Setting: Traditional Worship
Length: 16:28
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Occasion: Maundy Thursday
Style: Expositional
Commentary: This sermon is an expositional version of a more devotional version entitled "The Appointed Time" (linked below)
Main Scripture: Matthew 26:17-30
Main Topics: meaning of "the appointed time", his suffering and death, plan of salvation, God's sovereignty,
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Matthew 26:17-30
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’”
19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.
21 And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.
24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
It’s Thursday night….Maundy Thursday…as it has come to be known
-the word Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum which means “commandment”. It is a reference to John 13:34 when Jesus says, a new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I have loved you”.
And so, historically, this is a night that traditionally commemorates 4 events in the final week of Jesus’ life: the washing of the disciples’ feet, the last supper, the betrayal of Judas, and His agony in the garden
Tonight, we gather to remember…his suffering….his sacrifice and to worship Him for all that He has done for us
-this is….Thursday Night….the night before He is crucified
-a night when everything will seem to go terribly wrong
-a close disciple will betray him
-the shepherd will be struck and the sheep will scatter
-all the hopes and dreams of his followers will be dashed as Jesus will be taken from them and crucified
-but for us as believers, we gather tonight to worship Him and give Him thanks, for in God’s eternal plan…..the suffering of His Son was part of a great plan of salvation for all who would believe.
For..…before the foundations of the world, it was within God’s eternal plan that His Son would come and give His life as a ransom for many
-and on the night before He was crucified…Jesus was intensely focused on His mission
-He called it the “appointed time”
-in Matthew 26, it was the night of the Passover
-v.17….the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" 18 He replied, "Go
into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near.
-for the disciples, this was a TIME to get ready for a sacred feast
-for Jesus, He was thinking about another kind of time
-we know this because the word “time”….in the original Greek….is NOT the common word “time” which has to do with general space and time
-Jesus is NOT talking about a specific time of day
-there is a general word for that
-instead, Jesus uses another word for time with expresses a higher form of time…..such as a predetermined period of time
-and so the NIV translates is as “appointed time”
-as if what was about to unfold was appointed….predetermined to occur
-and by faith, we know that it was
…Jesus was at all times conscious of this appointed time
-in fact, in the eternal Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit determined a time when the son would lay down His majesty and come down to a world that knew Him not and did not invite Him….and give His life
-and so, Galatians 4:4 declares that when the time had fully come, God sent his son….
-born in the humblest of circumstances….BUT…even that was a pre-determined plan
-and growing up the least prestigious area….BUT…even being called a Nazarene was ordained from above
-And so….at every point…at every stage in His life, Jesus was mindful of the eternal plan for His life
-and this plan…this mission characterized every step….and every word He spoke
-even as a little boy, Jesus was mindful of his calling…..to his parents who were frantically searching for him and then finding him in the temple…he spoke about how it was proper for him to be in his father’s house.
-and during his 3 years with his disciples, he continually spoke to them about his appointed mission of giving up his life and being raised on the third day
-and even in the confrontations with the teachers of the law and the antagonistic crowds, Jesus continually dipped back in the OT to declare that he was the fulfillment of all that the prophets spoke about…that he was the long awaited messiah who would come and complete the eternal plan of salvation
-and even when some people pressed him to reveal more of who He was, Jesus said in John 7:6, “The right time for me has not yet come…”
-and in the original Greek, the word “time” is the same word “time” back here in Matthew 26….. “the appointed time”
-for the right time cannot come too early and cannot come too late, for the divine clock has been set to a precise time
-and all of HEAVEN knew it
-all the angels….
-even the fallen angels….
….earlier in His ministry….when Jesus took a boat and went into the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by 2 demon possessed men coming out of the tombs….
-upon seeing Jesus, they shouted in Matt.8:29 "What do you want with us, Son of God?" "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"
-and from the mouths of demons, we are unexpectedly given access into the eternal plan of God
-the demons rush up to the son of God….and reveal this hidden plan
-and all of a sudden, it’s like we are let in on the big secret
-the physical world has been oblivious to this appointed time
-and NOW…we are suddenly made aware
…made aware of a great plan that Jesus knew all along
-that He had come into this world to rendezvous with that appointed time
-and on Thursday Night…..the night of the Passover…..on the night before He was crucified….Jesus would confirm what initially come out of the mouths of demons….that His appointed time has now come
-and on this night, the disciples are busy making preparations
-UNAWARE of all that will unfold on this terrible night
-soon they will be caught off guard by Judas’ betrayal
-soon they will scatter like sheep as the shepherd is struck
-soon…one of them will be tested and fail that test by denying the Lord three times
-soon, everything will become chaos
-but all this…however unsettling it will become….will all be part of a master plan to save the world
-The suffering and death of our Savior was no accident
-before the foundations of the world, it was within God’s eternal plan that His Son would come and give His life as a ransom for many
-and so, He would eat with His disciples that night
-and fully aware of the betrayal that was about to happen
-but even this is part of a master plan, and so he speaks in vs.21ff
21 And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.
24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.
-Judas’ betrayal is a defining moment in salvation history, but history…is a story that GOD will write and tell through the prophets of old…and so, the life of Jesus will play out…just as it is written
-even as it includes the wicked schemes of man
-for even the evil plans of man have to bow down to the divine decree
-in fact, we should note that this is not the first attempt on Jesus’ life and ministry…others before have tried to stop him
-back in John 7:30, they tried to seize him, but could not…. Because the time had not yet come
-in fact, in the original Greek, the word “time” is now the word “hour”….
-the eternal decree is coming to a boiling point as now the time is intensified to the actual HOUR
-but now the hour has come….and Judas will be an unknowing accomplice in the eternal plan
-and so…the plans of man will be incorporated into God’s purposes
-even the course of nations will take part in the fulfillment of this plan
-even a course that led an entire nation into slavery in Egypt and then being delivered out…will point to Jesus
-for on this night of the Passover, Jesus would make that redemptive connection
-that on this night of remembering how God saved them from Egypt and how a lamb was sacrificed, Jesus revealed the greater plan of salvation that would involve his own body and blood
-and now it becomes clear that the Passover was always just a SHADOW of the REALITY that has now come with Jesus as the ultimate sacrificial lamb.
-and so, he would eat with them, establishing a new covenant…which was about to be fulfilled through his body and blood
-What a sacred night this was…as the eternal plan of God was coming to its most intense and dramatic conclusion!
After He ate the meal, vs.30 says that they sung a hymn
-all scholars agree…based on Passover tradition that they sung the Psalms 115 to 118
-according to tradition, the leader of the group, in this case, Jesus, would sing the lines of the psalms and the group would respond to each segment with “hallelujah!”
…which means “praise the Lord”
….these were psalms of praise….and thanks…and joy…and trust
-I find it powerful that Jesus would lead songs of such celebration, joy, thanksgiving, and trust…..knowing what lies ahead of him
-such is the unshakable commitment and focus of our savior!
-and with that….vs.30…
…they went out to the Mount of Olives.
-a most stunning act as Passover tradition commands that you stay INSIDE to acknowledge the gruesome act long ago when the Angel of Death passed over….the houses in Egypt…killing the first born
-those with the sacrificed blood of the lamb spread on the door frames were spared from judgment and death
-and so the Passover tradition was clear…….STAY INSIDE
-But Jesus chooses to go OUTSIDE
-fully aware of the traditions
-fully aware of the betrayal that lies ahead
-but MORE aware of the mission he must now accomplish
This is why He came…to give His life…at the APPOINTED TIME
And so, He would hang on the cross….and officially declare that the eternal mission has now come to fruition
-the appointed time has now become the final hour
-and with his final breath…he declared…. “It is finished”
The following sermon makes a direct connection to the "appointed time" as the demons speak about it:
The following is a devotional version on the "appointed time". It extends the narrative into the agony of the garden.
For the complete collection of recorded audios on Matthew, click:
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