Participants: Glenn Russell & Ranko Stefanovic (Host)
Series Code: MTBOTB
Program Code: MTBOTB00022A
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00:21 Hi and welcome to the Books of the Book series here on 3ABN.
00:25 We're exploring the Gospel of Mathew. 00:28 I'm Glenn Russell, Professor at the Religion Department 00:30 at Andrews University with my good friend 00:32 and colleague, Dr. Ranko Stefanovic. 00:35 You teach over in the seminary across campus. 00:38 And it's been a joy to work together 00:40 with you for many years. 00:41 Yes, Glenn, we were in the same department for many years. 00:46 It was great enjoyment to shape the minds 00:49 of those young people and lead them to Christ. 00:52 And also I enjoy this taping here. 00:56 We have a wonderful crew here. 00:58 We-- I mean, they're really 01:00 making this recording very enjoyable event. 01:03 And I'm so glad here to be. 01:05 It's been a wonderful atmosphere. 01:06 We thank the folks at 3ABN. 01:08 And if you have missed some of the programs in the past, 01:12 try to get the opportunity to go back 01:14 and catch this whole series. 01:16 You'll find that it will be a rich experience 01:18 of walking with God. 01:20 Let's pray that God will direct us 01:21 in our study together this time also. Let's pray. 01:25 Lord, we come into your presence 01:28 recognizing that You are here, 01:30 recognizing that You are Lord of all. 01:32 We ask that our hearts may be turned towards You. 01:35 We are so broken so fallen so much in need of You. 01:40 So Lord, we thank You for your scriptures. 01:42 This gift this picture this revelation of Jesus. 01:47 May we understand You more 01:49 through the grace of your Holy Spirit. 01:52 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. 01:57 Ranko, before we go into our study for the today, 02:01 could you please take us back and help us get an overview? 02:05 Many times we read these parts of the Bible 02:07 we don't recognize the timeframe 02:08 when the last week of Jesus' life 02:10 would often call the Passion Week. Yes. 02:13 Walk us through the each day, Sunday through Friday. 02:16 What happened and when it took place? Okay. 02:17 So we want to make clear 02:19 that we are dealing with the last week of Jesus' life 02:24 before the crucifixion. So we started-- 02:28 okay, the last portion 02:30 of the Gospel of Mathew by reading about Jesus 02:34 who riding the donkey entered Jerusalem there. 02:38 Okay. The triumphal entry. 02:40 Actually that event took place on Sunday. 02:46 Most likely on Monday the following day 02:50 Jesus went there to the temple to cleanse the temple. 02:55 It was followed by the cursing of the victory in which 02:59 Jesus announced the destiny of the leaders of the nations. 03:04 And we had a long debate 03:06 and controversies with the Pharisees. 03:08 You remember that, they were chasing 03:10 after Jesus trying to confuse Him 03:12 with the questions et cetera. 03:13 And to trap him, yeah. That was on Monday. 03:16 Then on Tuesday the following day 03:19 probably few more traps of the Pharisees. 03:24 And on that day on Tuesday Jesus made-- 03:28 okay, that speech against the Pharisees and telling them, 03:34 "Now your house will be left desolate on that day." 03:38 For the last time Jesus walked out of the temple, 03:42 went to the Mount of Olives. 03:45 The disciples asked Him that question 03:48 about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem 03:51 and also about the sign of His coming. 03:54 All of these things happened on Tuesday. 03:57 After Tuesday Jesus did not return 04:03 to the city or to the temple. 04:05 By the way, Glenn, we were in Jerusalem there. 04:07 I myself, I was in the city 04:09 and finally I decided to go with my wife 04:13 to walk to the place called Bethany 04:16 which is about two miles, I think, 04:18 if I remember it's not far away. 04:20 It took me and my wife probably 04:21 about 45 minutes to walk there. 04:24 But when you walk from the Mount of Olives 04:26 it's even much, much closer. 04:28 So Jesus from the Mount of Olives, 04:30 He walked with His disciples to Bethany-- 04:33 Who was in Bethany there? His beloved friends. 04:36 His beloved friends, Mary and Martha. 04:38 We know the resurrection of Lazarus. 04:41 So on Wednesday actually Jesus was in Bethany. 04:47 So now Glenn, what we are reading here 04:49 in chapter 26 verses 1, can we say 1:19, 04:57 actually all of these things they happen on Wednesday 05:01 while Jesus was there in Bethany. 05:05 And then just a preview on Thursday 05:08 we have the Lord's Supper and Gethsemane 05:12 that night and the cross on Friday--Yes. 05:14 Just to fill out the-- Yes. 05:15 We wanted so far that our viewers 05:18 know how the last week of life of Jesus 05:21 will get to provide the chronology of that. 05:23 So while Jesus was in Bethany, evidently the Pharisees, 05:27 you know, they missed Jesus' company. 05:31 For this, several days they were constantly chasing after Jesus. 05:34 Now Jesus-- where is Jesus? 05:36 And then something happened from verse one to five. 05:39 "Now when Jesus had finished all these sayings--" 05:41 You remember that phrase when Jesus finished, 05:44 it always marked the blocks, 05:45 you know, of those sayings of Jesus. 05:47 "He said to His disciples, 05:49 'You know that after two days the Passover is coming, 05:51 and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.' 05:55 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people 05:57 gathered in the palace of the high priest, 05:59 who was called Caiaphas. 06:01 and took counsel together in order to arrest 06:04 Jesus by stealth and kill him. 06:06 But they said, 'Not during the feast, 06:09 lest there be a tumult among the people.'" 06:11 By the way they didn't have an address for Jesus. No. 06:14 He is an itinerant. Yeah. 06:16 So they are now determined, "We have to do away with Jesus." 06:22 But what about this not because of the people, 06:26 they're fearful of the crowd. 06:28 Interesting how people can be an excuse. 06:32 Now as they are-- can I say 06:37 as they are having a meeting trying to decide 06:39 what to do with Jesus? 06:40 Jesus is there in Bethany. 06:43 And He's invited to attend most likely dinner or lunch 06:49 at the home of Simon, the former leper that Jesus healed him. 06:52 And evidently, the person prepared the meal 06:56 as a token of his gratefulness to Jesus and then, 07:00 something happen, Glenn. 07:01 This is fantastic. We have to read it verse 6-13. 07:05 "Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 07:08 a woman came upon Him 07:10 with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, 07:13 and she poured it on His head, 07:15 as He sat at the table. 07:17 But when the disciples saw it, 07:19 they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? 07:23 For this ointment might have been sold for a large sum, 07:26 and given to the poor." 07:28 But Jesus, aware of this, 07:29 said to them "Why do you trouble this woman? 07:33 For she has done a beautiful thing to Me. 07:36 For you always have the poor with you, 07:38 but you will not always have me. 07:40 In pouring this ointment on my body 07:42 she has done it to prepare Me for burial. 07:44 Truly, I say to you, 07:46 wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, 07:49 what she has done will be told in memory of her." 07:52 Okay. It's very important when we started this event 07:58 also to go to the Gospel of John Chapter 12 08:02 because in John Chapter 12 08:04 we have few more details that Matthew does mention here. 08:08 Keep in mind that John was always 08:10 one of the three very close to Jesus 08:12 so he knew some details that evidently 08:15 Mathew did not have access. 08:17 And what are--what are the details that we have? 08:21 Number one we have here a woman in Gospel of John 08:25 that woman has a name. 08:29 It's the sister of Lazarus, Mary, okay? 08:33 Another thing is John chapter 12 is telling us 08:39 that actually she spent about three hundred dinari 08:43 or denarius to buy this perfume. 08:47 Almost a year's wage. 08:48 So if one denarius is daily wage so-- 08:57 Your salary--She worked all year in order to buy. 09:01 So we have here some details. Why did she do it? 09:05 Evidently as a token of her thankfulness 09:09 and gratitude to Jesus what He did for her personally. 09:15 If Mary was indeed that woman out 09:19 which Jesus cast out those demons, etcetera, 09:25 that she had very, very problematic past. 09:28 She was very much, much forgiven. 09:31 And also what Jesus did for her brother, 09:33 you know, resurrection of Lazarus. 09:35 It was actually her precious gift. 09:39 You know, when you buy a gift the person 09:41 that you love, you don't try to save money. 09:44 You do your most-- you try to do your best 09:48 because you love that person. 09:49 And this is what she did for her beloved teacher 09:54 as a token of gratitude for what He did for her. 09:58 We'll see that she had one motivation which Jesus accepts 10:02 but He even indicates 10:03 it has more meaning than she understood. 10:05 Yeah. Actually He said, 10:08 "She anointed me actually prepare me for my burial 10:13 because some thing was to happen very, very soon." 10:17 How thankful we are that 10:18 she was obedient to the spirit leading her. 10:21 Now not all the disciples were thrilled with this decision. 10:24 And it becomes pivotal in Judas' response. 10:28 Actually it is a game 10:30 that we have to go to the Gospel of John, 10:34 because here it said that some of the disciples protested. 10:39 "Why we do not take this money 10:41 and distribute to the poor people?" 10:42 And Jesus was-- actually John provides 10:45 another detail that not all disciples did it. 10:49 It was Judas, himself, who protested. 10:52 They may have agreed with some of it. Yes. 10:54 And, you know, the book Desire of Ages 10:55 has a wonderful insight that tells us 10:57 that many of the conflict among the disciples 11:00 when they argued about who is the greatest 11:02 were started by Judas, stirred by his spirit. 11:04 You know, He always knew how to do it. Yes. 11:08 You know, keep in mind he was very influential, 11:10 he was educated person. 11:11 He knew how to manipulate it with human minds. 11:14 Evidently, this event-- okay, 11:18 I would like to put it in this way. 11:20 On the same day when Mary brought to Jesus 11:26 a precious gift of love. That same day, see, 11:31 three hundred denarius and the annual salary. 11:34 At the same moment Judas made decision 11:38 to go to betray his master 11:40 for how much for a price of a slave. 11:43 Is it a tragedy and irony? They're in the same room. 11:47 They were both close to the savior 11:50 but two different responses. So now we go to-- 11:53 And Jesus says that, "She's done a beautiful thing to me." 11:55 He understood something, 11:58 somehow the Holy Spirit prompted Mary 12:01 to do something as a preview of His burial. 12:05 So what was that-- what is the problem with Judas? 12:08 Well he's never-- Jesus is never anointed later. 12:10 They don't get to Him in time. 12:12 Actually, Judas-- Judas, 12:15 he joined the group for a wrong reason. 12:18 He hoped because he was the most influential 12:20 when Jesus establishes His kingdom, 12:23 by the way all the disciples 12:24 hope something to happen to them, 12:26 you know, but he assumed 12:28 the first place is reserve for him there in the kingdom. 12:31 But when he saw that Jesus was doing nothing 12:36 to take opportunity and grasp the power. 12:40 By the way in the Gospel of John chapter 6, 12:43 we read clearly that actually it was Judas 12:45 who prompted the people and inspire them, 12:47 you know, to make Jesus king by force. 12:50 He was the one always behind 12:51 the scene working all those things. 12:56 But now there is also in Gospel of Luke Chapter 22 verse 3, 13:02 we read something that there is not it's not found in Mathew 26. 13:07 It said at that moment Satan entered into Judas. 13:13 It's Luke Chapter 22 verse 3. 13:16 And Might we mention that this is not the first time. 13:19 As you've said Judas had been beside Jesus 13:23 part of his ministry. How close, Ranko, 13:25 how close he was? 13:27 But day by day he resisted the Holy Spirit. 13:30 Now his life is completely given over. 13:33 Do you remember that we're talking about unpardonable sin? 13:36 This is exactly. Judas was resisting the influence 13:41 of the Holy Spirit constantly, constantly, constantly. 13:44 And this is what unpardonable sin is. 13:46 He put himself into the position that actually 13:49 the Holy Spirit could not do for him anything more. 13:53 Now he'll be used by the devil. 13:54 So, the--Satan is entering him-- before we go to the break, 13:58 can we just see what is-- okay 14:01 or maybe to wait for the break. Okay. 14:03 Well, there is much more here in the story. 14:05 We're gonna come back. Don't go away. 14:07 Yes. We will be right back after the break. |
Revised 2014-12-17