Do you want me to prepare the Passover meal for you to eat?

 

Do you want me to prepare the Passover meal

for you to eat?

 

Mark 14:12-15 『And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said to him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?And he sendeth forth two of his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the good man of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where shall I eat the passover with my disciples? And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us』

Jesus had a Passover meal ahead of his crucifixion, and the Jewish leaders were pursuing a secret deal with Judas Iscariot to capture Jesus. In 14:10, before the Passover meal, the high priests and scribes had already promised to give money to Judas, and Judas Iscariot was looking for an opportunity to hand over Jesus. Because Jesus knew all the thoughts of the Jews, the place for the Passover meal was secretly prepared in advance. This can also be seen in Jesus riding a donkey in Mark 11.

Jesus had visited the temple in Jerusalem and the area around Bethany outside the temple several times, and knew the geography well and the people living in that area. Not only was he able to easily obtain a donkey, but the Passover dinner was also prepared in advance. will be. The clue is a woman carrying a bucket of water. The large attic is reminiscent of today's inns. To prepare Passover food in a large attic, the woman would have had to draw water and carry it several times. So her two disciples were able to secretly enter the castle and make contact with the woman carrying the water jar. And as previously promised, the disciples confirmed the room reservation and ordered the Passover lamb needed for the dinner. At this time, only two of the disciples went, so Judas Iscariot was absent, so the high priests and scribes were unaware of the location.

In Mark 14:17-20, Jesus said that one of his disciples would betray him. The disciples are curious as they look at each other's faces. And as he breaks the bread, he says, “This is my flesh,” and as he passes the wine cup, he says, “It is my blood, the blood of the covenant.” The disciples probably did not understand what this meant. In chapter 14, verse 27, “And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.” These words refer to the imminent death of the cross. means that Drinking new in the kingdom of God means resurrection.

In Hebrews 8:6-10, “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:』

The New Covenant is a quote from what Jeremiah said, “I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts.” The Israelites made a golden calf idol even while Moses was receiving the law from God on Mount Sinai. Idols are in their hearts. The idol is none other than the old man (old temple). It is an idol of greed that wants to be like God. Unless a believer abandons idols in his heart or dies from his old self, he cannot enter Christ.

The Old Covenant was written on stone tablets (old temple), but the New Covenant is written on the tablets of the heart (new temple). In 1 Corinthians 9:21, “To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.” The old temple was the law. Although it is located below, the new temple is said to be under the law of Christ. The law engraved in the heart of the new person born in the wilderness becomes the faith that looks to the coming Messiah (new temple).

The Book of Exodus was written in the first year of the Exodus, but Deuteronomy was written in the 40th year of wilderness life in chapter 1, verse 3. Since it was November, there was only about a month left until the people entered Canaan. Except for Moses, all the ancient people died in the wilderness. That is why Moses speaks about the new temple to the new people born in the wilderness. In Deuteronomy 29:1, “These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.” The covenant was made on Mount Horeb. received. However, he received the words of the covenant in the land of Moab.

In Deuteronomy 30:14, “But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” The law received at Mount Sinai was “something the Jews could not keep,” but now You, the new people, say, “You can do it.” The reason is that it can be done through the Messiah (New Temple), the woman's descendant. They would have heard that these animals symbolized the coming Messiah, as they had to kill sacrificial lambs every day for their sins. So, through sacrifice, think of the temple (Messiah) built in your heart, and look to the Messiah who will save you with faith.

Apostle Paul quotes the words of Deuteronomy in Romans 10:8: 『But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; will be. The Hebrew word Messiah is the Greek word Christ.

The new covenant that Jesus speaks of means resurrection. For resurrection there must be death on the cross. Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples, intervenes in the death of the cross. Jesus was sold to the chief priests and scribes, and the other disciples all denied Jesus before the cross and ran away. Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crows three times. All of these things of the disciples are aspects of their old self. The old self must die with the cross and be born as a new person. After Jesus was resurrected, he told his disciples to receive the Holy Spirit and breathed on them. It is a scene of rebirth from an old person to a new person.

God is looking for people to enter into a new covenant. God wants to establish the kingdom of God with the new temple in mind and meet the saints there. The old temple must be destroyed. Believing that Jesus died in union with his death on the cross is the destruction of the old temple. The new temple engraved in our hearts is the saints, heaven, and the millennium. The kingdom of heaven spoken of in the Gospel of Matthew is the kingdom of God in the heart. That is why the Second Coming is when Christ comes into the new temple.