Let's open our Bibles now to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26. We'll begin reading at verse 6. Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on his head as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this that this woman hath done be told for a memorial of her. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? They covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. Now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying unto him, where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover? And he said, go into the city to such a man and say unto him, the master saith, my time is at hand, I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them, and they made ready the Passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve, 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? 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. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and break it and gave 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 in hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. And saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Then Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee that this night Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. Thus far in the reading of the word of God. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank thee for thy word. We thank thee for the light that shines forth from Thy word. We thank Thee also, Lord, for this passage which we have read, which is also filled with darkness and treachery. We thank Thee that Thou hast given it unto us for Thy sovereign purpose and reason that we should know the things that befell our Savior that night. We pray that Thou would bless us As we open together the word of life, we pray that our souls may be refreshed and drawn nigh unto thee, that we may depart from iniquity and find true refuge, rest, and rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that as we gather together that our souls may be renewed in the inner man and prepared for the Lord's Supper, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Beloved congregation, we have read an extended passage here which gives us something of the context. We're not going to look in detail at all of these verses. Gives us a good context of the betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ which we want to look at this morning. Betrayal is a great tragedy. It is the breaking of a trust It is something that is deeply wounding because of the nature of it being done by someone that loves you, by someone from whom you expect better. And so if we turn back to Psalm 41, we have there the prophesying of this incident by the writing of of David, Psalm 41, and it brings the intensity of this together. We have David, David's enemy is coming against him, and he feels the treachery of that in Psalm 41, and then also applied to the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse seven of Psalm 41, all that hate me whisper together against me, against me do they devise my hurt. And we've seen that in the scribes and the Pharisees. An evil disease say they cleaveth fast unto him. And now that he lieth, he shall rise up no more. Verse nine, yea, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. So here is someone that he knew, he said he knew, the scriptures say he knew from the beginning who it was that should betray him, and yet there was a fellowship, a certain fellowship that the Lord Jesus and Judas enjoyed together that was not lasting, it was not binding by the Holy Spirit, by the new birth. And so here in verse 10, we should point out also the refuge of David as well as the Lord Jesus Christ. But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me and raise me up that I may requite them. So here is the David and the Lord Jesus seeking to their heavenly father to give them strength to endure that betrayal, even though they know that it's coming and it's going to be very hard and difficult to endure. And so the treachery of Judas begins to become apparent. We can think of the many benefits that Judas enjoyed that many others did not enjoy. He did not just sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus. He was one of his 12 closest disciples. And when we think sometimes of people who once walked with the Lord and who no longer are walking with the Lord, we can think of sometimes family members, we can think of very close and dear friends, friends that we've prayed together with, friends whom you have encouraged and friends from whom you have received encouragement. And they're no longer walking with the Lord. And one of our anxieties often as a result of that is, what could I have done more? Should I have prayed for them more? Should I have spent more time with them? Should I have quoted more scripture to them? Should I have encouraged them? Should I have exhorted them? And yet here we find in Judas, someone who has been closer to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has received incredible benefits from the Son of God himself by his direct exposure to him, and yet not only falls away, but actually betrays the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is someone who has sat and listened to the Sermon on the Mount given and delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ with all the appropriate emphasis, with all the appropriate concern, and he slides away from that influence. Here's somebody who has heard firsthand the story of the prodigal son. He knows that the father awaits lost sinners to return to him, to come into his presence, to find refuge and peace with him. He has heard these things from the Master, from the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet he's fallen away. It's a great tragedy. So we don't want to say that even Jesus Christ couldn't keep a man, but we can say that a man under the greatest spiritual influence that the world has ever known, that connection doesn't secure his relationship with Christ. That's not enough for him to be born again, to possess the spirit, to walk in grace. And so it is, and there's an exhortation here, beloved, for you and I, to guard your heart. Guard your heart. Out of it, Solomon says, out of your heart are the issues of life. Never be presumptuous to say everything is well with me. Judas had started to slip away. And we can look at what happened there at the anointing of the Lord Jesus for his burial. Judas, we are told, not here in Matthew, but I think it's Luke, that says that Judas was the one, because he had the bag, he had the treasury, he was the one who spoke up first and said, what about this waste? Couldn't this ointment have been sold to help the poor? And Jesus rebuked all of the disciples, because all the disciples really joined in. And all the disciples then said, yeah, that's right. Judas has a very good point. We should have sold this. How many people could that money have helped? And Jesus says, you'll never run out of poor people to help. If you want to help them, you go out and help them. But this woman is a one-time event. This woman has done this for my burial. I'm about to leave you in my body. I'm about to depart from you. And this woman has done it not just because she loves me. She's done it because I'm about to be buried. So there's great significance that the Lord Jesus sees in this action. And so at the end of that, then, Judas appears to say, well, what's the use? What's the use? Where is all of this going? We have great opportunities here to do material good, to do good in this world, and this is all... being thrown away. And so what does he do? In verse 14 and 15 he says that Judas went unto the chief priests and said unto them, what will ye give me that I will deliver him unto you? They agreed to 30 pieces of silver. And so here he begins to see this is not going where I want it to go. Beloved, that can happen even in the church. We can say of the church, it's not going where I think it should go. It's not going where, or doing what I think it should do. And if it's not, beloved, there are ways to fix it. But if God's hand is in it, and we need to discern that very clearly, then we should know that God is in it. There are high points in the life of the church at large, and there are low points in the life of the church. There are times of great blessing and revival and expansion, and there are times of persecution and murder and affliction, great affliction. And so what's going to happen in the coming days, you and I, beloved, have no idea. We're meeting to pray in the new year for revival. We want to plead with the Lord because it would be a terrible thing to see the Lord's judgment poured out upon our land. We want to see souls saved. And we see here what the Lord Jesus Christ says even of of the judgment to come, verse 24, 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. There's a great judgment that awaits those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is a warning there, hell is a very terrible place and eternity is a very long time. And there is no, the scriptures offer no respite, they offer no relief from the horrible torture and pains and judgment and punishment of hell. Judgment that will last forever. So we want to see the revival of souls. We want to see the bringing in of souls to the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so it's very important for you, beloved, and for me to guard your soul. To consider, is my soul daily growing closer to the Lord Jesus Christ? Or is it beginning to drift away? Am I satisfied with less and less and assuming that I am growing in grace? Or do I hunger and thirst after righteousness and the Lord Jesus Christ has promised in the Sermon on the Mount that if you hunger and thirst after righteousness, you will be filled. When you are longing for a good blessing from the word of God, from the work of Christ, God says, wait on me and I will give you that blessing in my appointed time. Pray for it as you earnestly desire that blessing. So here is Judas who begins to fall away. No one notices, apparently. And he's secretly gone to make a bargain with men who have already decided that this is not the best time to kill Jesus. They've decided not at the Passover because everybody's going to rise up against us and everybody's gonna be in a great tumult. Not at the Passover. And Judas says, yeah, I think the Passover's a good time. And he conveniently comes to them and says, here, what will you give me? I'll point him out. I'll make sure that he falls into your hand. Perfect. say, the scribes and the Pharisees. Perfect. We can make this work. It will be just fine. One of his own men is starting to lose faith, is starting to lose trust in the Lord Jesus. So we can see how all of this is going to fall perfectly into our hands. And it does. It does in one sense. And yet, We know that the judgment of the Lord is upon all those that came against the Lord Jesus Christ. So he, Jesus, makes ready for the Passover at which he institutes the Lord's Supper. And we'll talk more, Lord willing, next week about the institution of the Lord's Supper. But he makes, appoints a place where they're going to meet together. And they made ready the Passover. and came together in verse 20. And Jesus says something very alarming in verse 21. And as they did eat, he said, verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. How would you respond to the Lord Jesus sitting at table with you? There's 12 men in front of him. One of you is going to betray me. I think pretty much at this point they would all say, it could be any one of us. And that's indicated by the fact that they say, Lord, is it I? Could it be me? They have a mistrust of their own faithfulness. What if Jesus came to you in a room full of people and said, one of you will betray me? We hear so much in modern evangelical life, people saying, I would never leave the Lord Jesus. I just love him so much. There's no way. He has just filled me with his love and with joy and with peace. There's no way that I would ever, ever leave the Lord Jesus Christ. And we read already that Peter actually does. He says those very words, doesn't he? He says, though all should leave thee, though I should go to the grave with you, I will never leave you. So we hear that so much in the modern church, oh, I just love the Lord Jesus. They're not reading his word, they're not following after him, they're not studying the scriptures, but they have love, they have peace, a perceived peace. Isaiah says, he talks about a peace, peace when there's no peace. They assume that everything is well with their soul when it's not actually very well with their soul at all. You remember, do you remember the story of how that hymn was written? It is well with my soul. When Spafford lost his wife and his children at sea as they were crossing the Atlantic Ocean, And he was notified when he was back in Chicago that the ship has sunk and everyone is lost. And his heart, of course, was filled with grief. And he does something very curious. He says, I want to get on a ship to go over there. And as they're crossing the Atlantic, the captain of the ship, who's aware of his reason for being on the ship, comes to him and says, we're approaching the place where your wife and your daughters were lost. And as they approach that place, the words of this hymn come to him, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. in the midst of great affliction and trial. God, God in his sovereignty has taken my dear wife, has taken my dear daughters, and taken them out of my life, but it's well with my soul. I have nothing to complain because it's well with my soul. And so in spite of all the tumults of sin and affliction, It is well with my soul. And so here the disciples are looking at themselves, and not one of them are saying, is it Judas? None of them are looking over to wherever Judas is saying, look, do you think it's him? Matthew says, every one of them said, is it I? Lord, is it I? And they recognize that there's no covenant faithfulness within their own hearts. They're not able to keep themselves. They have the potential of betraying the Lord Jesus Christ. They've seen the mounting opposition. They've seen the Pharisees and scribes attack him. just endlessly, ceaselessly, they're making accusations one after another. They say Jesus calmly refuting them, and not always calmly, sometimes very firmly, and aggressively also saying, I am the way, the truth, and the life by everything that he's teaching. And so they have seen the Lord Jesus and his opposition, and they perhaps thought, Maybe those Pharisees are right. Maybe the scribes are right. You know, our number's dwindling. There's really only 12 of us anymore. Now Jesus says there's only gonna be 11 of us, and it could be me. There's a distrust of their own selves. Beloved, do you know something of that distrust of yourself? that left to yourself, you are very capable of betraying and denying the Lord Jesus Christ. That you must have his keeping power as well as his saving power. And the more devoted you actually are to the Lord Jesus Christ, the more you pick up your Bible and read The more Satan targets you, the more he sends his demons after you, the more he tempts you. Put that Bible down, you have more important things to do. You have a multitude of things. What are you doing spending time in an old, old book? You've read it before, you don't need to read it again. You go to church regularly. You don't need to hear all those. We just had a sermon on that last week. Don't you think you can just skip your Bible reading for today and go on? You'll be fine. But to reject those words of temptation and actually open your Bible and say, I'm going to read. And then what happens? When you finally get down to reading, you read two pages. You don't know what you've read. Has that happened to you? Well, I have to go back and read again. You read again, you still miss it. You just got to focus in and you pray the Lord just to keep you focused on what you're reading so that you can take it in. I need your word. I need your help. I need your spirit. Because if I enter into this day without you and without your help, I'm going to be lost. That is the dependence with which you ought to start every single day. And if I don't, I could so easily betray or deny the Lord And we'll come to that as well, betrayal and denial. are two different things here. But we're thinking of the betrayal now of Judas. Slipping away, slipping away. Being more attracted by the things of the scribes and the Pharisees and maybe a political kingdom. Some people have suggested that he's looking for a political kingdom. And he's looking for something in the here and now. And this isn't working. Jesus' plan isn't working. Very clearly it's not working. And the scribes and the Pharisees have history on their side, they have tradition on their side, they have numbers on their side, they got everything on their side. It's time for this to end. And he goes over and betrays, actually betrays the Lord Jesus Christ to them. And we do have, beloved, we do have betrayals in these days. We have men who are popular authors. who deny, not just deny, but betray the truth of the gospel, betray the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We could say to them the words of Paul, you did run well, what did hinder you? Everything seemed to be going well, and then all of a sudden, they take this little side road, and that's where they'd stay, that's where they dwell, and they don't come back, because they delight in their own opinions, they delight in the approval of men. but they don't delight in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so every one of them says, Lord, is it I? I know that I'm capable of this. Is it I? And he goes on and says something interesting. In verse 23, he answered and said, he that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. Who is that? It was everybody, right? Everybody was dipping the dish. So he says, it's like he's reiterating, it's one of you. One of you shall betray me. One of you here, one of you involved in this meal, one of you dipping in the dish shall betray me. And then he says, the Son of Man goeth as it is written of him. This is all fulfilled by prophecy. But woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Again, a very important part of the providence and the sovereignty of God. Because it's ordained does not mean that it's blessed or approved of the Lord. Judas did, what Judas did was ordained. And that's a very curious thing. because he also did it because he wanted to, because he desired to, because he rejected the Lord Jesus. and adopted the philosophy and the religion of the scribes and Pharisees. He did it because he wanted to. He did it because he no longer guarded his heart and let things slip away. He no longer saw the majesty and the beauty of Christ and of his teaching and of his promise of eternal life. That was nothing to him for a few pieces of silver. That was really, his heart had gone away from the Lord already. So here is that great thing. It's interesting when you look at various people who want to say that Judas couldn't be in hell. I think the Bible says very clearly that Judas is in eternal punishment even right now, and that he's not going to escape that eternal punishment. But they say, well, without the betrayal of Judas, Jesus wouldn't have gone to the cross. Is that true? It is true. It is true. That's the way God's plan worked out. And that's very difficult to work through, to understand, to really plumb the depths of. These things were ordained. We read that in Psalm 41. It's a fulfillment of prophecy. And so still, Judas had the responsibility, he should have repented, he should have listened to all the appeals that this Lord Jesus made over the years to repent and believe and come to him and receive eternal life. He should have known all those, and he did know them, he heard them, but he did not receive them. He didn't really believe that that was the way to eternal life. Jesus says it had been good for that man if he had not been born. And then Judas. comes back with these words in verse 25. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He's already betrayed him. He doesn't quite use the same words though, does he? Matthew says all of the disciples said, Lord, is it I? And what does Judas say? He says, Master, Rabbi. Rabbi, is it I? You're not my Lord. You've been a teacher, and I've received some things from you, and he may have even received some things from the Lord Jesus Christ that he twisted in his understanding to try to think that he was promoting the will of God, but here, Judas. feigns submission to the Lord and challenges him, doesn't he? Master, is it I? He's going to join in the chorus. He knows he's guilty, but he challenges him, really. Is it I? And the Lord Jesus sends him forth. He said unto him, thou hast said. You said it. You said it, and still the disciples don't seem to pick up on exactly what's happening here, but Judas, of course, doesn't. John says that at this point, Jesus says, what thou must do, do quickly. Just go, go and do it, because, I don't know if he's saying we want to get it over with, but he's saying just go and do it. Isn't that what it says even at the end of Revelation? Let him that is wicked be wicked still. Let him that is evil be evil still. So there is Christ even commanding him, if this is what you're going to do, then go do it. Don't vacillate anymore. And even at this point, Christ does not call him to repentance. He just says this is set in stone and this is the way it's going to do. And so the Lord Jesus then was bitterly, bitterly betrayed. As we come to the Lord's Supper ourselves upon this Lord's Day, this is a good time for us to ask, is it I? Am I coming in my own strength? Are you coming with your own deeds? Are you coming with anything of yourself? Or are you coming because you must come in a sweet obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ? Who has given you this table? It doesn't bear the name of the pastor. It doesn't bear the name of our denomination. It bears the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's His supper. And so He's given it then to whom? Not to everyone, but to Christians. He's given it to His people. And His people will respond as the disciples did, won't they? Say, Lord, I have it within me to just use any excuse to not even have come to church today. We would say that some of the cold weather might not be a bad excuse. But you're here today. Why are you here? Why did you battle that frigid cold? Why did you even bother getting out of your pajamas and putting on clothes to go outside deliberately Is it because you had to be here? That your soul said, I need the fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ. I need his word. I need his instruction. I need his teaching. I need even to feast at the Lord's table with others who have also been bought by his blood, who also have been moved of the Holy Spirit to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I must be at this place. My soul craves these things, even at personal cost to myself, that I not only desire them, but desire them earnestly and deeply, that my soul may be blessed and enriched, that I may be set for the various events of this day, of this week, to be refreshed in the one who first loved me. Beloved, will you come to this table then with a tender heart. As we come, we'll call upon the elders. Let us turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 to read those words of institution. Before we do, and while the men are coming forward, we'll remind ourselves that this is not our table, but it is the Lord's table, and it is to be fenced. And so it is not for everyone, but it is for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ. those who have been renewed in the inner man, refreshed and born again, possessed of his spirit. And those who are born again join themselves to a faithful church, and so church membership is required for receiving the Lord's Supper. And then also it is required that you're not under the discipline of either this church or another church. There are no visitors here today, but if you're not under discipline, and that you're not living in secret sin, that you're not partaking of these elements, having heard the word of exhortation, and planning in your heart to sin. There is, even at this moment, if there's a secret sin that you're harboring, and you're saying, well, I'd like to get back at that, to be able to say, Lord, strengthen me. I know this stands in the way of fellowship and peace with you. Deliver me. Deliver me from my most darling sins. Deliver me from every sin, every sin and temptation. And so the Lord gives through his servant, Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, the words of institution that we read here regularly. Paul says in verse 23 of 1 Corinthians 11, 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 break it and said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. 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. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. So as we come to this table, there is a discernment that these elements before us are physical elements, they're material things that the Lord Jesus Christ has given so that we can remember that his death is real, that his suffering was real, that his actual flesh was broken, not a bone of his was broken, but his flesh was pierced and out poured blood and it was painful and it was agonizing. And this is the suffering that the Lord Jesus suffered for the sake of his saints. And it's also, beyond that even, the rejection of his father as he bore the sins of his people. So let us join in prayer and ask the Lord to consecrate these elements. O Lord our God, we come before thee this morning hour and we thank and praise Thee for what Christ has given for us that His death should be remembered. How great our sin must be for Christ to have had to die for the remission of our sins. And we thank Thee for so great a price, so great a love, We thank thee that he engaged in the Lord's Supper with his disciples with great desire, he said, and we thank thee, Lord, for the earnestness with which Christ has loved his church and does love his church. We thank Thee for Thy presence here in the preaching of Thy Word, for Thy presence here as we partake together by faith, trusting that these elements which Christ has ordained for our blessing would truly be a blessing to us. And so we ask, Lord, Thy blessing upon the elements, that they may be consecrated to this sacred use, and that we may receive them by faith, that we may participate and partake by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that Thou wouldst open the eyes of our understanding, and not merely through these elements, but through the preaching of Thy word. Hear our prayer, we ask in the name of Christ, our Redeemer. Amen. And when the Lord Jesus Christ had prayed, he broke the bread and he showed to his disciples that he would indeed suffer for the cause of their souls, for the saving of their spirits. Our Savior said, take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup. Our Savior said, this cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me. Heavenly Father, we praise and thank Thee for this time of fellowship in Thy Word, drawing nigh unto Thee, receiving of the riches of Thy grace. We pray, Lord, that Thou wouldst teach us not to trust in ourselves, not to be presumptuous. We pray, Lord, that with tender hearts we may serve Thee, yet with boldness and confidence in what Christ has done relinquishing all self-trust. We ask, Lord, that Thou would do mighty things in us and do mighty things through us for the sake of our worthy Master, Saviour, and Lord. We ask, Lord, that Thou would strengthen us to serve Thee this day. Deliver us from a love of the world and a love of our own selves. We ask these things for Jesus' sake. Amen.