Psalm 99 starts with a powerful reminder of God’s place: He is LORD over all! Then it mentions those who carry out the LORD’s will: the king (a general affirmation of the monarchy in Israel and Judah), Moses, Aaron and Samuel. Moses and Samuel, in particular, heard God’s voice directly, and shared it with the people. Thus, we are reminded how important it is to hear God’s voice, and even more important–to listen and obey.
Psalm 100 is one of the most repeated psalms of praise. In the heading we are told it is a psalm for giving thanks. It has often been used in hymns and worship songs. It has appeared as a call to worship in services for thousands of years. It reminds us to praise and thank God for who He is and all He has done for us. It calls us into His presence, which is far simpler now that Jesus came, lived, died, rose again, returned to heaven, and sent His Holy Spirit to live in each of us who believe in Him as Savior and Lord.
Psalm 101 is a psalm of King David. In it David praises the LORD, and promises he will do everything he can to ensure that he does not sin before the LORD, and that he will eliminate sinful men from his group of friends and from any influence in Israel. David’s intentions are noble, given God cannot be in the presence of sin and therefore of non-repentant sinners. His promise reminds us of how important it is for us not to develop a circle of friends who are not living in God’s will, because our friends tend to influence us more than we influence them.
The introduction to Psalm 102 reads, “A prayer of an afflicted man. When he is faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.” so we know this is not going to be a “happy” psalm. As we have seen, the psalms include many laments, many offerings of the sorrow, anger, desperation, and sense of abandonment of the author. In this psalm, we could be reading the words of Job at first, they are that desperate. Then the psalm turns, as psalms of lament often do, and the psalmist praises the LORD for who He is and asks for deliverance not only for himself, but for his people. Even in the midst of devastating pain, sorrow, and the recognition that the LORD is the one who has sent the pain, the psalmist remembers who he is and whose he is. What a powerful reminder for us as well: no matter what we experience in life, we can turn to the LORD, and in the end we can praise the LORD!
As we turn to Luke 22, we read of Judas’ going to the chief priests and religious leaders to express his intent to betray Jesus to them. One of the chilling details Luke includes is “Satan entered into Judas.” Think about that for a moment. People often say, “The devil made me ______,” and fill in the blank with some sinful action they committed. But the truth is Satan is not like God in many ways, but a key way is: Satan can only be in one place at a time. He is not omnipresent the way God is. That means in the moment Satan entered Judas, that was the most strategic place he could be. He didn’t have a demon enter Judas. He entered Judas personally. That sends a chill through the bones, when you consider it.
Next, Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the place for the Passover. At the Passover meal, Jesus told the disciples He would not eat the Passover again, until He ate it anew in His Kingdom. He then instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper. He broke bread and told the disciples it was His body “given” for them. (I emphasize the word “given,” because many use the word “broken,” but this is not correct. The Old Testament tells us not a bone of the Messiah will be broken, so even though Jesus endured tremendous punishment through the beating He received and His crucifixion, His bones were not broken. He told us He was “giving” His body for us.)
After the meal Jesus told the group one of them would betray Him. We would think the ones who weren’t going to betray Him would have known that, but each one asked if it were he. Then a dispute broke out among them about which of them would be the greatest. Jesus had to remind them power struggles are for Gentiles, not for those who follow Him. He was the greatest and yet He served them the most. That’s the model for us to follow.
Next, Jesus turned to Simon Peter and told him that he would deny knowing Jesus three times. Peter denied that. He said he would go to prison and death with Jesus, and the rest said the same. But Jesus had told the truth. They would all scatter and Peter would deny Jesus three times. One of the most hopeful comments of Jesus to Peter was He was praying for Peter, and His command that when he returned to strengthen his brothers. Jesus never wants us to sin, but when we do and have repented on returned to following Jesus, our failure can be a stepping block of hope for others who fail where we do, not because of the failure, but because of the redemption of Jesus through it.
After this, Jesus told the group to be prepared for challenges ahead, including being armed. Then He led the group to the Mount of Olives. Jesus told His followers to pray, and then He went off by Himself to pray. We know from our reading of the other gospels, Jesus prayed not to have to face the pain of taking the sin of the world on Himself and being separated from His Heavenly Father. Luke tells us the anguish was so great His sweat became like drops of blood, and that an angel appeared to strengthen Him. (We now know from medical science, the condition of blood mingling with sweat is real, and happens in times when the capillaries dilate during extreme stress allowing blood to pass through and become part of one’s sweat. After this Judas came with soldiers to arrest Jesus. One of Jesus’ followers struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear. Jesus restored the man’s ear, and submitted to the arrest after asking the leaders why they were arresting Him in the dark when they had ample opportunity to arrest Him in public.
Peter followed along behind the group, and as Jesus predicted he denied knowing Jesus three times. Only Luke tells us that the third time Peter denied Jesus, Jesus “looked” at Peter. Peter was in the sight line of Jesus. I have often wondered what kind of look Jesus gave Peter. No one knows, but given what Jesus told Peter earlier, and that He knew the denials were coming, my belief is Jesus looked at Peter lovingly and compassionately. Nevertheless, Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Next, the soldiers mocked Jesus and hit Him. When the religious leaders questioned Jesus, He admitted He was the Son of Man, or the Messiah, and they condemned Him to death. The problem then was they didn’t have the authority to execute Him. Tomorrow, we will see how they addressed that problem.