Matthew 26:17-30

Jesus instructs Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal (Matthew 26:17-20). … The disciples asked Jesus where they should go to set up for Passover, and Jesus gave them some specific instructions, which the Gospel of Luke tells us even more about. So Peter and John went and followed the instructions and everything went as Jesus said. … It’s possible that this room they set up and ate in is the upper room in Mary’s, the mother of John Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark, house. This is supported by a couple of passages in Acts. … So, they likely set up the meal at u-shaped table where they would recline. In John we learn that the disciples argued about who is greater, then Jesus washed their feet to illustrate a powerful point about humility and servant leadership.

While they are eating the meal, Jesus reveal that one of the twelve disciples will betray Him (Matthew 26:21-25). … When Jesus makes this revelation He also implies man free will to opt in or out of God’s plans and certainly also to refuse the devil. Jesus has washed Judas’ feet and warned him and shown him great love even though Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him.

During the meal, Jesus institutes what we call the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-28). … The bread, which was unleavened, represents His body that was broken for us. Why is it unleavened? Because it goes back to the Exodus when the Israelites left Egypt and didn’t have time to add yeast to their bread. Normally, yeast represents evil in the Bible and before the Passover each family would search through their house and throw out any yeast. Do you have any yeast, any sins, you need to throw out of your life? … Then Jesus took a cup of wine (which would have been mixed with water, 3 parts water and 1 part wine), the cup of redemption. He calls it His blood of the covenant, blood that is poured out for the forgiveness of our sins, blood that covers our sins and the shame and guilt from those forgiven sins. If you have sins that you still commit or haven’t confessed then that shame and guilt will remain and won’t be covered until you take those sins and put them away and confess them before God.

Jesus predicts a future time of fellowship in the Father’s Kingdom. They sing a hymn (Psalm 118:22-24), and go out to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:29-30). … Jesus didn’t finish the Passover meal. Instead, He said there is a time coming when they will all feast together again. The last words of the psalm they sang are prophetic. In Acts 4:10-12 Peter realizes this and professes it in front of the Sanhedrin. Jesus is the cornerstone that was rejected and is the only way to salvation.

Matthew 26:1-16

It was time for Passover. Historians estimate that the population of Jerusalem increased tenfold for Passover, which worse than Bonnaroo in Manchester. Jesus and His disciples also traveled there to celebrate the Passover, but Jesus also had another reason for coming. They likely stayed with Lazarus and his sisters in Bethany before heading into Jerusalem proper.

The events in this passage occur on Tuesday evening. … This is just a couple of days before the Passover.

Jesus predicts He will be handed over to be crucified on Passover (Matthew 26:1-2). The chief priests scheme to arrest Jesus, but not until after the seven day feast of unleavened bread (Matthew 26:3-4). … Jesus knew the plan and what would actually happen better than the chief priests did. They thought they could wait and try to avoid riots, but Jesus, in His sovereignty, had other plans.

Mary pours perfume on Jesus while He is eating dinner. The perfume is worth 300 denari, or about a year’s wages (Matthew 26:6-13). … This act by Mary symbolizes Jesus being anointed as king, just as old kings of Israel were anointed with oil. Judas, the treasurer of the disciples, wondered why she would waste such costly perfume instead of selling it and giving the proceeds to the poor. He also embezzled from that fund and saw this as a wasted chance for income for himself. Jesus rebuked him and explained to them all once more what was going to happen.

Judas agrees to hand Jesus over to the chief priests. The price is 30 pieces of silver, about a month’s pay (Matthew 26: 14-16).

What is your valuation of Jesus? … Mary valued Him more than her most valuable possession. Judas valued Him at a month’s wages. … We may not have a bottle of perfume worth a year’s pay, but We have life. We can live our lives for Jesus, reach others for Him and His kingdom. There’s nothing more valuable than that.

Galatians 6:7-18

The law of the harvest states that you always harvest what you plant. … This law applies to many things, not just farming. One area is the spiritual realm. Let’s what “this means.”

This means you can’t fool or outwit God (Galatians 6:7). You cannot get by with sin. Every sin will be judged. See also Matthew 12:36; Luke 12:2-3; 2 Corinthians 5:10. The only relief from the law of the harvest is in the death of Jesus. … Every sin will receive a corresponding punishment. Yes, every sin. Sometimes the punishment comes in this life in the form of consequences, but all will be taken into account on the day of judgment. Fortunately for us, Jesus took the punishment for all our sin when He died on the cross. … This is also the reason we shouldn’t take revenge upon those who have sinned against us. We can rest in the mercy and judgment of God.

This means it is extremely important what you put into your mind and how you invest your life (Galatians 6:8). … When our goal is to appease our fleshly desires, the ultimate outcome is rot and destruction, but when the goal is to please the Spirit then we reap rewards of eternal life. What we put in our mind affects what we sow. For example, if we hold a grudge towards others then that will work its way into the relationship and we won’t reap harmony.

This means the work you do for the Kingdom will bear fruit if you do not give up (Galatians 6:9). … The danger that would shortchange the harvest is that we quit. There’s a time gap between sowing and reaping, between planting and harvesting. This time gap can be frustrating and cause us to lose heart.

This means it is important for us to invest our lives in ministry while there is time or opportunity (Galatians 6:10). … We have an obligation to not only minister to other believers, but also to non-believers and to sow the Gospel among them and to reap the harvest.

Galatians 6:11-18 is the conclusion to this letter. He gives his mark of authenticity and reinforces the main point in the letter, that salvation is by faith in Jesus alone.

Galatians 6:1-6

We’ve learned that salvation is an individual thing. The salvation of one does not necessitate the salvation of another. However, that doesn’t mean we are meant to go through life alone. We should live in concert with the church. There are ways we can all serve the church and each other. Serving is one way share life with other believers.

Three ways we are to share our lives with other believers in the church:

1. Gently restore those who fall into sin (Galatians 6:1). … None of us are perfect and we will each make mistakes and sin. When one of us does mess up, we are to take a redemptive approach and try to keep in the smallest circle possible (unless there are legal matters). Love, forgiveness, and fellowship are powerful tools at our disposal for restoring those who have fallen into sin. However, in attempting to restore one of us, we should be careful not to fall in the same trap ourselves.
   
   

2. Carry each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2-5). … One way we show our love for another is to help each other. We share our struggles and needs with each other so we can help one another. This is one of the reasons connection groups (Sunday school) is important. It puts us in a group of people similar to us so we can relate to and help each other in life. But there’s also a need to go beyond that connection group and help people in other groups. For example, the elders may need help from some of the younger members with physical tasks and the younger members may need advice from those who have greater life experience. … Paul also issues warnings here. We are to not look down on others because of their burdens. We are also to take responsibility for the burdens we bring on ourselves.
   
   

3. Share financially with those who instruct you in the Word (Galatians 6:6). … We pay those who teach us in school (be it through taxes or private schooling), so why shouldn’t we pay those who also teach us from the Bible?

Galatians 5:17-25

You were born with a flesh nature. When you are born again, you receive a spirit nature and the gift of the Holy Spirit. They are in conflict. You choose which is stronger. … When we become born again Christians, we gain a new nature that brings with it new desires. These desires are for things that please God. However, the old nature doesn’t just go away. The two natures live in conflict and the one you feed the most grows stronger. Even those who have continuously fed the Spirit nature will always have temptation from the flesh nature.

How do you know whether the flesh or the Spirit is dominant in your life? The acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) and the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) are obvious. … If the acts of the flesh are evident in your life, then the flesh nature is dominant. Likewise if the fruit of the Spirit is evident in your life then the Spirit nature is dominant. Paul also tells us that if the flesh nature is dominant, it might be a sign that you were never saved. But the presence of fruit of the Spirit is an indication that you are being led by the Spirit and saved.

How do you defeat the old nature and produce the fruit of the Spirit?

1. Crucify the flesh: make a decisive break with the passions of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:24). … What we often want to do is manage our sinful nature and not let it get out of control, but we need to take a step more and kill it off. There is no overkill in this situation.

2. Keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). … After the drastic action taken to destroy sinful nature, keep in step with the Spirit. Be aware of His presence. It can be difficult to know His presence because we can’t see Him physically, but we must learn to see the invisible and be aware of His presence.