How many of you have seen a picture of Jesus sitting on a table with some of His friends by His side? Its a long table.We mostly put it on the walls of our Dining Rooms.
This story is about this scene.
THE LAST SUPPER
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples asked Jesus, "Where would you like us to plan for you to eat the Passover feast?" Jesus replied to them, "Go into the city and you will find a man, and tell him that we would like to come to his house for Passover."
What is the Passover?
The Jews - remember, Jesus was a Jew too- used to celebrate this feast from the time of the Prophet Moses. This was the day one of God's Angels "passed over" God's people and kept them safe from harm and death.
The disciples did just as Jesus asked, and they found a place and got ready for the Passover feast.
As it got closer to mealtime, Jesus and the twelve disciples sat to have dinner. Suddenly, Jesus spoke and said to His disciples, "I tell you the truth, one of you here will betray me." The disciples looked at each other in shock, and some of them asked Jesus, "It's not me Lord, Is it?"
Jesus replied, "The one who dips his bread into the bowl with me will betray me. I will die, just as it is written, but the man who betrays me will feel sorry forever.
The truth is Jesus was God and so he already knew what was going to happen. He also knew that one of His dear disciples , Judas Iscariot was going t be the one who betrayed him.
What does Betray mean?
Betray is when someone you love or trust disappoints you. They know they should not do something, because it will make you very sad, and yet they go ahead and do it.
Back to the story,
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Judas, with his head down spoke quietly to Jesus, "Is it me, Jesus?" Jesus answered, "You are the one who said it." Luckily for Judas the other disciples did not hear what Jesus had said.
He thanked God for the bread and shared it with the disciples and said, "Take this and eat it. This is my body which is given for you". Then he took a full cup, thanked God for it and said, "This is my blood, which will be poured out for many people so their sins may be forgiven." Then they all took a sip from the cup.
You must have heard these words somewhere else. Does anyone know where?
Yes, the Priest says it at every mass - Jesus asked us to do it in remembrance of Him and so we obeyed Him by repeating it at every Mass.
After some time Jesus got up and put a large towel around him. After that, he poured water into a large bowl and began to wash the disciples' feet.
Can you imagine a King - not just any King but the King of Kings- washing peoples feet? Will you wash peoples feet? But still Jesus did it - He did it to teach us to serve and love people just as He did.
He was setting and example for us.
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| Pope Benedict XVI washing feet |
If you go to church on Maundy Thursday - you will see the Priest doing the same in remembrance of what Our Lord and Master Jesus taught us.
When it was Peter's turn to get his feet clean he said to Jesus, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You don't understand what I am doing, but you will later."
"No," said Peter, "you will never wash my feet." He said this because he didn't feel right having Jesus wash his feet. He knew Jesus was very special.Jesus replied back to him, "If I don't wash your feet, you cannot be with me." "Then, Lord," Peter replied, "don't just wash my feet but my hands and head too."
When Jesus had finished washing all of the disciples feet, he put his everyday clothes back on and returned to the table. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" Jesus asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and that is who I am. And now that I have washed your feet, you can also wash one another's feet."
This is an example of how we should treat others. You don't have to actually wash other people's feet, but by doing nice things to other's and acting like a servant for Jesus, that is what He wants you to do. If you do these things Jesus will bless you.
IN THE GARDEN
From the supper room in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples went out into the night to the quiet grove of olive trees called Gethsemane on Mount Olivet.
Jesus went in to the garden to pray but He asked his friends to stay alert and pray.
Jesus was fully human and fully God.
Because He was fully God - he knew he was going to die in a very , very painful way. But since he was fully human too - he was very, very sad and very, very hurt. He wanted to cry!
His friends, the disciples were going to watch and see how Jesus was suffering.
Going on alone, Jesus fell upon the ground and began to pray : “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.” (Mk 14:36 )
He prayed this because He wanted only His Fathers will . He asked God to support Him.
He became so upset that He began to sweat - He did not just sweat like we did - He began to sweat drops of blood!
He got up 3 times to meet His friends but He found them fast asleep all three times. At such a difficult time, only One person was there to hear Him - His Father in Heaven.
God sent His Angel from Heaven to help Jesus prepare and to console Jesus. The Bible says, " “An angel came from heaven to strengthen him.”
THE BETRAYAL
The disciples woke up by the noise of a crowd. They saw the flashing of torches and the gleaming of swords and spears.
Judas was with them - he had agreed to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of Silver coins.
Judas came rushing forward, and kissed Jesus, as though he were glad to see him. Judas had already told the soldiers that the man He was going to kiss was Jesus. The soldiers were given instructions by the Pharisees to arrest the man Judas kissed.
Jesus said to Judas, "Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss?"
As they came forward to seize Jesus, Peter drew his sword, and struck at one of the men in front, and cut off his right ear. Jesus said to Peter: "Put away the sword. Do you not know that I could call upon my Father, and he would send to me armies upon armies of angels?"
The He touched the place where the ear had been cut off, and it came on again and was well. Jesus said to the people who had gathered: "Do you come out against me with swords and clubs as though I were a robber? I was with you every day in the Temple, and you did not lift your hands against me."
These men laid their hands on Jesus, and bound him, and led him away to the house of the high-priest.The high priest's name was Annas.
Simon Peter, and John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, followed the crowd of those who carried Jesus away; and they came to the door of the high-priest's house. Peter stayed outside, until John went out and brought him in. He did not dare to go into the room where Jesus stood. In the court-yard of the house, they had made a fire and Peter stood there.
Annas in the inner room asked Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him: "What I have taught has been open in the synagogues and in the Temple. Why do you ask me? Ask those that heard me; they know what I said."Then one of the officers struck Jesus on the mouth, saying to him:"Is this the way that you answer the high-priest?"Jesus answered the officer calmly and quietly:"If I have said anything evil, tell what the evil is; but if I have spoken the truth, why do you strike me?"
PETER DENIES JESUS 3 TIMES:
While Annas and his men were thus showing their hate toward Jesus, who stood bound and alone among his enemies, Peter was still in the court-yard warming himself at the fire. A woman, who was a serving-maid in the house, looked at Peter sharply, and finally said to him:"You were one of those men with this Jesus of Nazareth!"
Peter was afraid to tell the truth, and said: "Woman, I do not know the man; and I do not know what you are talking about."
And to get away from her, he went out into the porch of the house. There another woman-servant saw him and said: "This man was one of those with Jesus!"
Peter swore with an oath that he did not know Jesus at all. Soon a man came by,looked at Peter, and heard him speak, and said: "You are surely one of this man's disciples; for your speech shows that you came from Galilee." Then Peter began again to curse and to swear, declaring that he did not know the man.
Just at that moment the loud, shrill crowing of a cock startled Peter; and at the same time he saw Jesus, who was being dragged through the hall from Annas to the council-room of Caiphas, the other high-priest. And the Lord turned looked at Peter. Suddenly, Peter remembered what Jesus had told him just one day back,""Before the cock crows to-morrow morning, you will three times deny me."
Then Peter went out of the high-priest's house into the street; and he wept bitterly because he had denied his Lord.
JESUS' SUFFERING AND DEATH
Early the next morning, the soldiers brought Jesus to Pilate. He was the Roman governor at that time.
Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "Yes, I am."
This upset the chief priests because they were jealous of him and the friends He had made with the Jews.
Pilate listened to the complaints of the people that brought Jesus, but he couldn't find any reason to punish Him.
Pilate questioned Jesus, but Jesus didn't stick up for himself (He knew that they wouldn't listen anyway).
He had done nothing wrong.
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people and said to them, "I find no reason to kill Him."
In reply, the people shouted, "We want Jesus! Release Barabbas instead!"
Barabbas was a bad man, he was a murderer.
What is a murderer?
A murderer is someone who kills other people. This is a big sin. We are not supposed to hurt anyone leave alone, kill someone.
The people wanted a bad man to be free, and Jesus ( who healed them and brought the dead to life - The one who loved them so much ) to be punished.
Pilate didn't like this. He wanted to let Jesus go, so he tried to talk to the people but they didn't let him. They just kept shouting, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"
The soldiers led Jesus into the palace and made Him put on an old royal robe and they twisted together a crown of thorns to put on His head. But not before hitting Jesus mercilessly and for no fault of His.
I am so sorry Jesus for sinning and hurting you like this!!
Then they made fun of Him and said, "Hail, king of the Jews."
They didn't understand that He was a king, that's why they made fun of Him.
Next the soldiers led Jesus toward a hill called Golgotha.
They made Him carry the cross on His back, but Jesus couldn't carry it the whole way, he fell down.
The soldiers had whipped His back and it hurt so much that Jesus couldn't handle the weight of the cross on His shoulders.
A man named Simon happened to be near Jesus when He fell, and the soldiers grabbed him, and made him carry the cross the rest of the way.
The soldiers offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh.
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| The soldiers whipped Jesus with such a scourge. |
This was supposed to help make it less painful, but Jesus refused to have any.
When they reached the top of the hill they nailed Jesus to the cross.
There were three crosses, Jesus was in the middle and there was a criminal on His right and on His left. Pilate made a sign to be put on the cross.
It read what He was being punished for: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
The soldiers watched Jesus and made fun of him, they even divided up his clothes to be even more mean. And some people walked by and shouted, "You saved others, why can't you save Yourself?"
Jesus could have easily saved himself, but he did not, He wanted to save us instead.
Jesus felt bad for His mother, she was so sad to see her son die (just like your parents feel when you get hurt).Then Jesus saw one of his disciples close to his mother, and he said, "Mother here is your son, and friend here is your mother."
Jesus couldn't say to much, he was very weak. But he wanted his friend, the disciple to be like a son to his mother, and take care of her. And from that day on he did.
When He knew it was time, Jesus said, "It is finished."
That is when Jesus bowed His head and went to Heaven.
Suddenly,it became very dark and a huge curtain that hung at the temple was torn in half, from top to bottom. When the people saw all this they said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"
They realized he had been wrong about Jesus.
Till that day, the Cross was a symbol of shame but since the time Jesus died on the Cross for us - It is the Sign of Jesus Victory of Death , Satan and a Sign of God's unending Love for us.
The Cross is the Symbol of VICTORY!!
That is a very sad story is it not? But the truth be told, IT IS THE GREATEST STORY EVER. Infact, its not a story at all - It really happened!!
But you know why this story is great? Because THIS IS NOT THE END - Our God , Our Jesus ROSE AGAIN AFTER 3 days.
He Rose on Easter Sunday!! Thats why we celebrate Easter.
The greatest Day of all days!!
HAPPY EASTER and God Bless!!
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