Sharing in Christ or Betrayal?

Luke 22:1-23

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Jesus and His Disciples Prepare the Passover

7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. 8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."

9 So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"

10 And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. 11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' 12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."

13 So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

Jesus Institutes the Lord's Supper

14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."

17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. 21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"

23 Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

Do we share in Christ or seek to betray Him as the cursed Judas did for a pittance of silver out of a fear of loss of wealth in this life?  As Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread approached, the religious leaders looked for a way to stop Jesus in any way possible.  Satan provided that way in his willing and greedy servant Judas.  He possessed Judas (which is impossible to do for a believer in Christ) and promised to betray Jesus whom he had followed and embezzled from for three years in the guise of a true disciple (John 6:70, 17:12).  He looked for a time and place where the Lord would be away from the maddening crowd to hand Him over to be taken away to be killed as Judas very well knew they had purposed to do.  Meanwhile Peter and John were sent by Jesus to prepare the place to share in the Passover meal together (Psalm 22:26).  These are those who truly followed not to betray but to share in the fellowship and person on the Lord whom they followed with a pure and sincere heart.  They were given divine directions to the upper room made ready for their celebration of deliverance from the bondage in Egypt which was symbolic as a shadow of the Lamb of God (Isaiah 53:7) whose blood would take away sins by delivering those from the bondage of sin who partake with Him (1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Peter 1:19).  These would share in what became the Lord’s Supper as a Communion with Him through His body broken by suffering and His blood spilled as an eternally appeasing sacrifice for sins once for all who are in Him by faith like Abraham (Hebrews 11:28, Galatians 3:7-9) who heard God’s word and took it as true and to be relied upon fully.  Jesus then broke the bread and shared the wine of these symbolic truths with His true followers as they shared together.  Jesus told them and to us as well to remember Him as they celebrated the new and true Passover together, having their sins passed over (Romans 3:25) until He returns and not every year by a mortal high priest as before and remembering the sacrifice on the cross to come by the eternal and divine High Priest from heaven.  We share in His work to deliver from the Destroyer as we deserve for our sin, both inherited from Adam and committed daily from our corrupt fallen sin nature.  That is why we commune with Him together as we celebrate this Supper with our Lord as the disciples did then.  May we then be found true followers who share in Christ and not a deceiving one like Judas looking for what we can get for ourselves in using His name.  Only then can we truly partake in sharing with this communion in Him together.  This is the New Covenant which we will now live under and will celebrate once more with our Lord Lamb in the day of redemption and removal of the presence of sin on His return.  That is why He told the disciples that He would not partake of this meal again until His return to bring the kingdom of God to rule forever here.  The question then remains for all who read and hear these things, do you choose sharing in the sufferings of Christ or the betrayal of the world set against Him for personal and temporal gain?  The cost of bondage to sin is high and the reward of deliverance is infinitely great.