Passover, a ceremony to discover

What is love beyond any limit!

I invite you to meditate on an aspect ignored by most of us about the Passover feast.
This very special aspect is the unlimited size

of the overflow of love that our Lord and Savior

Jesus had for everyone in the world.

But before starting our investigation of this topic about the size of love, let's take a little time to understand the meaning of the word overflow. This will help us to catch what is the deepest and most enriching value of Passover

Overflow, according to the definitions given by Cambridge English Dictionary, means:

" When a liquid overflows, it flows over the edges of a container,

because there is too much "

In other words, an overflow of love means love beyond normal limits, far beyond the limits of one's self.

Now that we can try to discover what how much love was given by Jesus Christ, especially during his last Passover on earth followed by his first feast of unleavened bread he had after he was resurrected by His Father. This is what we need to commemorate. every year.

A first step towards being full of love: love for our friends!

Before discovering how much love Jesus has, let us try to grasp the full measure of His love, keeping in mind the definition given by the Cambridge Dictionary for the word overflow whih is more than full.
The full measure is already a target to which we should aspire, although it should be quite natural in the human being. It is this kind of love of which Jesus speaks, especially on the occasion of Passover in John 15: 13-14:
" ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
¹⁴ You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”

Jesus Christ shows us that one of the most striking aspects of love in every man who wishes to follow Him is to be able to go as far as

GIFT OF HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.

But this, I remind you, is not yet the level of the overflowing love of our Savior: it does not go beyond the limits yet.
And indeed Jesus has this love by doing good for all those who were among his friends.
So, with this kind of love for Peter, he will heal his mother-in-law who lives in his house as we read in Matthew 8: 14-15:

“¹⁴ Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. ¹⁵ So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.”

Many others expressed to Jesus a friendship with respect and faith. These also received from Him the marks of his love and esteem.

As an example, I suggest you to meditate in depth the marvelous true story about the precious perfume Mary Magdalene spilled over the body of Jesus during a banquet. This event was deemed so important by the Lord that He inspired the four evangelists to write it in the four gospels!
And as you will see, Mary was criticized about this by most of the people attending this banquet.
Let's read carefully a first version in John, chapter 12, verses 1 to 11:

" ¹ Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. ² There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. ³ Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
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.
⁷ But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. ⁸ For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
⁹ Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, ¹¹ because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. "

In this first version of the story, we will be able to make already few enriching observations.

Ø First of all, we are in the atmosphere of Passover preparation, six days before, the ninth day of the first month! We will come back to this detail a little later. This period is particularly heavy for our Lord who knows what awaits him in a few days: His suffering and his cruel death.

Ø  Jesus is invited to a meal in the company of Lazarus, Martha and his sister Mary. But Martha, has a working temper and is busy to serve the meal, while Mary, more attached to spiritual things, is all to Christ in whom she sees her only Savior! Mary knows that she is in great need of this Savior, she who knows how much she has sinned.
By the way, Jesus had already noticed during a previous meeting the attitude of Mary, more attached to spiritual things. Let's read that in Luke 10: 38-42:

" ³⁸ Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

     Since then, Jesus became the friend of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, as we can read in John 11: 5:
" Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”

Ø If we go back to our story of oil of spikenard, Mary is proving her great attachment to Jesus by anointing on his feet with this so costly perfume and she wipes his feet with her hair. Moreover this spikenard is a highly purified perfume fitting very well with Jesus, THE LAMB WITHOUT BLEMISH FOR THE FESTIVAL OF THAT YEAR!

Ø  Now let's take a look at the other guests and their behavior. Judas, first of all, the disciple who has become a false disciple since the moment he stopped loving his Lord. He ceased to be a friend to Christ since he became a thief of the goods of the community; indeed, to be a thief is to disobey the commandments of Christ, and therefore, it is to end the friendship with Jesus as we read in John 15:14:
" You are My friends if you do whatever I command you."
Judas is jealous of Christ and of the value that Mary attributes to him, he covets the value of the spikenard and thus transgresses the last commandment which says in Exodus 20:17:
" You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s."

Ø  Judas will not stop with the transgression of this one commandment, he will transgress another one lying. Indeed, he will pretend that if he had had the money from the sale of this perfume, he would have given it to the poor. The Bible tells us he's lying because he stole money from the purse. He therefore gives false testimony.

Ø  Moreover Judas is showing us his true nature, preparing himself to be incarnated by the Devil, because, like him, he is the accuser of Mary, as Satan is the accuser of the servants of Yehoah and Jesus. A few days later, again for money, he will become the denouncer of his Lord!

Ø  And Jesus in all this! Jesus, as I wrote above, knows what awaits him, he knows he will die after great trances and sufferings. The perfume spilled by Marie, her friend, warms his heart at a crucial moment. This act of Mary will give him courage to continue the difficult journey in which he is more and more engaged to save us.

Ø  John's account informs us that a large crowd of Jews gathered near the place where Jesus was not only for Jesus but also for Lazarus, who was a kind of star since his resurrection few days ago. The presence of this crowd honoring both Jesus and Lazarus is at the origin of a huge jealousy of those who should have been the most respectful servants of Jesus, namely the chief priests. These religious leaders are of course not to be counted among the friends of Jesus since, like Judas, they covet his popularity.

Ø Just as we had seen for Judas, the transgression of a first commandment by the chief priests will lead them very quickly on the dangerous slope of the transgression of several others: they will dare to deliberate to kill Jesus, their Lord and transgress the seventh commandment that says

YOU WILL NOT KILL

Ø One more little but important detail that we must not overlook is that most of the misguided people we wrote about and are about to write about, did not appreciate the blessing that surrounds Mary's good action! This blessing is the perfume that has literally spread throughout the house for the good of all its occupants. It confirms what Paul writes in II Corinthians 2: 14-16,
"¹⁴ Now thanks be to Elohim who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to Elohim the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? "

These are the first “treasures” we could discover in this first version of the history of the perfume poured by Mary on Jesus as written by John.

Let us read now the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, verses 6 to 13.

“⁶ And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, ⁷ a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. ⁸ But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”
¹⁰ But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. ¹¹ For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. ¹² For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. ¹³ Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Ø Jesus is invited by Simon who is or was leprous and we discover that Simon had also invited all his disciples and other friends of Jesus such as Lazarus and Mary. Martha was busy serving the meal.

Ø  Mary did not just pour the perfume on the feet of her Lord whom she loves and of whom she knows the infinite value of Savior: she also poured perfume on his head!

Ø We also learn with some bitterness that all the disciples, deceived by Judas, this man of Satan, gave in to the temptation to criticize and accuse Mary, the close friend of their Lord. These critics certainly hurt Mary while it should have been a day of rejoicing as the holidays approached. The disciples behave a little bit like the Jewish crowd who very soon will lose control of themselves, being excited by the religious authorities, themselves completely subject to Satan, the prince of this world.

Ø Jesus promulgates an edict announcing that: Wherever the Good News will be preached in the world, it will also tell the story of Mary's admirable behavior.

Christ confirms with no doubt that Mary has done a good deed.

Gospel of Luke, chapter 7, verses 36 to 50.

Now let's embark on a third version of this story that becomes more and more beautiful as we discover the many facets:

"³⁶ Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, ³⁸ and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
⁴¹ “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” ⁴⁴ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ⁴⁷ Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” ⁴⁸ Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
⁴⁹ And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
⁵⁰ Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Ø By the way, let us notice that Luke did not put this stroy in a strictly chronological order because we are here at the end of the first third of his gospel while we have seen earlier that these events are happening very shortly before the last Passover of our Savior, just before he was killed.

Ø We discover here that Simon is or was not only a leper, but he is also a Pharisee.

Ø We are also confirmed that Mary has a heavy reputation as a sinner well known to people in the area. Simon began to doubt about the authority of Jesus Christ because he thought that a man such as him should have banished such a sinner from his circle. This is at least the attitude that a "good Pharisee" should have had. A "good Pharisee" judges others severely but does not judge himself with the same severity and yet Simon is, let us remember, lepers. One would have hoped for a leper a little more love towards this unfortunate sinner who is trying desperately to get out of it.

Ø Moreover, Simon, leprous and Pharisee, who is questioning Jesus’ authority as prophet forgets that the same Jesus raised Lazarus back to life after he was dead for several days. Simon shows that he is unfortunately like most Pharisees who criticize a detail, a straw and forget so quickly all the great and magisterial wonders done by Jesus during several years in Israel!

Ø Another fault of Simon is that he is keeping his thoughts for himself instead of sharing them with Jesus whom he judges falsely.

Ø Jesus acts in a totally opposite way, positive and constructive. He knows the thoughts of his host and he will act again as a Savior trying to help Simon by opening his eyes. He will do so by telling the story of the creditor and his two debtors. This story sheds light on the power entrusted to Jesus by his Father: He has the power to forgive Mary who had a sin so heavy to bear!

Let's go back now to the special information that is given about the timing of this series of events: six days before Passover! This means that this banquet began on the ninth day of the first month and it is easy to imagine that it ends in the evening at the beginning of the tenth day, the day during which the flawless lamb for the Passover sacrifice is chosen. But let us remember what we read in John 12:10:

" But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also "

The lamb of this Passover has just been chosen by the chief priests!

A second step towards the overflowing love of Jesus: after the love he has for his friends, he is also showing his love for his neighbors!

We have just studied in depth how much love Jesus has for his friends for whom he will give his life. But his overflow of love will also include his love for his neighbor, a love that Jesus first reveals to us through his teaching to a doctor of the law.

Luke 10: 25-37:
" ²⁵ And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
²⁷ So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love Yehoah your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
²⁹ But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. ³³ But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ ³⁶ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
³⁷ And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

This teaching of Jesus shows that to bear the name of neighbor, you have to deserve it! A neighbor is not anyone. In this parable, ONLY THE SAMARITAN, a foreigner and often despised by the Jewish people of the time, is the neighbor of the aggressed traveler whom he does not even know.

Jesus does not limit his love to his friends, but he is a neighbor by loving those whom he does not know beforehand, like this Samaritan woman who lives in the Holy Land and whose story we will read in John 4: 1- 42:

" ¹ Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John ² (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), ³ He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. ⁴ But He needed to go through Samaria.

⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

⁹ Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of Elohim, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
¹⁵ The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” ¹⁷ The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
¹⁹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴ Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
²⁵ The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
²⁷ And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”
²⁸ The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ²⁹ “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” ³⁰ Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
³¹ In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” ³² But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
³³ Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”
³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! ³⁶ And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
³⁷ For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
³⁹ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of His own word.
⁴² Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

Jesus will bear the title of neighbor till the end because shortly before his death he also loved a criminal, condemned to death as this criminal, who after insulting Jesus repented and asked for Jesus’ help in Luke 23:39. 46:
“³⁹ Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”
⁴⁰ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear Elohim, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
⁴² Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
⁴⁴ Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last."

And now, a last step to reach the limitless domain of the overflowing love that Jesus is revealing to us!

Do you still remember the definition of the word overflow?

"" When a liquid overflows, it flows over the edges of a container,

because there is too much "

The love of Jesus has already filled his body that is full of love now with his love for friends and also neighbors.
But there is even more:

LOVE OF HIS ENEMIES!

The overflow of Jesus' love is the one that He gives to those who are His enemies?

When we read Luke 22: 1-6, we discover the depth of the hate Jesus is facing from the chief priests and scribes. This hate will, as read earlier, be at the origin of the horrible crucifixion of Jesus. These disgusting people as well as the crowd will forget very quickly all the miracles and wonderful deeds that Jesus had accomplished even for some Pharisees. Despite the approach of the Passover feast that should have occupied all their thoughts, they will only deal with his assassination! Let's read this passage in Luke 22:

"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."

These chief priests and scribes, if they had been close to our Father, should have called upon Him and Him alone to decide about the fate of a man whom they wished to call false prophet and apostate. But instead of appealing to the authority of our Father, who is their direct Leader, they put their trust in the money to buy the denunciation and the arrest of Jesus. These men show how spiritually dead they are, and do not see how much they need the life of Jesus to save them.

Jesus knew how much his fellow citizens hated him according to Luke 19: 11-14:

" ¹¹ Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of Elohim would appear immediately. ¹² Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. ¹³ So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ ¹⁴ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us."

It is therefore in full knowledge of the fact that Jesus is going to implement the summum of love. loving those who hate him and are his enemies. Let's read Luke 23: 33-49:

" ³³ And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. ³⁴ Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
And they divided His garments and cast lots. ³⁵ And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of Elohim.”

³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

³⁸ And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹ Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”
⁴⁰ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear Elohim, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
⁴² Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

⁴⁴ Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.

⁴⁷ So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified Elohim, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸ And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. ⁴⁹ But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.”

This is the supreme example of the crowning of our Lord's love, it is up to us to follow this example, loving also those who are our enemies, those who hate us or will hate us simply because we follow Christ. Jesus prophesized it beforehand in John 15:18 to 16: 4 a few hours before his execution:

" ¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates Me hates My Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

²⁶ “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. ²⁷ And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Chapter 16

"1 These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. ² They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers Elohim service. ³ And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴ But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you."

So let's finish this meditation on Passover and the memorable night by reading Paul's additional encouragement in his letter to the Romans, chapter 12: 17-21:

"¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says Yehoah. ²⁰ Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. " 

To the New Homepage