Well, I invite you to turn with me to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, where we pick up Jesus was about to go to the cross. And we see Jesus in complete control of all the events that culminated in His death and resurrection. And Matthew makes sure that we see the hand of God at every step. Matthew makes it certain that his readers understand. that the Son of God incarnate offered Himself willingly, voluntarily for all who would believe in Him. Last week we saw that Jesus had told His disciples that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of Man would be handed over for crucifixion. And we saw the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in Caiaphas' palace Plotting together to seize Jesus by stealth by ambush and to kill him But they were saying not during the festival They didn't want a riot. They didn't want to face the wrath of the people who supported Jesus So he would be handed over for crucifixion in two days at Passover. It was Jesus who fixed the time Thursday night Jesus had come to Jerusalem, remember, with the express intention of dying, of being executed. That's why he's there. He's not there for some other purpose. And he was coming forward voluntarily at the exact time that God had ordained. And this, as we saw last week, and as we've seen throughout Matthew's Gospel, this wasn't the first time the Jewish religious leaders had plotted to kill Jesus. Eliminating Jesus had long been a desire of the Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees, the scribes, the chief priests, the elders. What was now being discussed was how to carry this out. How are we going to do it? It's time to do it. How are we going to do it? As soon as this feast is over, we want to grab him. They agreed they would have to take him by surprise. And at that point, where we were last week, it's not certain that Judas was part of their plan yet. Now we had the contrast. Them saying, not during the festival, and Jesus saying, my time is now. So it's of great importance for us to know, to acknowledge Christ wasn't unexpectedly taken to his death here. Remember, He took on a full human nature. He went as an act of obedience to His Father. We're called to obedience to the Father. We fail. He went. He lived in obedience to the law. He also went to the cross in obedience to His Father. And He went because of love for people like us, sinners who had rebelled against Him. And he went as a sacrifice which God had ordained from the very beginning, from eternity past. And he went on the very day that was foreshadowed by the feast that commemorated the deliverance from Egypt 1,500 years earlier. And so as he was relating the fact of this conspiracy of the priests, and Judah's betrayal of our Lord. We saw last week that Matthew recalled an event which had occurred the previous Saturday. It was the dinner in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper. And Mary of Bethany, remember, had broken his vial of a year's worth of wages of perfume and poured it over Jesus' head. Jesus said this was an anointing of his body for burial. When he says that, he's foretelling that his death is soon to occur. The disciples, remember, objected to what most of them saw as an extravagance, a waste of something that could have generated a lot of money to help the poor. But Judas saw something else in that alabaster vial of costly perfume. Judas saw in this jar an item that could be sold the money not given to the poor but deposited with him in the money box. John told us Judas kept the money box and that he was a thief. He was already a thief. This wasn't a big change of character for Judas this night. He used to pilfer what was in it, John says. So, as we come to verse 14 in our text this morning, we know that Judas, one of the twelve, was what? A lover of money. He was a lover of money and he was a thief. So let's turn to the text. Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot. That name, Ish-kereoth, in Hebrew means man of Kereoth. Kereoth was a town in Judea. Judas was the one of the twelve who was not from Galilee. He was from Judea. But he went to the chief priests. And notice Matthew identifies him as one of the twelve. That's significant here. And he said, what are you willing to give me to betray him to you? They weighed out 30 pieces of silver. John told us that Judas was an unscrupulous character. We already know that. That he loved money. Had charge of this money box. Stole from it. But there's very little else written about Judas in the Gospels apart from these events surrounding his betrayal of our Lord. First thing we notice here, though, is who is it that Judas goes to to betray Christ? He didn't go to the Romans. He went to the Jewish religious leaders, the high priests, chief among whom was Caiaphas. And that included Caiaphas' father-in-law, Annas, who we sometimes meet as high priest in the New Testament. But Matthew tells us Judas went to them. Went to them. Doesn't tell us precisely when, but he went to them and offered to betray Jesus if what? If the price was right. If the price was right, he would betray him. Seems reasonable that we infer in light of this that Judas had become aware, at least suspected that the Jewish rulers desired to take Jesus into custody. You know, their hatred of Jesus, their hostility toward him was no secret. They'd opposed him at every turn for three years now. Luke provides us with a little more insight. Luke 22, 3. Satan, he says, entered into Judas, who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. He went and discussed with these chief priests how he might betray him. And Luke tells us they were glad. They were glad and agreed to give him money. So here's Judas now with the money in his pocket, as Matthew tells us. Looking for an opportunity to betray him he goes back to the Passover meal Looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. He sat through that entire meal looking for this opportunity Knowing what he was doing Was no secret the chief priests remember appointed by the Roman governor They didn't come into the priesthood by the Levitical law They all despised Jesus, despised Him. They saw Him as a threat to their position, to their power, to their influence, and they wanted to eliminate Him. We saw last week several times when they were looking for ways to kill Him, to destroy Him, one way or the other. And Judas and the rest of the Twelve were certainly aware of that. As I said, this was no secret. And when we look at Judas' actions here, It's clear that he harbored some hostility toward Jesus as well. Scripture doesn't tell us exactly where it came from. Luke writes, Satan entered into Judas. Now that's not as though before that night the Spirit of God had directed Judas' life. No, he'd been a thief. He was already a slave of Satan. But by that time, Judas was now wholly given up to Satan and ready to follow him to the very end. All that he was about was ruled by Satan at this point. Think about what happened. Judas has lost all sight of reason here. He's lost all fear of the judgment of God. He was motivated by nothing but sinful impulses and sinful desires. There was nothing else governing his thoughts or his actions. Which sinful desire was it that governed him here? Was it greed? Maybe. Some suggest other things. Disappointment that Jesus had not turned out to be a military Messiah. Scripture doesn't tell us. But it's clear from these first five verses of this chapter that the plans of the high priests were not yet finalized when Judas went to them. They'd agreed to try and, by deceit, take Jesus into custody, not during the festival, and yet they didn't have a plan. They didn't have a plan. They seemed to have been hoping that something would turn up, and here came Judas. Here came Judas. And he wasn't forced there. Don't ever let anybody tell you he was. Yes, he went according to the predetermined plan of God, but he chose to go. He chose to betray our Lord. What are you willing to give me to betray him to you? He's just there to see what the price is. What are they willing to pay? And the next words that Matthew writes, And they paid Judas thirty pieces of silver. No haggling. No negotiation. And this price, as many of you probably know, 30 shekels, 30 pieces of silver, was the price that would be paid if an ox came in and gored your female or male slave. You'd have to pay 30 pieces of silver and then the ox would be stoned to death. Judas was looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus, even as he sat down to eat the Passover with Jesus, celebrating maybe God's most merciful and gracious act to date, his delivery of their ancestors, Judas and Jesus, and all the Twelves, and all of these chief priests' ancestors from slavery. He sits down to this dinner memorializing that event, looking for opportunity to betray his Lord. And yeah, he'll have to call him Lord one day. He won't call him Rabbi like he does in this passage. Well, then Matthew turns to the day of Passover. We're told nothing about events of Wednesday. Now it's Thursday, and we saw last week that Passover, as ordained by God, was a one-day feast It was the 14th of the month, and that the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as given back in the Old Testament, was a seven-day feast which began on the following day, the 15th day of the first month. The first month for them fell somewhere between March and April. But these terms, Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, came to be used somewhat interchangeably. So that sometimes when one spoke of Passover, he was referring to the entire eight-day feast of the Unleavened Bread. We do the same thing in the present day. For us, Christmas is one day, but we might say we're going away for Christmas, and that doesn't mean we're going to get back by midnight. So we refer to this whole period, usually between Christmas and New Year's, as over Christmas. Thanksgiving we do the same thing. We say we're off for Thanksgiving, that doesn't mean we go back in on Friday morning. So they do the same thing, and we see these two terms used, they're actually flipped in their meaning here, but they're used interchangeably in the next verse. Verse 17, on the first day of the unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, now that follows the Passover meal, normally, the disciples come to Jesus and ask, where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover? So here we see that interchangeable use. But here the disciples are now talking about the Passover meal. It's going to be eaten Thursday night. And the disciples want to know where Jesus wants them to prepare this meal. They're going to prepare it, but He is seemingly the host here. And we plainly see Jesus observing this feast, by the way. We don't see him observing man-made feasts, but we see him observing this feast, and of course this commemorated the angel of death passing over the houses of the people of Israel, where they put the blood on the doorpost while the firstborn of the sons of Egypt were killed. And this also, of course, commemorates the deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt. But for this meal, he had to make preparations, just like any meal. Room had to be obtained, furniture had to be arranged. Now they would use unleavened bread, bitter herbs, wine. They had to prepare the sauce, be made from various mashed fruits, vinegar, and water. During the afternoon, a lamb would be killed in the court of the temple. Get the lamb, go to the temple, have the lamb slain. Exodus 12, 6. Now interestingly, I don't know whether there's significance to this or not, Matthew says nothing about the buying or sacrificing of a lamb. Doesn't mean they didn't do it. He doesn't mention it, however. But here's what Jesus said to the disciples. Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is near. I am to keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. The disciples did as Jesus directed them and prepared the Passover. Now Mark gives us a lot more detail here. Mark 14, 12. On the first day of the unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, his disciples said to him, where do you want us to go to prepare for you to eat the Passover? And Mark tells us he sent two of his disciples and told them, go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him. You're going to meet this man, he's going to turn around and follow him. There's no mention of any conversation. And wherever he enters, so follow this guy with the water bucket. Go into the house wherever he goes and say to the owner of the house, the teacher says, where's my guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples? And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Prepare for us there. Well, the disciples went out and came into the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. We take these things Jesus does so for granted, don't we? Well, Luke gives us the same details as Mark, and Luke tells us who the two disciples were, Peter and John. The man who owned the house is not identified, and some suggest that Jesus didn't want Judas to know where they were going ahead of time, or the Jewish leaders, so that they would not be able to interfere with his schedule. Now, there's no indication that Jesus had any prior discussions with this man who owned the house. He may have, he may not have. But these words, My time is near, verse 18, clearly indicate Jesus' awareness of the fact that He was now accomplishing the work which the Father had given Him to do. Every detail of His redemptive work was set forth in the eternal decree. And a precise moment in time had been set up by God for each step. All that had been decreed and then now declared by Jesus was literally fulfilled. Now we see here again Jesus' divine nature informing his human nature. Well then Matthew shifts to Passover itself and the Passover meal. Now according to John's gospel in chapter 13 Jesus had already washed the feet of his disciples in a demonstration of servanthood and humility and that included Judas. Jesus went around the room and washed everybody's feet. Matthew picks it up. When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. They're all there. And as they were eating, as they were eating, He said, Truly I say to you that one of you will betray me. They know Jesus knows things that no one else could know. Eating was the eighth step in what was a 10-step ceremony. So the Passover, they didn't just do like we do, go in, get the food out on the table, and sit down. First they had to prepare the herbs, and then they had to bless things, and then they have the first cup. And then they would do various things, and step eight would be eating. Sit down to the meal itself. But they had washings. They had singing. And as they were eating, eight steps into this, after the washing of the feet, Jesus spoke these words, one of you will betray me, what must have been as shocking a words as the disciples had ever heard. Imagine the chill that must have run down Judas' spine when he heard Jesus speak these words. truly I say to you." Whenever he said, truly I say to you, those were words that were of solemnity and verity. There could be no question this was the way he emphasized important truths. But not only was Judas shocked, the shock of the rest of the disciples seems to have been equally great. One of us, they say! And the way they respond is really remarkable here. the rest of the twelve have no desire and no plan to betray Jesus and yet each is concerned that Jesus might know something about them that they don't know themselves each is concerned he might be the betrayer look what he says deeply grieved each one began to say to him surely not I Lord the rest of the twelve apparently know nothing of Judas activities with Caiaphas But speaking these words, Jesus has made it clear He knows full well what somebody among them is doing. And as far as Judas is concerned, He's telling Judas, I know what you're up to. But remember, by this time the disciples had learned that Jesus had insight into their own thoughts. I mean, He just demonstrated this with the guy with the water bucket. and the house and the room for the Passover. And there's something else they know. They know that if Jesus says it, truly I say to you, it's a fact, it's going to happen. You know, we can wake up from a bad dream, but once he said these words, one of you is going to betray me, Jesus says it, it's true. And they know of their own weakness. Peter's seen his own weakness over and over and over again. They've heard Jesus say these words to them, O ye of little faith. And they know that they're capable, by ignorance or some moral failure, of doing something to offend Jesus. So they each wonder if He Himself is the one who's somehow going to succumb and become this perpetrator. Surely not I, Lord. Notice the question's phrased kind of negatively so as to elicit a response that says, no, not you. And each of the 11, notice how they address Christ. Surely not I, Lord. Which by this time had taken on great significance to them. Not just Master, but Divine Lord. And Jesus responded with some information about the identity of the traitor. Verse 23. He who dipped his hand with me in the bowl is the one who will betray me. So, did this statement narrow down the list of possible suspects? Did this statement narrow down the list of who might be the betrayer? Did only Judas dip in this bowl? How many bowls did they have? Well, none of the gospel writers covers any of that. Matthew doesn't clearly tell us, but Mark does tell us something. He says, he said to them, it's one of the twelve who dips with me in the bowl. So it appears to Mark that Judas wasn't the only one dipping in the same bowl with Jesus. By Mark's account, it appears that all twelve disciples were dipping morsels of food into this bowl filled with this sauce, this broth. The Lord wasn't trying to identify the perpetrator here. What he was doing was describing the character of the one who was going to do this. He's saying, think of it. My betrayer is one of those who's sitting here in friendship with me. That's what's significant here. To eat together was a sign of friendship. It still is. It was a shocking thing that the enemy, the one who in all of history would be the one to turn him over, came from the 12 closest to him. Judas was the traitor. Psalm 41.9, David had prophesied, even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. Now, David was talking about his own situation, but this turns out to be prophecy because John tells us, 13.18, this was in fulfillment of Scripture. he who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me." This statement here of Jesus was a warning to Judas and to the treachery that he was undertaking and it again showed Jesus in full control of this situation. One writer says this statement of Jesus was intended to shock the guilty soul of Judas out of its guilt. It didn't. Well, Jesus continued, The Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been good for that man if he had not been born. just as it is written of Him. This speaks of Christ as the subject of all the Law and the Prophets, all that's written in the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 5.17, don't think that I came to abolish the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. And, you know, after He rose, we see Him on the road to Emmaus. I didn't get this into the sheet, but Luke 24.44, here's Jesus speaking to these two disciples who don't recognize Him. These are my words, he says, which I spoke to you while I was still with you, and all things which are written about me in the Law and the Prophets. The Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." God not only decreed all of this, He wrote it all out. for those with ears to hear and with eyes to see. And we see on the road to Emmaus that Jesus then opened those disciples' minds to understand the Scriptures. This is why the gift of faith is such a wonderful gift. It's the gift that opens our eyes to understand and believe what even those disciples didn't believe even after Jesus had risen. Until Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures by these words. Jesus wanted the disciples to know. He's going just as it is written. He wanted them to know that what was done was by the providence of God. That Jesus was not forcibly dragged by men to the cross, but that the sacrifice had been appointed by the eternal decree of God. That's really important, that this was God's doing. Sinners have been reconciled to God because Christ has appeased the Father by His obedience. Now this doesn't mean that Judas' act of betrayal was a work of God. It wasn't. But that God took even the treachery of Judas so as to accomplish His divine eternal purpose. I want to look at Isaiah 53.3. Here's what's written of him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised, and we did not esteem him. Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him. And by His scourging we are healed. This was written over 700 years before this Passover night. Verse 10, Isaiah 53, But the Lord was pleased to crush Him He used the hands of godless men, putting him to grief. If he would render himself as a guilt offering, he offered himself. In order to fulfill the Scripture, he had to offer himself. He had to go willingly. And he did. Acts 2.22. Here's Peter on the day of Pentecost, preaching to Israel. Men of Israel, listen to these words. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with what? With miracles and wonders and signs. They had proof who he was. Which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know. Now look at this. This man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, But we don't stop there. You nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death. Peter says it again in chapter 4 of Acts, verse 27, For truly in this city they were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur. The Son of Man had come to die, to redeem His people from bondage to sin, to take the wrath of God as the punishment for His people's sins, to remove the guilt and the stain of sin from the redeemed. This is important. This would occur by the decree of God, but the one who betrayed him was fully responsible for his own sin in doing so. That's what Jesus says. Here we see the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of every man for his own sin existing simultaneously as they always have. We don't have to understand it, but it is what the Word of God teaches us, and we must believe it. Never in Scripture do the sovereignty of God or the prophecies of God negate human responsibility. So Jesus here says, Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. He ascribes all guilt for his betrayal to the traitor. And when Jesus says it would have been good for him if he'd never been born, he is affirming that there is conscious punishment in hell, in the life to come for those who reject him. See, if you'd never been born, you don't have any punishment. You don't have any pain. You don't experience anything. It would be better for him to have not been born than to have the conscious punishment that he will have for his deed. And finally, the voice of the betrayer. Here's Judas. Surely it's not I, Rabbi. Surely it's not I, Rabbi. He's got the money in his pocket. Jesus said to him, you have said it yourself. Jesus doesn't reply with a direct yes, but he clearly implies that Judas has indicted himself here. Yes, Judas, as you know, as you know, you are the man. You see the deceit in Judas to the very end. He's already received the money, and he's got the audacity to say, surely it's not I, Rabbi. utters these words with the blood money in his purse. He addresses Jesus not as Lord, but as Rabbi, Teacher. Well, Matthew doesn't tell us that Judas left. He doesn't have to. For after Judas had been exposed as the traitor, how could he remain with the eleven who were loyal? And John 13, 27 tells us that Jesus then said to Judas, What you do, do quickly. And then Judas, Satan ruling in his heart, went out immediately into the night. Judas leaves the group, now knowing that Jesus knows what he's plotting. And yet he goes anyway. What could drive somebody to do something like that. Greed, injured pride, ambition. Scripture never tells us. But we see Judah's progression here. And here's our lesson. From a petty thief to a betrayer of the Prince of Peace. We see how acting on wicked desires, even small ones, can begin to blind a person. Little sins will inevitably harden us to the guilt of sin and lead to more sin and bigger sin. We see how wicked desires and little sins powerfully act on the mind so that it changes the way we think. The more we sin, the more differently we begin to think. Judas had been inflamed with this desire to steal, and then the long practice of stealing had hardened him in that wickedness. And now, for just a few dollars, he didn't hesitate to betray the very Son of God. It started with a little sin. Well, we're struck by many things here. First, look at the contrast between the loyalty and devotion of Mary of Bethany, remember her, and the treachery of Judas, and the grief on the part of the disciples just at the thought that any of them might betray Jesus. Their belief, we see, that Jesus knows things about them they don't even know about themselves. And the decree of God according to his predetermined plan and purpose that Jesus must die for the sins of his people. And finally, Jesus' willingness to obediently go to the cross to pay for those sins. Want to get an idea of the magnitude of that? How many people are you willing to go to a cross for to atone for some crime they've committed? Again, we're struck by the governing of all these events by Jesus. Nothing's out of His hand. He saved us because that's what He came to do. He died on the cross because that's the way in which God decreed from all eternity that salvation would come to every one of you. As a result, sinners who are believing in and trusting in all these things partake of a kingdom that is without end. What a glorious ending this has. In the triune, God receives a people who've been cleansed of the stain and the guilt of their own rebellion against Him. We're part of the rebellion, folks. We all were in on the rebellion. We weren't in on Judah's act that night. We were in on Adam's act. We're in that guilty group in need of His cleansing blood. Do we ever betray our Lord? Well, when we deny Him, we betray Him. When we hide Him from others, we betray Him. Let us never, never fail to confess Him before men. How many times do we hear Billy Graham say that? He who confesses me before men, I'll confess him before my fathers in heaven. But he who denies me before men, that's betrayal. Let us never betray him by failing to declare his ways, his purposes, his salvation, even in the midst of this world that is plainly hostile to him and all those who proclaim him. Let us never betray Him by failing to present Him and His eternal promises that come to those who believe in Him. And let us never betray Him by living according to the ways of the One who ruled in Judas' heart that night. See, either we're going to be ruled by the Spirit and live by the Spirit and walk by the Spirit or we're going to walk by the One who led Judas that night in Jerusalem. No. Let us be faithful to Him in everything we think, say, and do. He was more than faithful to us. He was merciful to us. And let us walk in the newness of the spiritual life that only He could provide. Couldn't come from anywhere else. Still can't. And let us do all things always to the glory of the one who came to save us and who accomplished all that he came to do. And so he calls us all again today to walk, to live according to the spirit that he's caused to dwell within us in obedience to him as our spiritual service of living worship for his glory.