On the Night He was Betrayed...
Passion of Jesus 2023 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
For the next three Sundays we will be looking at the last hours of Jesus Christ as He went to the cross. Then in four weeks will be celebrating His resurrection. This Sunday we will be looking at the Passover / Last Supper and the arrest of Jesus in the Garden. Next Sunday we will be looking at the trail of Jesus. On Palm Sunday we will be looking at the Certification of Jesus and then we will be looking at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. By the time we finish these four sermons my hope and prayer is that know Jesus a bit deeper and the love of Him for each one of us. Today we look at: One the Night He was Betrayed...
The Lead-Up to the Last Passover with Jesus
The Lead-Up to the Last Passover with Jesus
Just days ago Jesus had rode into Jerusalem on a donkey at the beginning of the week that Passover would be celebrated. Jerusalem was at fever pitch. Matthew records this event in Matthew 21:1-11
Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Could it be that this Jesus was going to kick out the Roman government and establish a Jewish Kingdom again? Could He be the Messiah, the King of Israel? They cried out Hosanna! Save us! Save us from the Romans! Yet, His mission was so much more than to save from an earthly power.
As the people had cried out the Pharisees (the religious leaders) yelled at Jesus.
And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
He had gone into Jerusalem for the event that would change the universe forever! Yet, few had any idea what that meant.
Now after a couple of days of teaching in Jerusalem as the religious leaders plotted to end His life, the Passover celebration approached. The Last Supper, the least meal that Jesus would have with His disciples, His friends before He was to suffer and die.
For a long period of time Jesus had been telling the disciples that He would go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and then the third day rise again. Yet, the disciples are so much like us and that went in one ear and out the other. It never really clicked with them. One of the twelve who had been with Jesus for 3 years didn’t have the Passover on his mind, he was looking to get some money to betray his Rabbi, his teacher.
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 one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.
30 pieces of silver. Approximately four months of wages was the amount that Judas took to betray his Rabbi.
Now it was time for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover and the stage was set. Eternity was going to be changed in a matter of hours.
The Passover
The Passover
The Passover was to remember what God had done for the nation of Israel during the Exodus. God had delivered and redeemed them out of the slavery to Egypt and took them to the Promise Land. They had celebrated the Passover with the killing of a lamb and putting the blood above their doors so that the first born could be saved in that house. It was the final plaque. Now over a millennia later the fulfillment of what the Passover meant was going to come to pass.
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.
If you remember from my Christmas sermon that the same word that means “upper room” in this passage is the same one that our Bibles translate “inn” in Luke 2. This upper room in Jerusalem would a place used by the disciples and Jesus for the last Passover with Him, but also a place where they would run to later. Remember none of them are from Jerusalem. Most are from Galilee in the north. They don’t have houses here in and around Jerusalem.
The evening homes and they gather at this location. We read about the first thing that takes places in John’s Gospel before we move into the meal. You see in the Middle East it was custom for a basin of water to be provided for the washing of feet. If there was a servant the servant would do it for the guests. From the text it is possible that it happened in an interlude of the Passover meal as we will see in John 13. It is also possible that they were sitting down for supper and before things started with supper this happened. That is where John 13 comes in.
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
Can you imagine the God of the Universe in human flesh on His hands and knees doing this?
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 13
This is an act that only slaves performed. When the master of a wealthy household returned from a journey or, at times, a day of labor, a slave would wash his feet. People wore open-toed sandals in the first century, which would have made this an unpleasant task.
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Second Edition 5. Footwashing
One particularly illustrative example of Jesus’ identification as one who serves in a menial capacity as a domestic slave (doulos) occurs in John 13, which describes Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. The footwashing takes place during a supper, probably prior to the Feast of the Passover. The act is presented as an act of service, yet also an act of love (“he loved them to the end/utmost” [Jn 13:1]); an act of self-abasement, yet also an act of glorification (the impending “hour” of glorification [Jn 13:1; cf. Jn 12:23]); the act of a slave, yet performed by a master upon his disciples (“Lord and Teacher” [Jn 13:13–14]).
After this humbling moment which the Apostle Paul would put in Philippians 2:5-8 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
We come to the cups and Unleavened Bread.
During the Passover there were four cups (or four times that wine was drunk) to symbolize four different parts of the Exodus and they have a deeper meaning.
Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’ ”
I will bring you out...
I will rescue you...
I will redeem you...
I will take you....
The third cup is also known as the cup of redemption or the cup of salvation.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.
Imagine you were in that room as this Passover was being done. As far as we know they had two other Passovers with Jesus in the previous two years and they had been celebrating Passover since they were born, but something was different about this time. They were confused as the tone was changed. Then we see the disciples arguing about greatness. Still not quite understanding what is happening.
Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. “But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Jesus changes the tune in John 13: 31-35
So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Then we have the bomb shell again about the betrayal:
“I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke. Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
And Peter’s denial.
And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”
Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.’ “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all said likewise.
Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.
They are going to go out into the night and go to a common place across from the main city of Jerusalem. To a garden. The stage was set. The actors were all there. The forces of Satan was about to attack, but the glory of God was about to have the greatest victory. There was still a long road ahead to Calvary.