In Ezekiel 33, the LORD tells Ezekiel he is the watchman for Israel. In the discourse, the LORD tells Ezekiel if the swordsmen come and Ezekiel cries out and the people are destroyed their blood will be on themselves, but if he does not warn the people their blood will be on him. Then the LORD gets more specific and tells Ezekiel that if he tells the people of their wickedness and they repent, they will be saved, but if he doesn’t tell the people and they don’t repent, their blood will be on him. The role of the watchman is vital, and the Apostle Paul uses it in Acts 20 with the Ephesian elders to tell them that he has been a faithful watchman to the Ephesian church and is, therefore, innocent of every person’s blood. The close of the chapter tells us Jerusalem has fallen. All the prophecies have now become a reality.
In Ezekiel 34, the LORD condemns Israel’s “shepherds,” their priests and leaders for eating the sheep, and not caring for the lost and sick. He tells them He will become the shepherd for the sheep. He will be the one who cares for them and calls them back. (This is another message of hope for the people!) He then tells the “sheep,” He will divide between the sheep. The fat sheep, the ones who have pushed and shoved their way instead of caring for the lean sheep, will be judged. Always in the Book of Ezekiel we find judgment and mercy. We ought not be surprised, because the day of judgment comes for all of us. We will be judged based on what we have done with the Good Shepherd, Jesus.
In the brief chapter, Ezekiel 35, the LORD condemns Mt. Seir for her joy at Israel’s destruction. Any who gloat over the pain of God’s people, will be judged for that stance. The LORD asks why they did not help, rather than plan to come in and take over the land. As a result, the people of that land will be destroyed.
As we return to Matthew 26, we read the last moments of Jesus’ life before His arrest, and the first few hours after His arrest. Jesus ate a meal, which we might call the next to the last supper, at the home of Simon the Leper, (who must have been healed by Jesus. Otherwise, he would not have been permitted to be in his home!) At the meal a woman came and anointed him with expensive perfume. The disciples were upset at the “waste” of money, but Jesus affirmed the woman’s action, saying she was preparing His body for burial. That must have sounded strange to the folks in attendance, even though Jesus had warned His followers He would be arrested, found guilty, beaten, crucified, and buried. He told them He would also rise after three days. As we read through the chapter, Jesus hosts the “Last Supper,” at which He announces His betrayal, and transforms the Passover Meal into a remembrance of the New Covenant. Then they go to the Mount of Olives where Jesus tells the disciples they will all fall away. Peter protests, but Jesus tells him, he will deny even knowing Jesus three times that night. Jesus then goes and prays in earnest for the “cup” to pass from Him. This is the cup of His Father’s wrath which Jesus will “drink” for the sins of the world. Later, Jesus is arrested and put through the mockery of a trial, where He is condemned to death by the Jewish leaders. Peter, meanwhile, had followed at a distance, and as Jesus said he would, denied knowing Jesus three times. Lest we be too hard on Peter, each of us has betrayed and denied Jesus in our lives. The lesson to be learned is Jesus’ words are always true. We must live them out, and we can only do that in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our goal is to put Jesus first in the power of the Holy Spirit, so when the temptation to deny or forsake Jesus comes, we will overcome!