The Betrayal

Matthew 26:36–56 ESV

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” 47 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. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 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. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” 55 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. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Looking at what had occurred beforehand:

Matthew 26:14–16 ESV

14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

What caused Judas to turn against Jesus, knowing what he did?

Luke 22:3 ESV

3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.

Even knowing the conversation he had with the Pharisees, Judas went along with every day tasks just like nothing had happened. He ate with the disciples and Jesus, up until the point a betrayer was among the 12. They started mumbling and asking questions among themselves, and then Judas asked the question:

Matthew 26:25 ESV

25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”

John gives us a little further understanding of what happened at this time.

John 13:21–30 ESV

21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

On two occasions, we find it mentioned Satan entered Judas. In looking at John 13:2 “ During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,” it leads us to believe it was not on two different occasions that satan entered Judas, but rather that Judas Iscariot had allowed himself to be filled with the evil thoughts from satan and had allowed his heart and mind to be settled on the betrayal of Jesus.

We would see Judas leave the upper room, would find some soldiers and a select delegation from the Chief Priests and Pharisees, and would go to a place that was customary for Jesus to go.

Luke 22:39 ESV

39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.

There, we see the betrayal and arrest of Jesus take place, and the consequences of that betrayal.

A Deep Trouble

Matthew 26:36–41 ESV

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

All this time, Jesus knew His death was the ultimate purpose of His life. He had taken the 11 at the entrance of the Garden of Gethsemane and took the three closest to Him (Peter, James, and John) into the Garden. He wanted those closes to Him to keep watch and pray with Him, knowing the difficult phase of life He was about to enter into. It troubled Him, not that He was afraid of death, but knowing what was about to happen. He knew He had to “drink the cup” His Father had poured for Him - bearing the sin of the world - so that we would not have to bear the weight of our own sin.

1 Peter 2:24 ESV

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

While Jesus understood His mission, He cried out to the Father to remove the cup - what was about to happen to Him. You see, the One who did not know sin was being made sin and a curse for us so that we could be seen as righteous, redeemed, in God’s eyes.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Notice when Jesus was in agony, the disciples found rest. Those who swore to be faithful to Jesus to death slept while He cried out. He knew what the disciples were about to endure, the accusations, the horror of torture, and the death of the one who had taught them for nearly 3 years. He told them to pray so they would not enter into temptation. Danger was close, and they needed to pray for strength - a strength they could only find from God.

Drinking From the Cup

Matthew 26:42–46 ESV

42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Jesus drank the bitterness that this cup held willingly. You see, Jesus submitted to the will of the Father. “Not my will, but your will be done”. He knew what had to take place, even though it would cause Him pain and agony that no one should have ever endured. We have to remember, Jesus had never sinned, did not know the feeling of sin, and being holy in spirit was repulsed by sin. Yet He knew this was His mission in the world.

Again, He finds the disciples asleep. This time, He left them alone and went back to pray a third time. The account in Luke tells of an angel that came to strengthen Him, and still the more agony He felt, the more He sweated and it turned into blood. While rare, the physician describes hematidrosis occurs when one is under great emotional distress and tiny blood vessels in the sweat glands rupture and produce a mixture of blood and sweat.

Jesus knew there was no doubt He would be resurrected from the dead, but his soul was still agonizing for what was to come. And at the time He needed them most, His closest friends slept. Couldn’t stay awake. Couldn’t even offer prayer on His behalf.

The third time He came to them, he simply asked them to wake up and rise, His accuser was coming.

The Kiss

Matthew 26:47–56 ESV

47 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. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 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. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” 55 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. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

One simple kiss on the cheek. How often have we done the same to a loved one, a spouse, or a close friend? It is known as a sign of a close affection. Yet here, that close affection is betrayed. Judas had gone from eating with the 12 disciples - professing followers of Jesus - yet now he took the lead in betraying the Lord.

Not only did Judas come, but he brought Roman soldiers, a crowd with swords and clubs (possibly Levitical temple-guards), and select members of the Sanhedrin and Pharisees. The religious leaders had no authority to arrest, the Levite guards were to protect the temple and priests, but the Roman soldiers had the authority to arrest Jesus as the area was under Roman rule. But, what was Jesus arrested for? What was His official charge? And why would the Romans care, if it did not violate their laws? Regardless, they came with their own agenda, not knowing they were fulfilling God’s perfect agenda.

Notice the interaction between Jesus and Judas. Judas referred to Him as “Rabbi” - teacher. We never see Judas referring to Jesus as Lord, always as “teacher”, pointing to a man who never accepted Jesus for who He was - the prophesied Messiah, the Son of God! Jesus referred to Judas simply as “friend”. This specific word is only used a few times in the New Testament, and in each instance shows a specific relationship in which one party is generous while another abuses that generosity. Judas abused the relationship formed with Jesus. However, with him never acknowledging Jesus as “Lord”, one has to wonder, did he ever really believe in Jesus as the Son of God?

When Jesus was seized, John 18:10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

Jesus admonished Peter, told him he had to drink of the cup, and performed a miracle - healed the servants ear. I have often wondered, what was the reaction of the crowd when He healed the ear, or did they even notice? He goes on to point out violence was not needed, He could appeal to the Father and 12 legions of angels would be sent (around 72,000 foot soldiers and 8,400 cavalry). Christ simply wanted to remind them God could outnumber everyone there with just one request. But, it would not allow Scripture to be fulfilled. He even taunts the religious leaders, asking why they didn’t arrest Him in the Temple, where He had been teaching every day, knowing His popularity would not have allowed it. Remember, they intentionally waited until after the Feast to arrest Jesus so the crowds would hopefully be dissipated and no uprising would occur.

Matthew 26:5 ESV

5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

But even in the worst of times for both Jesus, the disciples, Judas, and those who made up the crowd - it all had to be done to fulfil the words of the prophets. And the disciples scattered...

Closing

In looking at the betrayal, we find an innocent man, arrested for breaking no laws, committing no crimes, yet being treated like a common thief. Those closest to Him left, leaving Him with only the Father to stand with Him during this trial. Ultimately, the Father would leave Him when He took on sin.

But then, God’s divine plan would not have been completed without this event. We would not have the free pardon of sin we experience today as believers if it were not for the sacrifice Christ made.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

You see, Judas and the crowd had to make a decision. They chose to forsake Christ. Today, our lives and eternity is defined and determined by how we respond to the scene we see playing out in this chapter and the next. We can either surrender our heart to God - turn from sin and trust Jesus - by repenting and accepting the free gift of salvation. Or, we (like Judas) can reject who Jesus truly is as the Son of God and can betray Him - leading to an eternity separated from Him in Hell.