Matthew 26:46-56 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. 52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? 55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

This coming Sunday morning we will once more celebrate the Lord’s Supper at our Church. The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for us on Calvary. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Jesus said:

Luke 19:10 For the Son of man IS COME to seek and to save that which was lost.

Mark 10:45 … the Son of man CAME NOT to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Mankind was lost because of Adam’s sin. Jesus Christ came to redeem us, to bring us from the Kingdom of darkness, and into God’s marvelous Light (1 Peter 2:9). There was only one way for Jesus to save us and bring us into God’s Kingdom. Jesus had to take our place. He had to stand in the dock, being judged for our sins, the perfect for the imperfect, that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

God the Father sent His Son on a mission to come to lost souls, and to invite the lost into the Kingdom of God. But this invitation came with a great price. Jesus would have to die a horrid death on Calvary.

Jesus Is Betrayed So We Can Be Blessed

Adam betrayed his Creator in the Garden of Eden. Now a son of Adam will betray Jesus in another garden, the Garden of Gethsemane. Was Jesus surprised at Judas’ betrayal? Let’s see. Our Lord said:

Matthew 26:46-48 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. 47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.

• JESUS KNEW WHAT WAS IN THE HEART OF PEOPLE. When Jesus washed the feet of His disciples Peter initially refused to be ministered to. Jesus said,

“If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me”

The child of God is the one who has received Jesus as BOTH Lord and Savior. The child of God does not reject the Master, but obeys Him, whether we fully understand His Word or not. Peter replied, “Lord, don’t just wash my feet, but my head and hands, too!”. Jesus told him, “You are clean, BUT NOT ALL“. The Bible said:

John 13:11 For {Jesus} knew who should betray Him; therefore He said, Ye are not all clean.

Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him. Jesus knew, because He knows the heart of man. As God, Jesus looks not on just the outward. God sees the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Jesus knows what was in man (John 2:25). When Jesus chose Judas Iscariot to be one of His core disciples, He would later say:

John 6:70 … Have not I chosen you twelve, and ONE OF YOU IS A DEVIL?

Jesus knew that Judas was “a devil”, a man who was lost. Judas Iscariot “was a robber and a thief” (John 12:6). Why in the world did Jesus choose him, knowing that he would betray Him? It was because of Christ’s HIGH VIEW of the Bible.

• JESUS KNEW SCRIPTURE MUST BE FULFILLED. Judas Iscariot was prophesied by Zechariah over 600 years before Jesus was incarnate as perfect Man. Let’s take a moment to look at this amazing prophesy.

Zechariah 11:12-13 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

God knew and foretold the betrayal of Judas over 600 years before the acts occurred. What is fascinating is how precise the Word of our Lord is. The Prophecy tells us that Judas would haggle over the price to betray Jesus. “If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear“ is perfectly fulfilled in

Matthew 26:14-15 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? …

The Gospel of Luke tells us:

Luke 22:3-6 … Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. 4 And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray {Jesus} unto them. 5 And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. 6 And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.

The devil entered into Judas – though this was not an actual “possession”. Judas was well aware of what he did.

The Bible tells us that “your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Judas had been with Jesus – among the Master’s inner 12 – for over three years. At any time he could have given his heart to the Lord. But he hardened his heart, rejecting Jesus as Lord and Savior. When the time was right Satan – watching Judas – moved to indwell his heart. And Judas went and made a covenant with other evil men to betray Jesus our Lord.

Though this was prophesied, this does not remove responsibility from Judas. Jesus made this clear when He sent Judas out from the Lord’s Table:

Matthew 26:23-24 … He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. 24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

It would have “been good for that man {Judas} if he had not been born“. Judas is being held accountable for his actions, as he should be. But all this is happening as the Scripture foretold. Jesus said, “The Son of man goeth AS IT IS WRITTEN of him“. Jesus was operating according to the Script that God the Father foreordained, as did Judas. But Judas served Satan, whereas Jesus served the Father.

Zechariah also prophesied “they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver” (11:12). The exact amount of money, in the exact TYPE of currency, was prophesied. Jesus was betrayed (again, 11:12) for thirty pieces of silver. Not gold, not copper, but silver. In our context we read:

Matthew 26:15 … they covenanted with {Judas} for THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER.

Why did God foreordain that Jesus be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver? This goes back to the Law of God. As God laid out the Law for Israel, His Old Testament people, God established rules by which His people should live. God told Israel in:

Exodus 21:28-29, 32 If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be {acquitted}. 29 But if the ox {was known to gore people}, and it hath been testified to his owner, and {the owner did not keep the ox from people, which lead to the ox killing}… a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. … 32 If the ox shall {gore a male or female servant}; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

The Israeli was responsible for even the behavior their oxen. If an ox killed a person, but had never done so before, the ox was to be killed, and it’s meat not eaten. God considers human life to be very valuable! From the earliest time in humanity God said “the blood of your lives will I require, at the hand of every beast will I require it … whoever sheds the blood of a human, then his blood shall be shed – for humans are made in the image of God” (Genesis 9:5-6). Life is precious to God, because He made us in His image. You were held accountable for what your ox did. But once the ox was killed, you were acquired – your payment for the death was the death of the ox. UNLESS the OX was KNOWN to gore people! If an ox gored and killed a person in that case, BOTH the ox and his owner was stoned to death. Life is precious.

If an ox gored and harmed (but did not kill) one of your servants, then there was a fine of THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER paid to the master of the house. This ties in to what Jesus did for us. The Bible tells us that:

Philippians 2:7-8 {Jesus} made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him{self} the form of a SERVANT, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross …

Jesus Christ came to minister, not to be ministered unto (Matthew 20:28). Jesus Christ lowered Himself from the throne of Heaven, to come to this earth for us. He became the Servant of God, and willingly lays down His life for our lives. Jesus was not gored by an ox, but He was gored by the Cross.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Just as 30 pieces of silver was given to the master of the house when a servant was gored, 30 pieces of silver were given for the goring of Jesus Christ. Our Jesus was “disallowed of men, but Chosen of God, and Precious”. To us who believe in Him, He is much more precious than 30 pieces of silver. But to Judas, who had no love for Jesus, this was his contract price.

Zechariah also tells us “I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord” (11:13). Judas Iscariot would take the 30 pieces of silver, then betray Jesus. Matthew tells us:

Matthew 27:3-10 Then Judas, which had betrayed {Jesus}, when he saw that {Jesus} was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. 7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. 9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; 10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.

The Prophet foretold that Judas would get buyer’s remorse over what he did, and that he would take the 30 pieces of silver back to the house of the Lord (the Temple). It was exactly as Scripture said. Judas threw the money to the potter – God calls Himself the Potter, and we the clay (Isaiah 64:8). Judas did not repent before God. The Scripture says “he repented HIMSELF”. He was upset with himself. Going into the Temple, he tried giving the money back to the priests that gave it to him. When they would not receive it back (they “washed their hands of Judas”), Judas threw the money toward the Potter. One commentary I read said that he threw the money toward the Holy of Holies, trying to make restitution toward God without genuinely repenting. The priests took up the money and purchased a piece of land, a “Potter’s Field”, a type of “Boot Hill” where “strangers” or unknown and unJewish people could be buried. It was not considered hallowed ground, as it was purchased with blood money. When Peter later spoke of Judas and his horrible death, he said:

Acts 1:17-20 .. {Judas} was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. 18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. 20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.

Judas “hung” himself. His death was, by his own hand, very violent. “He burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out“. What a horrible way to die! No wonder it was called a “field of blood”. The Bible warns us,

Hebrews 10:31 It is a FEARFUL THING to fall into the hands of the living God!

Just as Jesus said, it would have been better that Judas had never been born. But all that happened, happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Matthew 26:48-50 Now he that betrayed {Jesus} gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

Jesus is betrayed with a kiss. This is not a romantic kiss, but a kiss of respect given to teachers and friends. We today shake hands (or because of the Coronavirus, bump fists). In Jesus’ day believers “greeted one another with a holy kiss” (Romans 6:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26). David kissed Jonathan his friend (1 Samuel 20:41).Judas used this act of love to betray our Lord. Again, this is all in accordance with the prophecy of Scripture.

Jesus Said The Scripture MUST Be Fulfilled

As Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter showed the opposite extreme. He drew his sword and struck the ear off of one of the soldiers who grabbed Jesus. We read:

Matthew 26:51-54 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. 52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Jesus had earlier told His disciples:

Luke 22:36-38 But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. 38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

Jesus told His disciples to buy a sword. I believe He was telling them to get ready, that persecution was coming. The swords were perhaps for defensive use, but NOT for offensive use. Perhaps Peter remembered Jesus’ words. Misunderstanding, he drew one of two swords, and cut the ear off of Malchus, a servant of the High Priest (see also John 18:10; Luke 22:50-51). Jesus told Peter:

Matthew 26:52 Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Jesus did not want His disciples to offensively attack the enemy. I believe that it is appropriate for a believer to defend his or her home from intruders. But as saints of God, we are called to be patient, and not aggressive toward evil. The Bible says:

Romans 12:19-21 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Jesus always put the Bible first. He cherished the Word, for I believe He wrote the Word. Our Jesus Christ is the Living Word who was in the beginning with God – and was God (John 1:1-3). Jesus had a HIGH view of Scripture, of our Bible. Jesus told His disciples:

Matthew 26:53-54 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Our Jesus “laid His life down for His friends, for those who would believe in Him” (John 10:15, 17). Peter had promised to lay his life down for Jesus (John 13:37-38), but failed. Jesus did not fail. Jesus never fails! Jesus also laid down His life for the Scriptures, for the Bible that God has given us. The Bible said it had to be done, so Jesus did it. Beloved, should not we do the same? We will close with this:

Matthew 26:55-56 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

When Jesus went to the Cross, it was exactly the right time, fully in accordance with God’s will and God’s Word. The Bible says,

Galatians 4:4-5 when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Jesus came at the right time, in perfect sync with the Bible, the Word of God. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, the disciples running away from Jesus, everything that happened, happened in accordance with God’s Will and God’s Word. Let us cherish and hold on to God’s Word. It was accurate, though written hundreds of years before Christ, and it is accurate today.

May God through His Spirit and His Word touch your hearts and grow your faith today. Amen and Amen!