The King s Betrayal Matthew 26:47 56

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1 CORNERSTONE BIBLE CHURCH February 1, 2015 The King s Betrayal Matthew 26:47 56 Introduction: The World s Greatest Betrayals Throughout the history of the world, there have been some fairly bold betrayals. Not sure if you have studied history much, but there are several that come to my mind when I think of cold-hearted betrayals. One of the first situations that I think of is Marcus Brutus. Remember him? He sold out his dear friend, Julius Caesar, which led to his death. If you were to look up the word Traitor in the dictionary, I m fairly sure it will come with the picture of Benedict Arnold, who sold out his country. And of course, I can t help but think of a certain King... whose name is James who took his talents to south beach. What a betrayal, although the story does take an interesting twist as he does return home in humility as a city waits to see how it may turn out. But there is one betrayal that has been so horrific that it has now gone down in history of one of the worst ever. It is a man by the name of Hans, who leads on and eventually does everything he can to destroy a woman named Anna. Of course, I m talking about the massive betrayal that takes place in the hit movie Frozen. When he leans down to kiss her, only to pull back, it s like time stands still. Okay, well, maybe that s not the biggest betrayal in history as it falls woefully short of Judas betrayal of Jesus. This betrayal is the worst in the history of the world for one very important reason. While what Brutus does to Caesar is horrific, its not like Julius was perfect in everything. Benedict Arnold was initially let down by the US military as he was critical in the early battles of the Revolutionary War only to never receive any recognition. King James, well, its hard to say that Cleveland is perfect in any stretch of imagination. And even Anna was a bit presumptuous. But Jesus? Perfect. Perfect in every way. He never did anything to Judas to hurt him. Never let him down in any way. And Judas still turned on Him for 30 pieces of silver. How tragic. This morning, as we look at this betrayal, I want us to not just look at Judas or the other characters associated with this betrayal. I want us to look past them to see ourselves. I do not just want this to be a history 1

2 lesson, but to learn from them. In this act of betrayal, we actually find three different groups of people that I hope help us see ourselves. THE BETRAYER (VS ) If you remember from last week, we saw Jesus in the garden with His disciples praying, wondering if the Father has some other plan for the redemption of the world besides His going to the cross. His pain and fear is real. And His disciples, who said they would never forsake Him, are not even able to stay awake to keep watch for Him. After three times of prayer, Jesus wakes up Peter, James, and John and tells them that the time has come. A resolve was now come over Jesus. A determination. A peace that what God has planned is the best plan for the redemption of the souls of people. And as Jesus is speaking to them, Judas arrives. Jesus prays until the last possible moment, but now He is ready for what God has for Him in this moment. When the gospel writers talk about Judas betraying Jesus, they always refer to him as one of the twelve. Its almost as if they still can t believe that someone this close to Jesus would actually do what He is about to do. Judas arrives in the garden with a great crowd of people sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. The religious leaders send the full force of people with swords and clubs to arrest Jesus. They come prepared for a battle. And of course, when they show up, Judas has told them that the sign of the One they are to arrest is the One he will kiss. This raises several questions. First, Why Does Judas Need To Point Out Jesus? Well, at the risk of being overly simplistic, let s not forget that it is the middle of the night. Maybe it was cloudy. Judas and these people have no concern to arrest the followers of Jesus at this point, they want the Leader. And let s not forget, this is before photography and cell phone selfies (would Jesus have taken a selfie & posted to Facebook... that s for another day). While, no doubt, most of these men have been around Jesus a lot as He taught in the temple, its not like His picture is on the evening news every night. It s not like his photo is on billboards across Jerusalem with the slogan Believe across the top. And so while they know Jesus, they might not be able to easily and quickly identify Him in the darkness of the night among a group of men. And so Judas is there to make it easier to identify. 2

3 Second, Why Does He Choose A Kiss? I mean, why not just show up and point Jesus out? I suppose one reason might be that Judas may think he is taking Jesus by surprise. And so maybe he thinks he can approach Jesus in a normal manner. Maybe that s why he adds to the end of his statement that after he identifies Jesus with the kiss, they need to seize Him. Judas is now numbered among the enemies of Jesus; He has flipped sides. In his mind, this has one shot at working, for if it doesn t work, Judas has no where to go. And please note according to vs. 49, he doesn t delay. I don t know if he is nervous or not, but he walks straight into the garden and promptly greets Jesus and kisses Him. Now, it may seem strange for us today, but a kiss was not uncommon in their culture. It was a usual form of greeting between friends. But it was also a formal greeting between a teacher and student. Except of course, and this is really important, the student would never initiate the kiss. When Judas greets Jesus, he refers to Him as Rabbi. And so he is recognizing that Jesus is the teacher. But by initiating the kiss, he is saying that he doesn t care that Jesus is the teacher. This is not just a betrayal; it is an insult. He is intentionally showing a lack of respect of Jesus being his rabbi. There s one more question that always has eluded me. Third, Why Is Judas Even Needed? I mean, come on, the religious leaders know whom Jesus is. They know they want Him dead. So when Judas approaches them earlier and asks them how much will they pay him to deliver Jesus to them, why are they eager to pay? For one thing, remember, because of their fear of the crowds, they are looking for a time to get Jesus alone. This is certainly possible, and because Judas is one of the twelve, he will have a better gauge on Jesus schedule and when He may be alone. But I propose that there is something deeper that Judas offers to them. I wonder if Judas offers them the inside scoop into the heart of Jesus, and this is what really moves this betrayal along. Here s what I mean. We saw back at the beginning of Matthew 26 that they did not want to arrest Jesus during the festival because of the possible uproar from the crowd. They were scared that Jesus may resist and the people may side with Jesus and what would happen would be a riot. And so, they are content to wait until after Passover is over and then grab Him once the crowds have started to dissipate. 3

4 But this is when Judas enters. I have to wonder if what Judas offers them is the inside scoop that Jesus has been talking about dying. I have to wonder if Judas tells them that the time is not after the Passover, but during it, because Jesus is tired, weary, and depressed. I wonder if Judas tells them that this is the right time because Jesus keeps talking about His coming death. And it is this inside information that moves them to pursue it right away, knowing that if He is talking about dying, He may not put up a fight like they fear. And so they agree and Judas gives up Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. One of the twelve men who were selected by Jesus for discipleship gives Him up for about five months of wages. He shows up and kisses Jesus. Jesus response? He is not surprised, but tells them to do what they came here to do. Get on with the betrayal. Christian, let me warn each and every one of us. The story of Judas is not just an account of a follower of Jesus who turns his back on the Lord of the Universe. It is an account that teaches us that simple proximity to someone doesn t mean loyalty. Just because you go to church; just because you teach classes; just because you lead a ministry; just because you talk a good game... it doesn t mean that you are a follower of Jesus Christ. It doesn t mean you are not capable of turning your back on Jesus. Kids, just because your mom and dad love Jesus, it doesn t mean you do. Just because they bring you to church every Sunday, it doesn t mean you are a follower of Jesus. Nobody gets into heaven because they know someone close to Jesus. Nobody is right with God because they spend hours or days every year doing good things; the good things that Christians should do. There have always been false followers that walk alongside of true followers. There have always been goats mixed along with the sheep. There will always be wolves pretending to be sheep. There are always tares among the wheat. As sensitively as I can, let me just exhort you to never trust in some prayer that was prayed many years ago when there is not desire for Christ today. Never rely upon something you saw in your children twenty years ago if their life today has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Just because someone used to go to church and used to read their Bible and they used to be involved in a small group and they used to say they loved Jesus... that doesn t mean they do. I know lots of people who I 4

5 spend lots of time with these days, outside of those that attend our church, that tell me they are Christian, and I wouldn t be able to recognize Christ in them at all. I know this may be painful for you. I know that it may be a hard pill to swallow. But we can t keep affirming someone of their salvation if the pattern of their life is denying and betraying the One who came to offer them life. It does them no good and it does us no good. 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. Illustration: Friend in High School Look down at the end of vs. 56. After all this has taken place, we are told the disciples leave Jesus. Judas betrays; the disciples leave. They slept rather than watching. And now they run instead of staying. We know the rest of the story, so what separates what they do from what Judas does? I think the only answer to this is real, genuine repentance. We will see in coming weeks, that Judas remorse is not heartfelt, but Peter s is. And then after the resurrection, we see that these men are changed forever. They are cowards turned into spiritual warriors; foolish into wise; sinners into saints... because of the new life Christ displays before them through the resurrection. Eventually the sheep and goats will be separated. The wheat and tares will become known for what they are. Judas is the Betrayer, and unfortunately, many of us are more like Him than we want to admit. Or at least, there is more in us like Him than we want to admit. This leads us to the next character... THE DEFENDER (VS ) We are told that one of those with Jesus draws his sword and strikes the servant of the high priest and cuts off his ear. We know from the gospel of John that this is Peter and that the servant s name is Malchus. It s just a passing thought, but I m really curious as to why Peter has a sword. He just doesn t seem like the sword wielding type of guy. But he has one and when Judas comes to betray Jesus and the crowd of people lay hands on Jesus and seize Him, he steps us to take action. After all, even though he was too tired to stay awake to watch with Jesus, he did just make the commitment that he would never deny 5

6 Jesus, even if it meant he had to die for Him. There are some commentaries and theologians that try to read too much into this. For instance, there are some who say things like, well, according to the OT, a slit in the ear disqualifies a man from being high priest, and so Peter goes after the servant of the high priest to insult the high priest. Um, no. Nowhere are we told that Peter is a skilled swordsman. It is dark. He is sleeping and Jesus wakes Him up to this mass chaos. Plus, the ear is really small. It makes reasonable sense that he draws his sword and begins swinging and misses. I have no doubt that Peter is aiming for heads to inflict major damage and only gives minor damage. Of course, Jesus is not too favorable of this action. In Luke 22, we are told that Jesus touches the right ear of this servant and heals him. Please note this: Do you want to be like Christ? Then even in the moment when you are being betrayed and accused... serve and help; give and heal. To be like Jesus is to give even when you are down. Jesus response to Peter s actions is not just to heal Malchus, but to tell Peter to put away the sword. Most certainly, Jesus peaceful words & miracle in this moment is what keeps Peter from being arrested. After all, you don t just swing a sword at someone head and get away with it. Jesus simple logic is that the natural human response to having someone swing a sword at you is to swing back. If you take the sword, you will perish by the sword. I m sure you have heard and read vs. 53 to mean that if Jesus wanted to stop it all, He could call on the Father and He would have sent 12 legions of angels to stop it all. This is not what Jesus is saying. Listen very closely, Jesus is saying that if the battle that He is waging if physical, then Jesus doesn t need Peter and his measly little sword. He could call on more angles (1 legion = 12,000 foot soldiers; 12 legions = 144,000 soldiers) than needed to defeat this measly group of people coming to arrest Him. If force is the way out, there are better options than an unskilled swordsman attacking a large group of henchmen. But force is NOT the way out for Jesus. Jesus is not going down in a blaze of glory, but in a peaceful acceptance of the cross. Physical force is not the way for Jesus. And it is not the way for His followers either. I do not believe at all that Jesus is teaching passivism here (if you do, I ll be glad to talk to you about it). What He is teaching is that the spread of His message is NOT through the sword. We don t force people with the 6

7 sword to be Christian. This has been an issue throughout the history of the church that has given Christians really horrific reputations. When those who claim the name of Christ pick up the sword on behalf of Christ, only problems arise. Just read some of what happened in the Crusades in the middle ages. Horrific. What the Christian accuses Muslims of these days is what the Christians did for ages. This is not the cause of Christ. It is not left to us to execute and kill people for their lack of belief in Jesus. That judgment will come from the One who is perfect and without error. We do not pick up the sword in military conquest for the sake of religion. But I m not saying the sword is not the weapon of choice for the Christian. What I m saying is that the physical sword is not the weapon of choice. But there is a spiritual sword we are called to use. The Apostle Paul describes it in this way... 2 Corinthians 10:3 6 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. Paul s point is that we do use weapons that are designed for the flesh to fight that which is the spiritual. That would be like going to D-Day with paintball guns. It would be like fighting ISIS with squirt guns. They will accomplish nothing. We do not wage war according to the flesh. So what is our warfare? We use God s weapons. Every city in their culture would have had a place that was impregnable. It would have been one of the highest points of the city that was hard to reach. It would have been a place that if attacks happened, people could enter and be safe. A safehouse. As a Christian, we can destroy these strongholds not by wielding bigger swords or guns than them. We do it by calling out and destroying their false views of God. Our weapon is truth! We take every thought captive in the sense that we wield the sword of God, taking false views of Christ and the gospel and using the Word of God that is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12) to change those views to truth. In Ephesians 6, the 7

8 Apostle Paul gives us the armor of God that we are to fight with. It is defensive, except for one piece of offensive weaponry. It is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The spread of Christianity is not through physical force, but through constant, continual spreading of the truth of Jesus Christ as we have it revealed in the written Word of God. For some, this seems too simple. It seems too elementary. They think there must be something else we can do. Maybe we don t pick up the sword, but maybe we should pick up something to entertain people, for if they are entertained, they will like it. And if they like it, they will believe in it. That s nothing more than walking in the flesh. It is the constant teaching of His truth that God uses to really change people. It is something that Peter will find out later in His life, and He will write that what God uses to change someone s heart and cause them to be born again is the living and abiding word of God (1 Peter 1:23). After all, the Word of the Lord remains forever. The one who said He would be with Jesus to fight with Jesus misunderstood the fight. While Jesus is betrayed by Judas, Peter fully misunderstands what he is called to do as a defender of Christ. THE ACCOMPLICE (VS ) Judas does not come alone. According to vs. 47, he comes with a great crowd with swords and clubs. And now Jesus turns His attention towards these thinking they are assisting the betrayer. His main question to them is why do they need to come to Him with swords and clubs? He is a peaceful teacher, so why do they need to treat Him like the worst terrorist? In fact, He drives the point home by saying that He is always available to be found daily in the temple if they wanted to find Him. So why, do they come out at night like scared henchmen? Of course, we know the answer to that question. These big, tough, accomplices are scared of the people. That s why they do it at night. They are not interested in justice (as we will see the next few weeks). They are interested in going around any corner they can to do what they feel they need to do. The only thing is, even though they are now cutting corners and trying to trap Jesus at night like a robber. They are not in control. John explains their lack of control in a very vivid manner. 8

9 John 18:3 8 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, Whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go. Do you see what is going on here? They walk into the garden with lanterns, torches, and weapons to arrest Jesus. Jesus, knowing what they are doing, simply asks them Whom do you seek? They say, Jesus of Nazareth to which He replies, I am He. Boom! They fall down to the ground. As they are picking themselves up, He asks them again, Whom do you seek? I m sure with a bit more hesitancy in their voices this time, they say, Jesus of Nazareth. He tells them He is the One they are looking for. Why is this important? These accomplices are coming thinking they are going to take down Jesus and they are nothing. There is nothing any accomplice of any betrayer can do to thwart the plan of God. Someone may think they are big stuff; Someone may think they can stop God s plan. But God uses the evil plans of men for His good. Look at Joseph. Look at Moses. Look at the persecutions of the early church under the hand of a guy named Saul. He persecutes, people spread, and churches are planted beyond Jerusalem. What men mean for evil, God uses for good. All of this took place that the Scriptures may be fulfilled. Isaiah 53 says that the Messiah would be numbered with the transgressors. It doesn t mean that He is a transgressor, but that He would be treated as one. At this point, when these men come out with swords and torches to arrest Jesus, He is in complete control. What is He in control of? His death. This is what we come this morning to remember. We normally take communion once a month, and it is a time to remember the death of Jesus Christ, what He accomplished upon His own volition, for our sakes. It was not taken from Him. Judas didn t trick Him into it. The religious leaders didn t force death upon Him. He gave it up. Why? So that you and I can now be in a relationship with God, having our sins forgiven. 9

10 Communion: Remembering Christ s Sacrifice 10