Written by: Matt Summerfield - Crusaders

Luke 22 v 17-20
Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this cup and share it among yourselves. I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until God’s kingdom comes.”
Then Jesus took some bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to the apostles, saying, “This is my body, which I am giving for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new agreement that God makes with his people. This new agreement begins with my blood which is poured out for you.

Notes
Close your eyes and picture the scene! Jesus is enjoying a meal one night with his disciples. Near the close of the meal he grabs some bread and wine, telling them that the bread is like his body and the wine is like his blood. What was he on about??

I am sure the disciples were probably thinking the same thing. Yet, Jesus was pointing out that the broken bread and poured out wine were symbolising something that was about to happen to him. In the next 24 hours Jesus’ body would be broken, having endured the most horrendous torture, and his life would end on a cold, splintered cross. Jesus was God’s only Son, and whilst he did a lot of incredible stuff like healing people and sharing some life-changing teaching, his main purpose for coming to the earth 2,000 years ago was to die on a cross – and then rise again 3 days later.

Why did Jesus die? To take the punishment for all the mistakes, mess ups and failures we commit every day of our lives, so that nothing could get in the way of us having a close friendship with God himself. God loves us, but he doesn’t like lots of the stuff we do because we hurt other people and often, ourselves.

So on that night with his disciples Jesus was saying to his friends “Listen guys, from now on – every time you break bread and drink some wine – remember me – remember that I loved you so much I was willing to die on a cross for you”.

You know what folks – 2,000 years later. Jesus is making the same statement into our lives today. Remember me!

I wonder how you will respond??

Luke 22 v 21-23
“But one of you will turn against me, and his hand is with mine on the table. What God has planned for the Son of Man will happen, but how terrible it will be for that one who turns against the Son of Man.”
Then the apostles asked each other which one of them would do that.

Notes
Have you ever had an experience where you’ve felt really let down by one of your friends? Perhaps they’ve slagged you off behind your back or worse still, gone off with your boyfriend or girlfriend. You feel terribly betrayed. 

Will you ever recover, and could God ever understand how you feel? The answer to both questions is yes.

One night, in the middle of a nice meal with his closest friends, Jesus suddenly announced that one of them was going to betray him. Sure enough, just a few hours later, Judas led a crowd of Roman soldiers straight to Jesus. Even though Jesus knew this was going to happen I can imagine that he was absolutely gutted. Judas had been part of Jesus most inner circle of friends for three years. They lived together. Travelled together. Talked together. Shared good and bad times together. Yet, Judas was willing to throw all that away for 30 pieces of silver.

So today if you’re feeling badly let down or betrayed by someone, remember that you really can talk with God about it. Jesus has first hand experience of the disappointment of betrayal. 

As well as being able to understand how you feel I am sure God would also encourage you to try and forgive the person. That’s a really tough thing to do but it’s also the only way of really living life. Being mad at people all the time, even if they’ve really hurt you, doesn’t really help you at all. You just become bitter. Why let them spoil your life any further?

God really will help you to do this – you only have to ask Him.

Luke 22 v 24-26
The apostles also began to argue about which one of them was the most important. But Jesus said to them, “The kings of the non-Jewish people rule over them, and those who have authority over others like to be called ‘friends of the people.’ But you must not be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the leader should be like the servant. 

Notes
Jesus was always very good at challenging the way people would think. We live in a world that is very selfish. To survive in this world we are told that you’ve got to ‘look after number one’. It’s all about ‘me, me, me’! My needs! My desires! My way! “It’s not the taking part that counts – it’s only about winning”! But is this thinking right?? Jesus clearly doesn’t agree and turns this thinking on its head. 

As far as Jesus was concerned, the best way to live is not to get your own way all the time and it’s not all about bossing everyone around. In fact, Jesus says something that seems really weird. He says that the way to greatness in this world is actually to serve other people and to treat others better than you’d treat yourself. Even though this may be difficult and involve making sacrifices, there’s no denying that we feel good when we help someone out.

There are some very practical ways we can respond to this today. Perhaps we can help out more around the house. Maybe there is a friend at college who could do with our help. I wonder if we’d even considering giving some of our money away to a charity that has a cause we believe in. There are millions of different ways of serving people. Why not start today and commit yourself to helping other people more than seeking to get all of your own needs met. Imagine what the world would be like today if everyone did that!

When Jesus encourages us to look out for others rather than focusing on ourselves all the time, he turns the traditional world view upside down – or maybe – just maybe - He puts it the right way up!!

Luke 22 v 27-30
Who is more important: the one sitting at the table or the one serving? You think the one at the table is more important, but I am like a servant among you.
“You have stayed with me through my struggles. Just as my Father has given me a kingdom, I also give you a kingdom so you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Notes
You know what? Being a Christian is really tough! Whoever says that Christians are wimps just doesn’t have a clue really. It’s much easier to go along with the crowd and do what everyone else is doing. Yet, Christianity calls us to live a radically different lifestyle which means that we will stand out. We do the things that God says are best for us because we know that He loves us so very much.

I firmly believe that following God is the best thing in all the world. He really does offer a fantastic full-on adventure. I’m really glad that God is my best friend and that He is heavily involved in guiding my life, making sure that I get the most of out of it. 

But having said all that, it’s still very difficult sometimes. Over the years many people have made fun of me. Other times I have felt left out of the crowd because I didn’t do something that everyone else was doing. Sometimes I have felt guilty because I did do something I knew wasn’t right and ended up either hurting myself or someone else. 

It’s re-assuring to know that, whatever I am going through, God is with me. But it’s also really reassuring to know that one day I will be in Heaven, seeing God face to face and getting a seat right next to Him. I think I can endure some trouble on this Earth today if I know that I will enjoy forever and ever having a big feast with God Himself.

So stick with it today – God won’t forget all you’ve been through but will massively reward you. A seat in Heaven next to the man Himself!

Luke 22 v 31-34
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to test all of you as a farmer sifts his wheat. I have prayed that you will not lose your faith! Help your brothers be stronger when you come back to me.”
But Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and even to die with you!”
But Jesus said, “Peter, before the rooster crows this day, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”

Notes 
Simon was one of Jesus’ best mates. He was a rough and ready fisherman, and pretty good at making mistakes. All the same, he loved Jesus and was committed to giving his best for God. In fact, in just a couple of months time, from the passage above, Simon would tell thousands of people all about Jesus and, in one meeting, over 3,000 people would become Christians. How cool is that?

Yet on this particular day Jesus turns to Simon and says “Simon, bad news! The devil has asked me if he can to destroy you”. Now if I was Simon, my immediate response to Jesus would be “Well you told him NO WAY didn’t you Jesus?”. However, it seems that Jesus did not tell the devil to leave Simon alone. In fact, all Jesus said to Simon was “Don’t worry, I’ll be praying for you that you’ll survive”.

How weird is that?

Why didn’t Jesus just tell the devil to clear off and leave Simon alone? I think there are two main reasons.

Firstly, Jesus knew that just because Simon was a Christian didn’t mean that he would go through life never facing some tough times. Suffering comes to all of us – whether we’re Christians or not. It is often true that when we go through the hardest of times we become stronger people, and learn to depend on God more.

Secondly, Simon must’ve felt pretty secure knowing that Jesus was praying for him? After all, Jesus is excellent at praying.

Today, if you’re feeling that life is hard – don’t give up! You will get through! Keep talking to God about it. Remember that Jesus is also praying for you right now – and if that’s the case – you know that you’ll come through it. 

Luke 22 v 35-38
Then Jesus said to the apostles, “When I sent you out without a purse, a bag, or sandals, did you need anything?”
They said, “No.”
He said to them, “But now if you have a purse or a bag, carry that with you. If you don’t have a sword, sell your coat and buy one. The Scripture says, ‘He was treated like a criminal,’ and I tell you this scripture must have its full meaning. It was written about me, and it is happening now.”
His followers said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.”
He said to them, “That is enough.”

Notes
During the time Jesus lived on the earth He often sent His disciples out to share with people God’s brilliant message and to pray that the sick would be healed. When He sent them out He would specifically tell them that they didn’t need to take anything with them. They were to trust God that He would provide for every need along the way. Nowhere in the Bible do we read that they wanted after anything during that time.

Yet in the passage above Jesus instructs His disciples that they will need to have some things with them for the journey ahead. They might even need a sword to defend themselves as life was going to get pretty hairy for them all.

The disciples’ response to both requests was primarily to trust Jesus. Trusting someone you can see is hard enough sometimes. Trusting someone you can’t see is even harder.

But we can trust God today. We can know with assurance that He is looking out for us and if He is asking us to do something then it’s for our very best.

Friends might fail us. Family may let us down from time to time. But God is faithful. In fact, the Bible tells us elsewhere that God will never let us endure unbearable tough times but will always rescue us. He knows how much we can take and he knows the right time to step in.

The question today for us to consider is “Are we really willing to trust Him?”

Luke 22 v 39-43
Jesus left the city and went to the Mount of Olives, as he often did, and his followers went with him. When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray for strength against temptation.”
Then Jesus went about a stone’s throw away from them. He kneeled down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take away this cup of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to him to strengthen him. 

Notes
This is one of the most amazing passages of the Bible. Jesus knows that in the next 24 hours he will be brutally tortured and executed. He knows that the only way that mankind can have a friendship with God is if He sacrifices His own life to take the punishment for the worlds’ sin.

Yet in these last few hours He gets on His knees before God and cries “Dad, if there is any other way to do this please let me know.” Unsurprisingly, at this very moment Jesus was afraid! 

But Jesus knew there was no other way. He knew that someone had to pay the price and that the only person worthy of the task was Himself. The perfect, sinless Son of God dying for sinful mankind.

So in an act of incredible obedience Jesus says to God “Dad, I’ll do it your way”. Within 24 hours He was dead. But 3 days later He was alive and an incredible hope for mankind was restored.

Do you know something? Whilst God is very keen for you to go to Church, read your Bible and pray – He wants to know more than anything whether you are willing to do what He says. 

God’s way may not seem the best way at the time, but we can be assured that He sees a bigger picture than we do. God’s love for us is the motivator for every thing He tells us to do and everything He tells us to avoid. 

So keep reading your Bible - but don’t just read it – live it out!

In a world where everyone shouts “I’ll do it MY WAY” be willing to say to God today “I’ll do it YOUR way!”.


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes