Passion: The Last Moments of Jesus' Lifeናሙና

Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt sitting down to eat this Last Supper? He knew that this was the end. It was the last time He would gather with His disciples before He died. These disciples were the same twelve people with whom He had spent the last three years traveling, working, ministering, teaching, eating, laughing, and crying. These were His best friends. Who wouldn't want to spend their last few hours alive with their best friends eating a meal?

Let's zoom in on Jesus sitting at the table with His friends. If you remember in yesterday's reflection, we talked about the tables Jesus and His disciples sat around (these low-lying coffee table things) and then how they argued about who would sit next to Jesus. Jesus taught them all a final object lesson by getting up and washing their feet. After that moment had passed, the food and drink would have begun to be passed around. During the meal, it's not hard to imagine the conversation that would have followed.

There would have been old stories and memories were shared.

Laughter would have rung out around the table.

And then Jesus cuts through the simple but profound fellowship with this dramatic statement in verse 21.

"I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." – Matthew 26:21 NLT

Betrayal. One of the worst feelings a human being can experience on this planet.

Can you imagine what Jesus felt like at this moment? He knew that He was going to die. In fact, Jesus says in verse 24, "For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago." Jesus knows He will die, so He has the disciples prepare a last meal or celebration of sorts and sits down to enjoy it, knowing that one of the people around Him will betray Him. Brene Brown says in her book "Atlas of the Heart":

"Betrayal is so painful because, at its core, it is a violation of trust."

It's easy for us to grasp the amount of trust that Jesus and the disciples had built up over the last three years. Jesus had spent time calling each one of them, training them, sending them out, correcting mistakes, eating, drinking, and living with these people. From that closeness of being with Jesus, the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter and the disciples that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the man all Jews had been waiting for. It's easy to focus throughout the story of Jesus on His divinity.

After all, we all love a good superhero rescue story.

However, let's remember that Jesus was also fully human.

He experienced all the same emotions that we experience in this world. Not only was Jesus sitting, knowing that He was going to be enduring some of the most intense physical pain a person could go through but, He also was going to be experiencing the most emotionally painful things a person can walk through. I am sure Jesus understood what David the Psalmist meant when he wrote:

"Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me." - Psalm 41:9

Have you felt the sting of betrayal?

Maybe it was a spouse or a partner who broke your trust in a romantic relationship. Maybe it was a friend or co-worker who you believe backstabbed you. Or perhaps a family member made a choice to walk away from you. When we feel the sting of betrayal, it's not uncommon to suffer high levels of anger, sadness, jealousy, and a slew of other emotions. For many of us, it can take years to fully recover from a betrayal. Jesus must have felt all those emotions on some human level. But, as the God-Man, Jesus always had the correct responses. Instead of giving in to His feelings, we see Jesus continue to eat and drink with His disciples even when Judas (the betrayer) asks in verse 21, "Rabbi, am I the one?" And Jesus told him, "You have said it."

For many of us, it can take years to fully recover from a betrayal.

As you reflect on what Jesus did for you this week, allow the Holy Spirit to minister to your soul. Betrayal is painful, but there is healing and a future because Jesus kept going to the Cross and finished the work there so you could be made WHOLE in Him.

REFLECTION QUESTION

Have you ever known betrayal? If so, what emotions did you feel? How have you handled your feelings since then?