If you would please turn with me once again to chapter 22 of Luke's Gospel. We're in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke chapter 22. making our way through the middle of a section that we looked at the front part and the end part with Peter's denial and now we're going back through and looking more carefully at this middle section and this morning we're gonna look together at verses 47 to 53. While he was still speaking there came a crowd And the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? And when those who were around Him saw what would follow, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, No more of this. And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come out against him, Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour and the power of darkness." We live in a world that is at war. Here in America, we often are tempted to discount the fact that we live in a world that is at war. There are times of great peace and great prosperity. I remember in my generation, one of my earliest memories of world events was the breaking down and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. and things seem to be going in a positive direction. And we have enjoyed very much peace physically in America. I think 9-11 came as such a shock to us because we thought that we were invincible from that type of attack. And often we can get that way in our spiritual lives as well, thinking that there is no battle, thinking that we are not in the midst of a great and epic war. Years ago, when I was just in my second year as a seminary student, the Reformed Baptist community of pastors and churches in the Louisville area and beyond were rocked by the sudden fall of a man whose faith proved to be false. He was a pastor who spoke at conferences, who preached the gospel, who was a Reformed Baptist, a disciple of the revered Al Martin, who it turned out had been in a secret adulterous relationship for over 10 years. And it was discovered that he was a thief. an adulterer, a rapist of children, and is now in prison. And I remember at that time everyone was asking, how can this be? How can a man who held to our confession of faith, who held to the gospel as we did, who preached powerful sermons, who heard many powerful messages, how can a man whose reputation was a solid one turn out to be such a devil? and as grieved and as shocked as everyone was over that tragedy and as poignant a reminder it was of the epic war that rages on all around us. It's even more grievous and more shocking and more of a reminder that in our Lord's very midst, there was a man who embraced and who kissed Him with murder and with greed in his heart. And even among those who were our Lord's closest friends, there were men who boasted in what they were going to be, men who were certain of their faithfulness, and yet in the hour of testing, failed. We are reminded as we come to this passage that our Lord Jesus has been betrayed with many kisses, and that he has been forsaken by many friends. This morning, we return again here to the Garden of Gethsemane, and we're gonna see the hearts of many exposed, and it is my prayer that the Lord will help us to lay these things to our own hearts as well. As we then come back to the Garden of Gethsemane, having considered last week Jesus' call to prayerful preparation and His own agonizing prayer before the Father, I want you to consider today four things. First of all, the cowardly betrayal. Secondly, a foolish display of power. Third, a compassionate display of power. And then fourth, the cowardly arrest. Consider first of all this morning the cowardly betrayal. Jesus has gone just outside of Jerusalem. He is on the Mount of Olives. He has been wrestling in prayer in view of the great trial that He knew was quickly coming. Entrusting Himself, submitting Himself to the will of the Father. Exhorting His disciples to do the same. so that their faith would not fail, that their faith would not buckle under the weight of opposition and hostility that they were about to face. And Luke tells us in verse 47, that while he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" So the hypocrisy of Judas is highlighted here by the fact that he betrays Jesus over to the Jewish authorities with a kiss. This was a customary way in this culture to greet someone with affection and with welcome. This was a common cultural expectation of this day. In a number of the Apostle Paul's letters, he exhorts the churches to greet one another in this way. And the point is to display their welcome, to display their affection and their devotion, their love for one another. But Judas uses this same greeting with the intent of betraying Jesus and sending him to his destruction. So the hypocrisy is very thick in this act that Judas commits. And the betrayal is evil. Luke identifies Judas here simply as one of the 12. He was one of the 12. Here was a man whom Jesus had handpicked to live and minister within his closest circle of friends and companions. He listened to Jesus' teachings. He saw Jesus' miracles. He lived and he dwelled with Jesus for three years. And yet he was ruled by his sinful desire. And he gave himself over to the kingdom of darkness. You learn that that just didn't happen on a single night. This just didn't happen in a moment. This was the culmination of a life ruled by sin. You're told in John chapter 12 that Judas was a thief. And that even while he was traveling and ministering with Jesus as the one who had been given charge of the finances for the group, he had been stealing and taking money. All the while that he was with Jesus, he had been stealing from Him. That greed obviously plays out at the cross as he seeks payment for his betrayal of Jesus. So, in the great spiritual battle for the hearts and the minds of individuals, Judas chose the kingdom of darkness. A kingdom in rebellion against God and against His ways. And as a result, his life culminates in hypocrisy and in betrayal of the one and only Savior, the Son of God. So, what can you learn from Judas' life? Let me mention two specific things that I think are so important to take away from Judas. First, although those who belong to the Kingdom of God by faith cannot lose their salvation. We saw that in such a dramatic way in Peter's life a couple of weeks ago. Those who belong to the Kingdom of God by faith cannot lose their salvation. Nevertheless, people can put up a convincing external show. People who are not genuinely in the kingdom. You see that with Judas. Some may make a very good show of being on the side of Jesus, when in reality, they are enemies of God. When Jesus said at the Last Supper, you'll remember that one of the twelve would be the one to betray Him. The other guys didn't say, well obviously it's that thief Judas. They had no idea who it could be. So apparently Judas, he knew the right words to say. He knew the right actions to perform. And yet when it came to his heart, there was no reality. And the men who were unable to look upon his heart were fooled by him. And eventually this is revealed in his betrayal. I think this is a warning that you should not minimize. I want to emphasize the security that is given you when you trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. That there is a blessed security and assurance. But there are warnings that you need to take into account that I don't want to minimize. And this is one of them. You need to examine your heart to see that you're not just putting up a religious front, not just saying the right words, not just doing the right things, the right actions when others are watching, but having no genuine change of heart, having no genuine faith and love toward Jesus exhibited in your life. Judas had the closest possible association with Jesus that he could have had. Living and eating and sharing life with him day after day. Hearing a quality and authority of teaching that had never been heard before. Pick your favorite preacher that you can't get enough of on the internet. That doesn't touch what Judas was hearing day after day after day. And it didn't do Judas a smidge of eternal good. I'm not saying don't go and listen to those guys on the internet. I'm saying it's not enough to simply be exposed to wonderful, solid teaching. There must be genuine repentance, a turning from sin, a placing of your faith, your trust in Jesus that responds from within your heart. And without that, you will be condemned as Judas was condemned. So some will put up a good external show of belonging to the kingdom of God, but they are not actually citizens of the kingdom. Paul said they went out from us because they were not of us. So you need to examine your heart and make sure that that is not true of yourself. Secondly, although Satan clearly influenced Judas in his betrayal of Jesus, it is equally clear that Judas was responsible for his wicked actions. What Satan found in Judas was a willing partner. When Jesus addresses Judas, He calls out the personal offense and responsibility of his action. Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? So although Satan has power and influence, no one is just a passive puppet in the hand of Satan. Satan finds in our sinful hearts, he finds a willing partnership and submission to his designs, at least among those who have not been freed by the gospel and the transforming grace of Jesus. The Bible speaks about the danger of giving Satan a foothold, giving him a place of traction and influence and authority. You do that by giving yourself over willfully to sin. For Judas, it was greed, but any sin will do. Satan, he is happy to use any form of rebellion against the Lord to gain traction in your life. So let me ask you, Are you giving Satan an opportunity to have influence, to have traction in your life by willingly giving yourself over to sin? Don't underestimate the danger. Don't underestimate the risk of the situation that you put yourself in when you do that. And if you continue in following Satan in rebellion against the Lord, you will be held responsible for your actions. Jesus said to Judas in Mark 14 and verse 21, Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had never been born. There's no removal of responsibility there. Just the full wrath of God to be faced due to his turning away from Jesus and his failure ever to repent of his sin. So may you see and be warned by the betrayal of Judas, of Jesus. Well, secondly, you see a foolish display of power. Verse 49, and when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword? And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. So after Judas identifies Jesus to this crowd through a kiss, the 11 disciples, they see what's about to happen. Jesus is about to be arrested on this dark night of the Passover. The crowd, led by Judas himself, has made their way with swords and with spears and clubs and torches. Perhaps upward scholars believe of 600 men have made their way to the garden to seize Jesus. And remember from last week that the 11 apostles, they have two swords between them. And so you have to wonder, what were they thinking here? That the 11 of them with their two swords would fight their way through 600 men? Remember what Peter had confidently stated earlier to Jesus, Lord, I am willing to go with you, to follow you even unto death. And that may well have been what they were thinking of here, that they would attempt to save Jesus from arrest, and if they cannot, then they would all go out together in a blaze of glory. Well, at least at this point, before forsaking Jesus, before scattering and denying Him, they make an initial show of courage and devotion, as foolish as this may be. The disciples are represented as asking Jesus whether they should defend Him, whether they should jump into the fray with the weapons that they have. One of the disciples apparently decides not to wait for an answer, and he just goes ahead and makes the first strike. He cuts off the ear of one of the servants. In the Gospel of John, we're told that this disciple, he was none other than Simon Peter, and somehow we're not surprised by that. Good old Peter jumping in once again. The big problem here is that the disciples really didn't understand that this was not the display of power that Jesus was looking for. Jesus had asked them to pray that they might not enter into temptation. the battle that was raging all around them in the garden that night, it was not an earthly, physical battle. Jesus will say to Pilate in John 18.36, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this world. The battle that Jesus has come to fight, it was not a military battle. It was a battle to rescue individuals from their submission to Satan. It was a battle to rescue individuals from the domain of darkness who are in personal, spiritual, moral rebellion against God. And Jesus comes to rescue you from that state so that you will not be condemned to eternal judgment when Jesus returns in power and in glory. So that epic battle that Jesus came to fight, it could not be won by a motley crew of fishermen and such with two swords. This battle couldn't be won by any number of swords. This was a battle that had to be won by God himself removing sin, removing the rebellion of those who were under the domain of darkness. And that could only happen by the perfect, holy Son of God becoming a man. living a perfect life as a substitute for his sinful people, dying on the cross to take upon himself the wrath of God, the condemnation of God that is deserved by rebels like you and like me, so that you could be transferred from the domain of darkness. This battle could only be won at the cross And I believe that there is a lesson here for us from the foolishness of the disciples. Because it is far easier to do what they contemplated doing that night than to do what the Lord was calling them to do. It is far easier to be brave for 30 seconds with a sword in hand running into this group of men who would cut you down in seconds than to do what the Lord was really asking of them. Because what Jesus was asking them to do was to endure with him, to pray with him, and to do battle with the temptations that lurked within as Satan attempted to sift them like wheat. That they were unwilling to do. The one they thought that they could do and that they could do it in their own strength and that with a rush of excitement they could show how much they really loved Jesus. Rather than demonstrating their love for Jesus over the long haul, suffering. How much you and I are like these disciples. If only I could pull off some glorious achievement, just one great display of devotion to Jesus, rather than walk with Him day by day over the long haul in faithful, prayerful endurance through the sufferings of this life. Well, praise God the disciples, they would learn this lesson. It would not be long before these same men would become men of prayer, and they would be able to rejoice that they are suffering and enduring hardship for the sake of Jesus. But at this point, they need to be corrected. And so Jesus said, no more of this. Your zeal is misguided. You don't understand what I'm asking of you. Enough of this foolishness. Put away the sword. And then Jesus, third point, in keeping with his nature and with his character that you've seen throughout Luke's gospel, you see this compassionate display of power. as Jesus touches the right ear of the servant, healing him instantly on the spot. Here he is, betrayed, about to be arrested, about to be forsaken, about to be abused, about to go to the cross, and Jesus, he's still healing people. Just amazing. Jesus, even to the very end, although He doesn't shy away from speaking truth to those who are opposed to Him, He loves even His enemies to the very end. He loves them. One of the things that this moment points to is the fact that the church of Jesus Christ is called to love your enemies. You were called to show forth the love and the mercy of Jesus, even to your enemies. One of the greatest lessons that I learned about loving your enemies was during a question and answer time that we had with Al Mohler in the seminary chapel. And someone asked Dr. Moeller to tell us what it was like when he first came on as president of Southern Seminary. And he spoke about learning to love his enemies. Because when he first came to the seminary, I don't know how many of you know the history, but he was hated by a liberal faculty and by a liberal student body. As he made his way across the campus to deliver his first inaugural address, he noticed something in the tree that was next to the chapel and inquiring about it was told that, well, that was a figure of himself being hung in effigy. The students would literally wait in the hall when he was in meetings and spit on him when he exited the meetings. They would camp out in front of his house chanting protests and hurling abuse at him, at his wife, at his young children. And the faculty were leading the students in these protests. And he learned how to love them. By the time I came to Southern Seminary, the school had been radically transformed under his loving leadership. But I did get to see a glimpse of what he had learned when a large group of homosexuals showed up to campus one day to protest something bold and true that Dr. Mohler had said on CNN. And it was as if Dr. Moeller was back in those early turbulent days. And I saw firsthand how he had learned this lesson of how to love your enemies. The homosexual protesters were organized into a group outside. They were shouting obscenities and waving protest signs under the hot sun. And I'll never forget the example as Dr. Mohler brought water out to these protesters, and he checked on them, and he attended to their needs, and he asked if they were hungry. And that ended up being the big story on the nightly news. It was more about the love displayed to this angry mob than it was about the subject of their protest. And that's the way that the battle is fought. It's not with swords. It's with compassion. The government ordained by God, it bears the sword. Individuals, as we saw last week, bear the sword for protection, for self-defense. The sword that the church of Jesus Christ bears is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God centered on the Gospel, the good news of salvation and forgiveness provided in Jesus. And the way that the kingdom of God expands in the world today is not by the church killing infidels for Christ. but rather through the church dying with Christ so that others might live. Sacrificially pouring out our lives, giving of our time and of our resources and of our money and our prayers and our suffering and our loving and patient and bold proclamation of the gospel so that others might be rescued from the domain of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God's beloved Son just as we have been. Think about the time when Jesus visits one of his greatest enemies, the Pharisee Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. He had been seeking to kill all who followed Jesus. He had actually been killing Christians. And what does Jesus say to Saul? He doesn't say, you're killing the wrong group, go kill those people. That's not what he says. Here's what he says to Saul in Acts chapter 26, 16 to 18. Jesus says, Saul, I have appeared to you for this purpose. to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you." Okay, so these people, the Jews and the Gentiles, they're going to be enemies. They're going to be against Paul. They're going to be hostile to Paul and Jesus says, I am sending you to them as a servant and as a witness. Why? Verse 18, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. That's how you fight the battle. So what does that look like for you today? What does it look like to die with Christ and to love your enemies and to bear the sword of the Spirit so that you are actively plundering the house of Satan? Well, there are endless things that could be said. For you, it might be just as simple as getting involved in Dayspring evangelism as they take the gospel out into our neighborhood and into our city. It might be taking the time and the energy to invite several of your lost neighbors into your home for a dinner where you can demonstrate hospitality to them in the name of Jesus and speak to them about the most important person in your life. It might look like taking yourself or your family to another country where they don't have access to this gospel that we have heard and embraced, and perhaps even where they are physically hostile to the gospel. You know, Jem and Lori Hasse with their three young children, they did exactly that. They used to sit where you sit. And during the work week, they used to drive that commute and do the things that you do. And they have left their home. They have left this church so that they might go to a foreign and dangerous place so that they may be used of God to turn enemies from darkness to light. That brings challenges. That brings challenges for those who go. That brings challenges for those of us who stay. But you know what, we are praying that more of you will go. We are praying that more of you will consider going. And we are praying that you will joyfully send people off and sacrificially support them with your prayers and your words and your gifts, because we realize that we're in a war. Those are just a few examples of the church of the Lord Jesus at war with the domain of darkness. And every single one of you is a part of that battle. You live in the midst of a war for the hearts of men and women. Are you personally engaged? I can't think of anything else, any other pursuit in life that you should have more zeal for than this, that has greater consequence, that has higher stakes than this, that people would be rescued from the domain of darkness and know the eternal joy of rest in Jesus Christ. I pray that the Lord will use you more and more at Dayspring to engage the enemy in the battle. Okay, you've seen the cowardly betrayal of Jesus by Judas. You've seen a foolish display of power followed by this compassionate display of power. And now lastly, You see the cowardly arrest of Jesus by this crowd. So we pick back up at the moment when Jesus has just healed the ear of the high priest's servant. And as you might imagine, Jesus, He pretty much has the floor at this moment to say whatever He wants to say. And he addresses the chief priests and the officers of the temple and the elders who have come out. So basically you have the whole range of Jewish authorities represented here. You've got the religious leaders, the civil leaders, local law enforcement. They come in the middle of the night to a secluded place with clubs and swords in order to arrest Jesus and take him away by force. And Jesus calls them out. in their cowardice. Verse 52, Jesus says to these leaders who have come out against him, have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me, but this is your hour and the power of darkness. A number of times in the Gospels, you're told that the Jewish leaders, they wanted to arrest Jesus. More than that, they wanted to kill Jesus. They wanted to murder Him. But the thing that kept them from doing that was that they were afraid of the people. They were afraid of how the people would respond. So there was no moral reason that was holding them back from this. It was sheer cowardice and self-interest. That's why Judas was so significant to this plan, because he could lead them to Jesus in a secluded place under the cover of night, where they could carry out their dark designs under the cover of darkness. What was unfolding here was not the legitimate exercise of righteous authority over a guilty criminal. This was a show of wicked authority over a righteous man. And these cowards, they knew it. And Jesus makes that clear. He's about to take the position of silence, and He is about to fulfill the scriptures that as a lamb before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. But before He does that, He addresses and He exposes those who have come out to take His life. Why do you men come with swords and clubs? after a gentle teacher who is sitting every day in the temple teaching. Why do you come after me with all of these weapons in the middle of the night with 600 men? What are you really afraid of? I was with you in the temple. Why didn't you arrest me there? And you know the answer, you are afraid. And so he exposes their cowardice. And then he gives these powerful words. This is your hour, he says, and the power of darkness. This is your hour. This is the hour when you get to rub your hands and laugh with glee. This is your hour when you get to celebrate that you have the Lord Jesus in your clutches and that you can do with him what you want. This is the hour where you think that you finally accomplished what you've been wanting to do for years. But then he also reminds them that there is more going on here and this should have sent shivers up their spines because he says this is the power of darkness. That is to say, you are tools in the hands of a serpent. You are being led by the prince of darkness, and your murderous rage is being fueled by the rage of the ancient dragon. Now this raises an important question as you think about this epic spiritual battle that is going on. Did Satan crucify Jesus? Or did God crucify Jesus? Was the cross the high point of the exercise of Satan's power and authority? Or was the cross the turning point in God's plan to rescue His people from Satan's dominion? And the answer is yes. The betrayal and arrest and crucifixion of the Holy Son of God as a common criminal was the most wicked of all events in the history of the world. And as you have seen, Satan was leading the charge to put Jesus to death, to murder Him. And he had his hour. Jesus was put to death. But in doing so, Satan fulfilled the eternal plan of God that Jesus would bear God's wrath in the place of his people. Isaiah 53, it was the will of the Lord to crush him. One of the themes that you see throughout the Bible is that the way that God time and time again punishes His people for their unfaithfulness to Him is that He hands them over to their enemies. This was the cycle of the nation of Israel over several centuries. And now the true and faithful Israel, the one true representative of the people of God, the Holy Son of God, is handed over by God to the enemy. God hands Jesus over to the dragon and all those in partnership with him through their opposition to God to be mistreated, to be abused, to be murdered. God's protection for his son is removed in that hour. This was an active decision by God for His wrath to come down on the Son through Satan's wicked designs. But as the Holy Son of God willingly submits Himself to this mistreatment and death at the hands of His enemies, as He willingly drinks the cup that the Father has given to Him, the authority and the power of Satan over God's people is broken as Jesus willingly undergoes the punishment that God's people deserve for their sin. You see, Satan, he holds the power of death only in the sense that he can rightfully accuse sinners before the true judge, the Lord God Almighty. He appeals to God regarding the necessary judgment and the condemnation of death that a holy God must exercise against sinners. But Satan could not finally exercise this power of death over Jesus. Why? Jesus had no sin. perfectly righteous, perfectly holy. So Jesus does not suffer this condemnation of death, this death penalty for anything that He deserved. He suffers this condemnation of death as a substitute for sinners. He takes the penalty of death in your place if you belong to Him. and then he rises from the dead. And by doing so, Jesus showed that the power and authority of darkness and of Satan and of death no longer reigned, no longer applied to those who are in the kingdom of God by faith, to those who are united with Jesus in his death and in his resurrection by faith. Satan has no more claim, no more authority, and so death will not have the final word. So the definitive battle in this epic war has been won, once and for all. And now the question becomes, who is your captain? Who is your captain? Who are you following in this war? Who are you trusting in? The Bible says that there are two options. It's either Jesus, who bore the wrath that you deserved and freely offers you forgiveness, Or it is Satan who lives in rebellion against God and rebellion against his son. Those are the only two options that the Word of God lays out for you. So if you are here today, or you are listening to this online, and the Spirit is convicting your heart of your personal sin, and yet you have not personally turned from that sin and trusted in Jesus alone as your Captain, as your Lord, and as your Savior, By faith, turn to Him today. Turn away from your sin and look to Jesus. Call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved. By faith in Jesus, you conquer the authority of Satan. Listen to Revelation chapter 12. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered Him. That's the people of God have conquered Satan. How? By the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. You know how to fight this spiritual battle? You cling to Jesus, his death, his blood shed for you. And then you bear testimony to what he has done for you so that God will use you to draw others into his kingdom. So brothers and sisters, I close today with this prayer from Colossians chapter one for all of you. May you be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might. for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. God be praised. Let us pray together. Lord Jesus, we praise you for what you have done for us in this great battle for the hearts of men and women. We thank you for conquering our hearts. We thank you that through your death, by your blood shed in our place, that you freed us from the domain of darkness, that you freed us from the guilt and the power of sin, so that Satan's accusations against us for all of our sins, they cannot and they will not stand. Lord, as we suffer and struggle in this battle, strengthen us to do so in confidence and in faith with endurance and joy. And as we do so, may you give us boldness to draw others out of the domain of darkness and into the kingdom of your beloved son through our proclamation of the gospel. We ask this in your precious name, amen. please stand together. Be sure to greet our visitors. And if you have an April birthday and you don't normally come on Wednesday night, please join us this Wednesday night. You'll have first dibs on hymns that we sing and we'll also have