Closing In On The Cross Of Jesus Christ - Part 5: The Perfect Commitment Of Christ Series

Closing in on the Cross of Jesus Christ

Part 5: The Perfect Commitment of Christ

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 26:45-56

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared April 10, 2023)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 26. In this chapter, Jesus and His disciples ate their last Passover meal together, and Jesus led them through the very first Lord's Supper. Matthew 26:30 tells us that "when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." Remember that this hill to the east of Jerusalem overlooked the city from just outside the city walls. In Jesus' day it was covered with olive trees. But now the slopes facing Jerusalem have been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years, and they contain about 150,000 graves.

*We should also know that the Mount of Olives is very important in God's Word. The Lord often went there when He was near Jerusalem. Every time Jesus visited His close friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, He was on the Mount of Olives. That's because their village of Bethany was on the slope facing away from Jerusalem, and the road from Bethany to the city passed over the Mount of Olives.

*The Lord rode down the Mount of Olives to make His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. Then in Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus told His end times prophecies and parables while He was seated on the Mount of Olives. After He was raised again from the dead, Jesus ascended into Heaven from the Mount of Olives (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-12). And when Jesus comes back to earth, He is landing on the Mount of Olives! Zechariah 14:4 says, "And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south." (1)

*By today's Scripture, Jesus and His disciples have walked about a mile from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane. That means the "Garden of the Oil Press," and that makes sense because it was at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Here in the garden, Jesus has gone through prayerful agony, while His exhausted, troubled disciples slept. And now the hour has come for the Lord to be betrayed and arrested. But in today's verses we can also see how committed Jesus was to do everything His Father sent Him to do. Please think about Christ's perfect commitment as we read Matthew 26:45-56.

MESSAGE:

*About six months before Jesus died on the cross for us, He prophesized about His death. In John 8:28-29 Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in the Temple, and Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.''

*Jesus Christ always did the things that pleased His Heavenly Father. He was totally committed to do everything His Father wanted Him to do to redeem mankind. How strong was the Lord's commitment?

1. IT WAS SO STRONG THAT JESUS WAS WILLING TO BE BETRAYED BY A FALSE FRIEND.

*God's Word shows us this betrayal in vs. 45-50.

45. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46. Rise, let us be going. See, he who betrays Me is at hand.''

47. And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

48. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.''

49. Then immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!'' and kissed Him.

50. And Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?'' Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.

*Judas Iscariot was the betrayer. The various forms of this word "betray" are found 41 times in our English Bibles, and all but 5 of those times relate to Judas. What a horrible legacy. Of course, Jesus always knew that Judas would betray Him, and we can be sure of this because in John 6:70 Jesus asked His disciples, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?'' Then John 6:71 tells us that "He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve."