Crossing the sea

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." The Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen." Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians." Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. - Exodus 14:5‭-‬31 ESV

Rev. Ryan Egli

Missing the bigger picture

The Pharaoh was utterly humiliated and done with the people of Israel. He sends them away. But God leads then through the wilderness. This is not a quick route, it is slow and would've taken weeks and months. Meanwhile Pharaoh's heart hardens again and he takes hundreds of chariots from his personal guard and hundreds, if not thousands from the nation's military, then goes to pursue the slaves, the nation of Israel.

Israel is between a rock and a hard place. The military might of Egypt is coming after them. They start to grumble and complain. They forget about who had started their release from slavery. They forgot about God and all the power represented in those plagues. Often it is the same with us when times gets tough, when we are not #blessed or living Instagram perfect lives. We forget God and His mighty works.

God's agenda

God is here to show his power. He is protecting Israel with the pillars of cloud and fire. He then opens a path across the sea. There is a wall of water on both left and right as Israel crosses. God then defeats the entire army without the Israelites lifting a single weapon. He brings the entire sea down upon the Egyptians and not one survives. The people of Israel look upon the army one minute and then nothing... utter anhilation.

From deliverance to doxology

After Moses sees this, he praises God. After him, Miriam lifts the tambourine and sings a song to God. These glimpses of joy are so fleeting here. But in heaven, the songs are the norm. We shall sing of the salvation of God. We will continue to sing about Jesus coming and saving. Praise and worship are the right response to salvation & deliverance. So what about today? We can only identify as one of two camps, either the oppressor, hard hearted Pharaoh or the enslaved Israelites. If the first, we should be afraid and turn to God. If the second, we should remember how God has saved us, we should respond in praise and thankfulness rather than grumbling and complaining.

Exodus: the struggle

Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'" But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord , that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord , and moreover, I will not let Israel go." Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens." And Pharaoh said, "Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!" The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.' Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words." So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, 'I will not give you straw. Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.'" So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, "Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw." And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?" Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, "Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, 'Make bricks!' And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people." But he said, "You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord .' Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks." The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, "You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day." They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; and they said to them, "The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us." Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all."

But the Lord said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land." God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the Lord . I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the Lord , and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord .'" Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. So the Lord said to Moses, "Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land." But Moses said to the Lord , "Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?" But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. - Exodus 5-6:‬13 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Struggling Against

Moses asked for Pharaoh to let the people of Israel to go. The pharaoh refused. Moses asked again in the name of the Lord. Then Pharaoh makes Israel pay for the request by no longer providing straw. He did this to drive a wedge between Moses and the people of Israel. But there's a greater struggle. Pharaoh considered himself a god and Israel was to serve him. The Lord considered Israel His as well. So there is another battle between God and the rulers of this world. God wants the people of Israel for the salvation and blessing of the world. Pharaoh wanted the Israelites to slave for him instead. 

So it is for us, God wants to rule over our lives, but sin is also there. We will read later about God hardening Pharaoh's heart and also Pharaoh hardening his own heart. This is a picture knowing that the true enemy is Satan, not each other. We are called to love our enemies, not hate those who holds differing opinions or worldviews.

Struggling In

Moses finds that the foremen of Israel rebuke him for putting that request to Pharaoh. They are saying that Moses had just made their lives harder. Moses was living in the gap between promise and reality. We are given freedom by Christ, but we only experience struggle. This is the gap that Moses sits in and often where we will find ourselves during times of intense trial. We can find it hard to trust in God's promises. This is not the struggle of a non-believer, but of the believer. We need to go to God.

Finding strength for the struggle

When the foremen of Israel were oppressed, what did they do? They went to Pharaoh their oppressor. So often we find ourselves going to our oppressor for salvation and help. We go to false gods. And just like the foremen, we find no help. And sometimes we may find more trouble rather than help. Often God allows our circumstances to go from bad to worse to show us who our true enemy is and what kind of oppressed life we walked. God brought Israel out of Egypt but then made Israel wander the desert. God wanted to bring Egypt out of the Israelites. So God wants to do with us. He brings us through the gap to show us our false gods and His faithfulness to us.

Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The Lord did not appear to you.'" The Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff." And he said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, "Put out your hand and catch it by the tail"—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— "that they may believe that the Lord , the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." Again, the Lord said to him, "Put your hand inside your cloak." And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, "Put your hand back inside your cloak." So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. "If they will not believe you," God said, "or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground." But Moses said to the Lord , "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." Then the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord ? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else." Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, "Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs." - Exodus 4:1‭-‬17 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

God calls Moses and then immediately sends Moses. This is mirrored in Jesus' ministry. He calls the disciples and then says he will make them fishers of men. So it is with us. But instead of joy and excitement, God's people often react with reluctance. Here's three themes in this passage. Be

The fear of man

Moses is called to go to the nation of Israel. God says that the nation will listen to him, but Moses is still doubtful. Before the 40 years of herding animals in the desert, Moses had tried to lead this people and they had rejected him. They didn't respect him. The miracle of the snake staff was a symbol of Egypt. Egypt had a Cobra as it's symbol, but God is trying to say that He is more powerful than man. God controls not only Pharaoh, but even the nation of Egypt. God is bigger and stronger than any man.

Fear of our own shortcomings

Cockiness and brashness has no place in the service of God. We must know of own weakness in our own power. But we should not end there, we must remember the power of God. We can't focus so much on our weakness to forget of the power of God. The disciples were poor, uneducated fisherman. Moses had a stutter. Paul/Saul was a murderer of believers. Talk about the wrong skillset or irredeemable problems. But God uses these very ordinary people to further his kingdom. The staff of Moses was nothing special, but God uses it to do the miracle of the snake. God doesn't just use weak ordinary people, he seems to seek them out for his service.

Just unwilling

Moses finally comes down to the last bit of reluctance. He asks God to send someone else. Moses doesn't want to go. So it is with us. We don't want to go where God calls us. We don't want to minister to those people. We don't want to fully surrender. But God doesn't stop, God sends a helper with Moses... His brother, Aaron. God won't leave Moses to where he was. 

Jesus, the Sanhedrin, the crowd, & Pilate

And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so." And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you." But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, "Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" And they cried out again, "Crucify him." And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. - Mark 15:1‭-‬20 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

The silence of Jesus

The religious leaders put Jesus on trial without due procedure and very unjust way. The Sanhedrin charged him with claiming to be God. The religious leaders wanted to put him to death, but they could not. The nation of Israel was under the rule of the Romans so death sentences could not be carried out without the Romans. Pontius Pilate was not Jewish; he could care less about religious squabbles. If anything at all, Pontius wanted nothing to do with executing Jesus. As the accusations were spun as high treason against Caesar, Jesus only commented upon the accusations. Jesus did not defend himself. 

Do not take Jesus' silence as accepting injustice. In this instance, Jesus was in the role of the silent sacrificial lamb of God. For us, silence in the face of evil is evil. We are called to point out injustice. The religious leaders were hardened in their stance and desire to have Jesus killed.  Jesus has done miracles and taught in the temples. Even if Jesus gave a water tight argument to them at this time, they would not have listened at all. So it would have been fruitless to argue.

The cry of the crowd

Pilate knew that there was no guilt in Jesus. There was a tradition for the Romans to release a single prisoner during this time of year. Pilate knew that the Sanhedrin was trying to kill Jesus out of jealousy. So Pilate brought out Barabbas, a known revolutionary and maybe even a murderer. The chief priests stirred up the crowd to their desire. Barabbas' name meant son of the father. Ironically, they choose the counterfeit son and rejected the real son of God. 

Perhaps the priests had stirred up the crowd, but in some way, the crowd also rejected Jesus. Loving your enemies is so much harder than fighting them and trying to kill them. The status quo of restoring the nation of Israel was so much more comfortable than accepting Jesus and this kingdom of heaven. 

So it is also with us. We may not cry aloud our rejection of Jesus, but do we not still reject Jesus? Our theology is so at odds with our day to day. We claim to follow Jesus but we chase after money, power, and comfort. Our actions speak of our rejection. Are we so different from the crowd?

Jesus delivered

Jesus was delivered to death so that we could be delivered from it. We, the ones guilty of cosmic insurrection, would find life while Jesus paid for our guilt. He was scourged by the Romans for us. This is the love of God for us. When we see this clearly, we will cry "away with my sin!" This hated of sin and all that distract us from Jesus will become a stench to us. We will run to Jesus and turn from the ugliness in us and in our desires.

Jesus is betrayed

And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard." And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. - Mark 14:43‭-‬52 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Deception

Judas came while the disciples were still groggy. It is apparent to the reader by now who Judas is. But the text reminds us, Judas was one of the Twelve. Jesus was not married, so in terms of relationships, this is as close as they could get. Judas saw the ministry of Jesus, the same miracles, lived life together with the rest of the disciples. When Judas came with the armed crowd, it must've been a shock to the disciples. We associate Judas with betrayal, but that is not who he seemed to be. Judas was the keeper of the money bag. He was considered trustworthy, not apt to rash decisions. He was in the inner circle. Judas was ministered to by Jesus. Yet somehow, Judas was an unbeliever. 

So today, we should find this sobering. In our church, renewal presbyterian, there are unbelievers. Not just those who serve alongside us, but even church leaders. C.S. Lewis said there would be three surprises in heaven: 1) that we find ourselves there 2) who we find there with us 3) who we don't find there... Don't depend on that moment of initial conviction to carry us to salvation. Don't trust past service, spiritual office, or past good works. Live a lifestyle of faith and trust in Jesus. Today, live in faith where you are now. Judas looked like he was following Jesus, but he was known for stealing from the money bag. Judas was not driven by kingdom focus but by money. Judas was driven by worldly motivations. He looked outwardly like a believer, but was not. Judas did not take his guilt to God, he never repented.

Assimilation

Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss. This is appropriate in that day and age. That is how rabbis were greeted by their disciples. But consider another disciples, Peter, the rash one. He also betrayed Jesus, but in a different manner. Peter denied Jesus three times. When they came to grab Jesus, Peter grabbed his sword and injured the servant of the high priest. Peter was a believer, but he saw Jesus being seized and jumped to using the world's methods. Judas brought armed men because the religious leaders saw Jesus as the leader of a rebellion. Peter reacted with worldly methods, grabbing the sword. So it is today, many Christians grab the sword to defend the kingdom. But Jesus calls Peter to put away his sword. Kingdom methods are entirely different. 

Jesus heals the servant. Jesus rather than taking up a sword, goes under the sword. This is kingdom minded with kingdom methods. 

Naturalization

Jesus laid down his life to bring us into the kingdom of god. We are constantly bombarded with the world's values and methods. Kingdom values come to believers slowly but surely. We become slow to anger and quick to listen. We stand in the gap for others. As we become more and more citizens of heaven, we will become more alienated from the world. This is hard. There are two reactions that will come to us. First is to hit back at those who strike at us. Second is to hide from the world, to only hang out with Christians. But that is not what we should do. We should go to be alone with Jesus. He will remind us how he handled his enemies. How he brought us in while we were still his enemies. We will find His power to react with kingdom methods.

The garden

And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch." And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand." - Mark 14:32‭-‬42 ESV 

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Real Sorrow

The garden of gethsemane was an olive garden. Jesus and the disciples often visited this garden. There was likely an olive press on this garden, a very apt image. Tonight was a different night however. Judas was going to find Jesus here and betray Him. 

Jesus felt this night a sorrow and deep troubles. A darkness so deep that he felt like he was going to die. He was going to be physically tortured and killed. Jesus is not composed or stoic. But Jesus was not distraught over the physical pain and suffering, he prayed about God removing the cup. This cup was the wrath and fury of God. 

Jesus, the innocent one, who only knew the pleasure and love of God, was going to face the anger and punishment of God. Jesus was going to take on the sins of every person, the eternal punishment for the sins across many generations. This was why Jesus fell to ground in prayer. 

In seeing this, we can see how to relate to God honestly. Jesus, facing this horrible path, prayed to ask if God could provide another path. But not stopping there, Jesus prayed that not his will, but God's be done. So we can be honest when God brings us to difficult circumstances. We can pray in submission because Jesus went before us. Jesus gazed into the jaws of hell and said yes. Jesus saw the agony of hell and separation from God and picked that rather than an eternal separation from us. 

Real Weakness

This scene shows the weakness of the disciples. They fell asleep not once, not twice, but three times. They said they would not desert Jesus. They failed. Peter said he would not deny Jesus. He also failed. Very similarly, we say yes to ourselves and no to God. We say yes to fleeing pleasures and no to the joy of salvation. We say yes to our personal ambitions and dreams and no to the dreams and kingdom of God.

Real Power

Jesus had brought the disciples as his friends, but Jesus didn't do this for himself. He instructs the disciples to pray to be empowered. Jesus prayed so that he could be empowered, the very son of God. How much more do we, sinners, need God's help and empowerment? How much weaker are we than Jesus? 

There is a burning bush and in the Bible, it is not consumed. How is this so? So it should it be for Christians in this life. We can stand in suffering and in trouble and not be destroyed by the power of God in us. This is the power of God.

Not around the pain, but through it

Rev. Travis Drake

And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us." And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, "Is it I?" He said to them, "It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter said to him, "Even though they all fall away, I will not." And Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." But he said emphatically, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you." And they all said the same. - Mark 14:12‭-‬31 ESV 

Jesus sends the disciples out to find a man carrying a jug of water. This is a strange and very difficult task. They are in a city that is swelled with pilgrims and they are to find one man. He would be strange to be carrying water, but still a super hard task. It would have been supernatural to complete this task. Not only that, but Jesus said that they would find a larger upper room prepared and ready to go. And they found it as described.

This sets the expectations of a Passover unlike any other. There is a difference from other Passover meals they had attended, this is the first Communion. But then Jesus says that someone in this room would betray Him. The awkwardness of this meal would've been palpable. The disciples would've wondered who would do this, surely not I each would've thought.

The passover meal would consist of the following: Unleavened bread, a roasted lamb, a bowl of salt water, bitter herbs, and four cups of wine. The salt represented the tears and the bitter herbs represented the bitterness of slavery. The cups of wine represented the promises of God to the nation of Israel.

This is a set of scenes. Each one shows joy and pain in alternate fashion. The joy of passover, the darkness of betrayal. The introduction of a new passover observation, communion, followed by the pain of abandonment of Jesus by his disciples.

How would our lives look different, if we lived knowing that God will come to us in our pain, difficulties, and suffering?

Jesus shared this special meal with the disciples. He knew of their future failures. The upcoming betrayal and abandonment. He shared with those who were going to hurt him. He shared knowing this all. So it is with us, ready to sell Him out for a bit of entertainment, a bit of distraction, a little pleasure. We are ready to follow Him until he asks for something we can't or won't give up. Jesus comes with love seeing our wayward hearts and lives. He sees our brokenness and still draws near. He knows we don't deserve it, but still he hands us the bread, broken for you. He hands us the cup, poured out for you. He comes for us, even when it requires suffering for Him, because He wants to draw us near and love us still.