Anesti Ministries

Chapters 21 to 27 of Matthew’s Gospel focus on the last week of Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem.

Jesus the Passover Lamb.

v1-5 The Passover is a Jewish feast that celebrates God’s miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12). At the first Passover, Moses instructed the elders to select a Passover lamb without blemish. They were to kill the Passover lamb and apply the blood on the doorposts. When the LORD saw the blood on the doorposts, He passed over the house and spared them from judgment. At the final Passover, the religious leaders conspired to kill Jesus, the Passover lamb.

v6-7 Lepers were considered religiously unclean. They were excluded from the community and forced to live in isolation (Leviticus 13). But Jesus was not afraid to associate with outcasts. Instead He chose to live among them. The woman offered the most valuable thing she had as an act of worship unto the Lord. Her extravagant gift is an example of the kind of worship Jesus deserves from us. When we surrender ourselves in worship, God will use us for His purpose.

v8-13 We should not criticise others when they lavish their worship unto the Lord. Instead we should continually keep our focus on Jesus. Jesus tells His disciples that we will always be surrounded by people with many needs. There will always be things to worry about at work, at home, or in church. But we must learn to give Jesus our full attention in worship.

v14-16 30 pieces of silver was not a large amount of money. But that was all that the religious leaders felt Jesus was worth. In the Old Testament, this was the same amount paid to a master if his male slave was gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32). In Zechariah 11:13, Zechariah was also paid 30 pieces of silver as a form of humiliation. In contrast to the woman who offered the most valuable thing she had, the religious leaders did not know the surpassing worth of Christ.

Jesus in the Passover meal.

v17-25 The feast of Unleavened Bread was a Jewish festival that lasted for 7 days. On the first night of the feast, the Jews would celebrate the Passover. The Jews were commanded to eat unleavened bread in remembrance of God who delivered them out of Egypt in haste (Exodus 12:17). Before celebrating the Passover, Jesus knew that one of His disciples would betray Him. Jesus acknowledges that His betrayal is all part of God’s plan. Jesus knows that Judas will betray Him and yet He still has a deep compassion for Judas. All the disciples addressed Jesus as Lord, but only Judas addressed Jesus as Rabbi (which means teacher). Judas was serving with Jesus but he was not close to Jesus. Judas never invited Jesus into his heart to be Lord of his life. Ministry can never be a substitute for a genuine relationship with God.

v25-29 At the beginning of the feast of unleavened bread, the Jews eat the Passover meal called the Passover Seder. This meal, eaten since the first Passover, points to Christ the Messiah. During the meal, there are 4 cups of wine. They represent the 4 promises of God to His people in Exodus 6:6-7.

1. The first is the cup of sanctification that reminds us of God’s promise to bring out His people.
2. The second is the cup of plagues that reminds us of God’s promise to deliver His people.
3. After the second cup, the unleavened bread (matza) is taken out. The matza is baked without leaven. Before baking , it is pierced with many holes to ensure that it does not rise. And when it is baked on a hot oven rack, brown stripes are baked onto the matzo. These point to Jesus as the sinless Messiah who was pierced for our transgressions and bore the stripes for our healing (Isaiah 53:5). There are 3 pieces of matza and the middle piece is taken and broken into two. The broken piece is called the afikomen, which means it comes later. And the ceremony cannot be complete without the afikomen. The afikomen is wrapped in a piece of linen cloth. It is then brought outside of the room of celebration to be hidden for a short time. The children will be asked to search for the hidden afikomen. When the piece is found, it is brought back to the host. The host will then break off small pieces of the afikomen and give it to every person. It is at this time, while Jesus is breaking the matzo, that He tells the disciples that this bread is His body. The matzo points to Jesus who died, was wrapped in a linen cloth, buried and raised to life by the power of God.
4. After this, Jesus raises the third cup of redemption that reminds us of God’s promise to redeem His people. Jesus declares that this is the cup of the new covenant. This new covenant is mentioned in Jeremiah 31:31. The promise of God’s redemption and forgiveness of sin is now fulfilled through the blood of Jesus Christ.
5. The fourth is the cup of praise that reminds us of God’s promise to take us as His people. Before drinking this cup, the Jews would sing songs of praise to God found in Psalm 113 – Psalm 118. This is the cup that Jesus did not drink but promised to drink it when we reunite with Him in heaven.