In Mark 14, we see Messiah Yahoshua with His disciples in the upper room, and then in the Garden of Gethsemane after their meal. They observed the Passover Seder (as all the Jews did the night of Passover, as each day began and ended at sundown).
After sundown, the Jews would go into their homes to observe the Seder, and they would remain in their homes until morning—remember, the day of Passover would not end until the next sundown. The family Seders were observed during the night, and then the temple observance would start the following morning.
It was during the temple observance that Messiah Yahoshua was sacrificed as the perfect Passover Lamb of Yah.
So, Messiah and His disciples had their Seder meal, after which Yahoshua washed their feet. Then, they left the upper room because Messiah wanted to go into the garden to pray. Now, He left most of the disciples at one place in the garden, but He took Peter, James, and John further away with Him, and asked them to keep watch and pray with Him.
Of course, we know that He went over to check on them, and they were sleeping, so He asked them to keep watch and pray with Him three times. They went back to sleep each time.
Why was He so insistent with them? Well, obviously, they were the three who were closest with Him, relationally, but there was a distinct reason He kept asking those three to keep watch and pray, and what they had just done in the upper room gives us a glimpse into what that was.
Before a priest would enter the sanctuary (which was comprised of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was), he would have to wash his hands and feet. Of course, during the Seder, Messiah Yahoshua and His disciples would have passed a bowl of water to dip their hands into as a symbolic cleansing before dipping their bitter herbs into a bowl of salt water (salt is a symbol of covenant, and the water was a foreshadow of the baptism of the Holy Spirit).
After they ate the Seder meal, Messiah then washed the disciples’ feet (John 13). He explained to them about the coming of the spiritual covenant, which is the seal of the Holy Spirit (John 16), and then, it is important to understand that He prayed the high priestly prayer (John 17). It was then that they left to go to the garden of Gethsemane.
But, what had Messiah just done? He went through the steps that a priest would go through before entering the sanctuary—the ceremonial washing of hands and feet, and the high priestly prayer. He knew He was getting ready to fulfill the Passover as Yah’s Perfect Lamb.
So, He left most of the disciples at one place, and then took Peter, James, and John with Him closer to where He was going to pray. He had prepared Himself to enter the sanctuary—the spiritual real substance of what the physical temple represented. And, He was giving Peter, James, and John an opportunity to see it, for they had also been prepared, and they were getting ready to receive the real substance of the covenant (seven weekly Sabbaths plus one day from His resurrection on Firstfruits, which is the Feast of Weeks—Acts 2).
As we know, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. They couldn’t even force themselves to stay awake to see what He would have allowed them to see. And then, shortly thereafter, Messiah was arrested because of the betrayal by Judas Iscariot.
How often do we miss things that the Holy Spirit is giving us an opportunity to see, merely because our flesh is weak, and we don’t focus our spiritual eyes to see and understand them?
Paul told Timothy to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to Yah as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately expounding the word (logos) of truth.” I know the KJV uses the word “study,” but the accurate translation actually means “to labor, or work, diligently”. And, the Word (logos) is the Holy Spirit’s utterances, or His truths.
It is common, when christians hear the truths of the Holy Spirit that they don’t know or understand, simply to reject those things, and then claim they are irrelevant, because christianity removed many of those things—and even outlawed them when christianity was invented and then codified in the 4th century.
We often fear that which we don’t understand, and it is quite typical when christians hear things they think sound “Jewey” just to dismiss them as “the law.” That is nothing but spiritual ignorance and laziness.
Most christians don’t even want to bother understanding the differences between the law (the ordinances contained in the law of Moses) and the Father’s traditions, which Paul told the Gentile converts to keep (1 Corinthians 11:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15).
It is sad, because in learning those traditions that Paul taught, most christians would see the many errors they have been taught and believed. They would see the difference between christianity’s salvation-by-decision, and the true path to salvation, which was presented for us by the Passover journey, and was mirrored in the way of the tabernacle—the priestly progression from the Outer Courtyard, through the Holy Place, and into the Holy of Holies, where the covenant was.
The christians we see in Matthew 7:21-23 thought they knew it all—that their salvation could be declared by their own decision. Yet, Messiah Yahoshua tells them to depart from Him because He never knew them. They never actually received the Holy Spirit, but were misled by false teachings that convinced them that they had the power to place the Holy Spirit within themselves simply by “accepting Christ,” or “praying a sinner’s prayer,” or “living a proper lifestyle.”
It’s sad, really. They might have been prepared to receive salvation by their belief, but their flesh was weak, and they chose to believe that there was nothing left for them on the true path to salvation. The adoption papers might have been being written, but they were never sealed.
Believe, endure in belief confessing Messiah Yahoshua before others, then receive the covenant. THAT is the ONLY path to salvation.
For more information: What Is Saving Belief?