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Matthew 26:14-30

The Messiah’s Betrayer

Baby Dedication –

Good morning church, it is so good to be with you all

this beautiful bright morning.

We are going to continue our study of the Gospel of

Matthew this morning, so please make your way to

Matthew chapter 26.

Last week we had a wonderful scene of loyalty and

beautiful worship.

Mary’s spiritual sensitivity and awareness of Jesus’

soon death stands in the eternal records of God’s

Word as a light shining forth in a dark, dreary time for

Jesus.

Now this morning we will have a contrasting record in

God’s eternal word, one of betrayal and disloyalty.

Judas the traitor will take his prominent place in the

gospel story.

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Now remember last week, we learned that the high

priest Caiaphas and the leaders of the Jews were

gathering together to devise a sly plan to take Jesus

and kill Him.

They determined to wait until the feast was over to

avoid any hostile uprising.

They needed to take Jesus when the crowds around

Him were gone, and they were just praying for an

opportunity to rid themselves of this Prophet from

Galilee.

Now, what happens next in the story perhaps seemed

to be an answer to prayer for these religious men.

But one of Jesus’ own disciples, whose jealous and

treacherous heart, was pushed to the limits after being

rebuked by Jesus, as Mary gave of her most costly

possession in what seemed to be such a wasteful

manner.

Judas, who was in charge of the money, only thought

of his own lost profits.

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And covetousness opened his heart up for Satan to

entice and ultimately take full control over this

follower of Jesus.

Let’s read of this great tragedy now…

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus(Mark 14:10,11; Luke

22:3-6)

26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot,

went to the chief priests 15 and said, "What are you

willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they

counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from

that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

Verse 14 starts out with the tragic words “One of the

twelve.”

This was one of Jesus’ chosen companions.

One of these select 12 who saw Jesus do things no

other human being ever had the privileged to witness.

One of these elect 12 who were empowered by Jesus

to do supernatural works.

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One of the 12 closest friends of Jesus, who was trusted

of Jesus.

One of those twelve would betray the Messiah.

Now when we read in Luke 6:12-13 we find something

very interesting… Now it came to pass in those days

that He went out to the mountain to pray, and

continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it

was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from

them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.

Jesus spent hours in prayer over who these special

twelve men would be.

Now Judas was the one who was precisely picked by

Jesus through prayer through His communication with

God the Father, Judas was picked for this special deed.

This man from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry was

chosen for this task of betrayal.

Now we will see through this whole account, as God’s

Sovereign Will is played out, we will also see there will

be plenty of opportunity for Judas to repent and take a

different course of action.

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God’s Sovereignty is a mysterious thing indeed,

however, there is one fact that cannot be denied in

scripture, His Sovereign Will, will never impede on

man’s free will.

Judas even though chosen for this task from his

appointment, will still be responsible for the choice he

makes here.

And what was Judas’ price for betrayal?

30 pieces of silver, the price for a slave that is gored by

an ox according to Exodus 21:32.

Jesus the King, was sold for such a pitiful sum.

For such a temporary amount of money, only perhaps

six months wage (Barclay), Judas was betraying his

Master, and selling out his eternity.

“What are you willing to give me?” is Judas’ question.

The chief priests rejoiced at this proposition, their

great quandary was given a solution, and I imagine

they would have paid so much more if they had too.

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Jesus of Nazareth was their greatest threat at this

point, and God had seemingly answered their prayers…

One of the twelve, an insider was able to be paid off.

These men, who boasted on their knowledge of

scripture, should have understood that this very

transaction was fulfilling prophecy!

Zechariah the prophet gives a peculiar prophecy in his

writings in Zech. 11:12-13 it speaks regarding a princely

price set, that price being 30 pieces of silver.

Matthew’s intention here is to bring to light the

fulfilled prophecies, this being one of them.

Matthews uses the words from Zech. 11:12 So they

weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

What would cause Judas to do such a thing?

Well obviously, greed, and covetousness had a huge

role in this…

But the root of bitterness may have been even deeper

than those wretched sins.

It seems Judas was disillusioned about who Jesus was.

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The Jews at this time were waiting for their deliverance

from Rome, they had such a nationalistic pride about

them.

They wanted Rome driven from their lands.

Judas in the years of following Jesus, surely thought

this miracle worker, teaching about the Kingdom of

God was this Deliverer.

And now here at this point in Jesus’ ministry, the King

was taking a different way, perhaps Judas thought the

way of a coward.

Jesus was now teaching of death at the hands of Rome

on their cross.

And as the bitterness set in over his great letdown,

Judas’ heart and passion turned from simple

disappointment to hatred, enough to seek the death of

his Teacher who he expected so much from.

Judas perhaps hated Jesus because Jesus was not the

Messiah he was hoping for.

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Now today, the humanistic teachers in Christianity try

to release Judas of any wrong doing, saying things like

he was just trying to speed things up.

They teach that Judas never intended Jesus to die, and

that his intentions were pure. That this would force

Jesus to establish His kingdom faster.

Some think Judas betrayed Jesus to compel Him to act,

and take the throne.

The humanist even try to teach that Judas was saved,

because God saw his genuine motives.

But Christ Himself will condemn the treachery of Judas’

actions in the verses to come, even stating it would be

better if he was not born, than to face what was ahead

for him.

Judas let sin in, sin ruled his heart, and he is actually

has one of God’s greatest enemies posses him because

of the sin he allowed in his heart.

As it is said of him in Luke’s account…

Luke 22:3 Then Satan entered Judas

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So now with the money is in his pocket, Judas would

be looking for the opportunity to hand Jesus over to

his new proprietors.

That opportunity would come soon enough…

Meanwhile Judas heads back to the group of disciples

to wait for the right time.

Next we read…

Jesus Celebrates Passover with His Disciples(Mark

14:12-21; Luke 22:7-13)

17 Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened

Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him,

"Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the

Passover?"

18 And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and

say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I

will keep the Passover at your house with My

disciples."'"

19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and

they prepared the Passover.

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So we have this next scene taking place on the First

day of the Feast.

This would be the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The kickoff to this feast would be Passover; the two

names are used synonymously throughout scripture.

On the first day of the feast, a lamb was slain and

prepared for the meal that would take place.

During this feast no leaven was to be found in the

homes of the Jews.

Now the Jewish day began at sunset, so the Passover

was between two evenings.

This is important, because Jesus kept the Passover, and

before the next evening, He would die as the true

Passover lamb. (Ironside)

So Jesus here gives instructions to the disciples to go

and prepare a place.

In Luke there are more detailed instructions given to

the disciples.

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We see in Luke 22:7-13 that Jesus actually sends John

and Peter ahead with the instructions that they are to

look for a man carrying a pitcher of water.

It would be odd for a man in this day to be carrying a

pitcher of water, because that was a woman’s job, so

this man would be easy to spot.

They were instructed to follow that man to where it

seems Jesus had previously made arrangements with

the master of the house.

So Peter and John would be tasked with buying the

Passover Lamb, free from defect, slaughtering it at the

Temple, and roasting it for several hours.

They would also have to prepare the unleavened

bread, and the bitter herbs.

This was all done to remember Israel’s deliverance

from Egypt, the blood of the Lamb protected the Jews

from the Death Angel that killed all the first born in

Egypt, the unleavened bread was to remind them of

how they left in hast, with their clothes girded and

ready.

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The bitter herbs would remind them of the bitterness

of the slavery they were freed from by Yahweh God.

Now Jesus had this meal all prepared, and the table

was set for the King to host His friends in this one of

the most important Feasts in Israel.

While celebrating this significant feast Jesus will have a

shocking announcement that will be like a punch to

the stomach of these oblivious disciples.

20 When evening had come, He sat down with the

twelve. 21 Now as they were eating, He said,

"Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."

22 And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of

them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"

According to John’s gospel at this point Jesus had

already washed the disciple’s feet giving them a lesson

and example of humility and servant hearted ministry.

Then Jesus gives this startling announcement that one

of their own intimate number would betray Jesus.

Up to the very end not one of these guys even had a

clue Judas was the traitor.

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In fact, where Judas is placed at this table is a place of

honor, right next to the host of the Feast.

John the beloved was on the other side able to recline

on Jesus’ chest.

Now on November 17th of this year, we will have a

friend of mine come down from Northern California,

Pastor Jay McCarl.

And since we are not doing an Israel trip this year, I

thought I would bring a piece of the middle east here.

Pastor Jay will take us through a Biblical Dinner; we will

recline just as they did at this table, and eat the same

foods that they did this night.

Now you don’t want to miss this event, it will be free,

and we will only have about 50 spaces available, but

we will learn the customs and what the seating gives

us clues to.

Judas as we understand it was in a place of honor.

Judas was entrusted by Jesus with the money for the

ministry, Judas by all looks and intentions is such an

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upright and respected disciple, not one of these guys

even suspect him as the traitor.

And here we see Jesus so loving, so gracious, He could

have vindictively and with a righteous anger exposed

Judas right there, and named him in front of the

disciples.

The disciples would have never let Judas leave the

room if he was revealed here.

But Jesus purposely allows for this moment, to do soul

searching and for each of these guys to look inward at

their own hearts.

I also believe Jesus was giving Judas a chance here to

repent and turn from his treacherous deed.

I find it interesting here that the eleven other disciples

as they look inward, they are honest, they each have a

wholesome self-distrust of their own hearts.

They anxiously want to know if it is they, who would

betray Jesus.

“Is it I Lord?” they ask.

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Every one of those men knew they had such

wickedness in their hearts, they had no doubt they

were capable of betraying Jesus.

I have discovered this in my own heart, and if every

one of you are honest here this morning you would say

the same.

Our hearts naturally rebel against the ways of Jesus, if

it were not for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives

we would all put Judas to shame at the evil we would

do towards God.

It is those who hide this fact from everyone, who

present themselves as a pious loyal follower of Christ

that are in the most trouble.

I was watching Little House on the Prairie with my

family this week, and little Laura Ingles went to school

for the first time, and met that wretched Nelly Olsen.

Laura’s sister Mary tells Laura, “I do not know how

someone can be so evil, I could never be that mean as

that Nelly Olsen.”

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Laura said something that just had me laughing,

because it was so profound.

She said, “Oh I could be that mean, no problem, but

ma and pa won’t let me.”

And every one of us, when we first look at Judas, we

think I would never do such a thing, but the truth is

you and I would betray Jesus within the next few

minutes if He did not have His hand on our lives.

If we were honest here this morning, we would answer

as the disciples do here with an authentic “Is it I Lord?”

That kind of mindset keeps us so close to Him.

I walked many years without the Holy Spirit in my life, I

know the wickedness this man is capable of, I know the

extent of evil that I can do, and I know there is no limit

to the amount of betrayal this heart can show Christ.

The fact that He called me, the monster I was, and He

cleaned up my life, and called me to be a pastor is

beyond my understanding.

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I know this, every day I cling to my Savior, I know the

moment I let go of Him, that monster would take only

moment to return.

I believe that is why He called me to be a pastor; my

days are consumed with His Word, His work, and with

Him.

He has to keep me close.

Now if you are thinking pretty highly of yourself this

morning, and you are thinking “I would never betray

Christ.”

Your heart is deceived.

If there was a way to play your thoughts on these

screens up here just from this week, maybe just from

this morning, the parts of your heart and mind no one

but God sees.

If we could cast those thoughts up there, you would

run from this building so fast and go into hiding by the

exposure of whom you really are.

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Now let us be real this morning, we are all capable of

being Judas, and we as the disciples here need to be

forthright with that reality.

That kind of self-evaluation keeps you and I in the right

place, loving Jesus with all our might, with all our

strength and all of our soul, nothing less will do.

So let’s see if Judas takes this opportunity to repent, to

be honest with himself, to find salvation…

Jesus answers their questioning hearts….

23 He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand

with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man

indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that

man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would

have been good for that man if he had not been born."

25 Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and

said, "Rabbi, is it I?"

He said to him, "You have said it."

Jesus here did not pacify the disciple’s question, nor

did He ease their distrust of themselves.

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All of the twelve were dipping their morsels of bread in

the common bowl of broth that had within it mashed

fruit, water and vinegar.

Judas was not the only one doing this here.

Jesus simply said in a broad term, “it is one of you

sharing this meal with Me.”

This statement once again was a gracious one, it

should have Judas squirming in his seat, and if he truly

were repentant at this point, he would leave

immediately and return the 30 silver pieces.

Even with God’s Sovereign plan for Judas, He gives

room for Him to choose his own fate.

The same can be said for Pharaoh in Exodus, God had a

purpose for Pharaoh, to show Himself in a new and

powerful way, yet He gave Pharaoh ample amount of

chances to repent.

Here with Judas, Jesus gives His betrayer the same

offer of grace and mercy.

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Yet this seems to be the point of no return for Judas,

this seems to be the final chance for him to choose

right.

For it is after this very encounter that his choice is

made, and Satan enters him.

Jesus says this most important line, “The Son of man

goes the way it is written of Him.” He is saying God’s

Word will not be stopped.

Yet this does not negate Judas’ responsibility.

Had Judas repented, God’s Lamb would still be

sacrificed, but Judas would have found a pardon.

But because of his choice, Jesus said it would be better

for him had he not been born.

Jesus will die on the cross, but Jesus sees what’s

ahead, the Kingdom, so Jesus despises the shame of

what was set before Him and is willing to endure it, for

the sake of the reward.

But Judas, looking only for his comfort here in this life,

forsakes the right, the more difficult path, and in turn

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his eternity is doomed to the deepest darkest pits of

hell.

In verse 25 we see Judas’ heart is already being

corrupted, as the others referred to Jesus as Lord,

Judas, can no longer see Jesus as Lord, and refers to

Jesus as Rabbi, or Teacher.

This speaks to Judas’ guilty heart. He puts up a bold

front, and Jesus strikes back with His reply “You have

said it Judas!”

At this point all of the disciples rise up and take Judas

out, they beat him for the traitor he is, and justice is

served!

Wait, that is not what happened because in their

minds Judas could never be this man.

They think nothing of Jesus words; no suspicion arises

when Judas leaves the room at his point.

John 13:25 Having received the piece of bread, he then

went out immediately. And it was night.

This brings to light the depths of Christ’s suffering on

our behalf.

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Christ is dealt with here in the most treacherous and

humiliating manner, in being handed over by a trusted

companion.

This kind of heartbreak and suffering is sometimes

more overwhelming in this life than physical sufferings

we experience.

Have you ever had a trusted companion turn on you,

and act deceptively behind your back.

Or perhaps you have had a cheating spouse or an

unfaithful girlfriend.

The heartache of betrayal is one of the human

sufferings that stands at the top of the list of this

human experience.

And Jesus knows all too well the effects of these

emotions.

We truly have a High Priest who can sympathize with

us in our weakness, in every way that we are tempted

and tried, so too Christ was.

Christ knows your pain and sufferings first hand, who

else has a God such as ours, who walked this life as a

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man walks and suffered through the harsh realities of

this fallen world.

Our God alone is set apart to suffering, and conquering

over it, defeating even death! To give His followers a

hope of a future in a New Kingdom.

And yet through it all, through the heartbreak of this

whole scene, Jesus showed nothing but love and grace

to Judas, and we once again have our example to

follow.

No matter what kind of evil comes against our lives, as

much as depends on us, we are to live peaceably with

all men.

All the way to the cross Christ will walk through this

suffering, with all the shame and humiliation, even

having the power and might to call down legends of

angels, He will choose instead to walk as lamb goes to

the slaughter; He will not open His mouth.

Humbly, and quietly. This is our example…

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So next, with Judas the betrayer gone, Jesus with His

loyal eleven, He will institute the Lord’s Supper and

change the Passover’s meaning forever…

Jesus Institutes the Lord's Supper(Mark 14:22-26;

Luke 22:14-23; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed

and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said,

"Take, eat; this is My body."

Now this is a historic moment, this is the point the

Passover becomes the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus here institutes this New sacrament to replace the

Old.

“A few more hours from this point… the old symbol will

have served its purpose forever, having reached its

fulfillment in Christ at Calvary. Hendrickson

Here, Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper so closely

together with the Passover is making it clear what was

important for the first covenant will not be lost in the

second covenant.

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Both the images found in the Passover and in the

Lord’s Supper will speak of Jesus.

The Passover pointed forward to Jesus, and the Lord’s

Supper or Communion will point backward.

Jesus first takes from the table a thin slice of

unleavened bread, and it says He blessed it, in other

places He gave thanks.

He then broke it into pieces and had the disciples each

take a piece.

He explains here this symbolizes His Body, in 2 Cor.

11:24 Paul says it was His Body broken for us.

Jesus saying here He will give up His body in death on

the cross, His flesh will be broken and ripped, He will

suffer willingly in death, a death that was deserved by

those disciples, and even us today.

Next…

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it

to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is

My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many

for the remission of sins.

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In the like manner, He took the cup and changed the

symbol of the cup and the wine that was in it.

It would now represent something new, Jesus blood

spilled out for our sins.

Now instead of the blood of a sacrificed animal atoning

for man’s sin, God would now accept man through the

Blood of His Own Lamb.

There are four cups passed during the Passover, and

Luke tells us that after supper He took the cup.

This would be the final cup of blessing of the Passover

that Jesus institutes His New Covenant.

For apart from the shedding of blood there is no

remission of sins.

That means the that mantra of today that God is my

friend, He loves me for who I am, is a dangerous lie to

believe.

I have had people tell me they have made special deals

with God, they explain that if they stay out of His way,

He will stay out of their way.

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People come up with all kinds of relationships they

desire to have with God.

Yet, reconciliation and a relationship with God always

requires blood, some kind of atoning sacrifice.

Now as we determined earlier, man is wicked to the

core, and could never provide a pure blood sacrifice to

appease God.

There has to be a substitute, an offering in our place,

the blood of the animals in the Old Covenant was not

enough, they were used in faith looking forward to the

One Sacrifice that would be accepted by God.

Jesus here in Matthew, He is stating what was about to

take place on the cross would be the final

substitutionary offering, once and for all.

And with this the New Covenant will replace the Old,

now the sinner finds His way by looking back in faith at

what Jesus did on the cross.

And the Lord’s Table is where we remember this great

sacrifice.

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Now the Catholic doctrine gets a little strange here,

they believe the elements become the actual blood

and body of Christ.

But when the passage is actually looked at correctly,

these are only symbols to remember that sacrifice.

They are pictures, Christ was sitting right in front of the

disciples at this point, and His Body never became the

elements.

They remained distinct from each other.

This is a memorial to help us remember.

So Jesus hands off the cup, and has all of His true

disciples drink from it individually, yet the unity of

these men is very important.

The traitor was not among them.

All of them drank of the cup, except Jesus here.

And Jesus explains why next…

29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the

vine from now on until that day when I drink it new

with you in My Father's kingdom."

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Jesus here referring to the wine, and explaining He will

abstain until He drinks it new with them in the

Kingdom.

Jesus leaving His disciples with a great hope here.

Jesus is promising that no matter what trial or struggle

we believers face here on earth.

There is an everlasting festive Kingdom waiting for us,

and we will fellowship with Jesus in this New and

Glorious Kingdom forever.

This hope is what Jesus holds onto through the

treachery that is about to take place.

It is a hope that He leaves for all of us that we can hold

onto no matter what wickedness comes our way in this

life.

And we see finally….

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to

the Mount of Olives.

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They ended by singing a hymn… This would be a song

of praise and thanksgiving, speaking about trusting in

the Lord.

They traditionally would have sung from Psalm 111-

118, and some commentators think even Psalm 135.

I would have loved to hear Jesus and His disciples sing

a hymn.

Yet according to Jesus’ promise here we will one day,

be for all eternity with Him in His New Kingdom, I

imagine there will be lots of praise and singing there.

So we see here Communion not only points back to

what Jesus did on the cross, but it also keeps us

looking forward to what this new covenant means for

us in eternity.

Now this morning we are going to do things a little

different with communion.

We see here in Matthew each disciple partook of the

bread and cup individually.

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They could not all drink from the same cup at the same

time, now traditionally we take communion

altogether.

There is nothing wrong with that, and we will continue

to do so on the first Sunday of every month.

But for the sake of not making a religious tradition out

of the Lord’s Table, we are going to change things up a

little.

So we can personally reflect on all that Jesus has done

for us.

I am going to pray here in a moment and the worship

team will come up.

And while they play their last set, we are going to go to

the table ourselves and get our own elements.

This should be a time of deep reflection, as you take

these elements back with you to your seat.

Reflect on the sufferings of Christ, the emotional

sufferings of betrayal and the physical sufferings of the

cross.

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Reflect on all that this New Covenant means for us

today.

Also I know many of you are suffering this morning,

perhaps you are going through the heart break of

betrayal, maybe you are having trouble forgiving

someone this morning.

You are dealing with your own Judas, take this time of

reflection, and reflect on how Christ handled His own

betrayer with grace and mercy.

This table is one that represents the ultimate act of

sacrifice and forgiveness.

Please take these elements in a worthy manner, and

hand that unforgiveness over to Jesus.

Maybe you are struggling this morning with sin, you

have tried to hide its effects on your life from everyone

around you, yet you cannot hide it from Jesus’ all

seeing eyes.

As you sit and reflect this morning, be real with Jesus,

confess your sins to Him, and take by faith the

forgiveness that this table represents here.

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Maybe you are not a Christian here this morning,

understand you too are invited into this wonderful

New Covenant, and right now in your seat you can ask

Jesus into your life, you can accept His wonderful offer

of salvation and remission of your sins.

His Body was broken for you, and His blood satisfied

your penalty due to you.

Just tell Him right there in your seat “I believe You did

that for me Jesus, I receive by faith salvation, I repent

of my sins Jesus.”

Come to Jesus this morning and you are welcome to

this wonderful table of remembrance.

Now after you go to your seat and reflect on all that

Jesus did, partake of the elements, and join in the

worship of our King with the worship team.

I love that the disciples and Jesus ended this special

time singing. Let’s do the same.

Let’s pray…

I want to remind you that the elders will be up front

for prayer after service…