Dear congregation, betrayal is such a nasty thing, isn't it? Betrayal is a violation of trust. It is an act of disloyalty. It is especially tragic when one is betrayed by a friend, someone you confided in, someone you spent time with and ate meals with. To be betrayed by a friend, children, is when someone close to you turns against you and lies to you and pretends to be your friend, but is in reality an enemy seeking to harm you. It is one thing to be opposed by an enemy, right? Because it's in the open. You expect it. You have time to protect yourself. But it's another thing to be betrayed by a friend. to be betrayed by someone who claims to be so close to you that they say, I got your back. And then they stab you in the back. That is horrible. Now, congregation, nothing is more hurtful and tragic than to have a trusted companion and friend become your foe, unknown to you, and is seeking to destroy you. If betraying someone by deceit and treachery is wrong and sinful, how much more wicked, infinitely more wicked is it to betray the innocent Son of God? If it is sinful to be betrayed and we are sinners, how much more wicked and heinous it is to stab Christ in the back and betray Him? This is what we see here, Judas Iscariot, who pretended to be Christ's friend. He ate with him, he spent time with him, he fellowshiped with him, and with his lips he even called Jesus Lord, but his heart was far from him. Judas never loved Jesus. Judas never trusted in Jesus. Judas was a betrayer. He was a traitor who behind the Lord's back was plotting conspiracy against him in order to have him arrested and be delivered to the enemies of the gospel. How heinous and wicked. We see here in our sermon text, Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss. You know what Judas did? He made a mockery of Psalm 2. What does God say in Psalm 2? Kiss the son, lest he be angry. And Judas made fun, made a mockery of that command by kissing Jesus, not in order to submit to Jesus in humility and worship, but in order to deceive and betray Jesus. He didn't mean what he was pretending to do. He was a hypocrite. Well, from our sermon text, people of God, let us learn from Judas what not to do. Children, this passage should move you to tears, and this should move your hearts to worship Jesus and live for his glory. Let us learn from Judas how not to kiss the son. May each of us this morning respond to God's word with reverence and awe, not with hypocrisy like Judas, but with humility and repentance, with hope and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is foolish to deny Jesus. It is foolish and evil to turn one's back against Jesus because he's the only savior of sinners. There is no other hope. through this passage, God is calling you to reverence and honor the Son, which is the opposite of betraying Him. That's what Judas did. But God calls you to reverence and honor the Son and pursue His glory because He is worthy. The theme of our sermon this morning is this. God calls you to kiss His Son. in humble submission and confess Him as Lord and Savior. This is our simple theme. God calls you to kiss His Son in humble submission and confess Him, not just with your lips, but from the deepest affections of your heart. Confess Him as Lord and Savior. And as we study our sermon text, We'll see here in this passage four ways to honor Christ as Lord and Savior. Four ways to live under the Lordship of Christ that we see here in this passage. Firstly, flee hypocrisy. Secondly, don't rely on your own strength. Thirdly, worship Christ as the Lord of glory. And fourthly, pursue His kingdom. Four ways we see in this passage for us to kiss the Son in humble submission and honor Him as Lord and Savior. So firstly, honor Jesus by fleeing hypocrisy. Did you hear me? Honor Jesus by fleeing hypocrisy. trust in him look at verse 47 and while Jesus was still speaking behold a multitude and he who was called Judas comma one of the twelve comma went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss him Well, you know the context. We looked at the previous passage last Lord's Day. Jesus is still in the garden of Gethsemane. He had just prayed that earnest prayer and He was in deep anguish and agony to the point that His sweat got mixed with His blood. His sweat was as if great drops of blood falling to the ground. And then he rises up from prayer, he comes to the sleepy disciples and says to them, why are you sleeping? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. And while Jesus was still speaking, behold, a mob, a multitude comes. A bloodthirsty mob of men. armed and ready to take Jesus by force. And this mob came not in the light of the day, but in the dark of night as ravenous wolves seeking to prey upon the innocent lamb of God. This was a cowardly mob. They were all armed, they were soldiers, and they came to arrest an unarmed man in the darkness of the night, and this man had done nothing wrong. He was innocent, there was no sin in Jesus. And therefore they came, not publicly, but in the dark. to arrest Jesus. These were the enemies of the gospel. These soldiers were sent by the unbelieving Pharisees and Sadducees who hate God and His Word and His Messiah, and they wanted to get rid of Jesus, they wanted to destroy Him, and they found the right place and the right opportunity to send soldiers with swords and spears to arrest the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, This is to be expected, right? The Pharisees and the Sadducees were never friends of Jesus. The unbelieving ones, the majority of them. They opposed Jesus, they hated Him. They even tried in the past several times to kill Him. But it was not the time. And finally, they get their opportunity to come to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Him. This is to be expected. But here's the shocking. detail of this story. Here's the shock, here's the tragedy. This bloodthirsty mob of the enemies of the gospel was led by none other than Judas Iscariot. And Luke identifies Judas in verse 27 as, look at it, one of the 12, right? He wants us to feel the sting of deception, the sting of betrayal. Judas was one of the 12. He was with Jesus during the three years of his earthly ministry. Judas was a close companion. He ate with Jesus. He ministered in the name of Jesus. He sang hymns and psalms with Jesus. He confessed Jesus as Lord. He gained the trust of the group so that he was made the treasurer. And he was stealing from the money bag. And his greed was becoming more and more intense. But he was able to fool everyone but Jesus. He was one of the 12. Oh, the hypocrisy and the wickedness of this man who walked with Jesus and sat under his preaching, and yet he considered 30 pieces of silver as more valuable than the only begotten Son of God. And for the love of money and for his selfish gain, he was willing to deliver Jesus to the unbelieving leaders of Israel by lies and deceit. Judas was a hypocrite. Children, a hypocrite is someone who puts on a false appearance of virtue and kindness. A hypocrite pretends to be something he's not in order to serve his purposes and fulfill his selfish gain. And listen to me, God hates hypocrisy. God hates Hypocrisy. Jesus says in Luke 6, 46, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say? Why do you call me Lord with your lips? And yet in your heart, you love the world. In Matthew 15, Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders who were claiming to be the followers and teachers of the Bible, but were teaching and promoting their own man-made traditions. And here's what our Lord says to them. hypocrites. Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. They gave lip service to God. They said, we love God, and yet their hearts were far from Him. And so a hypocrite is like an actor on stage who puts on a mask and pretends to be something that he is not in reality. And then he takes off his mask and his true self is exposed. Christ hates hypocrisy. You know why? Because hypocrisy attacks the religion of grace. Hypocrisy attacks the lordship of Christ. A hypocrite, a life of hypocrisy is loathsome because it says Jesus is Lord with lips and yet hates him. in the heart. Jesus is not interested in that religion. Amen? He's interested. His religion is the religion of grace and a religion of the heart. God desires truth in the inward parts. Not just a religion of mere externalism, where you do all the things you're supposed to do in front of people. But no, Jesus transforms our hearts Hypocrisy is an attack on the gospel. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, for God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. Flee hypocrisy, children. Flee hypocrisy, congregation. Judas was one of the 12, and yet he sold his soul to the devil. And he was seeking to destroy the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And the way Jesus delivers, the way Judas betrays Jesus is especially horrible, especially and particularly repulsive. And it clearly shows the wickedness and hypocrisy of Judas's heart. Notice how he betrays Jesus with a kiss. You see that? Do you feel the sting of that betrayal? And does that cause you to hate sin and want to kill it? Judas betrays his master with a kiss. Look at verse 48. And Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the son of man with a kiss? Judas was so deceived by the devil and he was so controlled by him that he thought that no one would suspect him of betrayal and treachery. He could just walk in front of Jesus. Hey, rabbi, how are you doing? And give him a kiss and no one would even suspect. He was so deceived and blinded by sin. He thought that he could get away with this heinous sin by giving the impression of warmth and devotion by greeting Jesus with a kiss. How foolish. Now make no mistakes. Judas was not a robot. Satan did not indwell Judas against his will. Satan found in Judas a willing companion. What a poignant picture of the total depravity of man, isn't it? All of us were like that by nature, all of us. By nature, we were born as children of wrath, sons of disobedience, in corruption. We prayed Psalm 51, where David says, in sin did my mother conceive me. We are corrupt by nature. We were living under the tyranny of the devil. We were walking in darkness. We were without God and without hope in this world. And that's why the solution to man's problem is not TED Talk. The solution to man's problem is not some self-help, self-determination, moralistic reform. The solution to man's problem is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because it's only through the gospel that that wicked, sinful heart is removed, and we are given a heart of flesh with tender love and affections for Jesus. We cannot do that. We cannot help ourselves. But God helps the helpless. We were dead in our sins and transgressions, but God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us, He made us alive together in Christ Jesus. It is by grace that we are saved. Matthew 26 verse 48 says that Judas had given the mob a sign saying, whomever I kiss, he's the one. Seize him. And then verse 49 says, immediately he went up to Jesus and said, greetings rabbi. Hey man, how are you doing? Greetings. And kissed him. How cold and without any affection was this gesture. It was a kiss of death, a kiss of betrayal, a kiss filled with hatred against the Lord. Children, kiss is a sign of affection, isn't it? It is a sign of care and respect. Close friends and family members express their love and affection by kissing on the cheek. But Judas mocked Jesus and put an appearance of warmth and betrayed him with a kiss. What a hypocrite and what a painful experience this must have been for our savior who was betrayed by the one that he ate meals with. He was delivered by a friend, a companion. Flee hypocrisy. Examine your own hearts, congregation. Examine your own hearts. Are you merely confessing Jesus as Lord while your heart is far from Him? Is there anyone here who is simply playing games? Don't play games with the Lord. Don't play hide and seek with Christ. Adam tried in the garden, right? He was not very successful because we can't hide from God. He knows your hearts and your deepest and most secret thoughts. Nothing is hidden from the omniscient Lord. And one day every hidden thought would be exposed and be judged. It is possible, listen to me, it is possible to merely profess faith in Christ, but not possess it. We are not justified by mere profession of faith. We're justified by the possession of the saving faith. Now, if you possess the saving faith, you're supposed to make a profession before the church and confess Jesus as Lord before the world. But if you say, Jesus is Lord and I'm a Christian, and yet your heart is filled with the love for the world and no love for the Savior, that is not true faith. That is a dead faith. The saving faith is a living faith and it is accompanied with affections for Jesus and good works of obedience. Those good works don't justify us. No, we're justified by grace through faith in Christ alone. But those good works we do as Christians are evidences, fruits of a saving faith. Examine yourselves to see if you're in the faith. Let us not be hypocrites like Judas. Let our love be without hypocrisy. And the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ transforms us so that we have true and genuine love for God and for our neighbors. Listen, you can't flee hypocrisy by your own efforts, but only by the strength that the Lord Jesus supplies. Only Jesus can change your sinful heart. Only Christ through his word and spirit can take away your heart of stone and rebellion and give you a heart of flesh. with affections for Him. 2 Corinthians 5.17 says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a what? New creation. Behold, all things have passed away and all things have become new. So run to Jesus for refuge and heed the command of God in Psalm 2 and obey by believing in the gospel. God says in Psalm 2, kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way for his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are those who put their trust in him. Trust Christ. Depend upon Him. You cannot do it in your own strength, but only by the grace of God. And that brings us to our second point. The second way we see in this passage to live under the Lordship of Christ. Don't rely on your own strength. Don't rely on your own strength. You need Christ and His power. Only by grace can you live as Christians. So firstly, flee hypocrisy, and now secondly, don't rely on your own strength. Children, remember Proverbs 3? Memorize this passage. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own what? Understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. But we see here in this passage that Christ's disciples were relying in their own wisdom and they decided to use physical force to stop Jesus from being arrested. Look at verse 49, when those around him saw what was going to happen, they said to him, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? Verse 50, and one of them, John 18 tells us it was Peter, right? Peter struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. And so the disciples decided to take matters into their own hands. They were wise into their own eyes, and they trusted in their own wisdom and acted carnally. But you see, the way we walk in victory as Christians is not by leaning on our own understanding and what seems right in our own eyes, but by trusting in the Lord. and fearing Him, and filling our minds with the Word of God, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We fight as Christians, not with carnal weapons. Amen? We fight with spiritual weapons. We fight the good fight of the faith as Christian soldiers by faith in Jesus, who loved us and gave Himself up for us. We fight by making use of the spiritual weapons He has provided for us. Ephesians 6 says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places, against the rulers of the darkness of this age. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Those are the weapons God has provided for us. Let's make use of them, instead of trying to figure out this Christian life by our own wisdom. We're foolish, all of us. We need the wisdom of God revealed in His Word. Let us rely upon Him. We can learn from these disciples, can't we? Because we tend to think and act like them. We often think of ourselves as strong. We often think of ourselves as sufficient, but we are weak. We are inadequate. Our sufficiency is from the Lord. It's not by our willpower and strength that we can live the Christian life, but only by humble dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, my grace is sufficient for you. Amen? Christ's grace is sufficient for you, more than enough for you to live in holiness, in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't take matters into your own hands. For example, if you think that you can be a Christian living under the Lordship of Christ without being committed to the means of grace, without being part of a church, you're relying on your own wisdom and strength and you will fail. We sing that, don't we? If we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing. But thank God we have the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing, the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's through Him that we have the victory. It's in Christ that we are more than conquerors. Praise be to God who always gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are weak. But He is strong, and His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Trust Him. Look at verse 51. But Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. Stop! No more of this! And He touched his ear and healed him. Did you see that, Christians? Jesus stops his disciples from using physical force and violence to prevent his arrest, and then uses his own power to show mercy. Jesus, in that moment when he's about to be delivered and arrested, what does he do? He heals a man. He shows mercy and love to a sinner. That mob is about to lay their dirty and filthy hands upon the innocent Lamb of God. But what does Jesus do? He heals the man who had his ear cut off. What a compassionate and merciful Savior Jesus is. He shows meekness and love and compassion to this sinner. Is there anyone like Jesus? No one. There's no one like Jesus. He's full of grace and truth, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Worship Him for He is worthy. And that brings us to our third way that we can live under the Lordship of Christ and honor Him as Lord. The third way, worship Jesus as the Lord of glory. Worship Him. Don't just follow Jesus. Don't just admire Jesus, worship Him as God Almighty. Worship Him. Look at verse 52. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple and the elders who had come to Him, have you come out as a robber with swords and clubs? See, they came in the darkness of the night because they had no just cause to arrest Jesus. They came armed to arrest one unarmed man who had done no evil. But this man, the man Jesus Christ, is more than a mere man. He is God. And I want to show that to you in the text, in that parallel passage in John 18. So turn there with me. John 18 gives us an amazing detail It is so amazing. John 18. And look at verse three. John 18 verse three, then Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches and weapons. Verse four, Jesus, therefore knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, so Jesus asked the question to these soldiers, whom are you seeking? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Now look at the reply of Jesus. Look at verse five. Jesus said to them, I am he. Now, if you're looking at the New King James Version, you can see that the word he is in italics, right? And that's because he is not part of the original. The Greek simply says, I am. So the soldiers were saying, we're looking for Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus said, ego eimi, I am. And notice what happened. As Jesus said that, verse six, now, when Jesus has said to them, ero imi, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground. What's happening here? When Jesus said, I am, he's not simply saying, I'm the man you're looking for, but it's much more than that, children. You remember in Exodus chapter three, when Moses met with God in the burning bush and Moses said, when I go to the children of Israel and say that God has sent me and they asked me, what is his name? What am I gonna tell them? What is your name? And God tells Moses his name. In Exodus 3, 14, and God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you. And here in John 18, people of God, in the darkness of the night, in the garden of Gethsemane, before this bloodthirsty mob, Jesus uses the divine name to refer to himself. Jesus boldly proclaims that he is Jehovah, the great I am. And the words of Jesus have power. Notice as Jesus spoke those words, Eroimi, what happened? The words were so powerful and glorious that the soldiers went backwards and fell. Children, imagine the sight, those big guys with armors and weapons fall to the ground as dead men. as Christ displays His divine glory and power. Those soldiers could no longer stand. They had to fall down. Such was the display of the power of God. And Jesus had to give them strength to get up so that they can arrest Him. Who is the victim here? Jesus is not the victim. He is the victor. Who is in control of this situation? Jesus is, all along. He is the sovereign Lord, the great I am, the God-man. Jesus could have easily destroyed that entire multitude just with his words, right? Jesus was causing their hearts to beat. Jesus was giving the strength to their legs so that they could get back up and arrest Him. Jesus was not the victim. He's the victor. He did it for us. He was in control of the whole situation. No one could have arrested Jesus by force if Jesus didn't want to be arrested. but He remained faithful and He humbled Himself and submitted to the will of the Father that He might be our faithful Redeemer. Jesus was in control. He is the Lord of glory. He is Jehovah, the great I am, the second person of the Trinity, therefore worship Him. This is also a wonderful picture of what will happen in the future on the last day. You will either bow to Jesus in humble adoration and submission, or your knees will be broken with a rod of iron. And like those soldiers, you would fall to the ground and bow down before King Jesus and confess that He is Lord. You will either bow in worship or you will bow in judgment. But every knee will bow to the God-man. who is very God of very God, I am. Jesus says in John 8 24, therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins for if you do not believe that Eroimi, I am, you will die in your sins. Jesus says in John 8, before Abraham was Eroimi, I am. If you do not praise Jesus, you will perish. If you do not worship Jesus, you don't worship God. Blessed are those who take refuge in Him, for Jesus is an everlasting King, and His kingdom is forever." And that brings us to our final point. The fourth way we are called to live under the Lordship of Christ is by pursuing His kingdom. So firstly, flee hypocrisy. Secondly, don't rely on your own strength. Thirdly, Worship Christ as the Lord of glory and finally pursue His kingdom. His kingdom is forever. Look at verse 53, the last verse. When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize me, but this is your hour and the power of darkness. The power of darkness was at work. This was their time and God in his sovereign decree had determined this very hour for his son to be delivered into the hands of the wicked men and be killed on the cross in order to save us. Jesus died for our sins. He was delivered in order to free us from our bondage to sin. Jesus died for our sins, not His. He had none. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. This is your hour, the power of darkness, Jesus says. But congregation, this is not the end of the story, is it? This is not the end of the story. The power of darkness cannot prevail. The cross is not the end of the story. There is an empty tomb beyond the cross and a risen savior. who has risen from the dead, who has won the victory over sin, Satan, and death. The kingdom of Satan is a temporary kingdom, and one day it will pass away. But of Christ's kingdom, there will be no end. 1 John 3 says, For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Congregation, seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you. Trust Jesus, for He is mighty to save. He is the Lamb of God who was slain, and He is also the Lion of Judah. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He takes away the sin of the world, and blessed are those who trust in Him. Kiss the Son. lest he be angry. But blessed are you if you take refuge in Him, the only Redeemer of God's elect, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.