Devotion and Betrayal

Welcome

Intro

Over the Past several weeks we have talked about future. What is to come. This seems to be a common thread through out Christianity as I have seen many Pastors beginning series on The Book of Revelation. Don’t get me wrong we are living in exciting times new Biblical Archeological Discoveries are happening everyday. They are currently drilling into the believed site of Noah’s Ark. Israel is moving ever closer to the building of the Third Temple……. These events lead us all to look forward and ask the Question. “Is He returning Now?”

Today we are going to begin the final transition of Matthews Gospel. Over the next three chapters we are going to take a journey through the Murder, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus.

Chapter 26 is where all that begins and today we are going to look at two responses to being with Jesus in the present.

How We Respond to Jesus in the Present really defines how we will respond to him in the future.

Matthew 26:1–2 CSB

1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, 2 “You know that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

Body

Jesus's fourth and final passion prediction (26:1-2) lands with a fixed date attached: in two days it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.

He has given more vague timing in His first three predictions (16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19) —

Only now does Jesus name the day.

Before we move on let’s talk about the Jewish way of counting days.

Matthew 26 begins on Tuesday, Passover begins Thursday night at Sun Down and Jesus will be buried before Sun down on Friday.

I am going to hit on this several times over the the course of these three chapters to help us keep track of what is going on.

I want you to see what Jesus is doing here. He is announcing the Day He will Die and The Method.

Passover and on an Roman Execution Stake….

You need to understand something before Jesus can fulfill

Messiah Son of David-Our Conquering King

He must first first fulfill

Messiah Son of Joseph-Our Suffering Servant

For two months we have walked through the “Not Yet”

What is still the future to come for Israel, the Nations, and The Church.

Starting today we are stepping into the “already” that makes the “ Not Yet” Possible and not only Possible but Certain.

The Future absolutely depends on the present that we are about to dive into.

Matthew 26:3–5 CSB

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas, 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him. 5 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”

Key points to understand here.

This is a smaller group of people gathered to Conspire……..

If the traditional view that Israel rejected Jesus is true than why are they afraid of the People Rioting.

Satan is at work here because they are trying to keep it away from the festival……..

The Is a lot of Irony Here:

The leaders think they are choosing the timing.

Jesus already named it.

Whose calendar is actually running this week?

The leaders will, in fact, end up moving during the festival, on Passover itself, exactly as Jesus said and not as they planned —

This is divine sovereignty overruling human scheming but without violating anyone's will.

We are going to Journey through all of this coming to pass.

Let’s keep going.

Matthew 26:6–13 CSB

6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.” 10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me. 11 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. 12 By pouring this perfume on my body, she has prepared me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

We are at Simon the Leper’s House in Bethany.

A woman walks in and breaks open a jar of very expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus’ Head.

A Jar worth 300 days of wages.

Matthew doesn’t name her and neither does Mark…….

Thankfully John the Name Dropper gives us her name……

Explain possibilities…….

This could be a choice of anonymity or it could be that she was left as a model instead of a name….

Never the less the Disciples once again miss what’s going on.

John the name dropper let’s us know that Judas was the leader.

They go economic……..We do it too…….They count the cost…..So do We…..

They calculate the value while she recognizes the person……….

Jesus reframes the whole scene: she has done a beautiful thing for me; the poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me; she has prepared me for burial (26:10-12, paraphrased).

Of all the people in Jesus’ inner circle who have heard the three predictions of His coming death, why is Mary the only one who acts like she believes them?

She has sat at His feet while her Sister Martha Worked for Jesus.

She is the only one here paying attention……..

So often we skip steps in discipleship.

We skip the Be with Jesus,

We skip the Become like Jesus.

We want to jump straight into to the Doing the Work of Jesus which actually becomes Working for Jesus instead of With Jesus.

Mary hasn’t just learned the facts of what is coming she is doing something with those fact.

She is giving something that matters….

She is anointing Him for the Burial because she knows that He is going to rise before the Burial anointing can take place.

This is why Mary of Bethany is not present when the Ladies go to grave on the third day.

This is also why Jesus says:

Matthew 26:13 CSB

13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

This act is one of the only acts that are written in all four gospels…

This is such an amazing act of devotion I bet it changed everyone in the rooms outlook on Jesus………

Matthew 26:14–16 CSB

14 Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him. 16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.

I believe this is one of the saddest moments in all of the Bible…..

One of the twelve, one of the men hand picked by Jesus, Someone who has walked in the presence of God in the Flesh now chooses to betray Him……

Why?

Some would say……

Greed,

Impatience,

The Desire to Have it His Way….

Zealousness………

Zealousness is the state or quality of being zealous — having intense, wholehearted enthusiasm and eagerness for a cause, belief, or goal, to the point of pursuing it with unusual energy or fervor.

Only the Zealousness of Judas was not for God’s will to be done but for His interpretation of God’s will to be done.

What did He Gain?

30 Pieces of Silver

Exodus 21:32 CSB

32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, he must give thirty shekels of silver to the slave’s master, and the ox must be stoned.

For Mary the value of Jesus’ life and anointing was worth an entire year of her time, energy, and labor.

For Judas and the Priest His life was worth the price of a dead slave.

Mary shows us what devotion to Jesus looks like.

Judas shows us literally what it looks like to steal from God…….

You see Mary shows us what it looks like to practically worship in a way that shows that we believe what Jesus said about himself.

Judas shows us what is looks like to go along with what Jesus’ said about himself until it is no longer convenient for us or isn’t working out the way we want it to.

We have two mathamatical equations going on here.

Disciple math Cost/Benefit

Mary math Worth/Devotion

What math is running your life?

Mary’s act came with a reward.

Matthew 26:13 CSB

13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

What does it mean that an act of costly devotion becomes part of the gospel’s own story?

Is your own personal devotion to Jesus striving to become part of that same story?

Or does it cost too much?

Invitation

Offering

Announcements