During the final week of Jesus’ ministry, He was in Jerusalem by divine appointment. The city was crowded, as it always was at Passover. In addition to the normal population, there were several hundred thousand pilgrims and a reinforced garrison of Roman soldiers.
The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, was present. Of course, Caiaphas, the High Priest, was present as were all the priests and the important rabbis and scribes.
There were many people involved in this final week of Jesus’ life but all were functioning according to the sovereign purpose of Almighty God. And though they did not know it, they were working under a precise schedule established by God from eternity.
As Peter preached on Pentecost Sunday, only a few weeks after the resurrection of Jesus, he said, Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power (Acts 2:22-24).
Jesus was killed by godless men but according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.
Later, after the apostles had been arrested and released, they prayed to the Lord for boldness and in their prayer we read these words, For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur (Acts 4:27,28). The violent, wicked enemies of Jesus did nothing more than accomplish the purpose which God had predestined to occur.
This is the God of whom the Psalmist testifies, The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation (Ps. 33:11).
This is the God who testifies of Himself, Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’ (Isa. 46:9,10).
This is the God who works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11).
What happened in Jerusalem on that final Passover was according to the predetermined purpose of God. Jesus said, The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). The Self-giving sacrifice of Jesus was always God’s purpose.
We see this purpose revealed when Adam and Eve sinned and God came to them, called to them and covered them with the skin of an animal which the Lord killed in order to cover them (Gen. 3:21). This covering was a foreshadowing of the sacrificial system which would later be established in the law of Moses. The sacrifice of lambs and bulls and goats was itself a foreshadowing of the final, perfectly sufficient and eternal sacrifice of Jesus which would not cover sin but cleanse of sin, atone for sin.
That final sacrifice was promised in the Garden of Eden. After covering Adam and Eve, the Lord said to the serpent, that is, to Satan, that someday, someone born of the seed of the woman, will bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel (Gen. 3:14,15). Someone descended from the woman would inflict a mortal blow on Satan though this Deliverer would be wounded. We see in this prophecy Jesus, who was wounded for our transgressions … bruised for our iniquities (Isa. 53:5) and in His holy sacrifice, destroyed the power of Satan.
We see the promise of a Redeemer in the pleasing sacrifice of Abel who worshipped the Lord from his flock; in the Ark of refuge that delivered Noah and his family from judgment; in the sacrificial ram offered in the place of Isaac; in the blood of the Passover lambs in Egypt and in the sacrificial system instituted in Israel under the Law of Moses.
We hear the promise of a Redeemer in the prophecy of Isaiah, But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him (Isa. 53:5,6).
We hear the promise of a Redeemer in the words of John the Baptist, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 1:29). Contained in that statement is the prophecy of Messiah’s death because a lamb had to be sacrificed in order to be a true offering for sin.
In Rev. 13:8 we are told that Jesus is, The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Peter reminds us that we were redeemed with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world (I Peter 1:18,19).
The sacrifice of Jesus was determined before there was a universe. Somewhere in the ancient councils of eternity God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit agreed and decreed that God the Son would someday be incarnate in human form and would offer Himself as the holy Sacrifice for the sins of humanity.
So now it is the final week of the earthly life and ministry of Jesus and we read in the Gospel of Mark: Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; for they were saying, ‘Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people’ (Mark 14:1,2).
The powerbrokers had been planning the death of Jesus but not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people. Many of the people believed Jesus to be the Messiah and the enemies of Jesus were afraid of retaliation if they seized Him. But God’s purpose was that the holy Sacrifice of Jesus would take place as the Passover lambs were being sacrificed — Friday afternoon. That was exactly the time when the leaders did not want Jesus to be killed. But they were not in control of the timing — God was.
We know there had been other attempts to kill the Lord and they had always been prevented by God. In Luke 4:29 they attempted to throw Jesus off a cliff but they failed. In John 8:59 and John 10:31-33 they attempted to stone Jesus but they failed. In John 5, after Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him (John 5:18) but they did not. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, From that day on they planned together to kill Him (John 11:53).
There were probably many more attempts on Christ’s life. In John 7:30, we read, So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. Again in John 8:20 they wanted to seize Him but were unable because, His hour had not yet come.
Jesus said, For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father (Jn. 10:17,18).
No one could take Christ’s life. Rather, He would give His life and do so in the Father’s time. Everything Jesus did was in the timing of the Father. At a wedding celebration they were running out of wine which would have been an embarrassment to the host family. So Jesus’ mother asked Him to do something and He replied, My hour has not yet come (John 2:4). Shortly after this, Jesus turned six large containers of water into wine. But it was not according to His mother’s timing. Everything Jesus did was in harmony with a divine schedule.
In John 7:6, Jesus refused even to go to Jerusalem for a festival ahead of the Father’s timing. His brothers were urging Him to go but Jesus replied, My time is not yet here. Shortly after that Jesus did go to the feast. But it was in His Father’s timing.
However, after the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, Jesus said, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified (John 12:23). He understood that the time of the Sacrifice was approaching.
(One historical note here: Galilean Jews celebrated Passover on Thursday night. Judean Jews celebrated Passover on Friday night. This discrepancy may result from differences in regional custom. Galilean Jews calculated the day from sunrise to sunrise whereas Judean Jews calculated the day from sunset to sunset. Whatever the reason, it certainly made it easier for the priests in the temple, as there were thousands of lambs to sacrifice at Passover.)
God’s purpose was to have Jesus celebrate the final Passover Thursday night, be arrested later that night, tried early in the morning, crucified mid-morning and dead and buried before sundown Friday. Passover was the one time when the enemies of Jesus did not want Him killed but they were not in control of the timing. The final week of the life of Jesus on earth, as with all of His life from His conception, was entirely determined and directed by God.
In Galatians 4:4 we read, But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law. Jesus was incarnate in the womb of Mary in the fulness of God’s timing. He was sacrificed in the fulness of God’s timing. God’s purpose was that Jesus would be crucified as the Friday Passover lambs were being slaughtered. And so He was.
The determining factor in all of history is the providence of God. With perfect wisdom expressed through perfect power and authority, God sovereignly establishes that which He sovereignly determined to do from before the beginning.
Approaching the end, Jesus said, Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour (John 12:27). Jesus understood, in those final days of His life, that He was nearing the hour when He would fulfill His ministry.
Early in this last week, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus had anointed Jesus with the vial of costly perfume and Jesus said, She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial (Mark 14:8). Though Mary had no idea of Christ’s impending death, she was a worshipper fulfilling God’s predetermined purpose to anoint the holy Sacrificed Lamb.
Meanwhile, Judas had crossed over to the dark side: Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money (Luke 22:3-5).
They intended to destroy Jesus but as we have read, not during Passover. There might be a riot. What they did not know is that they were not in control of the time.
On Thursday Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare the Passover. He said, When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters (Luke 22:10). Obviously this was set up by Jesus ahead of time. Why so secretive?
Because Jesus knew that Judas planned to betray Him and if Judas had known where the Passover would be held, he would have notified the authorities. Even though they did not want to arrest Jesus during Passover, Thursday night would have been a perfect time and place to arrest Jesus — dark, quiet, no crowds, private — an easy way for Judas to betray his Lord and earn his money.
Jesus knew this so He sent Peter and John to meet a man carrying a pitcher of water — easy to spot because usually women carried the pitchers of water. Obviously this was set up in advance by Jesus. It was important that this night would take place without interruption. Jesus would be providing much necessary instruction and would institute the first holy Communion in this final Passover.
So Jesus said to Peter and John, And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, ‘Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’ (Luke 22:11). There was no mention of Jesus’ name so evidently the man knew who they meant. This is someone who followed Jesus, someone who believed.
So now it is Thursday night. As you know, Passover was a remembrance of deliverance from Egypt but also carried a sense of the necessity of the slaying of an innocent substitute in place of sinners. The lamb was a substitute but no lamb ever truly atoned for sin or cleansed the sinner. Under the Old Covenant, the sacrificed lamb covered the sin of the sinner but was not sufficient to cleanse the sinner. Rather, the lamb was a foreshadowing of Jesus, the holy Lamb of God.
On this night, in this Passover, Jesus declares the end of the old covenant. He celebrates a new covenant which will be inaugurated the following day by a truly sufficient Sacrifice. He will offer Himself, the atoning Sacrifice for all sin and for all repentant sinners for all time and as He does this, the veil of the temple will be torn, signifying open access into the holy presence of God for all the redeemed; signifying also that the the old system of sacrifice was ended.
The lamb which Jesus and the disciples ate at their Passover meal was the last legitimate sacrificed Passover lamb. During the supper, after Jesus had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’ (Luke 22:19,20).
This is My blood of the new covenant. The Old Covenant was now superseded by a new covenant established by the shedding of the blood of the holy, perfect Lamb of God. There would never again be any need for symbolic lambs.
At some point during the supper, Jesus said, Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me (Matt. 26:21). Soon after that Jesus dismissed Judas saying, What you do, do quickly (John 13:27). Jesus gives Judas permission to set his plot in motion but now it is according to God’s schedule. Do it quickly because now the clock is ticking. The clock has been ticking from all eternity but now the time is urgent. Judas is not in control of the time nor are the Jerusalem powerbrokers.
Judas was still accountable for his sin but his sin was incorporated into the timing and purpose of God. Jesus is in control of the schedule now. He needs a few more hours to impart last minute instructions to His disciples. Then they will move to the Garden of Gethsemane for a time of prayer and preparation.
Judas knew Jesus would be there and so it was that he brought a mob of Roman soldiers and temple guards to arrest the Lord. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ They answered Him, ‘Jesus the Nazarene.’ He said to them, ‘I am He.’ And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:4-6).
The phrase, ‘I am He, does not actually contain the word He. What Jesus said was, I Am, again as He often had done, invoking the name of God, Yahweh, the great I Am. As Jesus identified His deity, the entire mob fell to the ground demonstrating in dramatic fashion that they did not have the power to arrest the Son of God. He gave Himself to them.
But the clock is ticking. Jesus gave Himself to the mob and was taken to stand trial before Annas, the former High Priest who remained the power behind the priesthood. It was illegal to hold a trial at night but the clock was ticking.
Jesus was then taken to the home of Caiaphas, the current High Priest. This trial also was illegal but the clock was ticking. Using the testimony of fraudulent witnesses and Jesus’ confession of His Messiahship, the Council condemned Jesus to death. But the Jews did not have the authority to carry out the death penalty. The Romans reserved that right.
So sometime between 4:00 and 6:00 A.M. Jesus was taken to the residence of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate who repeatedly declared Jesus to be innocent. But he was a weak, compromised politician. The religious authorities held all the leverage and so they bound Jesus over for execution.
The clock was ticking. Jesus would die at 3:00 P.M. that day as the lambs were being slaughtered for the Judean passover. Jesus died exactly at the time God had determined. Just before He died, Jesus shouted, Tetelestai — Fulfilled, Complete. The atoning Sacrifice had been offered. The Old Covenant was set aside. The New Covenant is established.
What happened was the greatest act of injustice in history. Jesus was unjustly arrested, unjustly tried, unjustly put to death. And yet this was the the most amazing and gracious act of justice in all of history. Jesus bore our injustice so we may now be declared just before a holy God.
Three days later Jesus rose from the dead. The Apostle Paul declares, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (I Cor. 15:3,4).
Jesus died and rose according to the Scriptures — according to the Word of God declared centuries in advance, according to a timetable set in motion from eternity.
During that Last Supper Jesus declared, But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom (Matt. 26:29). He did not say if I drink it new with you. He said, When I drink it new with you. The kingdom of God will be established on earth. God is sovereign over time and history.
In fact, John heard this triumphant shout nearly 2,000 years ago, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever (Rev. 11:15). It was decreed from eternity, it is celebrated in heaven — the kingdom of God will be established on earth in God’s perfect timing, by His power and for His glory.
I don’t pretend to understand meaning of many of the events swirling around us. We are living in a fallen world in violent rebellion against our Creator and some things are just tangled up in blue, hard to comprehend.
I don’t understand many aspects of the unfolding of God’s purpose. But I understand this. In Psalm 139:16, David wrote, Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.
Almighty God, in His gracious and providential sovereignty, purposefully designed our lives and our calendar. That doesn’t mean that every detail of our conception or our childhood was approved by God. It does not mean that God purposes the trauma we may have experienced along the way. It does not mean that we can explain all of the violent, depraved events of our day.
It does mean that in it all, God is present and working all things for His glory and our good. It means that we can trust His shepherding care in the days and hours of our life. We can trust Him through the valleys and the mountain peaks, through the trials and festivals, through the grief and high celebration. And we may declare unto the Lord with David the Psalmist, My times are in Your hand (Psalm 31:15).
Amen and Amen.