Read Mark 14:10-26
Why would Judas want to betray Jesus? Very likely, Judas expected Jesus to start a political rebellion and overthrow Rome. As treasurer, Judas certainly assumed that he would be given an important position in Jesus’ new government. But when Jesus praised Mary for pouring out the perfume, thought to be worth a day’s salary, Judas finally began to realize that Jesus’ kingdom was not physical or political but spiritual. Judas’ greedy desire for money and status could not be fulfilled if he followed Jesus, so he betrayed Him in exchange for money and favor from the religious leaders.
Many homes had large upstairs rooms, sometimes with stairways both inside and outside the house. The preparations for the Passover would have included setting the table and buying and preparing the Passover lamb, unleavened bread, sauces, and other ceremonial food and drink.
Judas, the very man that would betray Jesus, was at the table with the others. Judas had already determined to betray Jesus, but in cold-blooded hypocrisy he shared the fellowship of this meal. It is easy to become enraged or shocked by what Judas did; yet professing commitment to Christ and then denying Him with one’s life is also betraying Him. It is denying Christ’s love to disobey Him; it is denying His truth to distrust Him; it is denying His deity to reject His authority. Do your words and actions match? If not, consider a change of mind and heart that will protect you from making a terrible mistake.
Jesus’ death for us on the cross seals a new covenant between God and us. The old covenant involved forgiveness of sins through the blood of an animal sacrifice (Exodus 24). But instead of a spotless lamb on the altar, Jesus offered Himself, the spotless Lamb of God, as a sacrifice that would forgive sin once and for all. Jesus was the final sacrifice for sins, and His blood sealed the new agreement between God and us. Now all of us can come to God through Jesus, in full confidence that God will hear us and save us from our sins.
Mark records the origin of the Lord’s Supper, also called Communion or Eucharist, which is still celebrated in worship services today. Jesus and His disciples ate a meal, sang psalms, read Scripture, and prayed. Then Jesus took two traditional parts of the Passover meal, the passing of bread and the drinking of wine, and gave them new meaning as representations of His body and blood. He used the bread and wine to explain the significance of what He was about to do on the cross. The hymn they sang was most likely taken from Psalms 115 – 118, traditionally sung at the Passover meal.