Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover

And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat." So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?" 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. 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?"' Then he will show you a large furnished upper room; there make ready." So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

- Luke 21:37-22:13

Over the course of the past three readings, we have been reading about Jesus' predictions for both the capture of Jerusalem -- which includes the destruction of the temple, and the end of the age. The two ideas are interwoven, and in some important spiritual sense, inseparable. Yesterday Jesus taught us, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." And He added the important teaching of how we are to spend our time in this 'waiting period' before His return: we are not to be weighed down with the cares of the world and the things we do in forgetfulness. But rather we are to "watch and pray," to stay in a state of wakefulness and remembrance of God against the unpredictable time of His return -- "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. During the times of the Festivals at Jerusalem, many pilgrims commonly stayed here on Mount Olivet (or the Mount of Olives), as the city was overcrowded at those times. So Jesus stays with the pilgrims and is counted among them, with nowhere else to stay.

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. My study bible says that the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover were actually two separate feasts -- but that they overlapped for the most part, so that they could be identified as one. We must recall here that Jesus has already made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. While He is here, He has daily taught in the temple, verbally sparring with those among the leadership and in the various classes (Sadducees, Pharisees, priests and scribes) that constitute the religious leadership. Note the synchronous nature of their fear and that Jesus stays with the pilgrims on Mount Olivet. Popular charismatic figures like Jesus and John the Baptist are commonly reported in the Gospels to cause fear of the people in the leadership.

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude. Again, the reporting is that the "multitude" must be absent from this arrest and this treachery, because the leadership fear the people. Jesus is a popular figure among those who feel the corruption among the leadership. Perhaps there is no better example of Jesus' championing of the common people than in His example in the reading about the poor widow putting all she had in the treasury (see here). So much seems to hinge on how we view ownership and wealth, and "where our heart is." It's like we have a choice between a sense of love or a focus on money and all that relates to it. In John's Gospel, it is Judas who condemns Mary of Bethany for her extravagant gesture of love for Christ. Even in the name of a good cause, we must take care what is truly in our hearts first. No one person or group of people ever "owns" the Church (or, it seems to me, any church), built on Christ's love and our return of that love.

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat." So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?" 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. 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?"' Then he will show you a large furnished upper room; there make ready." So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. My study bible informs that Passover lambs were ritually slaughtered about noon on the first Day of Unleavened Bread, roasted in the afternoon, and eaten that evening -- marking the beginnings of the Passover Festival. A note continues, "Unleavened bread was eaten in remembrance of the urgent Exodus from Egypt, in which there was not time for the bread to rise." Jesus teaches His disciples, Peter and John, where they will eat the Passover. We remember that at least these two Apostles are from Galilee. Perhaps Jesus has already made this arrangement for them all. Perhaps it is yet one more sign of His knowledge of all things, even minute details. But at any rate, it teaches us that while He makes camp on the Mount of Olives, with all the pilgrims, He is also a pilgrim, a guest, like all the rest of the pilgrims in this city, a city of hope and spiritual promise and the day of redemption. He "tents" among us, as it says in John's Gospel, and with us He is here for a brief time in the flesh. Again, there is a subtle hint here about ownership: He who is the Lord of all things lives among us as a guest. And it is we who must open the door to let Him in and sup with us. It reminds us of His teaching that the greatest among them must be as a servant, and the first shall be the slave of all. We know that at this supper, He will endeavor to teach them just this as clearly as possible with a spectacularly symbolic act.

So today let us begin with a consideration of Jesus' dwelling among us as one of us -- or perhaps more pointedly, as one of those pilgrims who must stay on the Mount of Olives. It reminds us that He was also born in a town of His ancestors in which there was no room from overcrowding. That was for a census, a great epic event of the realm of state. And this is for the great Festival of Passover, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread -- which commemorates the exodus of Israel from Egypt, made in such a hurry there was no time for the bread to rise. It gives us a sense of the fleeting time we have, the impermanence of this life, and how brief, really, is our ownership -- if at all. Indeed, it forces us to consider His position: we travel light, but we may possess our souls. Bearing all losses, Jesus teaches us so many ways in which what we treasure is what is truly ours, and the importance of making that choice. He is a guest in a crowded city and will celebrate His Last Supper with His disciples in a guest room, and yet He is Lord, and so we still call Him. What does this teach you about your own life and what you treasure? Where is your heart -- and what is the worth and true weight of the substance that is in it? Let us remember the extravagance of love in Mary of Bethany and the poor widow at the treasury, and consider the wealth of that love in us, and what we may truly possess best.