In this daily Bible reading is the account of multitude of men sent by the chief priests taking Jesus captive in the Garden of Gethsemane. They were armed with swords and clubs. Judas, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, led them to Jesus. Judas then betrayed Jesus with a kiss to identify Jesus to the crowd. It was very early in the morning.
The previous night, Jesus and His disciples had completed their Passover dinner and walked to the Garden of Gethsemane. During the Passover dinner, Jesus had broken bread and passed pieces to his disciples saying, “Take, this is My body.” Jesus then took a cup of wine and passed it to his disciples saying, “This is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many.” The bread and wine symbolized Jesus’ body and blood.
Jesus’ blood is significant because Jesus’ shed blood atones for the sins of believers. Jesus’ body is significant because the Bible characterizes Jesus as the ‘living Word of God.’ in a spiritual sense we are nourished by the body of Jesus when we read God’s Word, the Bible.
Reading the Bible is the only way to know Jesus. We must know Jesus if our belief in Him is to have any legitimacy or meaning.
