Shall We Betray Him Again?
By Pastor Jim May
The final hours of Jesus’ ministry on earth were coming to a close. He fully understood what lay ahead of him and yet his face was set like flint to staying the course. The souls of every human being lay in the balance. Could he have refused to become the sacrifice? Certainly he could have. But he chose to continue on because of his great love for man whom he had created from the dust of the earth and endowed him with an eternal soul.
Jesus had sent his disciples into the city to arrange for a place where they might enjoy one last meal together. It was the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, more commonly known as the Feast of Passover.
On the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan God established this festival for Israel. On the first night, and again on the seventh, there was to be a time of convocation (meeting) between God and man.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread was called such because only unleavened bread was eaten during these seven days. Unleavened bread reflected the fact that the Israelites had no time to put leaven in their bread before their hasty departure from Egypt.
A common Jewish tradition in preparing for the Feast of Unleavened Bread is to sprinkle leavened (yeast) bread crumbs throughout the house and then sweep them all up and burn them outside. Why would they do this? Throughout the Bible, leaven symbolizes sin. It is the substance that causes fermentation. The Lord said to His disciples "Beware of the leaven (false doctrine) of the Pharisees" In addition, the apostle Paul warned the Church at Corinth that "a little leaven (yeast) leavens (ferments) the whole lump" (I Corinthians 5:6). Paul was simply saying that if sin goes unchecked, it will permeate and infect everything and everyone around them.
And so, on this first night of the feast, Jesus and his disciples came together for one last time. They came into a large room in an upper floor of the house where a table had already been prepared.
Tradition tells us that the house most likely belonged to a follower of Jesus who had kept his loyalty secret because he was a man of high position in the city government and may have been appointed by the Sanhedrin Council. Whether that is true or not I do not know, but it does seem that the owner of the house knew about Jesus and was a supporter because he was quick to surrender the use of his room.
As they came into the room, each of the disciples began to take his place around the table. Pillows were on the floor and it was a low lying table. The Jews did not eat around a table, seated in chairs like we do. They lay on their side with their feet behind them, away from the table, leaning on one arm and eating with their free hand.
Lying there together, enjoying the feast as a family, it seemed to be a perfect picture of peace and harmony but Jesus knew that it was just the calm before the storm. These 12 men were hand picked, chosen and called to be the first of many disciples to come. Jesus loved every one of them and there was a closeness in the group that was the result of three and half years of sharing many things with Jesus. But all is never as it may seem on the outside for there wasn’t total unity in the group. One of them was a betrayer, but none would have suspected it at that moment, none but Jesus. Nothing was hidden from him. He is God and we can’t hide who we really are, or what we really think from him because he is the Living Word.
John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth."
Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
The feast was a happy occasion and filled with spiritual and historical meaning for the disciples, but the joy was soon to be taken away. Jesus began to be more serious and the laughter and noise began to die down. Then came a startling announcement.
Matthew 26:21-22, "And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?"
This is the question that was on the mind of every one of the disciples.
John, who loved Jesus so much, still questioned his own heart. Was he capable of such a terrible thing? John, in his own heart, knew that he was. He knew that under the right circumstances and at the right moment, he could fail and betray his Master. He didn’t want it to happen. He hated the thought that it could. Could it be me?
Peter, who was such an impetuous man, a strong willed and often too outspoken man, yet a man who loved Jesus, knew that he could fail Jesus too. But could he be a betrayer of the man that he was willing to die for? Peter wanted to go all the way with Jesus, yet down deep inside he knew that he would be capable of betrayal. Could it be me?
James and John, the Sons of Thunder, known for their ability to brawl and get into arguments, probably had quick tempers and often said things that they regretted. Though they had grown in their walk with Jesus, they were still capable of losing it once in a while. Their seemingly mild and mannered ways could quickly turn to loud screaming and their temper would get the best of them. They knew that under the right circumstances, such a thing could and would probably happen again. They hated the fact that they had a reputation for arguing a lot, and they tried their best to over come it, and yet it was still there, a persistent problem that plagued them all the time. Could it be me?
Thomas was a man who was hard to convince. He had an analytical mind and was constantly trying to figure things out. It was tough for him at times to believe and have faith in spiritual things that he could not see or figure out. He knew that under the right circumstances, he too, could become a betrayer because of his inability to always believe. Could it be me?
Every one of the disciples had his weakness, flaws in his character, an imperfect heart and that made him question whether he could be a betrayer of Jesus. Could it be me? They were all imperfect men serving a perfect Master, and somehow each one knew that they could guilty under the right conditions. None wanted it; they hated the very thought of it; and yet they knew they were very capable of being a betrayer of Jesus.
What about you today? Could you betray Jesus? Have you already betrayed him? We betray Jesus every time we disobey the Word of God. We betray him every time we are unfaithful to the call and purpose of God in our lives. We betray him every time we deny him before men. We betray him every time we allow anything else to be the controlling factor in our lives. If you were lying at that table, along with every other disciple that ever lived, the question would still arise, “Could it be me?”
None of us are perfect. We have flaws in our character and weaknesses in the flesh. And we all know that at the right moment and under the right circumstances we are very capable of failing the Lord. We can identify with what was going through the disciples’ minds that night as they heard Jesus say that one of them would betray him. Could it have been me? Has it been me? Am I the guilty one? Did Jesus die for me? Could I have been Judas that night?
You see, but for the Grace of God, any one of us could have been Judas. It wasn’t that Judas was worse than anyone else. The only difference was that he made one mistake too many, and became a little more centered on self and on the things of the world. He took his eyes off of Jesus and began to see more of the world around him. Satan blinded him to what was happening. His own heart deceived him into believing that he could serve his Master and still have the things of the world. He fell into the same trap that so many Christians fall into today. How many Christians have turned their back on Jesus and began to chase after the things of the world? We cannot point a finger at Judas and be his accusers, because we are just as guilty of Jesus’ death as he is. Sin is in the heart of every man born into this world. It’s only by the Grace of God and the Blood of Jesus shed on Golgotha’s Hill that we can be called his disciples and have eternal life.
Could it be me? Is it I? Could I be the one who will betray you Lord? Those were the questions on the lips of every disciple that followed the Lord. The air was electrified with suspense. Every one of them waited breathlessly, wondering which of them would do such a terrible thing? We all walked together, lived together, experienced the same miracles together, loved one another. Who would do such a thing? Could it be me?
The answer soon was given.
Matthew 26:23-25, "And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said."
At the table were several dishes, perhaps a dozen or more, that were filled with a sauce for dipping of the unleavened bread. The sauce was called “Charoseth” and it was made of bitter herbs, figs, nuts, almonds, dates, raisins and apples. All of the herbs and fruits were dried, crushed and then mixed with vinegar. Then spices of calamus and cinnamon were added in the shape of long threads in the sauce. The long threads were to represent the straw that God’s people had to gather in Egypt to make bricks, and the sauce was very thick, in remembrance of the clay that they had to gather to build Pharoah’s cities as slaves in Egypt.
Only once during the meal, the unleavened bread was dipped into this “Charoseth”. Jesus chose this moment to reveal Judas as his betrayer. Though there were many dishes filled with sauce, it would be the one disciple who would share the same dish with Jesus.
Jesus loved Judas. It was not his will that Judas would betray him. Though everything that happened was in direct fulfillment of prophecy and was done to bring about the will of God in the death of Jesus on the cross, it did not have to be Judas. Judas made his own choices and he had determined his own destiny through his choices.
Could Judas have chosen not to betray the Lord? Yes, he could have repented, but he chose not to. His contract with sinful priests and his own desire for the world were stronger than his love for Jesus and he chose to go his way.
Perhaps he didn’t realize the full implications of what he was doing. Maybe he thought that he could come back to Jesus and make it right later. Maybe he thought that Jesus would only be tried and released, or maybe spend time in prison and be released later. He may have never thought that Jesus would be crucified.
Satan never shows us the whole truth. He is a deceiver and a liar, and sin always brings us farther from God than we thought we would go, and always brings us deeper into death than we imagined in the beginning. The depths of sin that man will go to is never known until it is too late to turn back. It would have been better for Judas to never have existed than to face the eternal punishment that he faces today because he chose to betray the Lord.
Judas finally asked the right question, but when the answer came it was already too late for him. Matthew 26:25, "Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said." What a terrible thing it is to finally have to confess our sin, confess that Jesus is Lord, and still never know salvation. That was Judas’ lot and he ran from the room to make the final arrangements for the betrayal.
The dinner was drawing to a close now. The joy that had filled the room in the beginning was gone now. There was a pall of silence and dread that filled the room instead. Was this the end? It was only a matter of time now before it would all be over. How could it have come to this?
As they sat quietly, finishing the dinner, Jesus broke the tension of moment and began to speak. Matthew 26:26-30, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives."
This was the institution of one of the ordinances of the church known as the Lord’s Supper, or the Communion.
After they ate and drank, they sang a hymn called in Hebrew, “The "Hallell". The "Hallell" was a song of praise that consisted of Psalms 113 through 118.
The last part of Psalms 118 goes like this, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD. God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
At the end they would also sing Psalms 136, which says, “"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever’, and 26 times we hear the words, “his mercy endureth for ever”.
Thank God for His Great Mercy. Thank you Jesus for choosing to go to the cross for me. Thank you Lord, for your mercy and grace. Thank you Lord, for giving us the gift of eternal life.
At this moment I want us to prepare ourselves to the observance of the Lord’s Supper once again. I can think of no more appropriate time than this.
(Get Classes out of the Back)
As we enter the Easter week, today is Palm Sunday, the day that we use to remember the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, coming as the Messiah, humbly riding on a donkey and yet accepting and enjoying the praises of his people, knowing that the praises would only last a while before they would turn to screams of hate.
Let us pray and ask God to cleanse our hearts from sin, wash us in his blood and make us worthy to partake of his sufferings and of his life.
Communion Service
1 Corinthians 11:23-24, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me."
Prayer
1 Corinthians 11:25, "After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me."
Prayer
1 Corinthians 11:26, "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come."
