Partakers Christian Podcasts

Easter Part 4 - Jesus Prepares & Serves

Part 4: Jesus Prepares & Serves

1. Jesus Prepares

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?’
13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, “The Teacher asks: where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’
16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me – one who is eating with me.’
19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, ‘Surely you don’t mean me?’
20 ‘It is one of the Twelve,’ he replied, ‘one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 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.’
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them. 25 ‘Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.(Mark 14:12-26)

The disciples needed a room within Jerusalem itself, and also required food - a lamb, bread, bitter herbs and wine. The Passover meal contains historical and theological symbolism regarding the death of Jesus. This is why this meal is the model for the central act of Christian worship, which is Holy Communion.

Listen to the podcast to hear:

• An outline of a Passover meal at the time of Jesus
• The significance of the Last Supper for us today
  
  2. Jesus Serves

1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’
7 Jesus replied, ‘You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’
8 ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’
Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’
9 ‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’
10 Jesus answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. (John 13:1-10)

As part of the custom of the day, a servant or slave usually undertook foot washing of guests. Since none of the disciples had done this, Jesus Himself undertakes the task (John 13:4-5). Peter is recalcitrant and resistant as always, and objects (John 13:6, 8). Peter learns that only those cleansed by Jesus and trusting in Him fully, can be a part of the kingdom (John 13:7, 9). As we look back at this episode, knowing what we do now of the Cross, we learn how this simple act of washing feet is symbolic of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the Cross.

Download the Podcast to find out more about this act of service by Jesus and what it means for the Church today.

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Easter Part 3 - Jesus' Plans

 

Easter 2021

Part 3: Jesus' Plans

1a. He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

(Luke 4:16-22)

1. Introduction

From that time till his last night, during His 3 years of ministry, Jesus has preached the good news of God’s salvation to reconcile people back into relationship with Almighty God. Through the cross, His mission will be fulfilled.

Passover, Pentecost and Feast of Tabernacles were the three most important feasts on the Jewish calendar (Leviticus 21). All Jewish men were expected to visit Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16). The Passover Feast was to commemorate the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and it was a time for remembering and rejoicing (Exodus 11-12). Of all the events that took place that night, we have only time to look at three of them – Jesus plans, Jesus prepares and Jesus serves.

2. Jesus Plans and is betrayed

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. (Luke 22:1-6)

 

We see the plans of Jesus Himself revealed as well as the plans of His enemies. Come! Download and listen to the podcast to find out more regarding Jesus' Final Plans.

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Easter Part 2 - Jesus' Final Prayers

Part 2: Jesus' Final Prayers

“Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said: Father, it's time. Display the bright splendour of your Son So the Son in turn may show your bright splendour. You put him in charge of everything human so he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge. And this is the real and eternal life: That they know you, the one and only true God, And Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I glorified you on earth by completing down to the last detail what you assigned me to do. And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendour, the very splendour I had in your presence before there was a world. (John 17:1-5)

Yesterday we learnt about Jesus’ final teaching – teaching his disciples about the Kingdom and his going back to the Father via the cross. Now, Jesus quite rightly now turns to prayer. Let’s look together at what Jesus prays, recorded for us in John 17.

This prayer is probably the pinnacle of revelation in John’s gospel. Here we see Jesus’ very words, revealing an unparalleled intimacy with His Father.
1. Jesus prays for Himself (John 17:1-5)
2. Jesus prays for His disciples (John 17:6-19)
3. Jesus prays for all Disciples to come (John 17:20-26)

This scene, as portrayed by John, shows the importance of prayer and how when doing anything for the glory of God, it must be covered in prayer.

If the world sees Christian Disciples loving others sacrificially, then unity is seen and it is an effective witness to the reality of reconciliation with God, and a vibrant living relationship with Him. It is also imperative that prayer covers all the work of the church and the Christian – prayer is the foundation and the backbone, just as prayer was the strengthener for Jesus as He faced the cross. Without praying so earnestly that he sweated drops of blood, do you think He could have maintained the cross and its supreme significance for humanity?

Come! Download and listen to the podcast to find out more regarding Jesus' Final Prayers.

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Easter Part 1 - Jesus' Final Teaching

Part 1: Jesus' Final Teaching

“But now I am going back to the Father who sent me, and none of you asks me where I am going. You are very sad from hearing all of this. But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.” (John 16:5-7)

In these last few chapters before He is crucified, Jesus is saying goodbye to His disciples and giving them some final teaching before He departs. Several times the Gospel writer records that Jesus has told them He is going away (John 13:33; John 14:3-4, 19, 28). Let’s look together at what Jesus teaches his disciples!

1. Disciples must bear fruit for the kingdom! (John 15:1-16)
2. Disciples will have opposition (John 15:17-27)
3. Disciples will have resources in the Kingdom (John 16)

Download and listen to the podcast to find out more regarding Jesus' Final Teaching.

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 11 Zechariah

Minor Prophets - Zechariah

We’ve reached the book of Zechariah. After the very short books of Obadiah and Haggai, I found Zechariah to be quite a contrast. It’s a much longer book with 14 chapters, and the style of prophetic writing is quite different too. There is so much that we could choose to look at in this complex, beautiful book, but it would be beyond the scope of this podcast to look in detail at all the prophesies that Zechariah received.

We will start with a brief historical background and an overview of some of the main themes of the book, and then I’ll focus on some of the prophecies that were fulfilled most clearly in the life of Jesus. We’ll end with some thoughts to take away for our own lives.

Download and listen to the audio mp3 to discover more about this amazing book of Zechariah.

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 10 Haggai

Minor Prophets - Haggai

As with several of the other minor prophets, we don’t know much about Haggai himself. We can be quite sure about the dating of the book though, because Haggai included precise dates for the oracles he received from God. These details place the book in the year 520 BC, and between the months of August and December. Haggai was a contemporary of the prophet Zechariah.

Finally, Haggai reminds us that a more glorious temple is coming, and in fact has already come. Haggai spoke God’s prophecy about a temple that would be filled with God’s glory, more glorious than the first temple. When Jesus died on the cross the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The way to God was opened and there was no longer a need for God’s people to meet him within the confines of the physical temple, through the mediation of a priest.

In the book of Haggai, God promises to the people of Judah that he is in their midst. In the book of Revelation we see the ultimate realization of this promise.

Download and listen to the audio mp3 to discover more about this amazing book of Haggai.

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 9 Obadiah

Minor Prophets - Obadiah

We’ve reached the little book of Obadiah. He was the most minor of the minor prophets, in that his book is the shortest! In fact, it’s the shortest book in the whole of the Old Testament with just one chapter, containing 21 verses.

Obadiah means “one who serves Yahweh”. We’re not told anything else about the prophet him-self. In the course of the prophecy, the fall of Jerusalem (which happened in 586 BC) is referred to as a past event and the fall of Edom (which happened in 553 BC) as a future event. So it is likely that the book was written between these events.

The seemingly obscure prophecy of Obadiah is part of Jesus’ great story. It’s all about him. Be-tween the lines of prophecy about Edom and Judah we see the greater picture of God’s redemption plan and his justice, mercy and grace. When the risen Jesus walked on the road to Emmaus and ex-plained to the amazed disciples how the Law and all the prophets spoke about himself, I like to think that he said a bit about Obadiah.

Download the audio to find out more concerning this amazing book of Obadiah!

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 6 Nahum

Minor Prophets - Nahum

Nahum prophesied about the destruction of the city of Nineveh, the capital of the nation of Assyria. If Nineveh sounds a bit familiar, it might be because you’ve listened to the first instalment in this series about the book of Jonah! In some ways, Nahum is like a sequel to Jonah. The date of writing of Nahum can be narrowed down to somewhere between 660 BC and 630 BC. We can deduce this because of the historical events that Nahum refers to during his prophecy (unless of course you don’t believe in predictive prophesy!).

We don’t know anything about Nahum apart from the fact that his home town was called Elkosh. It’s not certain where this was, but it was probably in Judah because at the time of his prophesy, the kingdom of Israel had ceased to exist.

The book of Nahum reminds us that God is all powerful, omnipotent. He is not a tame god who is passive and powerless but he acts on behalf of his people. He is a God of justice who cannot pass over sin and evil but he must act justly to uphold his own honour and the welfare of his chosen people Israel. Moreover, God had promised to spare a remnant of his people, specifically from the tribe of Judah, in order that the Messiah, the deliverer, would come from his people. The future of the people of Israel often seemed under threat but God always faithfully preserved and restored a remnant to preserve the line of Abraham.

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 5 Micah

Minor Prophets - Micah

Micah came from the town of Moresheth in Judah, southwest of Jerusalem - other than that, we are not told anything else about the man himself. The book doesn’t tell us how God called him. His name can be translated as a question which asks: Who is like Yahweh? Micah’s prophesy came during the years of kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Ju-dah (who ruled between 750 BC and 687 BC).

Hosea and Isaiah prophesied at roughly the same time. The main themes of Micah are God’s judgement and for-giveness. In this book we will discover the prophesy about Jesus’ birthplace and meet the Messiah as the Good Shepherd.

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 4 Hosea

Minor Prophets - Hosea

Today we are looking at the book of Hosea! Hello, welcome back to our series looking at the books of the minor prophets. If you have ever felt that God is distant, disinterested, and aloof from his crea-tion, or you’ve thought that God is a cruel, heartless God who punishes his creation harshly, then the book of Hosea has truth for you. This short prophetic book contains heartrending descriptions of God’s feelings for wayward Israel. It is one of the parts of the Bible that most vividly demonstrates the intensity of feeling and the depth of emotion in the heart of God.

Hosea prophesied during the latter half of the eighth century BC. This was one of the most turbulent and difficult times in Israel’s history, just before the captivity to Assyria. The nation of Israel went through six kings in about 30 years. There was violence, political intrigue and great instability.  

Hosea’s words speak to us today. Come and listen to find out more of how these ancient words speak to you!

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