Metzora
A person who is afflicted with tzara’at is called a metzora. Metzora can be broken down into two words: motzi and ra. These translate into to bring forth evil. So the person afflicted with tzara’at is called a metzora or one who brings forth evil.

The punishment for being afflicted with tzara’at was being placed outside the camp either permanently or temporarily.

In Leviticus 13, we read about the requirements for priest to determine if someone has tzara’at. In verse 3, we read about sores which are automatically considered leprous.

 3The priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean. (Leviticus 13:3)

Once a person was declared unclean, his punishment was to be exiled outside the camp and to live in isolation. However, if the person had an affliction which was not immediately known if it was a leprous sore, he was placed outside the camp for seven days. After seven days, the sore would be re-examined. If it still was unclear if it was a leprous sore, the person would be placed outside the camp and re-examined in another seven days.

Verses 4-6 we read:
4But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair on it has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate him who has the infection for seven days. 5The priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has not changed and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. 6The priest shall look at him again on the seventh day, and if the infection has faded and the mark has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

As we read the text, one thing which should jump out at you is that the person after seven and 14 days may still have the scab or sore, but if it has not changed, then he is free to return back to the camp. If these sores were about infection control, this would make absolutely no sense to send someone who has not fully recovered back into the camp. Again, this is another example that tzara’at is not a medical condition but it is a physical affliction (if you will a mark) God has placed on someone for his/her behavior.


The first cases of tzara’at recorded in the Bible
Besides the strong correlation of metzora being broken down into the words motzi ra (to bring forth evil), the first two people recorded in the Bible to have tzara’at did so for speaking poorly.

Moses
Moses is at the burning bush speaking to God. Moses asks God what happens if the people do not believe him? Moses doubts God. God gives Moses three signs, one of which is a leprous hand.

1Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ” 2The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.” 3Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4But the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5“that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

6The Lord furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7Then He said, “Put your hand into your bosom again.” So he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8“If they will not believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe the witness of the last sign. 9But if they will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”(Exodus 4:1-9)

As we read farther in chapter 4, we read Moses did the signs for the people and they believed. God could have chosen any signs to show the people of Israel, but He gave the sign of a leprous hand. This could have been a signal to Moses that he should not doubt God and should watch his speech.

Miriam
In Numbers 12, both Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses. God is not happy. God turns Miriam into a leper.

1Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); 2and they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the Lord heard it. 3(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) 4Suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. 5Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, 6He said,

“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.
I shall speak with him in a dream.
7Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household;
8With him I speak mouth to mouth,
Even openly, and not in dark sayings,
And he beholds the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?”

9So the anger of the Lord burned against them and He departed. 10But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. 11Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!” 13Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “O God, heal her, I pray!” 14But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.” 15So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again. (Numbers 12:1-15)


Miriam’s punishment for bad speech was being afflicted with leprosy. Moses intercedes and says the shortest prayer recorded in verse 13. God listens and removes the leprosy. Despite Miriam not being afflicted any more, she was still required to be isolated; she had to live outside the camp.

If God would not have listened to Moses and his prayer, Miriam’s leprosy could have been permanent. This means, Miriam would permanently have been outside the camp. She would have been cut off from her family and friends. She would have lived her life in exile.


Tzara’at Requirement
For someone, a piece of clothing or a building to be declared afflicted with tzara’at, it must be done so be a priest. No one else can say a person has tzara’at. The priest is the one who must render judgment, and his judgment is final.


The three types of tzara’at
It is often taught that the three different items which could be afflicted with tzara’at indicates three different levels of lashon hara. If a person has a skin affliction, he can hide it with clothing. The priest are not going around looking at each person to check for tzara’at. No, the person must go to the priest. Either he must voluntarily go or a family member, friend or someone in the congregation must see the blemish and insist the person be examined by the priest. It is easy for the tzara’at to go unnoticed and/or hidden for a long time.

If the skin affliction is hidden, it is taught the tzara’at will start afflicting the person’s clothing. This is more difficult to hide. If you see the spot, you can tear out the spot, wash it or wear a different garment. This is harder to do because garments were expensive and in short supply.

If a building as afflicted with tzara’at, this was a public spectacle. Before the priest went into the house to check fro tzara’at, the house must be emptied of its possessions.

33The Lord further spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:
34“When you enter the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession, 35then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘Something like a mark of leprosy has become visible to me in the house.’ 36The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the mark, so that everything in the house need not become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to look at the house. (Leviticus 14:33-36)

Having to clean your home of all your possessions is very time consuming and embarrassing. Imagine having all your things on your front lawn fro the whole world to see. Everyone would know your house was suspected of having tzara’at. Furthermore, people would be suspicious of you and your household because something was causing the tzara’at.

Evil Speech: Preventing Good Fruit from Coming Forth

Lashon hara is literally translated into English as the evil tongue or more loosely translated as evil speech. Lashon hara are any words which harms a person emotionally, financially, physically or damage the person’s reputation.

Gossip vs. slander vs. lashon hara
In our culture, electronic communication is rapidly expanding. People comment on Facebook, post tweets, send text messages often more than they actually communicate orally with people. The inclination to give in to lashon hara can be great.

Gossip
There is a difference between gossip, slander and lashon hara. Gossip is telling information to others. The information may be factual or distorted. Gossip can occur as follows. You see an ambulance at a neighbor’s home. When you see another neighbor (neighbor B), you tell neighbor B, “Did you see an ambulance was at our neighbor’s house last night? I wonder what happened. You do know John has a bad heart. I wonder if he had a heart attack.”

Gossip often continues from person to person. Neighbor B may now take the information that John has a bad heart and make that the cause of the ambulance at the house. Neighbor B may now tell another neighbor, “John had a heart attack and an ambulance had to be called to take him to the ER.”

Gossip can be negative or positive. The intent of gossip is often to show others we possess information about the world around us. We know everything and are like an encyclopedia. Unfortunately, the information is often tainted with our own emotions and slant we give the story. Gossip is information shared which does not have the approval of the person of whom it is being told about.

For example, if a friend cannot attend Sunday School, she may ask you to tell the group she will be missing the event. If you tell the Sunday School group the friend will be absent, that is not gossip. If you find out from your friend’s husband the reason the friend’s absence, it would be gossip to tell the Sunday School class your friend is missing class because her son is sick in the hospital.


Slander
Slander is intentionally taking information and negatively distorting it. Slander is lying. An example of slander would be knowing Tom graduated as valedictorian of your high school class. You know Tom achieved high marks in all his classes. However, you decide to tell people Tom slept with the female teachers and that was the reason he graduated at as first in the class. The purpose of slander is to tear down the subject.


Lashon Hara
Lashon Hara is taking information, even true information, and presenting it in a negative way. Lashon hara is meant to hurt three people—it affects the person speaking it, the person who is the subject of the speech and the person hearing it.

One of the best examples of lashon hara is the ten spies being sent into the land of Canaan.

Numbers 13;1-3; 17-33

Questions Moses asks in verses 18-20:
What is the land like
Is the land good or bad
Are the cities like camps or strongholds
Is the land rich or poor
Are there forests in the land

The spies come back and do answer Moses questions in verses 26-29. Were the spies words untrue? Were there giants in the land? Did the land flow with milk and honey? What was wrong with the report?

Verse 32 tells us what wrong: it was an evil report. The ten spies told the Israelites in a negative way about the land. The words were true, but they way they fashioned them was evil.

We are guilty of this too. We can have an experience and give others all the details, but we can fashion our story to cast a bad light on the events.

The stories which often come to mind are stories about eating at restaurants or going to a hotel. Let’s explore going to restaurant.

Facts:
waited 25 minutes to be seated
arrived at a table which was dirty
server did not deliver our drinks until the end of the meal
took 45 minutes to pay for the meal

Just taking these details, we can spin a lot of stories from it. We can say how we had to wait 25 long minutes to be seated. The table was filthy and we were expected to sit at a dirty table. The server was lazy and did not bring our drinks until we were ready to leave. The staff didn’t know how to run a credit card through the register. These are all truths, but what if the framing was all wrong?

The wait was 25 minutes because the restaurant was extremely busy. The hostess actually had moved you up in the list because there were only two of you. She was able to separate some tables to get you a seat faster. Your table was dirty because the busboy was coming to clean off the table, but he slipped and dropped the bin of dirty dishes. He was cleaning that up and didn’t have time to tell the hostess your table was not cleaned off. The server did not bring your drinks because there was an issue with the soda dispenser. A manager worked on it and was finally able to get it working again. Your received the drinks at the end of the meal, but the drinks were on the house. It took 45 minutes to ring up the credit card because the high volume at the restaurant took down the phone line used to process the credit cards. An employee worked with IT and was able to get the credit cards back up and operating. You were given the option to pay with cash, but you did not have enough money in your wallet to cover the bill.


The evil of lashon hara
Lashon hara is considered the worst sin to commit according to Jewish scholars. There are three sins which are punishable by death: idolatry, adultery and murder. It is taught lashon hara is worse than these three sins. You may wonder why this is so.

When God created the world, He spoke it into existence. He used words to create the heavens and the earth. Everything God created was good. Man is created in the image of God. We are to use words to speak things into existence. However, the things we speak may be good or evil.

Lashon hara has the power to kill people. Our words can tear down other people. Our words can mentally abuse a person and cause the person financial ruin. Our words can even kill people. If we tell a child over and over again he is worthless and can’t do anything right, his future is often hampered by the constant abuse. If we continue with this evil speech over and over again, the child may find a way to end the suffering by killing himself.

Any time we cause harm to another human, we are harming God and His image. By speaking negatively about a person, we create evil.

Proverbs 18:19-21
19A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city,
And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.
20With the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied;
He will be satisfied with the product of his lips.
21Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Verse 21 of Proverbs 18 should make us aware that whatever comes out of our mouths, is the fruit of our lips. The fruit can be good or bad. Verse 21 tells us whatever we love, that is the fruit we will eat. This should startle us and make us take note. If we are prone to evil speech, we will devour not only what comes out of our mouth but also evil speech which comes out of other people’s mouths. If we are not careful to guard our speech, we will be likely to fall into the temptation of listening to other people’s lashon hara and believing the words which come forth from their mouths.

The Book of James warns us about the power of the tongue James 3:2-12:
 2For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.

See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

Again, we see the pattern of labeling the words of our mouths as its fruit. Verse 12 gives us a warning that if our mouth is evil, we cannot expect it to produce good fruit. If we speak things which produce figs, we should not expect olives. Thus we can see, if we speak evil, we should not expect our fruit to produce love. Our fruit should be pleasing and good for everyone. It should be in line with what God create—things which are good.

Jesus says similar words, when he speaks about good trees bearing good fruit and bad trees bearing bad fruit:

43For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. 44For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. 45The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. (Luke 6:43-45)

Galatians 5 tells us what our fruits will be if we allow our fleshly selves rule, which includes speaking lashon raha

Galatians 5:19-21
19Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

We are told in the next verses of Galatians five what the fruit of seeking after the Spirit (and thus seeking to speak well of our brethren).

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)


The punishment for lashon hara
At the moment, there is no direct punishment for lashon hara. We should guard our tongues, but if we speak evil against one another, nothing immediately happens. This has not always been the case.

God used to have a visible punishment against speaking evil. It was called tzara’at. Tzara’at may not be familiar to you because it is the Hebrew for a skin affliction which is often erroneously translated as leprosy in our English Bibles. Tzara’at is not leprosy. In the world of medical, the condition called leprosy has now been renamed Hansen’s Disease. Hansen’s Disease is a bacterial infection. The infection affects the nerves, respiratory tract, skin and eyes. Often, the bacteria damages the nerves and leaves the person unable to feel. Repeated damage to the skin will lead to skin infections.

If you read the conditions for tzara’at, Hansen’s Disease would not be considered tzara’at. Tzara’at includes many different skin manifestations such as having a sore turn white, if the sore is deeper than the skin, a scab, a swelling or a bright spot.

Moreover, tzara’at is not limited to the skin and is not a medical condition. Tzara’at can affect a person’s clothing and his home. A doctor did not diagnose a person with tzara’at, but the priest did. This again emphasizes tzara’at is not a health condition but something much deeper. Moreover, we will see from the text, people were allowed to return to the camp and return to their homes if they had a sore or skin marking, as long as it had not changed. If tzara’at was a medical condition like Hansen’s Disease, this would be the worst thing to do. Hansen’s Disease is caused by a bacteria. It can be spread from person to person.

The Last Supper: Where was everyone sitiing?

The Setting of the Last Supper: A Triclinium
Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper has riveted the minds of the world for centuries. Yet this depiction of the Last Supper, like many others, is quite inaccurate when it comes to the actual setting of the Last Supper. Because of these depictions, we often picture Christ seated at the center of a long table, with his disciples on each side of him. However, according to ancient Roman and Jewish culture, and several verses found in the gospels, we find a much different setting. With this more accurate setting, we are able to learn of a powerful message of Jesus’ true love.

Jesus and the apostles had gathered in a large upper room on Mount Zion in the upper city of Jerusalem. The most prominent feature of the room would have been a low table in the shape of a “U” called a triclinium. A triclinium was a Roman styled table, of various sizes and styles, that had been adopted by the Jews of the first century. The table had large couches, or cushions, placed on each of the three sides, allowing the middle to be open for entertainment and servers.

The guests would lay on their left side facing the inside, leaving their right hand free to eat the meal. This would mean that each guest could lean on the bosom of the person to their left. Their legs would be towards the outside, allowing a servant to wash their feet as they ate the feast, similar to when Jesus’ feet were washed by the penitent woman in Luke chapter seven.

36Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, 38and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. 39Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:36-39)


The host of the feast would not sit in the middle, as is often depicted in artwork of the Last Supper, but instead second to the left, with the guest of honor on his left, and a trusted friend to his right. The seating then continued around the triclinium, the most important guests seated on the left, then going around the table, with the least important sitting on the far right. The servant, if seated at the table, would occupy the last position, closest to the door, so they could go and obtain more food as the evening progressed.

If this seating arrangement was followed by Jesus, it seems to be supported by Scripture. Jesus was seated not in the center, but second from the left. John 13:21-24 indicates that John the beloved was seated to Jesus’ right, as John had to lean on the bosom of Christ to ask of the identity of the betrayer.

21When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” 22The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. 23There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24So Simon Peter *gestured to him, and *said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.”(John 13:21-24)

 Matthew 26:23 indicates that Judas was seated to the left of Christ, in the seat of honor, as both Jesus and Judas were able to eat from the same bowl. John 13:24 indicates that Peter was across from John, on the right side, as he had to signal to John to ask Jesus who would betray him.

This would mean that Jesus had placed the youngest apostle John on the side of eminence, while placing Peter in the seat of the servant. This would make sense, for according to Luke 22, there was strife among the disciples as to whom was the greatest.

24And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. 25And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:24-27)

To further teach Peter, and the others the importance of servant-leadership, Jesus then washed the feet of the twelve disciples, including the feet of Judas. Peter, who Jesus had placed in the seat of the servant, was most likely responsible for washing the feet of the guests, yet Jesus, the host, and the greatest of them all, now acted as servant and washed their feet. This would explain the protest of Peter

5Then He *poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. 16Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. (John 13:5-16)

This seating arrangement would also mean that Jesus placed Judas, who would betray him, in the seat of honor. It seems that to the very end Jesus loved Judas, and desired to teach him love by placing him in this most important seat. It was as if Jesus was trying to give Judas one less reason to betray him. Jesus, at some point, gives Judas a “sop,” a piece of bread dipped in liquid, yet another sign of honor.


A Sop of Bread
During His last meal with His disciples, Jesus announced that one of them was a traitor and would betray Him. Curious as to the traitor’s identity but not realizing the impact or seriousness of the statement, Simon Peter asked John (who reclined near Jesus’ breast) to ask Jesus to identify the betrayer. Jesus answered John, “He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it.” Then “when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot” (John 13:26).

The sop was a piece of the bread used in the feast. It was common in those days for the host to offer one of the guests a morsel of bread as a gesture of love and friendship. So what Jesus did was not unusual, but because of the circumstances it was unusually significant.

First, the sop revealed Jesus’ love for Judas. Verse 21 indicates that Jesus was troubled over His traitorous disciple.
21 When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” (John 13:21)

He could have named Judas in front of everyone. Instead giving Judas this friendship morsel was as if Jesus were giving Judas one more opportunity to repent before He closed the door on him to carry out the plot.

Jesus, as the Bible reveals, was always aware of Judas’s heart. Referring to Judas Iscariot in John 6:70 and 71, Jesus noted that one of the disciples was “a devil.” In John 12:4–6, Judas revealed his hypocrisy by being concerned over the fact that Mary washed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume, when the money for the perfume could have fed poor people.

1Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said, 5“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” 6Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. (John 12:1-6)

Second, the sop revealed once more Judas’s utter hypocrisy. Judas knew what he was about to do, yet he accepted this token and pledge of friendship and ate it. Accepting the sop paralleled what he did in the Garden a little later: he kissed the Son of God, using expressions for love and affection to betray Jesus.
Third, the sop calls our attention to the disciples’ naiveté. The Eleven had so much to learn about many spiritual truths (and they would learn much more in the following days).

John 13:28 states, “Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. “

They apparently understood neither the significance of the sop given to Judas nor the reason why he left suddenly. They thought Judas was going out to give some money to the poor or to pay for the food used in the meal (v. 29). If they had discovered his intent, they might have seized Judas, restrained him, or even killed him in defense of the Lord. However, Jesus did not allow that to happen.

The incident with the sop and Judas fulfilled prophecy concerning Jesus: “He that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me” (Psalm 41:9; John 13:18).

Judas had made up his mind. “And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That you do, do quickly.” (John 13:27).

Once Judas left, the Gospel of John indicates that the entire mood of the evening changed. From this point on, Jesus teaches some of the most important teachings contained in all scripture. From this moment light could fill the darkened chambers of the upper room. Yet, a valuable lesson had already been taught to the disciples by the seating arrangement Jesus had chosen. A lesson of servant-leadership, and a lesson of true love and devotion towards even the greatest of sinners.


The Jesus’ Last Meal

The man with the pitcher of water
Reading through Scripture, we can easily pass over some important details. For example, when Jesus tells His disciples to make ready a place to have the Passover meal, He tells them to look for a man with a pitcher of water.

"Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.' They said to Him, 'Where do You want us to prepare it?' And He said, 'When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. And you shall say to the owner of the house, "Teacher says to you, 'Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' And he will show you a large. furnished upper room; prepare it there.' And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover" (Luke 22:7-13).

In Jesus' time, only women went to the watering place to collect the water needed for the day and carried it back to her dwelling place. So, seeing a man carrying a jug of water would have been a very unusual sight, as it should be, otherwise the disciples could have easily followed the wrong person.

So why would a man be carrying a jar of water in Jerusalem? The only group of Jewish men that traditionally did carry water jars were Essenes. The Essenes were a sect of Second Temple Judaism that flourished from the 2nd Century BC to the 1st Century AD.

Being much fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the two other major sects at the time, the Essenes lives in various cities, but congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism, voluntary poverty and daily mikvahs (ritual washings). According to the historical writer, Josephus, the Essenes existed in large numbers, and thousands lived throughout Judaea. The Essenes have gained fame in recent times as a result of the discovery the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are commonly believed to have been the Essenes' library. These documents preserve multiple copies of parts of the Bible untouched from possibly as early as 300 BC until their discovery in 1946.

One of Jerusalem's gates was called "The Gate of the Essenes". It was through this gate that they entered their community. When Jesus told His disciples that they would see a man carrying a jug of water, He knew they would enter through the Essenes' gate. Entering through this gate was critical to finding a room for the Passover meal. The Essenes' calendar was different than the regular Jewish one. Thus, in the Essenes' quarter of Jerusalem, they would still have available banquet rooms to hold a Passover meal since the Essenes would be celebrating Passover on a different day.

Famine in the Land (Part 2)

Jacob’s Famine
The famine during Jacob’s life does not occur until chapter 41 of Genesis; however, in order to understand the famine, we need to back up several chapters and discuss Joseph.
 
Joseph was sold to Ishmaelite traders and was taken to Egypt. (Nothing is coincidence in the Bible.) We have Ishmael’s decedents taking the favored child of Jacob down to Egypt. 
 
18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! 20 Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. 23 So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; 24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.  28 Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt. (Genesis 37:18-28)
 
When we read this, we should immediately think back to the story of Abraham going to Egypt and the outcome of his endeavors there.
 
 
Joseph’s encounter with a married woman
In Abraham’s story, he says Sarah is his sister. Sarah is taken into Pharaoh’s household to be his wife. In Joseph’s story, Potiphar (a high ranking official of Pharaoh) has a wife who wants to have an affair with Joseph. Joseph resists because she is a married woman. One day Joseph is left alone with Potiphar’s wife. The wife tries to seduce Joseph. Joseph flees, leaving a piece of clothing behind. Potiphar’s wife lies and says Joseph was trying to rape her. The lie convicts Joseph and he is thrown into prison.
 
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. 9 There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” 10 As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. 11 Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12 She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. 15 When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” 16 So she left his garment beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she spoke to him with these words, “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; 18and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” 
 
19Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned. 20So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. (Genesis 39:6-20)
 
 
Doing a quick comparison of Abraham and Joseph:
Abraham says his wife is his sister. She is taken into Pharaoh’s household. Abraham is rewarded with an abundance of wealth. Pharaoh never sleeps with Sarah. Pharaoh’s household is cursed for taking Sarah to be his wife.
 
Joseph is single, but Potiphar’s wife is married. Joseph never does anything to Potiphar’s wife. He flees when she tries to entangle him in a love affair. He is rewarded by being thrown in prison.
 
 
Is Joseph’s prison time a blessing in disguise?
Joseph spends many years in prison. God blesses Joseph. Joseph is put in charge of many things at the jail. During his time, two servants of Pharaoh have dreams. Joseph correctly interprets them. Joseph and his actions are forgotten for two years.
 
At the end of two years, Pharaoh has a dream. The cupbearer, who was formerly in prison with Joseph, remembers Joseph and his correct interpretation. Joseph is taken from prison and placed in front of Pharaoh. Joseph gives an interpretation of the dream. Pharaoh puts Joseph as second in command over Egypt.
 
 
Comparing Joseph and Abraham again:
Abraham is given wealth as soon as he arrives in Egypt. His stay in Egypt is relatively short. When Abraham’s deception is found out, Abraham is told to leave Egypt. Abraham keeps all his wealth.
 
At first, all the wealth Joseph acquires in Egypt is not actually his. The prosperity Potiphar’s household sees due to Joseph being blessed is never Joseph’s. It remains Potiphar’s. All of Joseph’s wealth is taken away in an instant when he is thrown in jail. Joseph has to start all over again, gaining favor in the eyes of the jailer. Now, when Joseph is taken in front of Pharaoh, the wealth given to him is his, and it is far beyond anyone’s comprehension. Basically all the wealth of Egypt is his.

                                                  When famine comes to all the world

Starting in chapter 41 of Genesis, we are told about a huge plague, which affects not only Egypt but also surrounding areas including Canaan. Normally, a person would not flee to a country which was experiencing famine, but due to God blessing Joseph, God giving Pharaoh dreams and Joseph being able to interpret that dreams, the land of Egypt has bread. In chapter 42, Jacob tells his sons to go to Egypt to get bread.
 
Ten of the eleven brothers go to Egypt to get bread. Although Joseph recognizes his brothers, the brothers do not recognize Joseph. Joseph is able to richly bless his brothers and their families by providing them with as much grain as will fit in their sacks. Joseph’s brothers return to the land of Canaan.
 
There is much to say about Joseph and his interactions with his brothers, but focusing just on the famine, Joseph’s position of power saves his family from starvation. After Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, he sends wagons and goods to his father in Canaan. Joseph’s family moves to Goshen and has a prosperous life. When all the rest of the world is struggling to survive, Joseph and his family are living a good life. This is a beautiful illustration of when the whole world may be under intense strain and stress, you don’t have to be. You may not be richly blessed like Joseph, but you may not have to endure all the suffering Joseph had to endure either. In one day, Joseph went from prisoner to second in command of the largest world empire. In one day, God turned Joseph’s prison clothes into royal robes. During our darkest times, if we stay near to God, He will stay near to us. 

Link to Part One Click Here