This event is a replay of an
event that shows how that there is a constant spiritual battle-taking place.
Even in a simple dinner such as the Passover that the Lord is taking
with the 12 disciples you can see this contest continuing.
You are in the Lord’s Super Bowl.
Matt
26:20 When
evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.
21 And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you
will betray me."
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other,
"Surely not I, Lord?"
23 Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with
me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about
him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for
him if he had not been born." 25 Then Judas, the one who would betray
him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?"
Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."
Jesus
decided to participate in God’s Super Bowl.
Will we? If yes, then will
we be willing to dip our hand in the bowl with Judas?
The bowl with the sop is the Super bowl of God.
Which team are you on? Which
team are you for? Will it be the
panthers or the patriots? You may
say that it really doesn’t matter, but the Lord wants you to decide which
team you are on.
Which team are you on or
which team captain are you for?
Here is Jesus with the disciples.
These are God’s people, family, army, and team.
Who’s on the team? Which
team are you on? We are all on one team or the other.
We have to choose a side. If
no choice is made then we have already been assigned to the team that people
naturally are drawn to. That is
the team of the world. We are
people of the Lord’s family and we are going against the terrible three.
The world, the devil, and the flesh make up the adversary that we face.
Jesus faced these same three opponents the night he was betrayed by
Judas. What is interesting here
is that of all the people sitting at the table with the Lord everyone wasn’t
on Jesus’ team. There was one
who was a betrayer. God knows
which team people are on, and he doesn’t want us to divide people out.
We used to pick who would be on our team, but the Lord wants us to
accept whom He picks. He may pick
out a Judas to be on our team. No
one wants Judas. He is the little
boy who is always last when people pick off.
But Jesus wants us to take Him and try to help him.
Who is on your team? Whoever
God chooses and whoever we invite. We
have the keys to the church and we are to invite them all to come in. We are not to decide but we should let the Lord decide.
We must decide which team we will be on.
Then if we choose the Lord then we must let Him pick who else He will
call to be on our team or in our church.
God and his people verses
the unseen adversary.
Who is he and how does he work? He
is the devil. It says in the Bible that Judas was the son of perdition.
He was doing the will of the devil that was his father.
Our battle is not with the people of the world, but with the god of the
world, the devil, who leads people. Notice
the way Jesus’ treated Judas. He
allowed him to sit at the table and gave him every opportunity to be saved.
What is the playing field? It is the world. The dinner.
Every time you go out into the world you face the enemy.
The play.
Jesus dips his hand in the bowl with Judas. This is the super bowl.
It is a bowl of controversary. It
is a bowl of conflict. It is a
bowl of contention. It is a bowl
of revealing. It is a bowl that
requires sacrifice and humility. It
is a bowl that requires unconditional love.
See Jesus’ love for him. See
Jesus giving him every opportunity to repent.
See Jesus’ patience with him. How
does Jesus interact with Him? We
can learn from Jesus’ life how to live the life He has called us to live.
Who has dipped their hand in the bowl with the Lord?
How have we played the game? Like
Judas? Like Peter?
Like John? Like the
others? How does the battle go
on?
Who is the champion?
Who is the winner and who is the loser?
Who is the winner? Who is
the loser? Who decides?
How do you win in life? Will
you be a champion? The ultimate
judge decides the champions. Jesus
is the judge who will pick the winners. The
winners with the Lord are often considered the losers on earth.
Jesus was considered a loser because He was proclaiming a new way of
spiritual life. But ultimately he
was the champion of champions and the King of kings. Every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that He is
Lord. We can be champions with
the Lord. If we go with the Lord,
submit ourselves to Him, and submit ourselves to one another then we will be
champions with the Lord.
Jesus predicted the
betrayal.
Who will win the big game? The
team with the most points will be the winner.
The person who goes with the Lord will be the winner in life.
Who will it be? Who will
betray the Lord? Who will be
willing to go with the Lord to dip their hand in the bowl?
Why should we be willing to go to the dinner with the Lord and to this
super bowl? This is the Lord’s
way for people to shine the light in the dark.
We need to love the unlovable.
God’s super bowl is the
opposite of the World’s super bowl. In
the world: The biggest, the
strongest, and the most powerful wins. But
in God’s super bowl the ones who give in are the winners.
The person who surrenders to God is the winner.
The winner is the loser in the eyes of the world.
God’s super bowl is a bowl of sacrifice and suffering but the
world’s pick is the one who bowls over the opponents and rules with an iron
fist for a while. God’s super bowl is played by super people who give
themselves to others in obedience. Will
we give ourselves to the Lord and to the others who God has placed in their
lives? Will we give ourselves in
sacrifice?