Dogwood Series: No. 7
Go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, “The teacher asks, ‘Where is my guest room, that I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
Mark 14:13-15
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to celebrate the Passover meal, Jesus and His disciples met in a borrowed upper room. At the very beginning of the meal, Jesus indicated that someone at the table will betray Him that very night to the religious leaders who sought His death. The question of, “Lord, is it I?” went unanswered until Judas voiced those words. The Savior answered in the affirmative, and Judas left the room.
Jesus took the bread and the cup – the chief elements of the Passover meal, and gave them new meaning: the bread of His body broken for the world, the wine of His blood shed for our sins. After the meal, the Scripture records that they sang a hymn. What a beautiful thought that is – of Christ and His disciples singing together. I am quite sure that for the rest of their lives, the disciples remembered the song they shared that night.
Afterwards, the company went to the Mount of Olives, in a garden area called Gethsemane. After asking His disciples to pray for and with Him, Jesus retreated to a place of quiet reflection. There, He agonized alone, praying for strength and courage to face what was ahead. As the day faded from Thursday to Friday, Jesus wept and prayed. The eleven remaining disciples, of whom it could certainly be said that “...the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” slept through the entire process.
Abba, Father, he said, everything is possible for You.
Take this cup from me.
Yet not what I will, but what You will.
Mark 14:36
The readings for Thursday's activities are found in Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26;
Luke 22:7-23; John 13:1-30
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