Matthew 26:17-25

Scripture Reading: Luke 6:27-35

Introduction

Our Text this Morning is a Text about Betrayal

So I Want to Share a Few Quotes about Betrayal…

To Get Our Minds in Rolling on the Topic:

“Better to have an Enemy Who Slaps You in the Face than a Friend Who Stabs You in the Back.”

“The Blade of Betrayal, the Sharpest of Weapons, is Wielded Not By Your Enemies, But By Your Friends.”

“If You Pick Up a Starving Dog & Make Him Prosperous He will Not Bite You. This is the Principle Difference Between a Dog & Man.”

Last Week, We Saw Judas Iscariot Go to the Jewish Leaders…

And Tell Them that He’s Willing to Betray Jesus

They Offered Him 30 Pieces of Silver…

And from that Point on…

He Began Looking for a Good Opportunity to Betray Him

In Our Text this Morning…

We’re Going to See How that Good Opportunity Came About

Matthew 26:17-25

Matthew 26:17–19 (NASB95)

17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” 18 And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.” ’ ” 19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Passover Took Place on the 14th Day of the Month

The Feast of Unleavened Bread would Extend from the 15th to the 21st

“Passover” & “Unleavened Bread” were Used Interchangeably

The Disciples are Wanting to Know Where to Prepare for the Passover

They’ll Need to Find a Suitable Place

They’ll Also Need to Sacrifice a Lamb…

And Purchase Some Bitter Herbs and Wine

Jesus Already has a Place in Mind

So, According to Luke, He Sends Peter & John into the City

Mark Tells Us:

Mark 14:13–15 (NASB95)

13 And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; 14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ 15 “And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.”

Apparently this Man was a Disciple of Jesus…

Who Jesus Knew was Willing to Share His Upper Room with Them

So the Disciples Do as Jesus Directed & Get Everything Ready

Matthew 26:20 (NASB95)

20 Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.

The Proper Time for Observing the Passover Meal has Come…

And Jesus is Reclining at the Table with the Disciples

For the Original Passover in Egypt…

The Israelite People would Stand & Eat

They had to Be Ready to Leave Egypt at a Moment’s Notice

But Throughout the Years…

People would Typically Sit at a Table

But Here We See Them “Reclining” at the Table

This was a Greco-Roman Tradition that the Jewish People Adopted

They would Lie on U-Shaped Couches Called a “Triclinium”

They would Lie on Their Stomachs/Sides…

And Lean on Their Left Elbows…

While Eating with Their Right Hands…

Off of a Table in the Middle

We have a 1st Century Triclinium Preserved for Us…

In the Ancient City of Pompeii

It was Preserved By the Volcanic Ash of Mount Vesuvius…

After it Erupted in 79 A.D.

In the Late 1400s, Leonardo da Vinci Painted the “Last Supper”

This is How He Envisioned the Passover Looking

But, Realistically, it would’ve Looked More Like this

Jesus would have Probably Been at the Center…

Taking the Place of the Honorable Host

Matthew 26:21 (NASB95)

21 As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.”

After They Began Their Celebration of the Passover…

Jesus, Out of Nowhere, Drops a Bomb on the Disciples

One of Them is Going to Betray Him (“Hand Him Over”)

Matthew 26:22 (NASB95)

22 Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”

This Really Bothered Them

They couldn’t Imagine Any One of Them Doing Such a Thing

And, Naturally, They Wanted to Know Who

They All Began Asking Him:

“Surely it’s Not Me! Right, Master?”

This Question Anticipated a Negative Answer

They were All Looking for Jesus to Respond with:

“No! Not You!”

But that’s Not How Jesus Responds to Them

Matthew 26:23 (NASB95)

23 And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me.

Have You Ever Gone to a Mexican Restaurant…

And While You’re Chowing Down on the Chips & Salsa…

Someone Reaches to Dip Their Chip in the Salsa…

At the Same Time as You?

Is that What Jesus is Referring to?

“The Person Who Dipped Their Bread…”

“At the Same Time as Me…”

“Is the One Who will Betray Me”

No, that’s Not What Jesus was Saying

Sharing a Meal with Someone in that Culture Represented:

Intimacy

Unity

Friendship

When Jesus Said the Betrayer was One…

Who Dipped His Hand in the Bowl with Him…

He wasn’t Pointing Out a Specific Disciple

He was Intensifying His Claim

He was Calling Attention…

To the Shamelessness & Sheer Audacity…

Of the One Who would Betray Him

“This Person Pretends to Be My Friend/Family…”

“But They’re Going to Stab Me in the Back”

“The Person Whose Going to Betray Me…”

“Is One of My Closest Friends in this World”

Matthew 26:24 (NASB95)

24 “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

Jesus Knows this All has to Happen Just as the Scriptures Predicted

But that Doesn’t Take Any of the Guilt Off of the Betrayer

He is Completely Accountable for His Actions

When He Betrays Jesus, it will Be of His Own Free Will

And the Consequences of His Decision will Be So Extreme…

That it would’ve Been Better for Him…

If He’d Never Been Born

Matthew 26:25 (NASB95)

25 And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.”

Judas Looks at Jesus & Asks the Same Question as the Others…

Except for One Word:

He Doesn’t Call Jesus “Lord” (“Master”)…

As the Others Did

He Calls Him “Rabbi” (“Teacher”)

In Matthew’s Account, True Disciples of Jesus…

Never Refer to Him as “Rabbi”

He Considers Jesus a Great Teacher…

But it Seems He Doesn’t Consider Jesus His Master

After Judas Asks if it’s Him…

Anticipating a Negative Answer, Like the Rest…

Jesus Confirms it:

“You’ve Said it Yourself”

Judas Now Knows that Jesus Knows

In John’s Account, Jesus Tells Judas:

“What You Do, Do Quickly”

This Leads Judas to Immediately Leave the Feast…

And Run Straight to the Jewish Leaders

We’re Not Told What Judas Tells Them…

But I Imagine it Went Something Like:

“We Can’t Wait Until After the Feast is Over!”

“We’ve Got to Act Now!”

“Jesus Knows!”

The Synoptic Gospels All Essentially Share the Same Details

But John’s Account Tells a Whole Different Story

Not a Contradictory Story…

Just a Different Story

The Synoptic Gospels Focus on the Betrayal…

And the Institution of the Lord’s Supper…

(Which We’ll Be Looking at Next Week)

But John Tells Us about Something Else Jesus Did…

During His Last Supper with His Disciples

John 13:1–5 (NASB95)

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him,

3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Application

There were 2 Extremes Sharing a Meal Together

There was a Man Who Loved the One Who Hated Him

And a Man Who Hated the One Who Loved Him

Jesus Knew the Plans that Judas had Already Made

Jesus Knew that Judas was about to Set the Betrayal in Motion

Jesus Knew that One of His Closest Friends…

Was about to Sell Him at the Price of a Slave

Jesus Knew that Judas Hated Him

(His Actions/Intentions Proved this to Be True)

But Jesus Washed His Feet Anyway

He Loved/Served the One Who Hated Him

Jesus had One Primary Purpose for Doing this:

John 13:12–15 (NASB95)

12 So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14 “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.

He Humbled Himself & Took the Position of a Slave…

And He Served His Own Servants

He Did this Loving/Compassionate Act…

So that His Disciples would Follow His Lead…

And Do the Same for One Another

As Disciples of Jesus…

We Must Follow Him…

In Doing One of the Hardest Things in this World to Do

Luke 6:27–28 (NASB95)

27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Jesus Calls Us to Live an Extreme Lifestyle

A Lifestyle that Consists of Loving Those Who Hate Us

It’s the Life He Lived…

And Therefore, it Must Be the Life that We Live

But Jesus’ Extreme Love for His Enemy…

Wasn’t the Only Extreme at the Table

Judas Hated the One Who Loved Him

He had His Feet Humbly & Compassionately Washed By Jesus

He Shared a Meal of Fellowship, Friendship, & Trust with Jesus

But He Still had Every Intention on Betraying Jesus

What about Us?

We’ve Experienced the Loving Compassion of Jesus…

In Receiving the Grace that He Offered in His Death

We’ve Been Given Fellowship, Friendship, & Eternal Life By Jesus

Are We Now Going to Walk Out of Here & Betray Him?

We’re All Going to Sin, There’s No Doubt about that

But There May Be Some Here…

Who are Going to (or Already are) Taking it Further than that

Are You Pretending to Be His Disciple…

But are Living a Lie?

Are You Actively Participating in Sin…

That You have No Intention to Repent of?

Are You Going to Walk Away from Here…

And Betray Our King for the Small Price of Passing Pleasure?

Are You a Traitor at the Table of Our Lord?

If that Describes You…

Don’t Walk Away from this Table a Traitor

Walk Away with a Renewed Determination to Serve Him

Walk Away Ready to Follow His Example…

Of Loving Others the Way He’s Loved You

Walk Away Forgiven