Luke 21, from verse 37. And in the daytime he was teaching in the temple, and at night he went out and abode in the mount that is called the Mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple for to hear him. Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him, for they feared the people. Then entered Satan into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way in communion with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad and covenanted to give him money. And he promised and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. particularly the first few verses that we read there from verse 37 to verse 2 of the next chapter, they seem like simply connecting verses. They draw together different passages. And it's easy when reading God's Word that we focus on these major passages and we don't give attention to these connecting passages. We think simply it's a way of introducing the next subject. But every part of God's Word has purpose and significance. Earlier in chapter 21, we read that heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. There is a significance to every word, to every part. As we've been studying through the gospel of Luke, we have seen that Luke has recorded this account of the Savior's public ministry in the form of a journey to Jerusalem. This has been the great focus that in the midst of our Lord's public ministry, He is making His way toward this place. In the midst of His public ministry, He declares Himself He reveals his power and his authority. This man is like no other man. He has the authority to forgive sins. He has the power to heal. And we must come to no other conclusion than that this man is God in the flesh. The Lord is in the midst of his people. But yet as he reveals himself, he also shows his determination that he will be in Jerusalem. And these few verses are drawing attention to this. It's a deliberate summary, and it's deliberately given to cause you to notice. The Lord is at Jerusalem. We've been told about his approach. We've been told about his reaction when he saw Jerusalem as he came down from the Mount of Olives. We see the response of the people. We also hear what he has to say. And so Luke has given us details of his presence there. And Luke has given us details of what it is that he has done since he has been there. He has spoken to the people. And he's told us what he has said to them. But he wants us to remember. Why? Because this place, not just Jerusalem as a city, but the temple there in the midst of Jerusalem, is where God meets with his people. It is where God dwells. It is where his atonement is made. And the purpose of the summary is to heighten your expectation or your anticipation of what it is that is yet to be done, His greatest work. And that it is the time of Passover, the Passover of its remembers, the work of redemption, the work of release, when the children of Israel were set free and brought into liberty. You see the perfect precision of God's providence. You might consider this section as the arrival of the Savior. The scene is set. Everything is ready. The time has almost come. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, Drunai, which is called the Passover. Every interaction of his public ministry up until this point has fitted in to this great purpose. It has not distracted him. The wonderful precision of all that he would be there at this time. And what does our Lord do? He draws the people. And all the people came early in the morning in the temple for to hear Him. Every day teaching in the temple. Every night He would go out, but He would come back and the people would gather to hear Him. Do you see what our Savior does as the end draws near? He does what He has always done. He gathers the people and He teaches the people. Sometimes when a person hears of a serious medical diagnosis and they're told that time is short, maybe the doctors say there's only a few months left, sometimes, very often, the focus of that person's life will suddenly change. Because time is short, because life is running out, there's lots of things which used to occupy them, which are dropped. They're left. It's not important. It's not important enough to take up the rest of life with when life is so precious and it's ebbing away. But as the end of our Lord's life comes nigh, He doesn't change his focus. He makes no change to his activity. He continues to teach the people. Friends, if the arrival of the end of your life will change the focus of your life, then the focus that you have today is wrong. If the arrival of the end of your life will change the focus of your life, then the focus that you have today is wrong. If your life is taken up with things which you can easily drop because they don't really matter, then these are things that you should drop now because your life is so significant. It is a gift given by God. And whether a doctor has given you a medical diagnosis or not, you should have a sense of purpose and a zeal to live with all your energy today for the advance of the glory of God. Don't waste your life. Don't be taken up with what does not matter. Toys and games and entertainment are for children. But when we are no longer children, we are to leave these things. And we are to work, work while it is day. For the night cometh when no man can work. How much energy is absorbed by entertainment and distraction. How many good things are left undone Surely that's a lesson we can learn as we think of the example of the Savior. Here he is, and he has arrived at the place where he is to be. And the nearness of the end is clear, but he continues what he has always done. We're told that at night he left Jerusalem. He went out to the mount that is called the Mount of Olives. That's where Bethany was. That's also where Gethsemane was. It doesn't necessarily mean that he spent every night out in the open, but it was in that region out of the city. That's why when Judas came to betray Him, he was able to betray Him in the absence of the multitude because he knew where he went at night, where he'd be found away from the crowds. But we see in this also an example of his humility and his outward poverty. You see, he must leave the city daily, just as all the other poor pilgrims. Those who, as it were, didn't belong there, but who'd come to worship, they had to go and find a place. Isn't it amazing to see our Savior not simply gathering the multitude and speaking to them, but as one of the multitude. He is there as the chief worshiper. We sang Psalm 122. I joy went to the house of God. Go up, they said to me. And who sings that most clearly and with the greatest understanding? It's the Savior Himself. His delight. to be in the house of God and to lead the congregation in worship. But he doesn't disperse the congregation at the end and leave them to go away, but we see him with them. You see that throughout his public ministry. Remember his baptism at the Jordan? He came to the multitude. He stood among the multitude. He was baptized as one of them. So Luke reminds us of the arrival of the Savior. He is at the place where he's meant to be because the work, his great work is about to be completed. But even as we see him there, center stage, ready to accomplish that final act, he's standing near. And today, He stands near to you. Yes, He's ascended into glory. He sits at the right hand of the Father, enthroned in glory. And yet, He is present here by His Spirit. He's amongst us, friends. All the greatness of the work that the Lord is accomplishing by the working of His Spirit, and yet He's here calling. Gathering, teaching. We're told the people came early in the morning to him in the temple for to hear him. Is that your own approach, your own attitude? Are you here to hear him? Are you seeking him? Are you attentive to him? Surely you should be. For his eyes are open, and he beholds you." Well, if we see in these few verses the arrival of our Savior, our focus is brought again to see Him. Having accomplished everything required up until this point, ready to bring it to completion. We also see the animosity of his enemies. Verse two, and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill him for they feared the people. We've been told this already. Chapter 19, verse 47 and 48. Chapter 20, verse 19. We've been told the same thing. that they were determined to destroy him, but they were fearful of losing their place and their privilege, of losing their reputation in the eyes of the people. And so they wanted a way to destroy him that would be hidden. Why are we told a third time? And so that we understand that their hatred, it wasn't simply a fit of passion. It was not simply reactionary because of aspects of his teaching. It was a determined, cold, settled hatred. There was an absolute intolerance of him. And as though they gather again and again and again, and they deliberate the same point again and again and again, how can we destroy him? It's interesting, isn't it, when you read through the Old Testament and you see all the instruction in the books of Moses about the importance of the priests being absolutely pure. There was age requirements. There was physical requirements. There was moral requirements. There were ceremonial requirements. The priests were to be absolutely pure. And here they are, these priests, and they're concerned with the outward veneer. And our hearts are full of wickedness. They want to maintain the dignity of their office, and yet they despise him. They're restrained by their own pride. That's what holds them back. If it wasn't that they were concerned with what the people would say, they would assault him there and then. But we have a sense of their frustration. There is this animosity, but it can't burst out because of the presence of the people. The ordinary people are ready to hear, but not those who seem to have something. Every day our Lord gathered in the temple. His presence there is open. But hidden away is this conspiracy. And behind every respectable response, respectable rejection of the gospel, there is the same animosity and hatred. We perhaps don't always remember that. But the truth is, regardless of the intellectual objections that are made, there is an animosity, there's a hatred. And sometimes you see that. Sometimes you hear that. But oftentimes it's hidden away. Why is it that those who object to the gospel can't just simply object to the gospel and go on their way? Why must they fight? Why must they complain? Why must they mock? Why must they destroy? If it was just an irrelevance, why is it not then irrelevant to them? And the answer is because of the voice of conscience. You see, the voice of conscience in every man and woman, every girl and boy resonates with the claims of Christ. The gospel is intolerable because there is a realization that the gospel is true. Other religions don't provoke the same outrage, do they? Other religions can find their place. The Roman Empire had room for every religion, but for true religion. Our society champions every religion, but cannot tolerate the truth. Why can it not tolerate the truth? Because the truth is dangerous, because in the very heart of man there is the realization that this is true. It is not intellectually and it's not morally satisfying to deny Christ. There's no peace. You know that experience when you're learning and the teacher has again and again tried to teach you a lesson and you just can't get it. And then suddenly something clicks And now you see it, and it's satisfying, isn't it? You know the answer. You know the formula. You know the truth. There's something satisfying about the truth. But those who deny the Lord are trading in lies and have no satisfaction. And that sense of frustration bursts forth with an animosity. That's why, again and again, we find the chief priests and the scribes and all the rulers of the people gather together, seeking to destroy the Savior. Because either they redefine Him, or they must eliminate every reference to Him. And he defies every attempt to redefine him. And so to silence the voice of their own conscience, they will seek to eliminate him. If he's not there, then he's not a problem. The animosity of his enemies. You might say, how did Luke know about these secret meetings? And I think the answer is revealed in the words that we have in Acts chapter six and verse seven, which speaks about the blessing that followed the days of Pentecost. And it says there, the word of God increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. that there came a point when many of those who'd been combined in conspiracy against them were ultimately converted. And they would have been able to say, we now worship Him who we despised and hated, and we raged against Him, and we were united with a desire to destroy Him. Doesn't even this speak of the greatness of His grace? the greatness of His grace to receive those, to be reconciled to even His most determined enemies. Isn't that encouraging? That we can proclaim the gospel to the most hostile, knowing that the Lord will receive even the most hostile if they will bow before Him and confess the folly of their ways. They'll turn from their lies and embrace the truth. At the beginning of John's gospel, we're told he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But such is his grace, to as many who would receive him, he will embrace in his love. We're told In verse 5, that they were glad. This conspiracy of priests were glad when Judas came and was prepared to betray him. They desired opportunity, but they didn't have opportunity. But now, well, they're glad because they have the company of another rejecter, of another man who despises the Lord. And there's a gladness in that. If one of the 12 disciples will walk away, does that not vindicate their own position? Well, of course, no, it doesn't vindicate their own position. But for a moment, it maybe feels as if it does. At the end of the day, friends, even if the whole world rejects the Lord, there is no satisfaction with that position, is there? Because your own conscience will still testify. you know. We have the arrival of the Savior, we have the animosity of his enemies, but thirdly in this section we have the animation of the devil. Verse three, then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot. Being of the number of the 12, and he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray him unto them. The animation of the devil. Satan entered into Judas Iscariot. to drive him forward. It's not fearful. We're not told that it was a dramatic, tangible event. If it was portrayed in film, there would be drums, there would be noise, there would be drama, there would be a shaking, everything would reverberate. suggests that this was a dramatic event, you're left wondering whether Judas himself really even knew it. Because what Judas does is not out of keeping with what Judas was. Animated by the devil, but yet acting in harmony with his own bitter heart. It certainly seems clear that Judas hadn't thought it all through. And we see his horror and his regret later on when he sees the outworking of what he has done. But Judas did what Judas wanted. The animation of the devil intensified his desires into action. But it does not take a good man and make him bad. It doesn't take an unwilling man and compel him. We're not told here that Judas was some poor victim, blown along like a ship with no rudder before a storm. You see the danger of sin. Sin will destroy. The danger of being ruled by sin. The danger of being open to evil. You might say, how could this happen? Matthew and Mark particularly link this event to the anointing at Bethany. Do you remember? when a woman with the alabaster box or jar of precious ointment came and anointed our Lord. And John tells us what was said in chapter 12. He says, then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? But then John adds, with the benefit of hindsight, this he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag, and bear that which was put therein. And so Judas was outraged. He was outraged because he had little esteem for the Savior and he saw this anointing as a waste, but he was outraged because he had a sense of entitlement and he saw what he lost out on. Had this money been given into our care, he could have plundered it. And it says in Ephesians chapter four, be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place unto the devil. And I would say that Judas was a man who hid deep inside himself his true feelings. He wasn't an expressive man. They were buried deep so that he appeared to be very respectable and trustworthy. But in the midst of these buried feelings, there was an anger, an anger which burned with an animosity and left him open to the devil. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give you place to the devil. But there was a place for the devil, and the devil took that place. You know, our Lord had warned earlier in Luke's gospel. He says, no servant can serve two masters, for either will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. He says, you cannot serve God and mammon, mammon, of course, being well. Judas served money. Why money? Because money gives the feeling of power, independence, pleasure. The reality is it ensnares because there's never enough. But that's the intoxicating prospect of having wealth, isn't it? If only I had more. the animation of the devil who entered into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the 12. Someone who had observed the whole of our Lord's public ministry, someone who had heard his teaching, who had seen his compassion and his care and his patience and heard his warnings. One who'd been privileged to serve in His name. And when the Lord said, one of you will betray Me, they didn't all say, well, clearly it's Judas because he's not much of a preacher. Or clearly it's Judas because he's not much good when it comes to healing sick. This man outwardly fitted in. He was among the best because they trusted him to hold the money. Friends, this should cause each of us to tremble. Not because it is possible that the child of God can be overrun by the devil and destroyed. But because it is possible to deceive and to play the part and to be accepted by the church. And yet, You're on the devil's side. And maybe this leaves you asking that fearful question, could this happen to me? And in answer to that, friends, I have to tell you what the scripture says. It says, if you will submit yourself to God and resist the devil, he will flee from you. But clearly, if you will not submit yourself to God, and if you will not resist the devil, you leave yourself open to him. But what is also fearful is this. You don't need to be animated by the devil to destroy yourselves. The reality is the natural heart of man is set against God. Man, by nature, is on a broad road that leads to destruction. There's enough within you to destroy you without any further intervention by the devil. But if you will submit yourselves unto God, If you will cry out to Him that He might deliver you, not simply from the influence of the devil, but to deliver you from your own self, your own native pride, your own foolishness, your own bias, the corruption of your own heart, then what are we told by the pages of Scripture? We're told that the Lord will hear, He will receive. You seek Him, you will find Him. If you desire Him, He will be yours. Judas' problem wasn't ignorance of the Savior, it was intolerance of the Savior. But if you find today that you desire Him, then is that not a sign that there's a change in your heart, that you're not ruled by sin? but rather the Savior has a place. Because if you have a desire for Him, that's the result of a supernatural spiritual intervention of a gracious work of a gracious God. Because if you desire Him, you shall have Him. Three things to notice. We see the arrival of the Savior. He is at the point which he has set his mind upon reaching, to be there before the people that he might lay down his life. We see the animosity of his enemies, and we see the animation of the devil. But what we must remember is that the initiative is not with the enemies of the Savior. The initiative is with God. It is Jesus Christ who has come to this place. He has arrived because that is his determined purpose from all eternity. And he is there. that he might be taken, that he might lay down his life, that he might save. You know, the very wrath of man shall praise God. The initiative is never with the enemies of the cross. That's how it feels today. It feels as if the initiative is with those who oppose the Gospel. It seems that the momentum is on their side. It seems that it's overwhelming. And how can we hope to stand in the face of a godless society? Friends, the initiative is in God's hands. It always has been, and it always shall be. And He's working His purpose. And there's animosity. And the devil may animate even some. But the initiative is on the side of the Lord, and the wrath of man shall praise him. It did then, and it shall today, and his name shall be glorified forever. And therefore, as we conclude, be careful to whom you align yourself. Don't align yourself with those who one day shall be publicly shamed, as they're called to account and brought down before him. but rather in mercy cry out and align yourself with him who calls sinners, who delivers and shall raise up. Not in that final day with shame and sorrow, but with joy and gladness forevermore. Amen, let's pray.