Matthew 26:15-25 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
In this passage we see Judas the betrayer coming out from the midst of the disciples to betray Jesus to the chief priests and leading elders in the Jewish community. Judas was part of Jesus’ retinue; he had seen the miraculous deeds of Jesus. He had experienced everything that the others had experienced in aiding Jesus’ ministry. However, even though he was an integral part of carrying the Good News of Jesus, the Messiah, to the Israelites, he sold his support and allegiance to Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a lowly slave. He understood that Jesus’ adversaries would pay money to know where Jesus was at night. Of course, they were aware of the location of Jesus during the day, but they feared to arrest him during the day because the crowd might attack them for such a dastardly act, so they wanted to arrest Jesus when He was alone with his disciples. In the darkness of night, in Gethsemane, Judas handed Jesus over to them with a kiss and word of respect: Rabbi. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. (Matthew 26:48-49) Even though Judas capitalized on the animosity that the Jewish leaders held towards Jesus, his heart was sorely affected when he realized the leaders intended to kill Jesus. He repented of his decision of betrayal by throwing his money at the feet of the chief priests in the Temple, then killed himself. When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5) Judas was a deceiver who exploited his position as a disciple, but he also had affection for Jesus. He could not live with his invidious deception. As Paul describes so well in the second chapter of Ephesians, Judas was following the ways of this world, under the captivity of Satan. He intended to gratify his flesh by using the 30 pieces of silver to benefit his worldly desires, but what he really received was not a benefit in this world but the eternal judgment of God. As the proverbial account of the war between good and evil: the devil on one shoulder whispering in your ear to do evil and the angel of goodness on the other shoulder whispering to do good, Judas aligned himself with the devil’s spirit and received his just reward: the wrath of God. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born. Oh that we could see ahead of time the disastrous results of our decisions when we listen to the enemy of our souls.
At the Passover meal, Jesus clarifies what will happen to him in the immediate future. He tells the disciples one of them will betray him to the rulers of the society. Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me. The disciples are being prepared for the coming traumatic events; however, they remain ignorant of the why or how of the things that will happen. Jesus knows these are his last few hours on earth, so He desires to celebrate the Passover with his dedicated disciples. He sends Peter and John to prepare the Passover lamb. This entails them going to the Temple, purchasing a lamb without blemish. Jesus is allowing for the traditions of preparation to take place, including the sprinkling of blood on the altar. Then they will take the lamb back to the upper room to cook for consumption by Jesus and the disciples. This whole procedure is a shadow of what will happen to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The disciples are not fully aware of any of this design, so they are in the upper room to enjoy a meal with their Lord. But in this first part of this meal, we see Jesus pointing out the perfidy of one of them. This betrayal must happen, for it will open the door to the Passover of God to be implemented. The Lord God will smite his Son—He will bring him to the cross through the hands of men. Jesus knew the cup of pain and suffering was at hand. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:10-11) God alone was the only power that could put Jesus on the cross and cause his death. No other power could kill the one who could raise the dead. It was the will of God to allow Jesus to be the Passover Lamb. No other authority, not even the devil himself could touch Jesus’ life. We see Jesus not only killed by man but smitten by God himself which is translated to mean being beaten, given stripes, punished, or crippled. God allowed the suffering of the world to rest on Jesus’ head. He would not escape the wrath of God on sin. But Jesus’ redemptive power in this judgment act of God would crush the serpent’s head and take away Satan’s authority over man, replacing his kingdom with the kingdom of God. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) The cross breaks Satan’s power over mankind, yet the redemptive act started with a sinful act of betrayal, but that which was thought to be evil was turned into victory, for the cross brought freedom from slavery for whosoever would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and his works. A complete sacrifice at the cross brought complete victory over sin and death.
We look back on Judas’ traitorous act and wonder how a man this close to Jesus, who saw all of his miracles, who had been fed literally by the hands of Jesus could so easily walk away from his allegiance to him. But this is the nature of man; willingness to do his own thing above following God. Man is rebellious. His spirit is focus on himself above all else. Judas reveals this spirit well. He knew the Lord; he knew what to do and what not to do, but he chose the latter. He chose it because he thought money could win him a better life. He might even have thought this following Jesus was not going to pay off for him in this life, so why not take a better way of achieving goods, by betraying Jesus. No big deal, they will arrest Jesus, maybe even beat or whip him, but he did not see death as part of the bargain, no. But when Judas realized their threats of death to Jesus were going to be carried out in reality, he was greatly grieved for he had betrayed an innocent man to these murderers. Often Christians believe they can play around with deception and intrigue, not fully understanding the devil intends to use these kinds of thoughts and actions as a means to destroy the Christian message. Judas thought he was winning a better life by messing around with Jesus’ future. No big deal! But it was a big deal, for the devil was in the process of destroying Jesus and his followers. But God’s plan was carried out to completion by using the devil’s scheme against him. For the death on the cross for the sins of men and the subsequent resurrection brought a path of redemption for all people. The walls of Egypt’s captivity fell—the curtain between the holy of holies where God dwells and the self-willed life of mankind was torn down. Eternal life for all was possible. No longer would they have to serve the Pharaoh of evil in their lives. Christ had bruised the head of the wicked one, taking his authority over men away; replacing Satan’s authority with God’s redemptive authority of freedom for all men and women for eternity. Judas thought he was winning something for himself when he betrayed Jesus, but he really was opening the door to the mysterious plan of God to bring mankind back to him in love. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7) Let us take our rightful place in God’s kingdom without bothering with the intrigue and schemes of the foolish to make this world a better place for us with our 30 pieces of silver. Let us display the mercy and grace of God to all people without malice or deception; let us be true Christians, shining brightly for Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment