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            As Jesus and the remaining 11 disciples continue to eat Jesus took bread, praised God, gave thanks and asked Him to bless it to their use. When He broke it He gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” This would support prophecy of Isaiah 53:5 that He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed. He gave His body so that we can receive health. He took all sickness and disease on His body before the cross so that we could live in health, to be in perfect health to serve Him. The disciples would soon find out the full meaning of, “Take, eat; this is my body.” He then took a cup and when He had given thanks He gave it to them saying, “Drink of It, all of you; for this is My blood of the new covenant, which (ratifies the agreement) is being poured out for many for the forgives of sins. (Exodus 24:6-8). The blood that Jesus was about to pour would do away with animal sacrifices at the altar, He became the ultimate sacrifice that rid the need for all other sacrifices. His blood cleanses us, keeps us cleaned in His righteousness and under His cloak of protection.

            Jesus tells His disciples that He will not drink again with them of this fruit till the day He drinks it with them in a new and far more superior kingdom. Jesus told His disciples a few times what was to come but they didn’t get it, and they didn’t fully understand the wholeness of it which is why they were so shocked with what came next.

            They praised God and sang a hymn then went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus then warned them that they will all be offended and stumble and fall away because of Him that night. This fulfills prophecy, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ Zech 13:7. Jesus tells them that after He is raised up again He will go ahead of them to Galilee.

            Peter tells Jesus that he will never desert Jesus or fall away from Him, even if He has to die. It was easy for Peter to stand strong when there wasn’t persecution in this moment. It may be easy for us to be alone in our prayer closet visualizing standing up to a loved one who isn’t a believer and sharing Jesus boldly. Yet when the moment comes to stand up for our faith, it can be harder than we think. The more time we spend with Jesus the bolder in Jesus we will be. The more Godfidance (confidence in God) we will have. Peter didn’t have the Holy Spirit yet to guide him, Jesus had to go and rise again to give us this precious gift. Because Peter didn’t have the Holy Spirit to help him, he did as Jesus said, he denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Without the Holy Spirit we are weak, with the Holy Spirit we can then work in Christ to do whatever is at hand. The Holy Spirit is what the disciples would soon find out is key to truly being one with God and following Him boldly; the way to overcome the flesh.

            How thankful we should be that we have the Holy Spirit, that through Jesus’ obedience and God’s love we have the Holy Spirit to stand in strongly when persecution comes.

            Jesus then went to Gethsemane and He told His disciples to sit down and take watch while Jesus goes and prays. He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Verse 38 says that He was feeling sadness and was deeply grieving so that He was almost dying of sorrow. This was a deep, deep grievance. He told the three to stay and keep watch so that He could go and pray.

            He walked a little further and threw Himself on the ground on His face saying, ‘My Father, if its possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will but your will be done.” This is one way of worship. When we worship God its not just in song (though it can be) but its internally in surrender. When we worship we can stand with our arms reached to Him in praise, we can kneel before Him in humbleness or we can do what Jesus does here and lay down with our face on the ground in full surrender. Jesus was laying in full surrender as He spoke with God here. When we worship God, try worshipping Him in new ways; if you have never kneeled before Him or layed flat in surrender I urge you to try it. It will change your communication with Him and deepen your relationship with Him in full surrender in worship. It is important to watch what Jesus said; when we pray we can ask God to take something from us or give us something we think we need, but we should always want His will above ours. Jesus stated that He wanted this burden lifted from Him but He wanted Gods will to be done above all else. We should always want Gods will to be done above our own.

            Jesus went and checked on the disciples and they had fallen asleep. They knew Jesus was the Son of Man and they knew He was deeply grieved yet they still fell asleep and count even keep watch for HIm. Jesus said that their Spirit is willing but their flesh is weak. This explains why we need the Holy Spirit, because on our own in flesh we are weak. So a second time He went to pray and said to God that if this couldn’t pass by unless He drank it, that His will will be done. When He went to check on the three and He found them yet again asleep. He returned and prayed again not even messing with the disciples and confirmed again that Gods will be done.

            When He was done in prayer He retired to the disciples and said that they were sleeping while the hour is at hand, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of the wicked. Sure enough they see Judas with a great crowd (chief priests, elders of people) all with clubs and swords. The betrayer was to give them a sign, Judas was to kiss Jesus on the cheek to show them who He was.

            Judas walks to Jesus, looks at Him, kisses His cheek and says, “Hail Master.” Hail meant greetings, good health to You and long life to you. So Judas literally kissed Him, said ‘long life to you’ while he knew he was betraying Him.

            Despite Judas betraying Jesus, Jesus still called Him Friend. This was a big deal, this showed that even though Judas betrayed Jesus, He still loved him and called him friend. This is something flesh would make us all struggle with, calling someone a friend after they do you extremely wrong. Jesus didn’t hold on to offense or yell at Judas. He called Him friend and asked what he was doing there even though He already knew. Today, we say something that isn’t politically correct, unintentionally, and we are hated for it, because the opposed is incredibly offended even though it was an accident. Could you imagine how amazing it would be if everyone was as kind and forgiving and loving as Jesus… if people didn’t get offended over the tiniest things and were able to just see with love regardless of our flaw. How amazing would it be if the flesh didn’t cause some to over think the situation and form grudges out of nothing.

            When we see ourselves becoming offended by someone, think of this. If Jesus was able to be betrayed by His friend, the ultimate betrayal that was supposed to lead to His death, yet still love him and call him friend; then how much more should we forgive someone who did something minuscule in comparison? We can do much better. We have picked up this selfish, fleshly tendency to be offended and make everything about us and how we feel. Truly, most of it doesn’t matter. Jesus matters. What Bobby or Suzy said that hurt your feeling is merely a distraction sent from the devil to keep your mind on nonsense when it should be on Jesus. If we are getting offended by the littlest thing its because we haven’t in that moment denied ourself. If we haven’t denied ourself then we are not able to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. (Mathew 16:24). We have to deny ourself in all aspects and we can’t be offended or hurt by what someone did to us emotionally if we had truly denied ourself. Being aware is the first step; repent and ask God to help you to deny yourself int he area that you may be still holding onto. If someone tries to offend us or hurt our feelings, we should be so in love with Jesus that we don’t care about what someone else said or did to us; it shouldn’t matter. With grace and effortless Jesus called Judas friend after Judas betrayed Jesus and turned Him in for a death sentence. We have no reason to hold onto offense. Forgiveness is our job. Denying ourself is the step we have to take to pick up our cross to follow Jesus.

            (Remember, Judas didn’t deny himself which is why even though he was following Jesus on the outside, he wasn’t really following him on the inside. Judas’ heart wasn’t in it before he was still selfish and serving money over Jesus. He wouldn’t deny himself in all aspects and that is why he couldn’t be a real follow of Jesus despite the fact that he was following him on foot wherever he went. We must deny ourself.) 

            As the crowd came for Jesus, Peter reacted and tried to protect Jesus and cut off a guards ear. Jesus said to Peter to put down his sword for wall who draw the sward die by the sword. Jesus then said, ‘Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will immediately provide Me with more than 80,000 angels? But how then will the scriptures be fulfilled, that it must come about this way?” Jesus knew His mission, He didn’t have to do this for us, but He chose too. Out of His love for the Father and for us. We will never be deserving or earning of this.

            Jesus then asks the crowd why they came at night with weapons as if they were out trying to catch a criminal or a robber? They had many chances to arrest Him in day time when He was out preaching or teaching in public. Yet they chose to treat Him like a criminal because they knew that if they gathered Him in daytime in public there would be a riot. All of this happened so that again scriptures would be fulfilled. Then, fulfilling more Scriptures the disciples fled and deserted Him.

            They took Jesus to Caiaphas where the High priest and the elders assembled; Peter followed closely behind without them seeing him. The chief priests tried to find multiple witnesses to testify against Jesus but they could find none. After some time they found two who would testify against Jesus; one of them accused Jesus of saying that He would tear down the temple of God and build it up again in three days. They asked Jesus if this was true to which He kept silent.

            The High priest demanded that Jesus confessed to saying that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus then says, “ You have stated the fact, more than that I tell you: you will in the future see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty and coming on the clouds of the sky (ps 110:1 and Dan &:13).” The high priest, furiously yells blasphemy and asked the crowd what they thought to which they all said put Him to death. They slapped Him in the face, spit on Him and even punched Him. They mocked Him and told Him to prophecy as to who was hitting Him from behind. Mocking is an evil, evil thing; it’s a spirit the devil uses to make people feel awful.

            Peter was sitting on the outside in the courtyard and one maid came put to him and asked if He was with Jesus, to which he denied Him. Another maid approached him and asked the same question to which he denied as well. After a little while bystanders came and said to Peter that he was with Jesus to which Peter denied for the third time and immediately a rooster crowed. Peter then remembered that Jesus told him he would deny Jesus three times and Peter went outside and wept bitterly.