Matthew 26:47-75
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Recap:
We are going through Passion Week (Easter week)
Sunday- (Palm Sunday) Jesus arrives in Jerusalem riding on a donkey
Monday- Jesus clears the temple
Tuesday- The first verse of this chapter… Jesus says that in two days is the passover and he will be crucified.
Wednesday- The anointing at Bethany, Mary pouring the spikenard on Jesus.
Thursday- Passover
Friday- (Good Friday) Day of preparation for the Sabbath, Jesus crucified.
Saturday- Sabbath, Jesus in tomb
Sunday- Resurrection Sunday. (Easter Sunday) Coming up in a couple months.
And last time that we were together we looked at…
Jesus sharing passover with his disciples and then Jesus goes to the garden of Gethsemane to pray…
Over the coarse of the beginning of that chapter we looked at several different points of application regarding prayer:
the first one that we mentioned was that
Prayer provides direction
Matthew 26:17 “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?””
And Jesus gives them specific directions step by step…
many of you are entering into a season where you are needing direction…
and all of us would like a step by step guide on what exactly the will of God is for me when I get out of high school…
but my encouragement to you is… prayer provides direction.
Prayer protects us from temptation
Luke 22:40 “When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.””
Prayer strengthens us.
Luke 22:43 “Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.”
And then we wrapped it up looking at 3 ways that Jesus prayed:
Jesus brought his emotions in prayer.
Jesus prays repeatedly.
Jesus submits his will to the Father in prayer.
Today we are going to look at the betrayal of Jesus, all of the disciples fleeing, and the denial of Peter.
so a very cheerful topic but we are going to touch on the redemption of God in the midst of betrayal.
V.47-56
V.47-56
V.47 “a great multitude with swords and clubs”
Matthew Poole says, “Those skilled in the Jewish learning tell us, that the ordinary guard of the temple belonged to the priests, and such officers as they employed; but upon their great festivals, the Roman governors added a band of soldiers, who yet were under the command of the priests.”
Judas most certainly noticed the state of these men…
how many there are and how they are all armed…
there was no doubt Judas knew what lay before Jesus if he followed through and yet he persisted.
v.48
Matthew 26:48 “Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.””
Judas Iscariot was one very messed up guy… it is sad because he doesn’t start that way…
Undoubtedly Judas had a opportunity to become something great for Jesus like the rest of the disciples…
He was hand picked by Jesus, close by his side and even entrusted with certain responsibilities like handling the money.
but somewhere along the way Judas went wrong…
and the betrayal of Jesus started long before this day…
John 12:6 actually tells us that Judas used to steal what money the disciples had…
and in that same passage we learn that he covers up his theft by appearing outwardly righteous…
And as a result of the event we read here Judas is forever attached in the Bible with the name “The betrayer” or “The one who Betrayed Jesus”
So this verse tells us that Judas actually gave this group a sign of who Jesus was…
Many commentators make mention of that fact that Judas had to point Jesus out…
noting that Jesus wasn’t someone who stood out in a crowd, he wasn’t remarkably beautiful or tall but very average…
average on the outside and yet the king eternal came to redeem them on the inside.
v.49
Matthew 26:49 “Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.”
So Judas goes up to Jesus and kisses him…
Word for kiss here is “Kataphileo” which is a combination of two words…
Phileo which means to love, kiss and
Kata which intensifies the word
so Judas kisses Jesus most likely on the cheek and does it in a very endearing, eager, and affectionate way…
in other words, Judas doesn’t just quickly identify the Lord with a kiss, but quite possibly Judas enjoyed it and embraced betraying Jesus.
John MacArther makes the point that during this time kisses were very popular…
A servant would often kiss the back of the hand of their master
If a person kissed a person’s garment it was a sign of reverence and devotion
but if a person kissed on the cheek it was a sign of close affection and love, reserved only for those with whome one had a close intimate relationship.
And this is the way that Judas decides to betray the God of love.
V.50 “Friend”- het-ah'-ee-ros
a comrade, mate, partner, good friend
It is interesting that in this act Judas seals the corse of events that would lead to Jesus’ death…
and Jesus’ response is… “My friend”
It is interesting the usual word Jesus uses for friend in talking to the twelve disciples is Philos…
but here Jesus uses the word hetairos which more commonly means “fellow, or comrade”
Judas had an opportunity for so much more with Jesus, an opportunity to be true friends with christ but he rejected it.
v.51
continuing on…
Matthew 26:51 “And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.”
John 18:10 actually tells us that this guy is Peter.
and I want us to note how Peter handles this whole situation…
completely with physically and fleshly resistance.
he throws all the spiritual training that the Lord has been giving him for the last 3 years and he reverts in this critical situation back to what he’s used too…
How to take care of things physically…
And what does he do?
chops a dude’s ear off…
And here is what I want you guys to get:
Peter all along through this gospel has been one who failed to seek the spiritual…
he very regularly relied on his flesh rather than trusting in God and seeking spiritual guidance.
And because Peter failed to pray in the garden and spiritually renew his mind he relied on the flesh.
Remember what Jesus tells him in the garden along with James and John…
When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Jesus knew what lay ahead of Peter and He knew what he needed in order to be prepared
and that was prayer…
What does prayer do to the Christian?
it makes us spiritually minded and unites our mind and will to God’s.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Seeing that Jesus was being took captive he lashed out and cut off the servant of the high priest’s ear…
If Peter would have been seeking God in the garden than he would have had the understanding and tools necessary to handle this situation…
He most likely would have realized what Jesus has been telling him this entire time… that His betrayal and death was inevitable
and so what Peter should have really done is simply stuck close to Jesus’ side and prepare to be…
what Jesus said… “Sifted as wheat”
but instead he was left in confusion and fear, unprepared and lashing out physically.
what we are going to see in this passage today is 4 results of failing to renew your mind:
as we watch Peter fumble the bag here:
Failing to renew your mind results in fear.
What I think that Peter is dealing with here as he cuts off Malchus’ ear is a mixture of emotions…
you can imagine the situation…
the disciples and Jesus just got done having a wonderful time of fellowship in the upper room,
they ate, they sang and now they follow Jesus to their usual spot…
the garden of Gethsemane…
All as the time gets closer and closer Jesus keeps talking about his time being at hand…He starts praying so strongly in the garden that he starts bleeding out of his pores.
If you remember… Peter from the beginning was completely opposed to the Lord’s proclamation of dying, even rebuking the Him in Mat 16.
And now the time has come where this huge armed crowd has come for Jesus…
and they are about to take Jesus away
probably a combination of fear and anger surge Peter’s heart as he prepares to fight to the death for his messiah.
thinking to himself, “I cannot let him get captured and die”…
He grabs his sword and in the heat of the moment and in a rejection to all that Jesus has been telling him he cuts off the servant’s ear…
And the next words that we get from Jesus is amazing:
V.52
“Put your sword in its place”
Jesus commands him to go against his natural desire…
to stop thinking and fighting with the flesh and start relying on the Lord to lead him.
“all who take the sword will perish by the sword”
In this verse Jesus could mean a few different things:
first is that most obviously those who strike with the sword can expect to be struck back in retaliation.
Second, it is in both Jewish and Roman law that a man who attacks or kills another man should himself also be put to death…
and then three
In the end of the age during the tribulation, the judgement of those who murder people will themselves receive the punishment of being murder…
He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
And then Jesus reveals to Peter what he should’ve known from the beginning…
“do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?”
Jesus is like, “do you think that I am defenseless? I have complete control in this situation but I allow it because it is the Father’s will”
A legion during that time was measured to about 6,000 soldiers, twelve of those would equal out to 72,000 angels.
And in 2 kings 18:25 we actually see that one Angel killed up to 185,000 soldiers…
so it is needless to say that Jesus is taken care of…
He doesn’t need peter to physically fight… He needs him to spiritually fight.
because he is about to be attacked…
v.56
Matthew 26:56 “Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.”
Now we see an utter low point both for Jesus and the disciples as they completely forsake their first love…
they run away for fear of also being taken captive…
their faith runs out and now fear entered their hearts.
and they leave their friend and savior alone about to be crucified…
interestingly one minute their saying that they will never deny him no matter if they have to stand with him till death and then that actual moment comes and they all run away…
it makes me wonder what kind of man I am…
if in the face of fear and attack i will have faith or will I allow myself to overcome…
you know it says
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
If you want to grow your faith then you will feed it with the bread of life…
continuing on…
V.58
2. Failing to renew your mind results in distance with God.
Matthew 26:58 “But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard.”
Instead of staying there right beside Jesus.
Right next to His side.
Peter ends up lagging behind, keeping his distance…
Far from physical harm but close to spiritual disaster.
“ And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.”
Mark’s gospel says, Mark 14:54“And he sat with the servant and warmed himself at the fire.”
3. Failing to renew your mind results vulnerability.
Peter was warming himself with the enemy’s fire
He put himself in the midst of the enemy’s camp
man sometime we are dumb enough to waltz into the enemy’s camp…
to put ourselves in the middle of severe temptation and find ourselves about to be sifted like Peter…
Do not be vulnerable! but be armed and ready.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
If you remember back to 2 Samuel 11 where it talks about David’s sin with Bathsheba
2 Samuel 11:1 “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.”
He took off his armor and was at home, unprepared spiritually.
v.69-74
4. Failing to renew your mind results in denying Christ.
you may not physically deny christ with your words but with your actions you will as you continue to allow yourself to drift…
An oath is a definitive and binding confirmation of the spoken word and invalidates any contradiction of the statement made. Vine adds that Oath refers to "the confirmation of a compact among men, guaranteeing the discharge of liabilities; in their disputes “the oath is final for confirmation.”
interesting Peter progressively gets worse and worse as He deny’s the lord more and more
and that is how sin is, if you continue to allow it… it will consume more and more of you…
language starts to slip “curse and swear”
fruit starts to die…
and you slowly deny christ with your actions…
But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
And now we all have an opportunity…
if you have failed, like Peter…
the Lord’s word’s to you are…
Return… and strengthen your brethren.
Come back you’ve got work to do.
Pray
