would a lot of times send people in extra

00:05:13.959 --> 00:05:16.959
security, right? Extra eyes on what is going

00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:19.860
on. So there's a lot happening in Jerusalem in

00:05:19.860 --> 00:05:22.000
this moment. So don't think whenever we're reading

00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:24.240
Scripture, oh, this is just like another normal

00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:27.220
day. Now, this is the biggest day of the year.

00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:30.019
There's the most amount of people. And the scripture

00:05:30.019 --> 00:05:32.120
says in that verse number two, as he talks about,

00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:35.259
they feared the people. So they were trying to

00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:38.100
come up with a way. How can we get him? Because

00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:39.600
all these people are starting to follow him.

00:05:39.660 --> 00:05:42.980
We don't want any false messiahs to pop up, right?

00:05:43.060 --> 00:05:47.240
We don't want any false leaders to follow. pop

00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:50.000
up out of nowhere. This is a dangerous thing.

00:05:50.100 --> 00:05:51.220
The chief priest and the scribes are saying,

00:05:51.220 --> 00:05:54.079
we don't like this guy. We can't beat him. Anytime

00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:57.259
we talk to him in public, he destroys us. Anytime

00:05:57.259 --> 00:06:01.399
we try to get around him or even threaten him,

00:06:01.540 --> 00:06:03.639
he's got all these followers that love him. How

00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:06.680
can we do this? So they're beginning to seeking

00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:09.639
a way. They're collaborating together and saying,

00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:12.459
how can we put him to death? How can we get rid

00:06:12.459 --> 00:06:15.029
of him? We've got to do this. But the people,

00:06:15.129 --> 00:06:17.589
there is an uproar. We just can't do this. Well,

00:06:17.629 --> 00:06:19.310
then the next couple of verses come. Let's read

00:06:19.310 --> 00:06:22.110
the next few verses. Verse 3 says, Then Satan

00:06:22.110 --> 00:06:26.050
entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was

00:06:26.050 --> 00:06:29.209
one of the number of the twelve. He went away

00:06:29.209 --> 00:06:31.990
and conferred with the chief priests and officers

00:06:31.990 --> 00:06:35.670
how he might betray him to them. And they were

00:06:35.670 --> 00:06:39.379
glad and agreed to give him money. So he consented

00:06:39.379 --> 00:06:41.839
and sought an opportunity to betray him to them

00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:46.180
in the absence of a crowd. Again, here's a moment

00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:50.459
where Judas Iscariot, it says Satan entered him.

00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:54.879
He allowed Satan to take control of his facilities,

00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.180
right? He allowed Satan to enter him and do what

00:06:58.180 --> 00:07:02.439
he wanted. And so in this moment, Judas goes

00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:06.670
in. cuts a deal. The deal he cuts is, I will

00:07:06.670 --> 00:07:10.870
give him to you without anybody seeing it. I

00:07:10.870 --> 00:07:13.870
will do this in secret. Now, there's thousands

00:07:13.870 --> 00:07:15.949
of questions that come to my mind. What is Judas

00:07:15.949 --> 00:07:18.670
thinking? Why is he doing this? He has been a

00:07:18.670 --> 00:07:22.439
faithful follower of Jesus. I use the term faithful

00:07:22.439 --> 00:07:25.339
loosely. The reason I say he's been a follower

00:07:25.339 --> 00:07:28.860
of Jesus, the other 11 disciples, whenever this

00:07:28.860 --> 00:07:30.920
moment comes up a little bit later in the chapter

00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:32.420
where Jesus says, one of you are going to betray

00:07:32.420 --> 00:07:35.379
me, they all were asking, which one of us? Which

00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:37.779
one of us? We've had conversation about who's

00:07:37.779 --> 00:07:39.339
the greatest, but like, which one of us is going

00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:42.839
to, somebody around this table is going to betray

00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:45.879
you? What do you mean? What's going on? There's

00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:48.160
no way. How would they not know? Oh, it's obviously

00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:51.339
Judas, right? The disciples aren't cutting their

00:07:51.339 --> 00:07:52.860
eyes over to the side and being like, we all

00:07:52.860 --> 00:07:54.720
know who this is. It's the guy that's just hanging

00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:56.899
on by a thread. No, no, no. Judas was in charge

00:07:56.899 --> 00:07:59.220
of the money. He was the one that they trusted

00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:01.790
with money. He was the one they trusted. maybe

00:08:01.790 --> 00:08:05.610
the most in all this. This is a big deal. Judas

00:08:05.610 --> 00:08:08.750
now is selling Jesus out. Why? It couldn't have

00:08:08.750 --> 00:08:10.290
been just for the money. It couldn't have been

00:08:10.290 --> 00:08:12.089
because it was only 30 pieces of silver. It's

00:08:12.089 --> 00:08:14.529
not even that much. What was he doing? Maybe

00:08:14.529 --> 00:08:19.850
he was guaranteed something. Maybe his expectations

00:08:19.850 --> 00:08:22.939
weren't met. Maybe Jesus was not the Messiah

00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:24.980
he was looking for. Maybe he was looking for

00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:26.860
one that was going to just build this great kingdom,

00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:28.959
overthrow Rome, and take over everything, and

00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.079
Judas didn't. He knew he wasn't going to get

00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:33.240
that now, so maybe he betrayed him because he

00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:35.220
didn't like him. I don't know what it was. But

00:08:35.220 --> 00:08:37.799
what I do know is the chief priests and the scribes

00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:39.679
are trying to figure out a way. How do we kill

00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:42.970
Jesus? And Judah says, I will bring him to you

00:08:42.970 --> 00:08:46.610
in the absence of a crowd. Here is something

00:08:46.610 --> 00:08:49.289
awesome that I did not even realize until I was

00:08:49.289 --> 00:08:52.950
reading it just this week. The next thing that

00:08:52.950 --> 00:08:57.210
happens is Jesus gets Peter and John, and they

00:08:57.210 --> 00:08:59.250
say to him, hey, he wants to have the Passover

00:08:59.250 --> 00:09:00.610
meal. He says, hey, it's time for us to have

00:09:00.610 --> 00:09:02.809
the Passover. So they say, where do you want

00:09:02.809 --> 00:09:04.389
to do it? And he says, here's what I want you

00:09:04.389 --> 00:09:06.570
to do. I want you to go find a guy carrying water.

00:09:07.529 --> 00:09:10.289
and I want you to follow him to his place and

00:09:10.289 --> 00:09:12.690
then ask him the room that we're going to be

00:09:12.690 --> 00:09:16.269
in. The only two disciples that knew where they

00:09:16.269 --> 00:09:19.549
were going to have the Passover together was

00:09:19.549 --> 00:09:23.669
Peter and John. The others didn't know. They

00:09:23.669 --> 00:09:25.549
were going to meet him there. Why did Jesus do

00:09:25.549 --> 00:09:28.409
that? Well, I think because Jesus knew what was

00:09:28.409 --> 00:09:31.429
going on with Judas. Can you imagine Judas as

00:09:31.429 --> 00:09:33.409
he's talking with these guys and he's made this

00:09:33.409 --> 00:09:35.610
plan in place and he says, hey, I'm going to

00:09:35.610 --> 00:09:38.340
deliver him to you. I know we're going to have

00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:40.159
Passover tonight. Maybe I'll find out where we're

00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:41.679
having it, and then I'll tell you and we can

00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:44.679
ambush him there. Jesus doesn't even let Judas

00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:46.879
know where they're having Passover. He doesn't

00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:48.179
know until they're all walking there together.

00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:52.279
Then is when Judas leaves the table a little

00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:54.220
bit later, as we'll see in the chapter, that

00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:57.299
he then goes to betray Jesus. I think it is absolutely

00:09:57.299 --> 00:10:00.019
brilliant. I never put the two together. Like,

00:10:00.019 --> 00:10:02.019
why would Jesus tell the two disciples, Peter

00:10:02.019 --> 00:10:05.019
and John, hey, go find this guy. Didn't even

00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:06.659
tell him, you know, he's carrying a water pot.

00:10:06.740 --> 00:10:09.139
Can't miss him. They're like, okay. And then

00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:10.879
follow him to his house and then say, hey, the

00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.159
teacher wants to, where's the room for the teacher?

00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:15.960
And then he'll take you to the room. Jesus doesn't

00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:17.919
even say, here's the address. Here's how to get

00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:20.480
there. And Jesus knew where it was, right? He

00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:22.580
told these guys, I want you to follow this process

00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:25.019
so that then you can come back and we'll all

00:10:25.019 --> 00:10:27.820
go there together. He didn't tell all of the

00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:30.299
disciples where they were going. I think Jesus

00:10:30.299 --> 00:10:32.700
knows exactly what's going on and exactly what's

00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:35.179
happening. And here's what I think is amazing.

00:10:35.940 --> 00:10:38.700
Judas thought he had the upper hand. He's got

00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:41.460
this council of people ready to go and get Jesus.

00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:45.200
And Judas was close to Jesus and says, I'll deliver.

00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:47.840
I can do this for you. Judas doesn't even know

00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:50.159
where they're having dinner tonight. He doesn't

00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:53.720
even know where the restaurant is. And he thinks

00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:57.179
he's in control. He thinks he's in charge. There's

00:10:57.179 --> 00:10:59.159
a moment in Luke 22, Jesus even tells him, hey,

00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:01.720
go do what you need to do. It's, I know what

00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:03.320
you're doing. I know how you're doing it. Go

00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:05.279
make it happen. In this moment, when they're

00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.240
in this upper room, Jesus is washing their feet.

00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:09.240
We can find that in other gospel accounts that

00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:12.539
he does that there. There is a tradition in place

00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:17.100
that the host of the Passover meal, the unleavened

00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:20.879
bread meal, there's a tradition that that person

00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:23.519
would then kiss everyone on the cheek before

00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.059
they would get to the dinner table, which means

00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:29.139
most likely Jesus has kissed each of his disciples

00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:32.299
on the cheek before they have had dinner together.

00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:36.620
Even Judas. Even Judas. And to think that Jesus

00:11:36.620 --> 00:11:39.240
would do that, knowing what is already in place.

00:11:39.870 --> 00:11:42.750
He still gave Judas a chance to repent, I think.

00:11:42.870 --> 00:11:44.490
I think he's still giving Judas, now I know he

00:11:44.490 --> 00:11:46.590
knew everything from the Old Testament, New Testament,

00:11:46.590 --> 00:11:48.649
all that. But I think that there's a moment where

00:11:48.649 --> 00:11:51.389
Jesus is showing, even to the very end, you know,

00:11:51.389 --> 00:11:53.990
whenever the disciples start asking, who is it

00:11:53.990 --> 00:11:55.210
that's going to betray him? Who is it that's

00:11:55.210 --> 00:11:57.570
going to betray him? I could almost see Peter

00:11:57.570 --> 00:12:02.460
reaching for his sword, right? Ain't nobody betraying

00:12:02.460 --> 00:12:04.960
Jesus. I'm on it. I'm ready. Getting ready to

00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:06.500
draw his sword, right? And you think, well, how

00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:08.620
does that happen? We'll read a little bit later.

00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:11.379
He does draw a sword, and he does slice an ear

00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:13.840
off of a guy who I'm sure he was not just trying

00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:15.759
to chop at his ear. I'm pretty sure he was going

00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:18.000
for his head, and the guy just moved his head,

00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:20.460
and the ear got chopped off. But in that moment,

00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:24.100
I think Peter is so for Jesus, right? He's thinking,

00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:25.960
who is it that's going to betray him? I will

00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:28.779
take him out right now. Lord, you just nod at

00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:31.149
the guy. You just cut your eyes at the one. and

00:12:31.149 --> 00:12:33.889
I'll take care of him. Jesus still doesn't do

00:12:33.889 --> 00:12:36.149
that. He still protects this man that's been

00:12:36.149 --> 00:12:38.049
following him. As I read the scripture today

00:12:38.049 --> 00:12:40.649
and as I'm encouraged today, there's a lot to

00:12:40.649 --> 00:12:43.090
know about the scripture, a lot to trust in the

00:12:43.090 --> 00:12:45.429
scripture. And here's what I will tell you as

00:12:45.429 --> 00:12:49.990
my takeaway. This has been about the setup of

00:12:49.990 --> 00:12:53.610
the Passover meal for the disciples and him instituting

00:12:53.610 --> 00:12:57.230
the Lord's Supper as we know it today. There's

00:12:57.230 --> 00:13:00.159
been a lot happen. Right. And a lot building

00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.200
into these moments. And then when Jesus sits

00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:05.720
his disciples down, he begins to share with them

00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:07.600
he's going to suffer. He begins to share with

00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:10.360
them the time is now. The time is right now.

00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:12.379
It's about to happen. And it's going to happen

00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:16.539
right before your eyes. I want us to always be

00:13:16.539 --> 00:13:20.240
awake and alert and have our eyes open. I know

00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:23.000
last week when we looked in Luke 21, Jesus was

00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:25.629
giving us some. pictures of what will happen

00:13:25.629 --> 00:13:27.629
in the end times, and he keeps telling us, stay

00:13:27.629 --> 00:13:31.629
awake, stay alert. Even as busy as life gets,

00:13:31.750 --> 00:13:36.289
as much is going on religiously, you know this

00:13:36.289 --> 00:13:38.409
is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Do you

00:13:38.409 --> 00:13:41.039
know what that means? There was this... call

00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:43.679
in Exodus 12 that they were to get unleavened

00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:47.500
bread. Why? Because leaven was the yeast, as

00:13:47.500 --> 00:13:50.259
we understand today, and it was set in bread,

00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:52.299
and it took it a while to rise. It took it a

00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:54.980
while to spread through the whole bread loaf.

00:13:55.860 --> 00:13:58.679
And the people that left Egypt in Exodus 12,

00:13:58.700 --> 00:14:00.440
they had to leave with haste. That's why they

00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:02.419
couldn't leaven their bread. That's why it had

00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:04.539
to be unleavened bread because you could bake

00:14:04.539 --> 00:14:08.179
it without having to wait. And so Jesus, God

00:14:08.179 --> 00:14:10.580
was telling in Exodus 12, the Israelites as they

00:14:10.580 --> 00:14:14.519
were leaving, get all the leaven out and you're

00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:16.200
going to remove it from your house because it

00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:18.059
has to take time to rise and you've got to move

00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:20.639
quickly. When I'm ready to move, you move. And

00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:22.899
that was a symbol of two things. One, moving

00:14:22.899 --> 00:14:25.740
when God says to move, but two, removing the

00:14:25.740 --> 00:14:29.220
things that spread. So removing the sin of Egypt.

00:14:29.419 --> 00:14:33.519
out of your house. In this moment, this is what

00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.340
is absolutely blowing my mind, the chief priests

00:14:36.340 --> 00:14:39.419
and the scribes have all removed the leaven out

00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:42.720
of their house, but they didn't remove the leaven

00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:46.120
out of their hearts. Leaven was that spreading

00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:49.960
agent. It was symbolized sin in the Old Testament

00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:53.600
and the New. And Jesus is right here at Passover.

00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:55.840
They've removed the leaven out of the upper room

00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:57.600
in the house that they're going to prepare for

00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:00.080
them to have the Passover together, to eat this

00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:02.320
meal together. And I can't help but think those

00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:05.960
people that went to betray and arrest Jesus had

00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:09.320
all done the right religious things, but their

00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:12.039
hearts were out of line. Today, I'm just going

00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:13.740
to ask you this. Whatever is in your heart, whatever

00:15:13.740 --> 00:15:15.700
is in your mind, whatever is in your life that

00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:19.240
does not align with the Lord, remove it. Just

00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:22.399
remove it. And don't remove it religiously. Remove

00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:25.720
it genuinely. Genuinely. Allow the Lord to take

00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:28.240
it out of your life and remove it, whatever that

00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:30.700
may be. Because there's a lot that happens and

00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:34.139
a lot that takes place in our life. And the best

00:15:34.139 --> 00:15:38.340
experience we can have is without the leaven

00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:42.440
of the world in our lives slowing us down and

00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:44.740
keeping us out of what God wants us to be.