The Son Betrayed

Call to Worship: Psalms 93:1-3 // Prayer

Adoration: Our Lord, you reign over all things; you are robed in majesty and you wear strength like a belt. You have made the world, and it shall not be moved; your throne is ancient, and your being is everlasting. Though the floods lift up their voice, though the world is filled with the thunder of evil, yet far mightier than these things are you, O Lord most high...

Confession: And we rejoice in you… yet also, we see the evil of the world too much in ourselves! And so we confess it to you: spiritual pride in our hearts, selfishness and lust and unbelief in our actions. In many ways, we have sinned against you this past week: Father, forgive us.

Thanksgiving: Yet we know that you have forgiven us, because we have entered through the door, your Son, to become the sheep of your pasture; we have been saved in him.

Supp: And since you have saved us in this way, we respond by asking, Father, make your name holy; may your kingdom come, and may your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven; and we ask, give us this day our daily bread—supply our needs; and lead us in forgiving others just as we have asked you to forgive us; and lead us not into temptation, but if we are tempted, then we ask, deliver us from evil // and at the same time, we ask for this work of yours to make your people holy not only in our congregation, but in the whole American church, that we might be holy and a light of your gospel in our nation // and thinking of our nation, and of your command to pray for our leaders, we bring before you Susanne Bonamici, our representative in congress: we ask that you might bless her and her family, and also that you might guide her heart by your sovereign hand into law-making that is just and wise, that we might live a quiet life in our country, with continued freedom to worship you and to spread the gospel // and beyond our nation we think of our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, and we ask you for their protection in the face of persecution: please, give them relief from the violent men who oppress them; please, give them courage and holiness to be faithful witnesses of the gospel in the face of both persecution and false doctrine, that you might be glorified in them there // and as we open your Word now, please give me grace in teaching it, and us all help in hearing it…

Announcements

Susan membership signing

Benediction

Philippians 4:19–20 ESV

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

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Intro

Three weeks ago, as most of you probably know, a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, was invaded by protesters during their worship service.

You can imagine the scene: protesters shouting at members of the congregation; fear; bewildered children. It was invasive and oppressive. It was frightening to the flock. It was the kind of thing that leaves you shaken up.

But that’s fairly minor compared to what happened across the world on the same day in the village of Kurmin Wali, Nigeria, where Islamic terrorists raided three church services as well as homes and took 177 people captive. At last count, 86 of those taken are still in captivity.

What are Christians to do in the face of unjust opposition like this? How should we respond? How should we grapple with it in our hearts—that it even happens? As with everything else in our faith, this is first and foremost answered by Jesus: by who he is, how he lived, and what he did to save us.

So, how should we think about persecution? Opposition to the gospel? To our faith? First, by asking, how did Jesus respond to human oppression?

And that’s exactly what we’ll see in our passage this morning...

Oppression Comes to Jesus (47-50)

If you remember from last Sunday, here, Jesus has just consecrated himself in watchful prayer. He has just submitted himself completely to Father’s plan that he be slain as the true passover lamb for the sins of the world. Three times, battling in prayer, he rejected the temptation to skip the cross, and instead submitted himself to the Father’s will. And so, he is now consecrated to be the passover lamb — to face his betrayer.

And in verse 47, his betrayer comes. It says:

Matthew 26:47 ESV

While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

Notice, Matthew takes care in this verse to remind us that Judas is one of the twelve—one of Jesus’ inner circle. We already know that from other places in Matthew’s gospel. So why does he remind us again here? To emphasize the ugliness of what’s happening: it’s not just some random pharisee leading this group. It’s one of Jesus’ close companions.

And he’s come out, leading a great crowd armed with swords and wooden clubs. And this is a crowd that’s been dispatched by Jesus’ enemies, ‘the chief priests and the elders of the people’—the religious establishment in Jerusalem.

It’s unjust, violent force, sent by Jesus’ enemies. But it’s betrayal by Judas.

And betrayal is what the next few verses emphasize… listen to verses 48-49:

Matthew 26:48–49 ESV

Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him.

Now, to help you understand these verses, note that a kiss in that culture could be a form of greeting. Now, really, we’re already familiar with this: before I leave work in the morning, I get normally get requests from four young people of various heights for a kiss.

And sometimes it’s been said that a kiss back then was like a hand-shake today. And that’s partially true: it was a way of greeting someone. But at the same time, it was a lot more significant than a handshake. You didn’t give a kiss of greeting to just anyone. It was a token of a close bond, of love, and of loyalty.

And so the fact that Judas chose a kiss as the way he’d identify Jesus to these soldiers as the one to arrest is grotesque: he uses this symbol of love and loyalty for the exact purpose of despising and betraying his master. Chrysostom says:

New Testament Ib: Matthew 14–28 The Betrayer Kissed Him

O with what depravity had the traitor’s soul been inflamed! With what kind of eyes did he then look at his Master? With what mouth did he kiss him? O accursed purpose! What sign did he devise? What did he dare? What sort of clue of betrayal did he give?

And so Judas planned the kiss, and gave the kiss. And Jesus received the kiss. And he received the kiss not because he was unaware of Judas’ purpose, but because he had already willed in his prayers to submit himself fully to the Father’s plan. He received the kiss from Judas just as he would receive the whip to his back and the nails to his hands and feet.

But then he said to Judas, verse 50:

Matthew 26:50 ESV

“Friend, do what you came to do.”

It’s a rebuke. It cuts past Judas’ false kiss and pretense of respect and names the evil that’s about to take place.

And it’s important to note that for us. Because among all the things that Jesus models for us in this passage, the one thing he doesn’t do is pretend that evil is not evil. He cuts past Judas’ pretend loyalty with these few words and exposes the evil of what’s taking place. And that’s consistent with how Jesus faced evil in other parts of his life and ministry also, and it’s an example to us.

But though he reveals the evil with his words, yet he does not fight the evil with physical force. Just as he permitted Judas to kiss him with betraying lips, so he now he permits this armed crowd to lay hands on him and seize him.

And so Jesus is taken hold of by a hostile crowd—they physically seize him with their hands. And this is the beginning of the oppression which will lead up to his death on the cross. And in that sense, it’s a unique oppression—an oppression he endured as the Messiah, for the salvation of sinners. But in another sense, you can see how it resembles the examples I pointed out to you at the beginning, where churches were invaded by hostile people.

To Strike, or Not to Strike

And so, all this sets us up for the next thing that happens: one of the disciples draws his sword and tries to defend Jesus. Verse 51:

Matthew 26:51 ESV

And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

It’s an equal and opposite reaction to what just happened. The crowd laid their hands on Jesus with deadly intent, and so this guy stretches out his hand to draw his sword and strike. And when he does, he draws blood. He cuts off the ear of a man in the hostile crowd. It’s physical hostility met with physical hostility. Force with force, violence with violence.

And the text doesn’t tell us exactly what mix of fear and anger, loyalty and love motivated this this strike. But it does give us a clue in the next verse:

Matthew 26:52 ESV

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

So Jesus tells him to put his sword away, and then gives him a proverb about why to put it away. “For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” It’s very similar to Proverbs 26:27, which says:

Proverbs 26:27 ESV

Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.

In other words, there’s a general principle of wisdom that those who engage in violence tend to have it come back and bite them. And so Jesus is telling this disciple: ‘what you just did was foolish and not wise—the kind of thing that will get you needlessly killed.’ And so, it seems, this disciple has lashed out foolishly in a moment of hot emotion, without a wise understanding of the situation.

And the next two verses help to clarify exactly what it was that he didn’t understand. In verse 53, Jesus explains to him:

Matthew 26:53 ESV

Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

In other words, Jesus didn’t need his help. If Jesus had any desire at all for this armed crowd to be met with force, he could have already done it himself, and with far more effectiveness than one disciple drawing a sword. He could have immediately dispatched thousands of angels and destroyed them. But he had chosen not to do that.

This disciple’s sword, then, was both unnecessary and also at crossed purposes with Jesus.

But what, again, was Jesus’ purpose? Verse 54 tells us, ‘that the Scriptures should be fulfilled.’ In other words, that everything he’s been explaining to them about his coming death—how he is the fulfillment of the sacrificial system, how he is the true passover lamb—should be fulfilled. In order for those things to be fulfilled, Jesus needed to give himself willingly over to death. And that’s exactly what he was doing.

And this disciple had either forgotten this or was unwilling to accept it.

But so, as we think about that, Jesus’ death was unique. None of us—in fact, no believer—will ever die as the passover lamb to take away the sin of the world. So does the pattern of Jesus’ refusal to defend himself apply to us at all? Does his command to that disciple, to put the sword back in its sheath, have anything to say to us?

First, we must remember that we have been promised by our Lord that injustice and opposition will be brought against us because of our faith. That’s the nature of the world we live in. In John 15:20, Jesus told his disciples:

John 15:20 ESV

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

And later, in a prayer, Jesus prayed this to the Father about us:

John 17:14 ESV

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

And so it turns out that, just Jesus was so often treated with hostility, because we’ve joined ourselves to him, so also we will often face hostility in this world. It’s a general principle of the Christian life.

And to go with that principle, we have the general principle of giving out blessing in exchange for the cursing we receive. In chapter 5 of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus taught:

Matthew 5:44 ESV

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...

And there are a number of similar teachings in the Bible from Jesus and his apostles.

Now, none of this is saying that we don’t confront evil. We are to be, like Jesus, a people who are courageous in speaking the truth. And in fact, that will sometimes be why we face persecution. But in a culture driven by the click-bate rage of social media, and by an ugly tribalism (on both sides of the political isle!), the example and instruction of Jesus for us in this morning’s passage is vital.

We are not to use the sword—violence, that is—to perpetuate God’s kingdom, to pursue his mission, to spread the gospel, or to defend the church. And that’s not just physical violence, but foolish and violent rhetoric—words. There is a difference between boldly speaking the truth and foolishly spouting off. You know, using your words to try to hack off someone’s ear, metaphorically speaking. As believers, we must speak the truth; but we must not respond to attacks with verbal swords—though the world will push us hard to do it.

As Jesus prepared to deliver the knock-out punch to the kingdom of darkness, as he got ready to establish the kingdom of heaven, he did so by restraining himself, submitting to the Father’s will, and allowing his captors to seize him, even though he could easily have destroyed them.

Jesus responded to human oppression with restraint, in order to fulfill the Scriptures.

Jesus Submits to Injustice

And in responding with restraint, Jesus was submitting to their unjust treatment. And this really comes to the fore in verse 55. It says:

Matthew 26:55 ESV

At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me.

“Have you come out as against a robber?” he asked. And here, a robber means something worse that a burglar or a thief. It means an armed bandit who would ambush and sometimes kill travelers in order to take their money.

And so, by coming out against him as a large crowd, armed to fight, they are treating him as if he were a dangerous criminal. It was dishonorable.

But he points out to them: “Day after day I sat in the temple teaching,”—in other words “day after day I sat right in the middle of your headquarters, in broad daylight, and you didn’t arrest me.”

What’s he revealing by saying this? That this armed crowd is not doing justice. If it were justice they were after, they would have arrested him straightforwardly, in broad daylight, when he was at the temple. But here they are, seizing him under the cover of darkness.

And so their seizing of Jesus is dishonorable, violent, unjust, and conniving. In all of it, Jesus’ experience of human oppression in his passion has begun.

But look at what he goes on to say about it in verses 56—it had to happen. Why?

Matthew 26:56 ESV

“But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

Back up in verses 54, he said that he had to submit to these evils so that the OT Scriptures would be fulfilled.

But here, in verse 56, he’s gone a step further: these evils themselves needed to happen, so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.

But what are the Scriptures? Why do they have such a burning mandate to be fulfilled? Why is it necessary? Because the prophecies of the Scriptures are nothing less than God himself speaking through the prophets to explain how he was going to redeem his people. The OT Scriptures are nothing less than God showing before hand, with prophecies and types and shadows, exactly how he would unfold the history of redemption to the point of its climax in Jesus Christ.

And so, to say that the Scriptures had to be fulfilled is to say that God’s mysterious and glorious plan of salvation needed to move to its climax in the crucifixion of Christ. And so Jesus said, “But all this [all this evil!] has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

Here is a great but glorious mystery: the actions of this wicked crowd, and even of Judas, to arrest Jesus, were yet at the same time the unchangeable plan of God to bring salvation to the world. Peter the Apostle later said, describing the death of Jesus:

Acts 2:23 ESV

this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Do you hear that? According to the Bible’s own explanation, the wicked actions which brought about Jesus’ death were just that—genuine evil perpetrated by human beings who chose to do what they did. Yet at the same time, mysteriously, these things were ordained and planned by God from before all time as the means by which the world would be saved.

And that is true, brothers and sisters, not only of the evils done to Jesus, but also of every evil done to his people. Whether it’s a quite snub in the workplace, an angry riot invading a church, the kidnapping and killing of a missionary, or a playground bully mocking a child’s faith. These things are genuinely evil. Yet in a mystery, they have been ordained by God in such a way as to glorify his people and bring honor to his name. Fear not: God really is in control! And once you’ve remembered that, you may find a calmness like the calmness displayed here by Jesus, entering your soul.

Although, at this point in the story, there’s no imitation of Christ yet. We read at the end of the passage that all the disciples left him and fled. And that means that in this moment, there were only two kinds of people in relation to Jesus: deserters and enemies. Jesus stood alone. But stand he did, not summoning angels, not using his power, not escaping—though doubtless he could have, but in full submission to the Father, allowing himself to be arrested that the Scriptures might be fulfilled for our salvation.

Jesus Fulfills the Pattern of a Suffering Redeemer

Now, the pattern from the OT that Jesus fulfilled here, as I’ve already mentioned, includes being slain as the passover lamb and as the true sin offering, bearing our sin, that we might be forgiven. And those are both fulfillments that Jesus hinted at just a few verses ago, in this very same chapter. But there are many more fulfillments:

The pattern of a suffering savior begins in Genesis 3:15, where God says that a child of the woman will be struck by the serpent while crushing the serpent’s head—from the beginning it was said that the hero who defeated darkness would die in doing so.

Then there is Joseph, beaten and sold into slavery by his brothers, by the mysterious plan of God, that he might end up as a ruler in Egypt who would then turn around and save his brothers and their families from death. A man who saves his brothers through the suffering that they inflict on him.

And then there is David, the champion of God’s people against their enemies, who yet endured so much life-threatening injustice by Saul and Absalom and Ahithophel—who by the way, was a historical foreshadowing of Judas, the arch-betrayer.

And then there was the mysterious suffering servant, predicted by the prophet Isaiah, who would be scorned by the people even as he payed for their sins in his God-forsaken death.

All of these, and many more, Jesus fulfilled from the OT in the roughly 24 hour period beginning here, as he is betrayed by Judas. And what is fulfilled here, in particular—in this morning’s passage—is the pattern of betrayal and unjust oppression. The unjust suffering of the Messiah—his ‘passive obedience’ as theologians call it, by which carried our guilt and shame in his own body so that he might remove it from us and so bring us into the blessing of the status of ‘children of God.’

And the first response that this calls for from us is simply this: faith. If you’re a believer, increased faith, and increased love to our king. And if you’re not a believer, to turn from your sin and look on him who was pierced for you, and believe. That is how you receive for yourself the wonderful salvation Jesus purchased.

But then, when it comes to those questions I asked at the beginning: “How should we think about persecution? Opposition to our faith? To the gospel?”—the answer is this: we must begin by looking to Jesus. So then, how did he respond to human oppression?

Most foundationally, he understood it for what it was: a part of God’s mysterious plan. That did not make it any less horrific, and indeed, Jesus called it out for the evil that it was, twice at least in this short passage. But also, he entrusted his soul to the Father and did not respond to the oppression with violent force.

Now, the actual ethics of using violent force can get complex. For example, it’s appropriate for an officer of the law to use force when confronting lawlessness; it’s appropriate for a soldier to use force in the defense of his country; it’s sometimes appropriate, even, for a private citizen to use violent force in the defense of innocent life—a holistic reading of the Bible on these topics will show this. And so I don’t want to leave you with the simplistic idea, today, that Christians should never use violent force. That’s not quite true.

And yet, Jesus’ example does show us something quite striking, and something that we need to see and obey: as believers, we are not to pick up the sword—we are not to be violent people or frantic agitators—in pursuit of the mission God has given us.

Our savior allowed himself to be arrested so that God’s plan might be fulfilled—even to offer salvation to the very people that arrested and killed him. Like Jesus, when we are oppressed or reviled, let not fight or revile in return, but as the Apostle Peter wrote, let us continue entrusting our souls to our faithful Father, that the world might see in us the same glorious meekness as was displayed by our King on the night he was betrayed.