During Passover season, the city of Jerusalem and surrounding areas were packed with travelers. It would be somewhat crowded no matter where a man might walk. The actual residents of the city viewed the outsiders with some small measure of contempt as country bumpkins, even as they relished the chance to milk them with higher than normal prices. In the middle of all bustle, the Twelve are still trying to understand just what exactly their Master was about to do.
In the massive bookshelves of material written about these last couple of chapters in Matthew's Gospel, noting so few scholars pay attention to the importance of this burning question says something instructive. We are inundated in extensive studies of the Passover Seder, and the richness of detail in many ways distracts from the more important story Matthew has to tell. The men who will be tasked to take this earth shattering message to all the world still haven't a clue just what that message is. Jesus relies much on the Holy Spirit to keep track of all this in their minds, so He can breathe life into it at some later date. For now, we have a dozen very confused men, grappling mightily with the fundamental nature of something still foreign to them, yet just in front of them.
They are still gathered on the crest of the Mount of Olives overlooking Zion. Having delivered an extended lesson to the disciples about the nature of His Kingdom, the destruction of Jerusalem, and His final return to earth in glory, Jesus catches them off-guard with something He has said repeatedly over the past year or so: He would be executed very soon. Specifically, He warns it would be only a couple of days away, on the Day of Passover itself. Since the Jews could not legally kill Him, they would have to bring Him before the Roman authorities, and this move would succeed, ending in His death at the hands of Roman soldiers in the gruesome practice of crucifixion. If anything served to point out the fundamental nature of His Kingdom was spiritual, saying He would found it upon His death should have done it.
Even as He said this, folks elsewhere were planning it. The full body of the Sanhedrin were in session, including all the members who might normally be out of town. Having gathered at the palatial home of the High Priest, this was not a judicial gathering, but something less formal. Some time during this annual conference, they discussed the matter of Jesus of Nazareth. Because it was not a formal meeting, they could consider at length how to remove this particularly thorny prophet and rabbi, and not be bothered with the precise requirements of justice. Essentially they concluded they would have to trick Him in some way and arrest Him. Since He was so popular with the bumpkins crowded into the city during Passover, they would have to wait. However, the matter was decided -- Jesus had to die soon.
We have a hard time identifying Simon the Leper. Taking into account the context of Matthew's narrative so far, we might safely guess he was healed at some point by Jesus. Were he still a leper, no Jew would enter the same house with him, most especially during Passover. Further, it appears this man was quite wealthy, and well known in the community. Perhaps in simple gratitude, he invited Jesus and the Twelve to a formal meal, since they were in town. We might expect the meal was conducted in typical Eastern fashion, where the guests lounged on large cushions around a low table, resting on their left sides, with their bodies at an angle to the table, feet outward. Women would not normally be welcome, but one nevertheless came in and dumped a small flask of expensive perfumed oil on Jesus' head. She, too, wanted to express gratitude to Jesus, and was not worried in the least by social convention. Matthew does not identify the woman.
What mattered was what she did, and what it symbolized. Probably it was Judas who led the group in fussing about the apparent waste in this act. If she had simply donated the gift intact, it could be exchanged for something more useful to their ministry. Think of how many poor people could be helped by that money! Jesus shut them up. What she had done was quite according to Kingdom principles, which they still did not understand.
First, we note the obvious intent of the woman was deep devotion, and a powerful desire to do something -- anything -- she could to honor such a beloved teacher. Further, it's implied she, at least, understood His warning He was about to be executed. Seizing the moment before it was too late, she offered the best she had. This contrasts with the petty posturing of the Twelve as they had their eyes on worldly fame and position. It requires a materialistic view of life to fuss over the price of something like this. The proper mystical view is nothing is too good for the Messiah. Ancient nomadic Hebrews would have grasped it immediately, and so did the woman. Second, eradicating poverty is simply not possible in a fallen world. Talking about the abstract notion of "the poor" is an excuse to dehumanize them further. If you want to do something to lift the fallen, you have to do it one by one, individually. Redemption is personal. Meanwhile, is not the Christ someone who deserves a little attention, too? Jesus rightly prophesies His servants in the future would mention this minor event. Sadly, the vast majority seem to have no idea why.
We are told elsewhere Judas embezzled as the treasurer of the group. We can surmise further he came alongside only because he was sure Jesus was the right ticket to political power. He was in it for himself. After being rebuked this way, it was surely more than petty greed which drove his next act. We would miss a great deal if we did not see his swelling worldly ambition, as well. The message of caring for the poor and taking no luxuries for the self would probably sell quite well to the average Jewish peasant, and could form a crucial plank in the reform platform Judas imagined Jesus held. But, Jesus had been warning He would die soon, and perhaps it finally registered on Judas' mind with the anointing incident, or perhaps he simply realized this comment about the poor just went against the best part of a good political campaign. Either way, he switched parties. He became a mole for the Sanhedrin, and accepted an insulting and pitiful small sum for it, roughly the price of a slave.
By this time, many Jews would gather with friends and associates to celebrate the night before Passover, the evening of Preparation Day, with some portion of Seder rituals. This Preparation "Seder" with their Rabbi was perhaps the ultimate celebration experience of their ministry so far. Knowing this would be a unique and very special event, they had no doubt planned this much in advance. Most people don't realize Jesus would have worked this out by accepting one of the many invitations He surely would have received from so many supporters. Jesus told them how to find the place, and they went and made the necessary preparations. The meal took place at nightfall, as required in the Law (Exodus 12). During the meal, Jesus shocked them all with the rather calm declaration, obviously a prophetic statement, one of them would betray Him. To say it ruined the mood would be an understatement. With so many doubts already in the minds, each was quick to wonder if he were the man. While Jesus provided an answer we know was literally accurate, noting that would almost miss the point. To share a dish was to share about as much as any two men could share. With Jesus as their Master, it was a much more dramatic statement, for it implied the guilty one was also betraying God Almighty.
This betrayal was breaking a solemn covenant, sworn before the Lord, which made God a party of it. While it was all prophesied in advance long ago, this would not excuse the guilty man any more than noting God brought the Babylonians left them in the clear when they destroyed Jerusalem some six centuries before. They were dealt with severely in due time, and so it would be for the betrayer here. So drastic would be the consequences, a man would willingly take his life. That's one of the implications of the Hebrew phrase, "It would have been better not to be born." Judas merely echoed the others in his question, but he, of course, knew his guilt. Jesus' idiomatic answer was a "Yes." He now knew Jesus knew.
It is not necessary at this point to rehearse in detail the full Seder ritual. We note simply the importance of what Jesus made of two items. The piece of matzo represented among other things the promise of bread eaten in the Messiah's reign. Jesus associated that promise with the substance of His body, clearly saying, "This is Me; I am the Messiah." He showed that His body had to be broken, but it was also to be shared. His body can be associated with the full weight of His teaching, the full revelation of God Almighty, but also His manifestation in the congregation of His followers. The Cup of Blessing Jesus associated with the necessity of shedding blood to cleanse sin. He pointedly notes these two items would be the center of a new ritual and a new covenant, a covenant based on removing sin on a wholly different level. Further, He makes a cryptic remark about a spiritual new wine, using a term indicating the first juice running off pressed grapes. People often miss the symbolism of starting fresh with a whole new kind of Kingdom, a whole new kind of covenant, a whole new kind of life.
Back out on the Mount of Olives, now in darkness, Jesus warns them the times themselves were rather dark. Before the light of day, and before the light of understanding came to them, they would be under tremendous pressure. Indeed, as it was prophesied in Zechariah (13:7), the stress would be enough to scatter them in confusion. Then He promptly reminds them His death is hardly the end of the matter. He would rise again and meet them in their old stomping grounds in Galilee. Peter, as usual, missed the point. Still campaigning as Jesus' second, he loudly promised to face things at Jesus' side. How heroic and heart-warming! Jesus warned him prophetically it was not possible. Indeed, Peter would instead lead the group in denying Jesus -- three times before dawn. Peter argued, but then the rest chimed in with similar claims of bravery and commitment. How sad, they thought they were ready to face death with Him in a dashing display of heroism, but were not ready to face the spiritual Valley of Death.
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Ed Hurst
12 January 2008
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