This is Larry Jones. You are listening to the Grace and Glory Hour of the Dyer Baptist Church with our co-pastors David M. Atkinson and Dr. Lee Atkinson. We are coming to you from Dyer, Indiana. Our prayer is that you will be strengthened by the Word today. Now, here is our pastor. Jesus sent two of his disciples, Peter and John, to go make preparations for the Passover. Jesus very clearly had a plan. He said, go to the city, find a man carrying a water pot, follow him. When you get to the house, go in and ask the master of the house, where's the room for the master to have the Passover? And they followed the plan. We must do the same as God has given a plan to us, some specific plans and some plans that apply to us all. The plan of the Great Commission is for every born again believer. teach others, baptize them, teach them some more. We should be following that plan and we should be ready and watching when he comes back just like Peter and John had better had that meal ready when Jesus got back with the other 10. So that brings us now to Mark chapter 14 verse 18. Jesus has joined the two with the other 10 and they're now in the upper room. Verse 18. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, one of you which eateth with me shall betray me. The Passover meal was a long, drawn-out meal. It wasn't like family dinner many times, where it's 15 minutes, inhale and go. It was a long, celebratory feast. There was usually a family leader, the father or grandfather, explaining why we're eating this food and what it reminds us of, and it came in waves in several different steps. And somewhere in the course of all of that, they've been observing this ritual like they have their whole lives since they were little children. And in the middle of that routine, familiar, and precious meal celebration, Jesus drops this bombshell. One of you which eateth with me shall betray me. And they, not Jesus, the disciples began to be sorrowful and say unto him one by one, Is it I? And another gospel specifically points out Judas himself saying, is it I? The language scholars tell us that the way that question was phrased, it was kind of like a negative presupposition. In English we would say something like, it isn't me, is it? And so we read it, is it I? But it's almost, surely it's not me. It couldn't be me, is it? Verse 20, and he answered and said unto them, it is one of the 12 that dippeth with me in the dish. Well, all of them had been dipping, all of them had been eating. Now, in the other accounts we read that John, sitting next to Jesus, asked him specifically and Jesus gave John a little bit more of an individual clue. But this address to the group, I believe, was meant to keep it broad and anonymous because they were all sharing in the meal. Verse 21, Jesus continues, The Son of Man indeed goeth as it is written of him. In other words, it was prophesied that I would be betrayed. But woe to him Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Good were it for that man if he had never been born. This section in your Bible may have a heading over it that says Jesus knows who will betray him or Jesus predicts his betrayal or something like that. Let's understand this first of all. Scriptures make it clear elsewhere there was a reason why Jesus did this. John chapter 13 verse 19 tells us that Jesus predicted his betrayal so that when it happened they would have more reason to believe who he was. This was one of many times when Jesus said, I'm gonna die, or I will be treated badly, or I will be betrayed, so that when it happened, the disciples would know this didn't take Jesus by surprise, this wasn't an accident, this was all part of the plan. So then if we're studying betrayal, what is betrayal? What does it mean to betray? One definition is betrayal, or to betray is deliberately doing something to the harm of another, to whom loyalty would be expected. Loyalty is doing something to the harm of another. That person to whom loyalty should have been expected. Judah's betrayal was done deliberately. It was calculated. It was planned. It was meticulously organized in his mind. Look back at verses 10 and 11. We saw this, I think, a week ago. Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests to betray him unto them. He didn't just happen to bump into the chief priest and the subject came up and before he knew it he had agreed to betray him. No, he went to them. He had the idea and he started putting the wheels into motion to make it work. He sought them out and went to them. And 11, when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought, he was seeking, he was working, he was thinking, he was looking for ways. He sought how he might conveniently betray him. This betrayal was calculated, and doesn't that make it worse? A betrayal that's calculated. When it's somebody that you should be loving, but all the while you're making a pretense of love, in your heart you're plotting their demise. How despicable we think of Judas. And yet, in Judas we see ourselves. I too often have been calculating with my words. I've deliberately chosen or selected my words. to accomplish some sinful end. Whether it's to promote self or to hurt another or to make another look foolish or put them down. With my words I have thought about how can I deal with this? How can I stop that person? How can I further my agenda? And my words have revealed the pride in my heart and I planned them out. I calculated just like Judas did. How many times have I calculated to cover my own tracks? I did wrong and I didn't want people to find out. How is that different from calculating like Judas did? We're all of the same flesh. We all have clay feet. Judas calculated to betray Jesus. And so have I. And so have you. Sometimes my betrayal comes in making plans to indulge in forbidden pleasure. I think here's when the opportunity will come. Here's how I'll make sure that nobody knows. And if something happens, this is my contingency plan. We're so adept, aren't we, at calculating. The mind makes a million calculations a second. How hard to harness them all, to bring all our thoughts into captivity to Jesus Christ. And yet when I don't, when I allow my thoughts to calculate as Judas did, I am betraying Him, just like Judas did. None of us wants to think of ourselves like Judas. In fact, the name Judas has become more of a title than a name, hasn't it? People say, oh, that person's a Judas. They don't mean that's the person's name. They mean that person is a betrayer. Unfortunately, it's often true of us. The second thing we notice about this betrayal is that this betrayal was definitely to Jesus' harm. In fact, it was unto death. Remember in verses one and two, the chief priests and scribes were seeking to kill Jesus. They just didn't want to do it on the feast day and cause an uproar. And if Judas was smart at all, and I believe he was, Judas knew that this plot was not to just, you know, have Jesus deported. This wasn't about putting Jesus in jail. This wasn't about publicly humiliating him. This was about killing Jesus. And Judas' plot to betray him was no less than collusion to murder. It was deadly betrayal. Surely I'm not like Judas in that regard. I wish, and yet, What is it that nailed him to the cross? Not those Roman spikes. What held him there? His desire to pay for my sin. Had I not sinned, had no one sinned, he wouldn't have needed to die. It was our sin that crucified him. And we can think ill of Judas, but we're not much better. We've betrayed him. And I think what must be the worst is that our betrayal is like Judas in that he knew, he knew there was something about Jesus. He'd seen the miracles. He'd heard the teachings. He'd seen his compassion. And yet he turned on his heel and sentenced him to death. And I've not just sinned against God before I was a Christian. I've sinned in my life, mostly since becoming a Christian, knowing better, having the Holy Spirit within me, having the Word of God taught to me from my youth, and still I sin, knowing all the while. The Bible says that the Father made the Son to be sin for us. It says that He took on Himself the sins of the whole world. I don't know if you've considered this, but every time I sin in the present or in the future, that all adds up to the total of the sin that was on Jesus in the past. And the omnipresence of God from past, present to future is beyond my understanding. But if my burden of sin being placed on Him, if payment for sin means anything, it means the more I sin, the more He was punished. And yet in the moment of temptation it looks so attractive, doesn't it? I get aggravated for other people's sin. I get mad at how sin causes death and decay and sorrow and sadness and tears. Oh, but the sin that I commit doesn't cause those things. The sin I commit is only pleasure for me. No. The sin that I commit was on Jesus when He died. Judas' betrayal was so terrible because by definition it was against someone to whom he should have been loyal. Jesus had called him and spent time with him. Remember the scripture says Jesus ordained twelve that they should be with him. Jesus picked these twelve just so that they could be close to him. I want twelve men to be around me all the time for the next three years. And so he'd spent quality and quantity time with him. Judas should have been loyal because Jesus had taught him. Think of how Jesus' teaching was described. They said, never man spoke as this. They said, oh, he taught with authority and not as describes. The people heard him gladly. Jesus taught like no one else and Judas was there for probably almost every teaching of Jesus. He should have been loyal. Jesus had empowered Judas in that he sent him out on missions trips with other disciples, two by two. Gave them spiritual power to preach and perform miracles. Jesus had done this for Judas and yet he betrayed him. Jesus had honored Judas. I don't think Judas would have been the treasurer without Jesus' okay. He gave him that office. Jesus had served Judas by washing his feet in John 13. That happens before this passage that we read tonight. Jesus had even fed Judas. When Jesus fed the 5,000 and the 4,000, the disciples got their lunch that day too. Jesus had done all of this for Judas, and yet Judas deliberately did him harm when he should have been loyal. My purpose tonight is not to wallow in the darkness of this picture, though I do want us to see ourselves in the mirror of God's word. The better purpose for this backdrop is to see the beauty of the Lord Jesus. how that in a context of such hate, such lowness, such betrayal, we find our pure, holy, clean, and gracious Savior behaving at such an amazing level. Think about what Jesus did. Think about his faithful love in this context of betrayal. Number one, remember that Jesus knew everything. Jesus, by announcing the betrayal, is saying, I know what Judas has in mind. I know where he's going to go. I know he's already made the agreement. I know how much money it is. I know where I'm going to be tried. I know by how many people I'm going to be tried. I know everything. Jesus knew about it all. What we do with the knowledge we have is a great indicator of our love. Think about this. Common expressions about power, about knowledge, that is. Even from childhood, we learn to say things like, I know something you don't know. Right? The smallest of children understands that knowledge is power. And if I know something you don't know, I can use that to my advantage in our relationship. Jesus had knowledge, but he didn't use it to his advantage against Judas. Jesus knew all of the details, and yet he turned nothing against Judas. He could have fought Judas. He could have said, oh yeah, you're gonna betray me, huh? You thought I didn't know about it, huh? Well, here we are in a closed room, and there's 12 of us and one of you. Guess what? You ain't betraying nobody. You're not leaving this room alive. Jesus could have used his knowledge to stop Judas, but he didn't. In fact, in verse 21, he said, the Son of Man indeed goeth. He says, this is gonna happen, and I'm willingly going to participate. Jesus knew everything. Number two, Jesus showed mercy. He knew everything. He showed mercy. Look again at verse 20. After they asked, Is it I? Is it I? He answered and said unto them, It is. one of the twelve. Now, if we were to be flippant, if we weren't thinking about the seriousness of this moment, the response might be something like, oh, well that helps narrow it down, doesn't it? It's one of the twelve, okay, there's twelve of us here. Why did Jesus say that? Jesus was showing mercy. What do you think would have happened if he'd said, uh, it's Judas, Iscariot? What would have happened? I mean, think about what Peter's going to do in just a few hours to Malchus. Draw a sword, chop ear. I mean, Peter didn't exactly show a lot of restraint. Peter probably wasn't far away. We're guessing, we don't know, but we're guessing that Judas was sitting close to Jesus, but on one side certainly was John, and probably Peter next to him. And so, if Jesus is said as Judas, Peter had been there in a flash. I mean, James and John were called the sons of? Thunder, they probably got gold medals in high school wrestling or something like that. Had Jesus said, it's Him, it would not have ended well for Judas that evening. Jesus was being mercy. He could have clearly identified Judas, but he didn't. He could have turned him over to the 11. And Jesus' mercy here is so amazing, it's so special because sometimes It's easier to show mercy on our enemies or on those that are far away from us. I mean, Jesus could have, you know, destroyed the chief priests and scribes, but they were his declared enemies. He knew that they were the bad guys, everybody did, and you expect that, and so when they set traps, okay, that's just the Pharisees being the Pharisees. But Judas, his own familiar friend, who ate with him for three years, when someone close to you betrays you, It's hard to show mercy on them. You tend to turn on them with violence. And the degree to which you love them becomes the degree to which you despise them. And yet Jesus, to this close one, showed great mercy. What a Savior. He knew everything, but he didn't turn power to his advantage. He showed mercy, even to this close one who betrayed him. Number three. Jesus loved Judas. He loved him. Not only did he not turn Judas over to the angry 11, he loved him. He didn't just fake it. He didn't just keep up appearances of cool politeness. He actually, genuinely, loved Judas. What an example. What a Savior. That's my God. And that's hopeful for me because we've already seen that in our sin we're like Judas, aren't we? We betray him deliberately. We add to his pain and the suffering of his death. We're betrayers just like Judas and yet Jesus loves us. What a wonderful and marvelous Savior we'll remember tonight. Why do I say that Jesus loved Judas? Well, other scriptures say that Jesus loves everybody, but beyond that, look at verse 21 again. Jesus said, The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it is written of Him. But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Good word for that man if he had never been born. If that's not a warning, I don't know what is. Jesus is warning Judas. He says, Judas, I know what you're thinking and it's not a good idea. Woe to the man that betrays the Son of Man. He gave him one more chance. Why do you warn somebody if you don't love them? If somebody's in danger and you warn them, it's because you're concerned for them. You care about them. Jesus, like the father of the prodigal, was reaching out one last time, saying, Judas, think about this. You don't want to go there. It's not a good idea. He loved him. He loved him to the end. Tonight, as we remember the Lord's death and look forward to his coming again after his resurrection, We need to remember that in our own ways we've all betrayed Christ. We have knowingly sinned. It is we who have required his death. And though we owe him all our loyalty and all our love, yet still we deny him far too often. Don't despair. Tonight give thanks. Rejoice. Remember with gladness the love that Jesus had for Judas and that he surely has for you and me. Let's lift him up. Let's rejoice in God our Savior. ask our deacons at this time to prepare for the Lord's Supper. A word of information, we do practice close Lord's Supper here at Diary Baptist Church. That means you don't have to be a member of this particular church in order to receive the Lord's Supper, but you should be saved and baptized and walking in fellowship with the Lord, not deliberately walking in darkness and pursuing a life that is opposed to the instructions of God's Word. And so if you're visiting with us tonight, we're glad that you're here. You're welcome to stay and observe, stay and participate if you're biblically qualified, or if you need to slip away, we understand that as well. So we'll have a time of transition here as the deacons make their way forward. you As we mentioned at the beginning this evening, this is the second of the two ordinances that Christ gave to His local church, baptism and Lord's Supper. Both are pictures, both are physical representations of gospel truth. The baptism pictures Christ's death, burial and resurrection. Lord's Supper pictures His body and blood that were given for us. And in both we look forward to His resurrection as well. So we come tonight not to accomplish some kind of receiving of grace or winning the favor of God, but in coming and remembering and pondering, we hope that God will spur us on to better Christian living. That we will be energized to Christian virtues like humility and gratitude and love and living in the light of the cross in the hope of His resurrection. 1 Corinthians teaches us that the Lord's Supper should be practiced with a special mix of joy and of gravity. It is a celebration. Passover was a sober time, but it was a celebration time. The Lord's Supper is the same. And you sense my tone and spirit this evening is heavy. It's sober. Because of what we're discussing. The death of God. And yet, it's a time of great joy because of the death of God, the death of Christ and His substitution for our sake. 1 Corinthians 11 puts it this way, 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. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." It's not that any of us are ever good enough to deserve salvation and the gift of Christ. When he says don't partake unworthily, he's saying be reverent, be knowing, be serious about what you're doing. To partake unworthily is, for example, to think of this as a snack time. to do something to make yourself look spiritual so that those around you will think something of you. To partake unworthily would be to partake when you are living in antithesis to everything that this stands for. When you're living a secret life that is full of sin and deliberately deceptive, and to partake of this would be partaking unworthily. partaking without appropriate gratitude or understanding the seriousness of it would also be unworthily. So let us approach the Lord's table with that special blend of joy. And yet gravity and sobriety will first have the bread. It's unleavened bread as the bread of the Passover feast was, representing a purity and a separation from sin. And we know that it also represents the body of Christ. It's just a picture or a symbol of his body. It's not anything that gets magically changed into something different than what it is. But it's a reminder that the Jesus body was torn. It was bruised. Yes, it was shredded for us. His flesh was torn, but his bones were not broken because he was a perfect, undefiled sacrifice. Coming again to the text in Mark 14. Mark gives probably the most concentrated and brief account and he says in just one verse, and as they did eat, Jesus took bread and blessed and break it and gave it to them and said, take eat, this is my body. Thank you for joining us today. We'd love to hear from you. Our email address is GraceGlory7 at Juno.com. GraceGlory7 at Juno.com. Pastor David M. Atkinson also has a ministry on Facebook and invites you to connect with him there. Now, until the next time, remember to walk softly with the Lord.