Wicked hearts we need a new one

Luke 22_1-10
5/11/09
“Wicked hearts we need a new one”
Happy Mothers Day!!
Luke_22_1-20
I. Wicked Hearts.
A. Jesus said to the Pharisees:
Luke 11:39 (NKJV)
39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.

Matthew 23:27-28 (NKJV)
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
1. We see this vividly lived out in the lives of these religious leaders as our text opens today.
B. Judas agrees to betray Jesus.
Luke 22:1-6 (NKJV)
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.
1. They are conspiring to commit murder, we often read over this and miss that fact, and it is a shocking thing to consider.
a. Note verse-2 "the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him"; that word sought in the Greek
2212 [zeteo /dzay·teh·o/] v. Of uncertain affinity; TDNT 2:892; TDNTA 300; GK 2426; 119 occurrences; AV translates as "seek" 100 times, "seek for" five times, "go about" four times, "desire" three times, and translated miscellaneously seven times.
1 to seek in order to find. 1a to seek a thing.
1b to seek [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire into.
1c to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after.
2 to seek i.e. require, demand.
2a to crave, demand something from someone.

Strong, James: The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Text of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order. electronic ed. Ontario : Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996, S. G2212
(1) The verb is in the imperfect tense which means they kept on seeking how they might kill Him.
(2) So we see that the religious leaders have conspired to find a way to kill Him, it is a premeditated action on their part.
b. This is even by today’s standard a capital crime, that is to say it can carry a death penalty judgment.
2. But perhaps what is most instructive for you and I is that they are doing this during the feast of Unleavened Bread.
a. The feast of unleavened bread began on the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan which was the day Passover was celebrated and ended six days later on the twenty-first.
(1) So as it drew near people began to make preparation for the celebration.
(2) Two days before the start of the feast they would go through the house with brushes and brooms searching for and removing all manner of leaven.
(a) Leaven typified sin, so they were acting out the process of searching out and cleansing themselves of sin.
b. And here the religious leaders would be reminding the people, teaching the people about the significance and importance of the feast of unleavened bread, and redemption through the blood of the Passover Lamb, all the while they are looking for ways to kill Jesus.
(1) The house may be clean but what about the heart?
Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV)
9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Matthew 15:19 (NKJV)
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

Matthew 15:9 (NKJV)
9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "
(a) We see the vanity of their worship, and the wickedness of their hearts, obviously there was no connection to reality in their observation of this feast.
(b) May our prayer be as David's at the end of Ps. 139
Psalm 139:23-24 (NKJV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
i) And may our worship not be real and not vain religion.
c. Sadly it says that fear of the people is the only thing that gave them any restraint at all.
(1) There seems to be no concern on their part about what God thinks about their decision to kill Jesus.
C. Satan entered Judas
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.
1. How could this be, how could this have happened to one of the twelve who were hand chosen by Him?
1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NKJV)
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
a. We know that Judas was a thief
John 12:4-6 (NKJV)
4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said,
5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
2. And forever Judas and his name are synonymous with betrayal and treachery, he will forever be know as a traitor
a. Seeds of betrayal don't just show up overnight, undoubtedly there were other issues that primed Judas for this.
(1) We need to learn to guard our hearts...
(a) Watch what kinds of thoughts you entertain, as well as what you hear and what you say (talking about others)
3. And so Judas agrees to betray Jesus for money.
II. Prparation for Passover
Luke 22:7-13 (NKJV)
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.
A. Judas had his mind on money, but Jesus has His mind on the cross, what a contrast!
How true are the words of Christ,
Luke 16:13 (NKJV)
13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

and how sad Judas didn't take them to heart, I pray we take His word to heart.
1. Not only do we need to guard our hearts, we need to prepare our hearts.
We read concerning king Rehoboam
2 Chronicles 12:14 (NKJV)
14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.

Concerning Ezra we read
Ezra 7:9-10 (NKJV)
9 On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.
10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.
a. Preparation is a key thought in our passage
(1) Jesus sent two disciples ahead to prepare a place for them to observe a Passover meal together.
(a) Jesus prepared by prearranging a place and a sign for them so they could find it.
(b) It would become a place of fellowship
(c) A place of teaching
i) It was here that He instituted "The Lord's Supper" or communion/
(d) A place of worship
(2) The sign intrigues me, follow the man carrying the pitcher of water (very unusual for a man to do this)
(3) Water a symbol for the word of God (follow the man that has God's word!)
(a) And in that place, reached by faith and obedience they, found provision.
i) Jesus had worked it all out.
ii) They just set it up to serve it.
b. How do we prepare our hearts. Pray, read ahead, anticipate and ask what God has for you, as well as to use you...)
III. Celebration
Luke 22:14-18 (NKJV)
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.”
A. We see the sweetness of fellowship in Christ’s fervent desire for this time and this meal with them.
1. We see the love communicated in His pushing aside a cup He desired to drink, but shortly He will drink from a cup He desired to avoid.
a. What irony.
2. When is the last time in a meaningful way you expressed love to someone???
Our hearts are full of wickedness but He will give us a new heart if we let Him
IV. Communion
Luke 22:19-20 (NKJV)
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.
A. Jesus instituted the "Lord's Supper" at the Passover celebration with his disciples in the upper room.
A. He would literally fulfill Passover that night, all Passover celebrations prior to this one really just foreshadowed what Jesus was doing in His death at Calvary, and His resurrection.
1. It is now a memorial service, but more than a simple memorial service for someone who is dead, because though He died, He is alive having resurrected.
a. So when Jesus said do this in "Remembrance" of Me, that word remembrance means to actively participate in a past event.
(1) Like drawing money out of a retirement account, we are actively participating in a past accomplishment. (Not in the sense of the elements themselves, but that they represent our active participation His work of the cross).
(a) Communion / Identity

2. On that night He not only gave us a new covenant in His blood, but also a new commandment.
a. "Love one another, as I have loved you."
(1) He loved them to the end, so our love is to be an enduring love.
(2) He loved them unto death, so our love is to be a sacrificial love.
(3) He loved while we were yet sinners, so our love is to be with no strings attached.
(4) In His love He served others.
(a) And we saw the incredible example as He the Lord of heaven got down and washed the disciples feet, the most menial of tasks for a servant.
b. The nature of the new covenant
(1) It is not a covenant between two equals, but is established by one of the parties only - in this case God.
(2) And the other party can not amend it, they can only Accept or Reject it.
(a) So when we partake of communion that is the "Lord's Supper" it is an acknowledgement that we have accepted the covenant.
i) And if we partake of it without having accepted the terms of the covenant we mock the one who offers the covenant, and it is not a good thing to mock God.
B. A new day coming, when we will sit together with Him in His kingdom and drink a cup of new wine with Him, from which He has bee abstaining.
Supper ends with a song according to Marks Gospel!
Mark 14:26 (NKJV)
26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
I. And when they had sung a hymn,...
5214 ????? [humneo /hoom·neh·o/] v. From 5215; TDNT 8:489; TDNTA 1225; GK 5630; Four occurrences; AV translates as ?sing an hymn? twice, and ?sing praise? twice.
1 to sing the praise of, sing hymns to.
2 to sing a hymn, to sing.
2a singing of paschal hymns these were Psalms 113?118 and 136, which the Jews called the ?great Hallel?.

Strong, J. 1996. The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurrence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) . Woodside Bible Fellowship.: Ontario
A. What a picture of the humanity of Christ and the family like bond between He and His friends (the Disciples).
B. There are a number of opinions on what specifically was sung.

1. Many believe that at the end of the meal it would be the latter part of the Hallel that was sung Ps. 115-118
a. It might have been the first line of each of these Psalms followed by the phrase (Hallelu Yah) or Praise ye the Lord.
(1) So it would be like this:
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory,
(Praise Ye the Lord)
I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplicatiion
(Praise Ye the Lord)
Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!
(Praise Ye the Lord)
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
(Praise Ye the Lord)
b. Others believe that it was Ps. 118:24
Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)
24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

A look at Ps. 118:21-24 is interesting in light of what is happening here on this night.

Psalm 118:21-24 (NKJV)
21 I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

(1) What a contrast here a picture of Joy and fellowship, but just a few hours away from suffering of the most intense kind, and He knows it is coming.
Psalm 34:1 (NKJV)
1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Ephesians 5:18-20 (NKJV)
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ