Don't Scatter when it Matters

Secular -

This is a story about a guy named Leroy who lived deep in the rural backwoods. Leroy decided it was finally time to leave the farm, pack up his bags, and take a job in the big city.

Now, Leroy’s family was deeply religious, and they were absolutely terrified for him. They said, 'Leroy, you're going into the belly of the beast! Those city folks are secular, they are hostile, and if they find out you're a devout Christian, they are going to persecute you relentlessly. You won't survive a week!'

Leroy looked them in the eye and said, 'Don't you worry. I’m smart. I know how to handle myself. They won't get a thing out of me.'

Well, six months go by, and Leroy comes back home to the farm for his first weekend visit. His mom runs out to the porch, grips him by the shoulders, and asks, 'Oh, Leroy! We've been praying for you every day! How was it? Was the persecution terrible? Did they treat you awfully when they found out you were a believer?'

Leroy smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and said, 'Actually, Mom, it was a breeze! They never found out. I completely fooled them. In fact, for six whole months, nobody in that city even suspected I was a Christian!' "

Historical/Cultural Context -

This Gospel is written by Matthew, also known as Levi who was a former tax collector. It was most likely written between AD 50-60. Matthew left everything behind to follow Jesus. Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish believers—people who knew the Old Testament well. Matthew had one goal: to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of Kings, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. Connecting the Old Testament prophecies to the life of Christ, proving that every word God spoke was coming true in Jesus. The key themes of the Gospel include Jesus as King, The Kingdom of Heaven, Fulfillment of Prophecy and discipleship.

Biblical Text -

Matthew 26:47–75 NKJV

And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. 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. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled. And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ” And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.” Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?” Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - True spiritual endurance is not found in our human strength, passion, or defensive weapons, but in our daily, deep-rooted submission to the sovereign authority and truth of Jesus Christ.

Life Point- Submit instead of reacting fleshly

Exegetical -

Matthew 26:47–56 BSB

While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him.” Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. “Friend,” Jesus replied, “do what you came for.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him. At this, one of Jesus’ companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me. But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.

Luke 22:49–51 BSB

Those around Jesus saw what was about to happen and said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And He touched the man’s ear and healed him.

Homiletical -

True faith doesn't rely on human weapons or political power to protect the Kingdom of God; it submits fully to the sovereign will and timeline of the Father.

This section we refer to as the garden arrest.

Jesus was still speaking with the disciples when Judas shows up with his mob to arrest Jesus, like he is a common criminal.

When he went to Jesus he still called him teacher, not Lord and then he kissed him

You ever wonder why a kiss on the cheek was such a big thing?

It is because you would kiss someone it showed covenant loyalty. You ever hear the term loyal to a fault. That is kinda what is meant by the kiss. He was showing his loyalty to Jesus.

Yet he was not loyal, but a betrayer. How ruthless does one have to be to betray someone this bad?

Some of you will say to yourself that you could never betray someone like this. Let me tell you, if you are still dead in your sins, you sure would if it suited you, if you were under tremendous pressure. But Judas was not under tremendous pressure or any kind of coercion. He did this of his own free-will, even though it was God’s will that he do this, it doesn’t absolve him from his personal choices to do it. He still chose to do it.

At this one of the disciples strike the servant of the high priest and cuts off his ear. Now we know that Jesus heals the ear. So why doesn’t Matthew mention that? You have to remember the purpose with which Matthew is writing. To show the Messiahship, the kingship of Jesus. To put that in would kind of distract from his purpose.

He tells the man to put the sword away stating all who live be the sword will die by it. What does this mean? You have to remember that the Jews were looking for a conquering Messiah. So those that were claiming to be the Messiah all seemed to come by the sword and all were put down by the Romans. Jesus distances Himself from that line of thinking.

He explains He could call upon the Father and 12 legions of angels would show up. Now a legion is 6,000 angels and 12 legions is 72,000 angels. This would have completely overwhelmed the garrison from the Romans that occupied Jerusalem.

But then He explains that the scriptures would not be fulfilled. He even points out that He is fulfilling the prophets writing.

No one arrests Jesus, He submits to the will of the Father even when the natural man would have fought, He doesn’t.

Remember in the garden of Gethsemane He said not my will by yours be done.

So you would think that being with Jesus 3 years would have prepared These disciples. But it apparently they didn’t listen very well as they all fled.

Why? They didn’t want to be punished too. They were scared. Wouldn’t you be?

You know this reminds me of the church in America. We are spoiled. We have A/C, a nice building, and can share the Gospel openly.

For the rest of the world they suffer more persecution than we do. Even though that persecution is coming to us, it aint death yet.

I just read a story last week talking about 3 street preachers in Chicago who were arrested for spreading hate. You know what they spreading? The good news about Jesus.

Let us not scatter when persecution is ramping up. Because Jesus said we wouldn’t escape it. It is inevitable when you are actually calling people sinners and that they need a savior.

Know though that you can stand firm, because you have been given the Holy Spirit to help in our times of distress.

We live in an era where the church in America feels the temptation to pick up the "sword.” When pressure and persecution ramp up, our natural instinct is to fight dirty or scatter in fear. But Jesus calls us to a different way. Standing firm doesn't mean swinging a sword; it means trusting the Holy Spirit and submitting to God's will, even when the path gets muddy and difficult. Don't trade the sovereign power of God for a human weapon.

Life Point - Boldness instead of comfort

Exegetical -

Matthew 26:57–68 NKJV

And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ” And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.” Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”

Homiletical -

Peter the man who said he would never betray Jesus does just that. Jesus is arrested but Peter blends in with the crowd. Peter stays with the crowd in the courtyard of the high priest.

Jesus knows the law and is about to be put on trial. You see the Sanhedrin, the ruling counsel, had been given the authority to rule the people. They could rule on anything except for capital crimes.

According to Jewish law you must have at least two witnesses to convict someone. So they cross a line. They seek people who will falsely accuse Jesus, and many came forward but it wasn’t enough to show that He was deserving of death. That was until they finally come across two who twisted Jesus’ words to mean something it doesn’t mean.

“I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.” We know Jesus didn’t say that and that He was speaking of Himself, not the building.

But you see the Sanhedrin went with it. Through this they could get Him on blasphemy and sedition to the Roman Empire as they were the ones who rebuilt the temple.

But Jesus, to fulfill prophecy, remains silent and says nothing

Isaiah 53:7 NKJV

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

So the high priest Caiphas charges him with an oath. Now Jesus knew the law of Moses and as a man who never sinned, He had to answer. So He did.

Jesus tells them you have said it. It is correct even if you don’t understand the weight of what is happening. He then gives the second coming prophecy letting them know that He will fulfill the coming King prophecies of the Old Testament.

So at this point they have two ways they can respond. 1) They can believe He is who He says He is. 2) The can disbelieve Him, and if they do then they sincerely think He is speaking blasphemy against God. Because saying the words that He said. He equates Himself With God the Father. He is calling Himself Not just a Messiah but divine. Meaning He is God.

Notice He doesn’t try to really defend Himself. No, He doubles down on who He is.

How do they respond?

The high priest tears His clothing. Which is common for Jews to do when they hear blasphemy.

Then they say He is deserving of death because of this.

You got to remember there was no such thang as excessive force laws. They could do pretty much what they wanted to criminals.

So the spit in His face, slap Him and then mock Him saying for Him to prophecy.

You have to remember God’s will for you may not be happy rainbows in the sky. It may be down and dirty in the muck. If so, then you need to be the best witness you can be in your situation.

Illustration -

I am reminded of a missionary I read about. He was murdered by muslims who came into the back of the mission church he was serving in. This was oversees. It said that even as he was drawing his last breath, he was preaching to them the love of Christ. You don’t do that if your not being moved by the Holy Spirit. You don’t do that if your just playing church and not being the church. You don’t do that if you don’t know Jesus intimately in your life. You see when this type of persecution comes to us in America the ones who aren’t really Christians but like to play at it, will weed themselves out of the church because they won’t die for something they don’t truly believe.

Life Point - Danger of the downward spiral

Exegetical -

Matthew 26:69–27:1 NKJV

Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly. When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.

Homiletical -

I want you to notice something. Peter is sitting in the courtyard outside and is being questioned by a slave girl and he falters. Whereas Jesus is being beaten by the powerful people and He never falters.

Jesus does exactly what the scriptures foretold

There are 3 things Peter does in his downward spiral

1) His first response is one of ignorance. “I don’t know what you are saying”

2) His second response is one of an Oath. He swears by an oath. Today that would be like saying “I swear to God, I don’t know the man” To swear an oath was a big deal. It’s like taking a contract out. You swear an oath, you mean every word. Peter doesn’t just deny here, he brings in a legal framework. It would be like giving a testimony in a court of law. That’s how big a deal it is, and Peter absolutely lies.

3) His third response is to bring a curse on himself. Kind of like saying “If I am telling a lie may God strike me dead!” Then he begins to use curse words about the whole thing. Using profanity to show he didn’t have anything to do with a religious teacher. Now they don’t buy it because he has a Galilean accent. Showing that he must be one of the disciples.

This is why sin should be repented of immediately. One sin usually leads to a larger sin which usually leads to an even larger sin and so on until you eventually get to a place like you feel there is no way out because your in it too deep. It would hurt your entire situation to repent at that point. But you know what, if you had just repented early on the consequences wouldn’t be so bad.

Either way no matter where you are in sin you need to repent before God and let Him work everything else out. Oh it may hurt for a season, but the end is that you are in right relationship with God.

As soon as it is all over immediately that rooster crowed. Peter remembered Jesus’ words to Him and he went out and wept bitterly. He was repentant.

You know the words of Jesus will make you repent. Every time I read something in the Gospels, well even the whole Bible. I have to repent of something or dwell on those words in my mind over and over again until I internalize them.

If you are reading the Bible and it doesn’t cut straight to the heart, I would ask you. Are you sure your actually saved?

Life Principle– True spiritual endurance is not found in our human strength, passion, or defensive weapons, but in our daily, deep-rooted submission to the sovereign authority and truth of Jesus Christ.

Call to Action – altar call….