P3 How The Hebrew Old Testament and Jesus Pointed To Good Friday

Introduction:

    In my last two posts I wrote on how the ordering of the books in the Hebrew Canon are used by Jesus to point to what would be His crucifixion - what Christians call "Good Friday". In today's post we will finish up this short series of posts by noting how Jesus took the Old Testament and combined it with His institution of the Lord's Table to point to Good Friday. 

Jesus pointed to Good Friday.       Matthew 26:17-30

     We’ve witnessed how the Old Testament in its Hebrew ordering pointed to Good Friday. Jesus knew this of course. When He was preparing His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion for what would follow – He reminded them of Scripture. Whenever He raised from the dead, He reminded His followers of what the Scriptures taught. What a good reminder to us all here. Let’s note how Jesus pointed to Good Friday.

A. Jesus’ timing pointed to Good Friday.  Matthew 26:17-19

     Let’s then turn to Jesus and the disciples in the upper room on the eve of His crucifixion as He instituted the Lord’s Supper with them. In Matthew 26:17-19 we see Jesus predicting what will take place on Good Friday – the next day: “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” 18 And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.’ 19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.” Jesus is clearly connecting what He is doing to the Passover which we saw was instituted in the Torah, the Law portion of the Old Testament – Exodus 12. 

    We noted already how its central portrait of the “Lamb of God” now is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Even the timing of events of the Passover would come to fall on Good Friday itself. It is no accident. Our Lord in His timing pointed to Good Friday and used the first part of the Old Testament to do so.

B. Jesus terrible prediction pointed to good Friday. Matthew 26:20-25

      Matthew 26:20-25 “Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. 21 As they were eating, He said, ‘Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.’ 22 Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ 23 And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” 25 And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, ‘Surely it is not I, Rabbi?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said it yourself.’”  

    We already noted how the second part of the Hebrew Old Testament, the prophets, had the prediction of the Messiah, the lamb of God, going to the cross in Isaiah 53. Notice the language of betrayal. Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”  Why mention the word “betray” in the Lord’s Supper?

     That word “betray” can just as easily be translated “to hand over” (the Greek verb is “par-a-did-o-mee”). Judas was ready to hand our Savior over to the soldiers coming to arrest Him, which is why we see it often translated “betrayal”. It is interesting to note in the Greek translation of Isaiah 53:6 that that same Greek verb is used to describe God’s “handing over” of our sins on the shoulders of His chosen Messiah. Lancelot Brenton’s English translation of the Septuagint renders Isaiah 53:6 this way: “All we as sheep have gone astray; everyone has gone astray in his own way; and the Lord gave Him up for our sins.”  

    The incarnate Son was “given up” for our sins. This is why betrayal is so much a part of Good Friday. Jesus chose to be treated as an unwanted Son to die for those unwanted sinners whom God expressed as being wanted as His adopted sons. Paul includes this act of betrayal in the liturgy of his remarks on the Lord's Table in 1 Corinthians 11:23 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread.” Jesus timing and terrible prediction pointed to good Friday. One more…

C. Jesus tells us what will happen on Good Friday. Matthew 26:26-30

Matthew 26:26-29 “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”  

Jesus uses the bread and the cup to signify His body and blood. The Supper pictured and pointed ahead to Calvary. The Holy Spirit would seal this truth to the disciples not only in this initial Lord’s Supper meal, but also for every follower of Jesus who partakes of the bread and the cup. The Lord’s Supper is the Holy Spirit’s way of reminding the faithful of all He did for us. We can also note too how the meal would not only point to Good Friday, but also what will be our Lord’s return on a yet-to-be revealed day – one which I hope everyone here looks to by faith.

Matthew 26:30 “After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”  As I noted already, the final Hymn sung by Jews at a Passover was Psalm 118. Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem at the beginning of the week hearing the words of this Psalm, and He would end the week with this same Psalm on His mind. 

That final part of the Hebrew Bible, in all its particulars pointed to Good Friday. Jesus Christ, the Living Word, and the Bible, the written Word, ever remind us not to forget Good Friday. May we heed the Lord Jesus Christ and the Old Testament’s insistence to keep in mind the great things He did on Good Friday.