Consider Him

Immediately and turn to the gospel
of Luke once again. The gospel of Luke and the passages
there in the bulletin with places for notes, if you prefer. But
having said that, I would also like you to find some way, some
device. If you use your fingers, things
are going to get a little difficult. So if you have pieces of paper
that you can talk, We’re basically going to flip to at least two
of the four gospels. And if you’re really adept, you
could chase down the rest of the passages with me. Into each
of the four gospels, if you’re if you’re willing to do that,
the primary place that I would have you place a marker would
be the gospel of John chapter 18. If you are so willing and
you want to chase down some other verses with me, we’ll be in Matthew
26 briefly and perhaps even in the Gospel of Mark chapter 14,
John 18, Matthew 26 and Mark chapter 14. Much is said and much is made
in our day and age of applicational sermons. Everything has to be
applicational. You have to be able to walk out
and put it to use today. It’s got to change your life
in a dramatic way or the sermon really is worthless. Years ago and looking at So many
of the church plants in our day and age, most of them touted
relevant teaching. To this day, I still have no
idea what irrelevant teaching is if you’re operating out of
the scriptures. Suffice it to say that it is
enough this morning for us to meditate on Jesus Christ, just
to learn about Jesus Christ, to meditate on him, Only the
children of God can make right application of a meditation on
Christ in the first place, no matter how applicational, no
matter how relevant a sermon is, only a child of God can make
use of it. We come to the arrest of Jesus,
those are difficult words to say. Difficult to hear for you,
I’m sure likely as well. To me it is incomprehensible. It’s not it’s always difficult
for us to hear about an innocent man being arrested tried accused. Ultimately in prison in this
city there was a man recently released after some years in
prison. The master’s case where he was
falsely accused and. put before a court and falsely
tried, found guilty, sent to prison, ultimately to be overturned. We don’t like those cases. But
for a sinless, holy, innocent Lamb of God to be arrested, the words almost don’t fit together,
do they? I want to take you to the gospel of Luke this morning
to begin with. And I just want to ponder this
passage and we will add to it, no doubt, from the other gospel
writers. We begin in chapter 22 and verse
47. Where Jesus has been praying
in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was a regular place for him.
His disciples were with him. He left eight behind, went further
into the glade and drew three more with him and left them behind
to go and to pray. But now the prayer is finished,
ministry is finished, and soon the work of redemption will be
finished as well. And we pick up in verse forty
seven. While he was still speaking. Behold, a crowd came, and the
one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them. And
he approached Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said to him, Judas,
are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? When those who
were around him saw what was going to happen, they said, Lord,
shall we strike with the sword? And one of them struck the slave
of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered
and said, stop, no more of this. And he touched his ear and healed
him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple
and elders who had come up against him, have you come out with swords
and clubs as you would against a robber? While I was with you
daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this
hour and the power of darkness are yours. Come to the arrest of Jesus.
And even as we have just sung, the cross looms in the distance.
That great theme of the cross, but the great indignity to Christ
begins really here with the arrest. There will be more indignities,
false trials, there will be beatings. And ultimately, the indignity
of the crucifixion. But it begins with this arrest.
Finally, those who had planned all along to do Jesus ill, finally,
they have their way. First of all, this morning, I
want to look at the Savior and as we consider Christ Jesus in
this context, I want to consider, first of all, a Savior who was
painfully troubled by disloyalty. painfully troubled by disloyalty. For men, for women, for people,
generally, disloyalty is a painful experience. To have a friend,
the psalmist knew it, to have a friend, a familiar friend,
as the psalmist said, who eats with you and fellowships with
you, to suddenly have them turn on you and to do you harm. to
show a treacherous hand toward you is a painful experience. And it was no less painful for
the Lord Jesus. We establish the context for
the arrest of Jesus in John 18. John 18, verse 2, where John
writes this, Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the
place. For Jesus had often met there
with his disciples. The place is the Garden of Gethsemane,
spoken of in familiar terms by John as well. Spoken of in Luke
last week as the place. In Luke 22, 39, remember, it
said that he came out and proceeded, as was his custom, to the Mount
of Olives And the disciples followed him. But ultimately, he came
to the place. Judas knew it. The apostles all
knew it. It was Jesus familiar place,
a place of respite and a place of prayer. Judas, then in verse
three of John’s Gospel, says, having then received the Roman
cohort, the officers and chief priests and the Pharisees came
there with lanterns and torches and weapons. It would have been easy for Jesus
to elude Judas, one man, simply by not going to these usual places
where he did. But by going to that regular
place, in essence, he was surrendering. He was giving himself up to those
who wanted to arrest him. Judas knew where to find him.
And Jesus knew that as well. John gives us detail that none
of the other writers provide. They tell us that a crowd came.
John writes that a crowd, this crowd consisted of a Roman cohort,
officers from the priests and the Pharisees. This wasn’t a
mob. This wasn’t just any crowd, but rather an official authoritative
delegation. They were on a mission. It was
the highest authority that was possible for the Jews. And the
highest local authority for the Romans. The cohort would be a
delegate, pardon me, a delegation of soldiers that were housed
near the temple in the fort of Antonia. A literal Roman cohort
consisted of 600 to a thousand soldiers. But a much smaller
detachment of men could be referred to as a cohort, a part or a portion
of the core cohort. And so therefore, there were
likely at least a dozen of these such soldiers, more likely two
to three dozen. But there were also officers
from the chief priests and the temple guards, and these two
had the authority to be armed. The Pharisees, we know them all
too well, they were in tow. Now, in the case of the soldiers,
I want to point out, and only in the case of the soldiers,
it is likely that some of them were in a real sense innocent
in this matter. They were just doing their job
as soldiers. They were soldiers in and for
a secular and cruel Roman army. But with regard to the particulars
of this case, they didn’t have a particular ax to grind against
the Lord. With regard to the accused, the
Lord Jesus, they had no specific issue. They were likely roused,
perhaps even in the middle of the night, and dispatched to
go do a job to arrest some man. But it was not so with Judas.
It was not so with the officers of the temple. It was not so
with the chief priests, and it was not so with the Pharisees.
These had long waited to arrest Jesus. These had long
waited to do Jesus harm. These represented the engine,
if you will, of the machinery. This was the motivational group.
And so it is in this context that Jesus must have looked up
and noticed this approaching crowd, this great crowd, as Matthew
refers to it. And in Luke 22, we pick back
up in verse 47. And in this context, Luke records
while he, that is, Jesus, was still speaking. Remember, he
was in the midst of both rebuking and encouraging his disciples,
rebuking them for falling asleep, encouraging them and admonishing
them to pray and to be alert and awake. Behold, while he was still speaking,
a crowd came and the one called Judas, one of the 12, Remember
from the Gospels, a familiar treatment of Judas constantly
referring to him and reminding the reader that this was one
of the inner circle. This was one of the 12, one of
the 12 apostles who had a more intimate, more lengthy connection
with the Lord Jesus than any person outside of Christ’s family. Judas, one of the 12, was proceeding
and it’s fascinating to note. Just watch this. It’s fascinating
to know how differently and yet how consistently the gospel writers
describe the situation. You heard what Luke said, a crowd
came and Judas was preceding them. Matthew and Mark both say
that Judas came accompanied by a crowd. Matthew 26, 47 says
it this way. While he was still speaking,
behold, Judas. One of the 12 came up accompanied
by a large crowd with swords and clubs. Either way, you look
at it. Judas and the crowd are culpable. Both the crowd and Judas are
complicitous. But Judas is the leader, as it
were. John, interestingly, records
the scene with vivid and unique detail. And if you would, I want
you to go back to John 18. And we pick up there in verse
four and John 18, verse four, John records. So Jesus, knowing
all the things that were coming upon him, went forth and said
to them, whom do you seek? Look here, they didn’t they didn’t
have to do a sneak attack on Jesus. They didn’t have to pull
off a sting. Right. They didn’t have to do
a roadblock or set up a dragnet. All they had to do is approach
Jesus. And John says that Jesus spoke
first. Whom do you seek? Who are you
looking for? They answered him and said, Jesus,
the Nazarene. And he said to them, I am he.
I am. And those words, I am, to Jewish
ears were the name of Jehovah. Remember, this is what got him
in trouble with the Jews early on, is a claim to be God. In John 8, 58, Jesus said to
them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born,
I am. John’s gospel continues in verse
five, and it says that Judas also, who was betraying him,
was staining with them. So when he said to them, I am
he, they drew back and fell on the ground. This has always delighted
Christian readers, hasn’t it? We’ve always found it fascinating
and amusing to see this bumbling rabble coming out to arrest the
Lord Jesus. And when they come face to face
with them, all they can do is literally fall all over themselves.
This ill-meaning crowd fell backwards because of the majesty of the
goodness of the Lord Jesus. Another added that it was possibly
due to the natural effect of guilt. Once they came face to
face with the Holy God, all they could do is fall backwards. In
stunned amazement, not forward in worship. And it’s one of the
other. Therefore, Jesus, it says in
verse seven again, asked them, whom do you see? They said, Jesus,
the Nazarene. Now, Jesus doesn’t want to disappoint
them. They’ve come out with specific
purposes in mind and they’re bumbling and stumbling. Notwithstanding,
Jesus wants. To meet their need, Jesus asks
them again. Now, Judas. Judas wants his money. And he’s got to be involved here
in order to be able to keep the money, he’s got to put his plan
into action. Jesus has, in a sense, just stolen
his thunder. Because Judas has to give the
giveaway sign. He has to give the sign or otherwise
he’s useless. And his money will go unearned.
And Matthew records the plot this way. Just listen. In Matthew 26, 48. Now he who
is betraying them gave them a sign saying, Whomever I kiss, he is
the one. Seize him. They had a plot. They had a plan. And Jesus just
ruined that plan. Mark adds that Judas almost dictates
to this crowd that when he kisses them and when they seize them,
he is to be led away under guard. Fearing, perhaps, that Jesus
would try to overrule by some supernatural power and escape. Their intention was not to arrest
the entire band, Jesus and his apostles, it seems very clear
that they wanted to arrest Jesus only, and that’s why they needed
a sign. But in the dark, and perhaps in the confusion, if
a battle or a fight were to break out, they wouldn’t know who to
arrest, and they didn’t want to arrest the whole crowd and
cause a scene in Jerusalem. So they needed a sign, and the
sign would alleviate that problem. The kiss. The kiss was a usual
greeting. It was used between a host and
his guests. Usually on the cheek, it was
used between rabbis, it was used between a rabbi and his students,
usually on the hand of the rabbi. Christians, as you know, would
go on to widely employ this greeting and in some cultures, even to
this day. I remember yearning to go to
Russia years ago and hearing that if you go to Russia, be
prepared. Because they greet with a kiss
on the lips. In some cultures, it is very
prevalent, even to this day. In our culture, it is limited
primarily to family members. and usually between only husband
and wife. But a kiss on the hand in this
culture was extremely common, especially for rabbis from their
students, implying respect and affection and obedience. All this to say it was an indication
of deep friendship. A greeting of warmth and affection. And to use this greeting This
warm, affectionate sign of friendship as a means of betrayal has always
been atrocious to Christians. One said it this way. Nothing
that has ever been told of Judas has so excited the horror of
Christendom. As the incident of this demonstrative
and atrocious, treacherous kiss. And so it is that Luke continues
at the end of verse 47 by the stunning account that Judas approached
Jesus to kiss him. That was his purpose. Once he
did that, he was done. Judas’s job is finished. Judas
has identified the Lord Jesus and his job is done. Matthew,
in his gospel, captures Judas’s verbal hypocrisy. In Matthew 26, 49, it says that
immediately, as if Judas couldn’t wait to get to the Lord, he wants
his money. He wants to out Jesus as the
one to arrest. And it says immediately he went
to Jesus and said, Hail, Rabbi, and kissed him. Now, it’s interesting
here, the older versions actually say that Judas used a double
greeting, Rabbi, Rabbi. Which would add emphasis to the
greeting. Like almost, you know, an enthusiastic, hey, buddy. But without good textual support
here and plenty of other hypocritical emphasis here already. It’s enough
to know that Judas greeted the Lord with a familiar and intimate
greeting, Rabbi, teacher. Hi, teacher. And the word here
used as a blend of two Greek words when he talks about the
kiss. Kata and phileo. Phileo, you
probably have heard it before, means love, but it was also used
to express the show of love by affection. But kata phileo compounds
it, it intensifies it. And that’s the word that’s used
here. It is as if to say Judas really
kissed or effusively or intensively kissed the Lord and probably
the Lord’s hand fervently kissed him. Here’s how it’s used in
the scripture. It’s used of the sinful woman
who came and worshiped Christ pouring perfume, remember the
hair, the whole bit. In verse forty five of chapter
seven, it says, You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time
I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. She kept on kissing
him. Luke 15, Luke 15, the same exact
word in the same exact form is used of the prodigal son. that upon returning home, he
came to his father while he was still a long way off. His father
saw him and felt compassion for him and ran and embraced him
and was kissing him. Kissed him. Intensively. The same word. The point is, how often do we as Christians
go through this same pretense? Go through the motions, pretending
love for the Savior, and all the while, holding wickedness
or some evil deed or thought in our heart. We can be like
Judas in a sense. One Puritan said it this way,
the worst and most wicked acts may be done under a show of love
to Christ. To injure the cause of Christ
under any circumstances is a great sin, but to injure it while we
pretend to show kindness is utterly sinful. Luke’s Gospel alone recounts
the Lord’s displeasure with this hypocrisy. Judas’ hypocritical
treachery. In Luke 22-48, glance down where
it says that Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the
Son of Man with a kiss? It’s an interesting study that
I came across this past week. The questions Jesus asked. Look him up. It’s an interesting
study, because if you think about it, Jesus as God, he wasn’t unaware
of anything. All of these questions he asks
are rhetorical. They’re meant to be tools for
teaching. It’s not that he didn’t know
anything. It’s not that he needed information
from anyone. When he asked Judas, Judas, are
you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? It’s not that Jesus
in that moment was confused. What’s going on, Judas? It’s
not that Jesus didn’t know. It’s that Jesus wanted Judas
to know. Remember who I am. Are you really
going to betray me? The son of man, not a mere man,
but the son of man. Are you really going to betray
me and betray me with a kiss? A sign of affection. In a sense, it was a call to
repentance. One last call to repentance. And I pray that you and I, in
a moment like that, in a similar moment, a moment of hypocrisy,
Instead of Judas would fall on her knees. What am I doing? What am I doing? Am I going to
betray the son of man with a kiss? In contrast, Matthew records Jesus
almost matter of fact. About Judas’s misdeed in Matthew
26. Matthew records that Jesus said
to him, friend, do what you came here for. The term friend just
used there with a twist of irony, not a true friend, not a friend
like the eleven others. But friend in name only going
through the motion. Hypocritically turning his back. On the Savior. It would soon
pay for the sin of the world. Secondly, We have a Savior who
was not only painfully troubled by disloyalty, but secondly,
he was patiently intolerant of vain heroics. And you know where
I’m headed with this. The whole episode of the so-called
sword fight. Let’s look at it. And we established
the point, point two, also in John’s gospel, if you flip over
and we begin there in verse eight of chapter 18. Jesus answered
and there and said, I told you that I am. If you seek me, let
these go their way to fulfill the word which he spoke of those
whom you have given me. I lost not one. Now, Jesus had
just prayed those words, remember, in the upper room in John 17.
I pray. I thank you, God, that I lost
not one. And obviously, there there was
a deeply spiritual meaning. And here he is just applying
that truth even further. And if you remember, it’s really
John here writing that is applying that truth. It is as if John
says, even in this way. Even to have his apostles arrested,
Jesus protected and preserved them, at least for now. They
would go on to face harassment and persecution, but not this
night. Not this night. I believe Matthew here points
out the crucial detail And that it should be inserted right here
into this account. That some of the soldiers actually
reached out and grabbed a hold of Jesus. Once he identified
himself. But we know from reading on that
this will be only the initial attempt to seize the Lord. Matthew’s Gospel says this in
Matthew 26, 50 B. They say they came and laid hands
on Jesus and seized him. They at least had some hands
upon him. Maybe not cuffs. Maybe was not
yet ready to be hauled off. But they laid hands upon him.
But Jesus’ disciples have other plans, right? And isn’t it just
almost amusing that Peter is at the center of these other
plans? Better plans even than those of Christ, in his mind. After all, they have two swords
to fight off this cohort and the temple guard and all the
Pharisees and everybody who came out against them. Foolishness,
really. In Luke 22, Luke records this. When those who are around him
saw what was going to happen, they said, Lord, shall we strike
with the sword? And one of them, before I even
waited for an answer, mind you, one of them struck the high priest,
the slave rather of the high priest, and cut off his right
ear. Now, let’s be real. He wasn’t aiming for the right
ear. This was a glancing blow in the in the shadowy darkness. He was aiming for his head. Perhaps
even the soldier fended off the blow and it only got the side
of his head and took off his ear. And Jesus put an end to
it right there. Stop no more of this, Jesus says,
just with a definitiveness. And only John’s gospel here provides
even more thorough detail. Back to John 18, if you would. We’re John, in a sense, out Peter,
no other gospel writer even names him, they certainly don’t name
the slave. But John 18, verse 10 says Simon Peter, then. Having
the sword, drew it and struck the high priest slave, as if,
almost matter of fact, as if this was supposed to be the plan. Cut off his right ear and the
slave’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, put the
sword into the sheep. Enough of this. Peter discovered very quickly
what a lot of us Christians know too well, didn’t he? We make
a great and grand profession of what we’re going to do for
the Lord, what we’ll do. One of the unique features of
the songs of our day, the contemporary Christian music, some of which
is unpalatable for the worship service. Almost all of them have
this, I mean, my mentality, what I’m going to do for the Lord. Peter discovered very quickly
what we all discover. that we make this grand profession
with our lips. We have the best intentions.
We even start well. We begin very strongly. Strong,
courageous, right? But we fade quickly. We tire
far too fast and we fail greatly. Here’s a man that was ready to
take on the Roman cohort, however many there were. They only had
two swords, but Peter, with his enthusiasm, was ready to fight
them all for a few moments. I don’t know that he was the
first to leave the Lord’s side, but leave he did and leave he
will shortly and go on to deny the Lord just as Jesus predicted. Only Matthew’s gospel provides
such a lengthy explanation by Jesus as to why escaping by the
sword is not such a good option. Matthew 26, 52 says this. Then Jesus said to Peter to him,
put your sword back into its place, back into its sheath,
as one of the other gospel writers records. The reason that Jesus
provides really are multiple. First of all, violence begets
violence. Jesus says this, for all those
who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. I had a friend,
an acquaintance in high school, great big guy and loved to go
out and just get in fights and fight people, love to just fight
people. And I explained to him one day, you know, what if you
come across a bigger guy or what if there are more of them? The church could have learned
this lesson right here. The church didn’t in future years
would go on to show again and again and again that the church
constantly had to review this lesson. But it is not by power. Nor by might it is not by the
sword. As one said it was the great
means of bringing trouble to the user. Peter was overlooking
the fact that people who are hit with the sword have the very
nasty practice of retaliating in time. In the end, the user
of the sword is apt to finish his days on the end of someone
else’s sword, a most unfitting end for those who are the servants
of the Prince of Peace. Amusingly put, all those who
live by the sword die by the sword. Reason number two. Reason
number two, Peter says, and rather, Jesus says to Peter in verse
53 of Matthew’s gospel, or do you think that I cannot appeal
to my father? And he will at once put at my
disposal more than 12 legions of angels. God is our defender,
Jesus says. OK, now let’s do some math, shall
we? A legion consisted of 12,000
foot soldiers plus horsemen. Jesus says that he could have
at his disposal at an instant 12 legions of angels who are
not killed, by the way, in the course of battle. In other words,
Jesus says, this is absurd. This is absurd. If I really wanted
help, I wouldn’t call on a fisherman with a little sword Reason number three. Jesus says this is all part of
God’s sovereign plan. Don’t miss it. Verse fifty four
of Matthew’s gospel says how then will the scriptures be fulfilled
which say that it must happen this way. Peter put the sword
down. Jesus in essence says think about
it. Suppose the Heavenly Father did send twelve legions of angels. How then would God’s plan of
redemption complete with the arrest, trial and crucifixion
of the Lamb of God take place? Put the sword away. John echoes
this last reason with a little bit different words. In 1811,
he says, the cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink
it? We’ve looked at that last week. Shall we not drink it? Shall
the Son of God not face the very design that God laid out for
him? And Luke concludes this section with this shocking detail.
In chapter 22, verse 51 at the very end, look at it. It just
says this, and he touched his ear and healed him. That’s it. The problem was Peter
had put them in a very difficult position. I don’t doubt that
as soon as Peter did this, every sword by every Roman soldier,
every officer of the temple guard drew their weapons and had them
aimed at Peter’s heart, ready to strike. Peter would have been the first
one dispatched. But he put the Lord in a very
difficult position. Because he just proved that Jesus
is the leader of this dangerous rabble, these troublemakers. And to undo this, the Lord simply
reaches down and I believe picks up because it said he lopped
off the year flopping around down in the dirt. He just picked
it up. And put it back on. And the most amazing thing here
of all, The soldiers went right on arresting Jesus. You see,
we clamor for proof, don’t we? We want signs and evidence just
like those in Jesus’ day. We still do it in our own day.
We want to see the shroud. Show me the shroud. We want to
see the empty tomb or the Holy Grail or some physical, tangible
evidence that will prove all the claims. Give me a piece of
wood from the cross and I’ll fall down on my knees and believe.
No, you won’t. No, you won’t. And this passage
proves it. That if that’s what you demand, if this kind of proof,
this evidence, if that’s what you demand in order to believe,
you’ll never believe. You will never believe. Evidence
does not demand the verdict. Apologetics doesn’t produce faith. The Shroud of Turin in itself
won’t make any converts. This last week, I read about
the Ark, right, they found the Ark, Noah’s Ark. I’m sure there
were just a flood of converts to Christianity because of it,
and then by the end of the week, it was a hoax. And all those
depressed people who had come to faith, no, they didn’t. Jesus says. Believe in me. Not believe in
a tomb, believe in a piece of wood from across, believe in
a cup. Jesus did away with this simple
use of the sword. Point three, as we close. We have a Savior who was not
only painfully troubled by disloyalty, patiently intolerant of vain
heroics, but he was persistently submitted to arrogant men. Perhaps the most amazing of all,
isn’t it? We open up this section in Luke’s gospel, look at verse
52, where Jesus addressed his would be captors. Then Jesus said to the chief
priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against
him, have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against
a robber? While I was with you daily in
the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this hour and the
power of darkness are yours. These prominent figures, these
religious elites, they had kept themselves safely in the background
behind all the swords until all the danger was over. All the
drama had subsided. Jesus calls them out. Jesus addressed to them as a
reproach because of their cowardice, because of the fact that they
came at midnight in secrecy which was petty and illegal. During all these days, Jesus
says during the Passover, Jesus operated in the city and in the
temple in full view. These officials could have arrested
him at any moment, and they should have if he had truly blasphemed
God. But they were cowards. They desperately
wanted to preserve their reputations. That’s what they wanted most
of all. They wanted their reputation with the people, the populace.
And arresting a popular figure could have potentially jeopardized
that. And so they stooped to this clandestine midnight operation. And even then, they hide in the
shadows. But Jesus knows their heart.
And Jesus calls them out. They thought they were so clever,
as one said, arranging his arrest in a secluded place, but arresting
him in this fashion as a common criminal, they were simply doing
what the Scripture had long ago foretold. Isaiah 53, verse 12,
he was numbered with the transgressors. They treated him like a common
criminal. One said it this way. The time
during which the evil is permitted to triumph is fixed and limited
by God. The sovereignty over everything
done upon earth is absolute and complete. The hands of the wicked
are bound until God allows them to work. They can do nothing
without his permission. The worst of Satan’s agents are
working in chains. They didn’t have ready disposal
to do as they pleased. They only were doing what they
were allowed to do by God Himself. The power that they had was not
independent. It wasn’t completely at their
disposal. John 18.4 said it this way, knowing
all things were coming upon him. This didn’t catch Jesus by surprise. And as Jesus would go on to say
to Pilate, you have no authority over me. Unless it has been given
to you from above. John adds a conclusive note here
to this section in verse 12. That the Roman cohort and the
commander and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus. And found him. But Matthew and
Mark both closed with these simple words. Sad words. Then all the disciples left him
and fled. It’s enough for us this morning
to meditate on Christ. It’s enough for us to meditate
on what Christ endured, what Christ went through. For us. It’s enough as we come to the
table to remember a Savior who was troubled to the core. By disloyalty, disloyalty, of
a kind that humanity has never known before or since. To meditate
on a savior who is patiently intolerant of these vain heroics,
and it puts to rest this idea that we have. That with us, God
has a good thing. That we’re so smart, we’re so
powerful, we’re so influential, our personality can literally
overtake the world. And it’s enough to meditate on
a Savior who was submitted to this crowd. This great crowd
consisting of soldiers, religious elite, those who wanted him dead. And he submitted to them for
us, for our sake. As we come to the Lord’s table,
let’s meditate on that. It’s enough. O merciful God, we thank You
and praise You for preserving these words for our sake. To meditate upon the Lord Jesus
Christ and all that He experienced in that night. Father, there
are countless lessons for us to learn from these words. Ultimately,
Father, Your message to us is a message of repentance and worship. to the One who endured all these
things for the sake of the elect. Father, grant us Your grace as we celebrate the Lord’s table
now. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.