"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"
The Betrayal Of Jesus (26:47-50)
INTRODUCTION
- Certainly one of the saddest moments in the life of Jesus was His
betrayal by Judas...
- One of Jesus' closest disciples, even one of His twelve apostles
- Mt 26:47-50
- Who had been privileged to a part of Jesus' ministry here on
earth - Ac 1:17
- What led Judas to betray his Lord and Savior? How could one who had
been with Jesus...
- Seen His miracles
- Heard His teachings
...betray Him with a kiss?
- What about us, who claim to be Jesus' disciples today?
- Could we be guilty of betraying Jesus in some way?
- Are there things that misled Judas that could have a similar
effect on us?
[What might we learn from "The Betrayal Of Jesus"? Lest we follow the
same path of Judas, let's reflect for a few moments on what we can
glean from the Scriptures...]
- JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY A CLOSE FRIEND
- JUDAS WAS NO STRANGER TO JESUS...
- As already mentioned, he was one of the apostles - Mt 10:2-4
- He was among those whom Jesus loved - Jn 13:1
- Yet as prophesied, Jesus was betrayed by "a familiar friend"
- Ps 41:9
- BEING CLOSE TO JESUS IS NO GUARANTEE...
- Just being His disciples is no assurance we could not betray
Him
- Like several of the churches in Asia Minor, we could...
- Leave our first love - Re 2:4-5
- Begin to tolerate false doctrine - Re 2:14-16
- Permit false teachers to spread their doctrines - Re 2:20
- Fail to perfect our works, and not be watchful - Re 3:1-3
- Become lukewarm - Re 3:15-16
- Yes, we can betray Jesus by denying Him who bought us - 2 Pe
2:1
[Therefore we need to heed Jesus' admonition to be "faithful unto
death" (Re 2:10), and not assume that close proximity to Jesus in the
past guarantees faithfulness in the future.]
- JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY A LOVER OF MONEY
- MONEY WAS A PROBLEM FOR JUDAS...
- He often pilfered from the money box - Jn 12:4-6
- The opportunity to make money led him to betray Jesus - Mt 26:14-16
- MONEY CAN BE A PROBLEM FOR US...
- The deceitfulness of riches can render us unfruitful - Mt 13:22
- The desire for riches and the love of money can lead us to
stray from the faith and drown in destruction and perdition
- 1Ti 6:9-10
- The Laodiceans' preoccupation with wealth made them lukewarm
- Re 3:16-17
[Could we be guilty of betraying Jesus by our desire for riches,
letting such things take precedent over our service to God and His
church?]
- JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY A SHOW OF AFFECTION
- JUDAS BETRAYED JESUS WITH A KISS...
- He could have simply pointed...perhaps by kissing he sought to
soften the blow of betrayal - Mt 26:48-49
- Jesus noted the obvious contradiction - Lk 22:47-48
- DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION DON'T ENSURE FAITHFULNESS...
- Many people are very emotional in their religion
- As displayed in their worship
- Believing it to be evidence of being "Spirit-filled"
- Yet emotions alone are not a reliable guide
- They can easily mislead us - cf. Pr 16:25; Jer 10:23; 17:9
- They are often present in the unstable believer - Mt 13:20-21
- This is not to discount the place and value of emotions
- We are to love God with all our heart and with all our mind
- Mt 22:37-38
- The Spirit does produce fruit in our lives that affects our
emotions - Ga 5:22-23
- But we must keep them in the proper order:
- Our emotions must come from faith, not faith coming from
emotions
- Otherwise we are led by emotionalism, not faith
-- And true faith comes from the Word of God - Ro 10:17;
Jn 20:30-31
[If we believe that displays of affection in our religion can make up
for our failure to heed God's Word, we deceive ourselves and betray
Jesus in the process!]
- JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY A MISTAKEN DISCIPLE
- JUDAS MISTOOK THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS ACTION...
- He evidently didn't think Jesus would be condemned - Mt 27:3-4
- This has prompted some to think that Judas was motivated by
more than money
- That perhaps his betrayal would force Jesus to act, show
His true power
- That in such a way it would demonstrate who Jesus truly was
- WE CAN BE GUILTY OF MISTAKEN SERVICE...
- Thinking our service is acceptable, when it is not - Mt 7:21-23
- Thinking we can improve on God's way, when we can't know what
He wants unless He reveals it - Isa 55:8-9
- We need to head the Preacher's advice - cf. Ec 5:1-2
- Come to hear and do what He says
- Not presume to know what pleases God and offer what we
think is best
[In our zeal, we may be guilty of acting on mistaken knowledge (cf. Ro
10:1-3). Dare we possibly betray Jesus by presuming we know what is
according to His will and plan?]
- JESUS WAS BETRAYED BY AN OVERWROUGHT FOLLOWER
- JUDAS REACTED TO HIS SIN THE WRONG WAY...
- He was overcome with grief - Mt 27:3
- He took the wrong course of action and hung himself - Mt 27:5
- WE CAN REACT TO OUR SINS THE SAME WAY...
- There are two kinds of sorrow - 2Co 7:10
- Sorrow of the world that produces death
- Godly sorrow that produces repentance
-- The first is sorrow where one is preoccupied with self; the
other is sorrow due to sinning against God
- It is natural to be sorrowful for our sins
- But we should not wallow in our grief
- But repent, as did Peter who denied Christ
- Paul provides another example of one who did not let his sins
of the past hinder his service in the present
- He focused on God's grace which gave him another chance
- 1Co 15:9-10
- He directed his attention on striving for the upward call
of God - Php 3:12-14
CONCLUSION
- While Jesus was betrayed by all these things, let's not forget the
influence of Satan...
- Satan used Judas to betray Jesus - Lk 22:3-4
- Satan put it in Judas' heart to betray Jesus - Jn 13:2
-- For this reason Jesus referred to Judas as "a devil" - Jn 6:70-71
- Yet how did Satan influence Judas? By some of the very things we've
noticed...
- Through his love of money
- Through his emotionalism
- Through his mistaken ideas
- Through his preoccupation with self
-- Even Peter was influenced by Satan through some of these things
(cf. Mt 16:23)
And so while we may decry the treachery of Judas, we should humbly
learn from his mistakes, taking to heart the words of Peter:
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist
him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings
are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."
- 1Pe 5:9-10