Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries b
y Dr. Kari Vo
"A Piece of Bread" for Saturday, March 10, 2018
Read John 13:21-30
John 13:21 After saying this, Yeshua, in deep anguish of spirit, declared, “Yes, indeed! I tell you that one of you will betray me.” 22 The talmidim stared at one another, totally mystified — whom could he mean? 23 One of his talmidim, the one Yeshua particularly loved, was reclining close beside him. 24 So Shim‘on Kefa motioned to him and said, “Ask which one he’s talking about.” 25 Leaning against Yeshua’s chest, he asked Yeshua, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Yeshua answered, “It’s the one to whom I give this piece of matzah after I dip it in the dish.” So he dipped the piece of matzah and gave it to Y’hudah Ben-Shim‘on from K’riot. 27 As soon as Y’hudah took the piece of matzah, the Adversary went into him. “What you are doing, do quickly!” Yeshua said to him. 28 But no one at the table understood why he had said this to him. 29 Some thought that since Y’hudah was in charge of the common purse, Yeshua was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or telling him to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as he had taken the piece of matzah, Y’hudah went out, and it was night. (Complete Jewish Bible)
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It was one of those little courtesies -- if you wanted to honor someone, you would dip a piece of bread into the sauce and offer it to him. As Jesus was the head of this feast, Judas was doubly honored -- singled out in front of the rest of the disciples to receive this gift in front of them all. But then Jesus spoke: "What you are going to do, do quickly."
It looks like a last chance. Judas has already taken money to betray Jesus into the hands of His enemies. Jesus knows that. And Judas knows that Jesus knows that -- Jesus has just told him so (see Matthew 26:25). And still, even now, Jesus says to him: "What you are going to do, do quickly."
It is as if He said to him: What are you going to do, Judas? You still have a choice. Even now, with the bread in your hands, you have a choice. You could make the mistaken assumptions of the other disciples true -- go out and give something to the poor, or buy something else for the feast. You could even stay in your place and finish dinner with us, a forgiven, restored disciple. You still have a choice.
Jesus loved Judas. But Jesus would not take his free will from him -- his own personal choice, to remain or betray. Neither will Jesus take our freedom from us. He calls us to Him in love, offering us the gifts of love, bread and wine, His own body and blood. And He says to us: "The time is short. Will you stay with Me, trust in Me, belong to Me, receive My forgiveness? What you are going to do, do quickly."
THE PRAYER: Lord, turn my heart to You and make me steadfast in Your love. Keep me from going astray. Amen.
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Numbers 1-2; Mark 12:1-27
Numbers 1:1 Adonai spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month of the second year after they had left the land of Egypt. He said, 2 “Take a census of the entire assembly of the people of Isra’el, by clans and families. Record the names of all the men 3 twenty years old and over who are subject to military service in Isra’el. You and Aharon are to enumerate them company by company.
***
It was one of those little courtesies -- if you wanted to honor someone, you would dip a piece of bread into the sauce and offer it to him. As Jesus was the head of this feast, Judas was doubly honored -- singled out in front of the rest of the disciples to receive this gift in front of them all. But then Jesus spoke: "What you are going to do, do quickly."
It looks like a last chance. Judas has already taken money to betray Jesus into the hands of His enemies. Jesus knows that. And Judas knows that Jesus knows that -- Jesus has just told him so (see Matthew 26:25). And still, even now, Jesus says to him: "What you are going to do, do quickly."
It is as if He said to him: What are you going to do, Judas? You still have a choice. Even now, with the bread in your hands, you have a choice. You could make the mistaken assumptions of the other disciples true -- go out and give something to the poor, or buy something else for the feast. You could even stay in your place and finish dinner with us, a forgiven, restored disciple. You still have a choice.
Jesus loved Judas. But Jesus would not take his free will from him -- his own personal choice, to remain or betray. Neither will Jesus take our freedom from us. He calls us to Him in love, offering us the gifts of love, bread and wine, His own body and blood. And He says to us: "The time is short. Will you stay with Me, trust in Me, belong to Me, receive My forgiveness? What you are going to do, do quickly."
THE PRAYER: Lord, turn my heart to You and make me steadfast in Your love. Keep me from going astray. Amen.
Reflection Questions
- What do you do to honor guests in your home?
- Have you ever tried to love an enemy? How did it go?
- Is there an area where the Lord is challenging you to use your free will wisely? If you are willing, tell about it.
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Numbers 1-2; Mark 12:1-27
Numbers 1:1 Adonai spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month of the second year after they had left the land of Egypt. He said, 2 “Take a census of the entire assembly of the people of Isra’el, by clans and families. Record the names of all the men 3 twenty years old and over who are subject to military service in Isra’el. You and Aharon are to enumerate them company by company.
4 Take with you from each tribe someone who is head of a clan. 5 These are the men to take with you:
From Re’uven, Elitzur the son of Sh’de’ur;
6 From Shim‘on, Shlumi’el the son of Tzurishaddai;
7 From Y’hudah, Nachshon the son of ‘Amminadav;
8 From Yissakhar, N’tan’el the son of Tzu‘ar;
9 From Z’vulun, Eli’av the son of Helon.
10 Of the children of Yosef:
From Efrayim, Elishama the son of ‘Ammihud;
From M’nasheh, Gamli’el the son of P’dahtzur.
11 From Binyamin, Avidan the son of Gid‘oni;
12 From Dan, Achi‘ezer the son of ‘Ammishaddai;
13 From Asher, Pag‘i’el the son of ‘Okhran;
14 From Gad, Elyasaf the son of De‘u’el;
15 From Naftali, Achira the son of ‘Enan.”
16 These were the ones called from the assembly, the chiefs of their fathers’ clans and heads of thousands in Isra’el. 17 So Moshe and Aharon took these men who had been designated by name; 18 and, on the first day of the second month, they gathered the whole assembly to state their genealogies by families and clans and recorded the names of all those twenty years old and over, as well as their total numbers. 19 Moshe counted them in the Sinai Desert, just as Adonai had ordered him.
(ii) 20 The men twenty years old and over who were subject to military service were recorded by name, family and clan, starting with the descendants of Re’uven, Isra’el’s firstborn. Here are the totals:
21 Descendants of Re’uven 46,500
22-23 Descendants of Shim‘on 59,300
24-25 Descendants of Gad 45,650
26-27 Descendants of Y’hudah 74,600
28-29 Descendants of Yissakhar 54,400
30-31 Descendants of Z’vulun 57,400
32-33 Descendants of Efrayim 40,500
34-35 Descendants of M’nasheh 32,200
36-37 Descendants of Binyamin 35,400
38-39 Descendants of Dan 62,700
40-41 Descendants of Asher 41,500
42-43 Descendants of Naftali 53,400
44 Moshe, Aharon and the twelve leaders of Isra’el, each from a clan, 45 counted the people of Isra’el by their clans, those twenty years old and over, eligible for military service in Isra’el; 46 and the grand total came to 603,550.
47 But those who were L’vi’im, according to the clan of their fathers, were not counted in this census; 48 because Adonai had told Moshe, 49 “Do not include the clan of Levi when you take the census of the people of Isra’el. 50 Instead, give the L’vi’im charge over the tabernacle of the testimony, its equipment and everything else connected with it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its equipment, serve in it and set up their camp around it. 51 When the tabernacle is to be moved onward, it is the L’vi’im who are to take it down and set it up in the new location; anyone else who involves himself is to be put to death. 52 The rest of Isra’el are to set up camp, company by company, each man with his own banner. 53 But the L’vi’im are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that no anger will come upon the assembly of the people of Isra’el. The L’vi’im are to be in charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.”
54 This is what the people of Isra’el did — they did everything that Adonai had ordered Moshe.
2:1 (iii) Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, 2 “The people of Isra’el are to set up camp by clans, each man with his own banner and under his clan’s symbol; they are to camp around the tent of meeting, but at a distance.
3-9 “Those camping on the east side toward the sunrise are to be under the banner of the camp of Y’hudah; they are to camp according to companies; by tribe and leader they are as follows:
Tribe Chief Number
Y’hudah Nachshon the son of ‘Amminadav 74,600
Yissakhar N’tan’el the son of Tzu‘ar 54,400
Z’vulun Eli’av the son of Helon 57,400
Total 186,400
“This group is to set out first.
10-16 “Those camping on the south are to be under the banner of the camp of Re’uven; they are to camp according to companies; by tribe and leader they are as follows:
Tribe Chief Number
Re’uven Elitzur the son of Sh’de’ur 46,500
Shim‘on Shlumi’el the son of Tzurishaddai 59,300
Gad Elyasaf the son of Re‘u’el 45,650
Total 151,450
“This group is to set out second.
17 “Then the tent of meeting, with the camp of the L’vi’im, will set out, with the other camps in front and behind. They will go in the same order as their camps are set up — each man will go forward in his position, under his banner.
18-24 “Those camping on the west are to be under the banner of the camp of Efrayim; they are to camp according to companies; by tribe and leader they are as follows:
Tribe Chief Number
Efrayim Elishama the son of ‘Ammihud 40,500
M’nasheh Gamli’el the son of P’dahtzur 32,200
Binyamin Avidan the son of Gid‘oni 35,400
Total 108,100
“This group is to set out third.
25-31 “Those camping on the north are to be under the banner of the camp of Dan; they are to camp according to companies; by tribe and leader they are as follows:
Tribe Chief Number
Dan Achi‘ezer the son of ‘Ammishaddai 62,700
Asher Pag‘i’el the son of ‘Okhran 41,500
Naftali Achira the son of ‘Enan 53,400
Total 157,600
“This group is to set out last with their banners.”
32 These are the ones counted from the people of Isra’el by clans; the total number recorded in the camps, company by company, was 603,550. 33 But, as Adonai ordered Moshe, the L’vi’im were not counted with the rest of Isra’el.
34 The people of Isra’el did everything Adonai had ordered Moshe: they set up camp under their banners, and they set out, each according to his family and clan.
Mark 12:1 Yeshua began speaking to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the wine press and built a tower; then he rented it to tenant-farmers and left. 2 When harvest-time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the crop from the vineyard. 3 But they took him, beat him up and sent him away empty-handed. 4 So he sent another servant; this one they punched in the head and insulted. 5 He sent another one, and him they killed; and so with many others — some they beat up, others they killed. 6 He had still one person left, a son whom he loved; in the end, he sent him to them, saying, ‘My son they will respect.’ 7 But the tenants said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they seized him, killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others! 10 Haven’t you read the passage in the Tanakh that says,
‘The very rock which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
11 This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing’?”[Mark 12:11 Psalm 118:22–23]
12 They set about to arrest him, for they recognized that he had told the parable with reference to themselves. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
13 Next they sent some P’rushim and some members of Herod’s party to him in order to trap him with a sh’eilah. 14 They came and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and are not concerned with what people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person’s status but really teach what God’s way is. Does Torah say that taxes are to be paid to the Roman Emperor, or not?” 15 But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius so I can look at it.” 16 They brought one; and he asked them, “Whose name and picture are these?” “The Emperor’s,” they replied. 17 Yeshua said, “Give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give to God what belongs to God!” And they were amazed at him.
18 Then some Tz’dukim came to him. They are the ones who say there is no such thing as resurrection, so they put to him a sh’eilah: 19 “Rabbi, Moshe wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and have children to preserve the man’s family line.[Mark 12:19 Deuteronomy 25:5–6] 20 There were seven brothers. The first one took a wife, and when he died, he left no children. 21 Then the second one took her and died without leaving children, and the third likewise, 22 and none of the seven left children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 In the Resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”
24 Yeshua said to them, “Isn’t this the reason that you go astray? because you are ignorant both of the Tanakh and of the power of God? 25 For when people rise from the dead, neither men nor women marry — they are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moshe, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov’?[Mark 12:26 Exodus 3:6] 27 He is God not of the dead, but of the living! You are going far astray!”
(Complete Jewish Bible)
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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