Sunday Morning Service

Matthew 26:31-56 (Click title for audio access)

"The Dangers Of Self-Confidence"  •  3.6.11  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- It is difficult to put into words the emotional palette that we are about to embark upon. Jesus has just finished having the final Passover of His life.

- There were moments of great enjoyment for sure, but then came a stunning announcement: One of His own disciples sitting in the banquet room with Him, would betray Him.

- Judas has gone out, unbeknownst at the time to the rest of the disciples, and he is executing the pre-arranged plan that he had worked out with the Chief Priests and Elders.

- While that plays out, the Lord introduces communion to the disciples and sings His final hymns on earth with His disciples. It's very late now, around midnight, the day of His death.

- In what short time He has left, Jesus, ever the teacher, will give them one more lesson that they will need. Thankfully, the Lord has preserved this chapter, because we need it too!

Text

•  Matthew 26:31-32  :  "Then Jesus said to them, 'All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.'"  : The disciples have all admitted that they could betray Him. I'm sure that each was watching the other, as it was not clear to them yet, regarding Judas.

- But now, it's not just one. Jesus tells them that they will all desert Him in a matter of hours. How could that be? Imagine the shock of hearing this and yet, the Bible predicts it.

- Zechariah 13:7 speaks of God's Shepherd of Israel being killed.

- Jesus will receive wounds from the house of His friends. The Son Of God will be cut down or slain and Christ's sheep will be scattered for fear of their own lives.

- The picture here is of the way that wheat is separated from chaff, scattered in all directions by the wind. The disciples would be running in every direction before the night was out.

- These men who had walked with Jesus for three years, would all desert Him on this night.

- One might think that this would be a deal breaker and that Jesus would say, "Goodbye and good riddance!" Instead, Jesus says, "But after."

- We will fall. We will fail. We might run away like cowards at times. Jesus acknowledges this. But after, He will come after us! He will gather us again to Himself!

- In spite of their fears and their flight, Jesus would meet them again after His resurrection in Galilee. He reminds them again that death would not be the end of His life, or their association.

- He promises them that though they will be scattered in fear, He will again draw them to Himself. He will find them just like a great Shepherd would do.

•  Matthew 26:33-35  :  "Peter answered and said to Him, 'Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.' Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.' Peter said to Him, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!' And so said all the disciples."  : Earlier, like the rest of the disciples, Peter had said, "Could I be the one to betray you?" He might betray the Lord, but he will certainly not desert the Lord!

- Sadly, Peter continues his tradition of contradicting Jesus. Jesus was not postulating what might occur. He said that all would be made to stumble. Peter says, "If all means them, then yes!"

- Listen to his words: It might happen with these guys. They might not be able to take it. They might reach a breaking point but that won't be me. All of a sudden, Peter is unsure of the rest.

- To be fair, Peter could see nothing in his mind that could bring him to that point. There is no way to have known what kind of pressure that he was about to face.

- He could not envision being weakend in his loyalty to His Lord, and most of us in our current state could never believe it about ourselves either.

- Peter's words here, compared with what had been said earlier, remind us just how right and how wrong we can be, all in a short space of time.

- Earlier, there had been such humility and such an understanding of the vulnerability that these men had. Jesus had said that one would betray, so it could have been any of them.

- Now, just hours removed, Peter speaks up with no understanding of any weakness. Perhaps he had begun to fire himself up, so that in his mind, he'd felt that he would be ready for anything.

- The Lord says it would happen and He tells Peter when. According to several commentators, "cock crow" was the watch of the night that covered the hours of 12 and 3.  

- What does Peter say? Will he admit his weakness and ask the Lord for help?

- Nope. He just presses on! Even if death were on the line, Peter believes himself capable of standing beside Jesus.

- It's bad enough to deceive oneself into believing that you are able to stand with your own determination and strength.

- It's worse when that bravado spreads to others! Notice that last phrase: And so said all the disciples! Peter's speech motivated the others to man up alongside of Him.

- Nobody took Jesus at His Word. Nobody asked Him to teach them how they might really stand. Nobody took a moment to seek His counsel on how to act. He'll still show them.

•  Matthew 26:36  :  "Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, 'Sit here while I go and pray over there.'"  :  Gethsemane is a garden of olive trees. It sits within plain view of the incline leading into Jerusalem.

- The name "Gethsemane" means "olive press." In Christ's day, there would have been a large mill stone with a hole cut in the center at the side of the garden.

- Olives that had already been picked from the trees and crushed, would have been placed on the stone. Then, another stone, also large, but manageable, would be rolled over the olives.

- The pressure would release the juices and the oil would run into the hole and placed into jars.

- Before His disciples faced the pressure that would come their way, Jesus faced the greatest pressure that any man in this world could ever face.

- How would He handle this? "Sit here while I go and pray over there." Jesus would begin to face His pressure with prayer.

- I've always found it interesting that Jesus faced things as a man with only that which any man has! He does not take a 5 minute break and visit heaven. Nor does He call down Moses and Elijah.

- He simply goes and seeks to pray, to connect with the Father, in a very human way.

•  Matthew 26:37-39  :  "And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, 'My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.' He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'"  :  Peter, James and John were often witnesses to scenes where death was the backdrop.

- They would witness first hand the weight that would come upon Christ's shoulders.

- Sadness overcame Jesus to the point of depression. Of the three words that are employed by the Greeks, "deeply distressed" is the strongest emotional word.

- According to one expositor, this word means "to be away from home." It refers to severe alienation and loneliness.

- Jesus did not try to hide what He was feeling. He was at the lowest point that He could be! He asked them to stay and watch with Him, meaning to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings.

- What was He facing? He was about to take the sins of the world upon His shoulders. This meant that His fellowship with the Father would be broken temporarily, as He became sin for us.

- He would be our representative and the sins of all who would ever believe upon Him, both in the past and in the future, would be transferred upon Him!

- Imagine never knowing sin or it's effects. Imagine what it would be like for sinless Jesus.

- He is not just facing the sins of one person. He is standing before God with every sin of all His people for all time, laid straight upon His shoulders! We cannot comprehend this!

- "If it is possible, let this cup pass from me."

- If there is another way. If a person can be redeemed by any other method. If there could be some approval of man on any other level. If there is a possibility, let this cup pass from me.

- What does this cup refer to? Jesus had asked the Sons of Zebedee, men who are within earshot, whether they were able to drink from the same cup that He would.

- The cup is a metaphor for suffering and in this case, the cup of God's wrath and fury against sin. Jesus has the choice to accept it and wishes to express if there was another cup to drink from.

- Please understand that Jesus knows that there is no other choice. He knows that His sacrifice is necessary. He verbalizes this for the sake of the disciples and for us.

- He wants us to know that the cross answers the question about any other method of redemption! There is no religion, no good work, no philosophy that can serve to save a man!

- If there was, Jesus would not have died the brutal death that He did. There is no other way!

- Just as soon as He says this, He resigns Himself to the will of God over His own will.

- Herein is the crux of Christianity: When the trials come, will you stand and say "I'll take the cup you are offering me if it's your will for me to do so!"

- It might hurt or be pleasant! But I cannot claim to know Christ and forsake His call just because it inconveniences me! This is a person who knows nothing of what Christ is showing us.

- This is obedience to the point of death, even the death of the cross!

•  Matthew 26:40,41  :  "Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, 'What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.'"  :  Notice that Jesus says this to Peter. He found the disciples sleep, but He said this to Peter, who was also sleeping.

- Peter who had said that he would stand, even to the point of death, couldn't stand in the face of his own exhaustion.

- If they ever needed to pray, it was now! Listen to how the NLT translates this verse: "Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you."

- Determination would not be the key. Willing oneself to victory is not going to do the trick. Prayer is the key to avoiding temptation.

- The problem is that we are born with a flesh that is strong in catering to itself, but weak in things pertaining to spiritual disciplines. They wanted to pray, but their flesh wanted to sleep!

- These men were physically tired. It's very late. They are strong in their resolve, but at their very weakest point because of their flesh.

•  Matthew 26:42-46  :  "Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.' And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, 'Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.'"  :  Jesus kept praying and He prayed the same thing. His prayers were for His continued acceptance of His Father's will.

- The time is growing closer and the temptation is greater to flee the Lord's plan. Jesus kept praying a second and then a third time.

- I think that this is interesting. It's no doubt that Satan was there in garden, tempting Jesus with the same sentiment that he had tempted Jesus with in the desert.

- In all of Satan's plan, there is the temptation to avoid the cross, avoid self-sacrifice.

- In the desert, when Jesus was physically at His lowest, Jesus answered with scripture. Now, in the Garden, when Jesus was emotionally at His lowest, Jesus answers with prayer!

- He has become thoroughly aligned with His Father's will, He comes back to His disciples who in the greatest crisis of their lives, are asleep.

- When Satan is the most active and their Savior is most vulnerable, the disciples are most inactive! They wake up to the worst possible reality and so it is true with all who fail to pray.

- The disciples couldn't keep their eyes open. They finally slept through and awoke upon Christ's words that the betrayer they had thought they could stop, had come.

•  Matthew 26:47-50  :  "And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, 'Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.' Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, 'Greetings, Rabbi!' and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, 'Friend, why have you come?' Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him."  : Such treachury, every time Judas is mentioned, he is called "one of the twelve!"

- It's almost as if every time the writers mention him, they are in shock. "How could it be?"

- This group of people that came with Judas were Sadducees, Phariseees, temple guards as well as centurions.

- According to John's gospel, there was a band of soldiers, the Greek word describing a tenth of a legion. A legion was 6,000 soldiers. This group had 600 soldiers.

- There could have been upwards of 1,000 people and each of them were armed to the teeth. They were armed with daggers and wooden clubs.

- Why did they bring that? They figured that if He tried to escape, they would kill Him there.

- Before Judas had brought them to this place, he had given them a sure sign of identification. Considering that several of these people had not known Jesus by face, this would be necessary.

- Jesus was an ordinary looking guy, lacking any real distinction. Judas came up to Jesus and with arms open, a smile on his traitorous face, glibly said "Greetings Rabbi!"

- Such horrific hypocrisy! Such is the face of those who hate Christ, who come with their great words of respect, but have treacherous intentions against Christ.

- As he was kissing Jesus, his instruction had been to seize Him quickly. You get the picture that Judas kissed Jesus and held Him there to insure that He did not get away.

- Christ's final words to Judas: Friend, why have you come! Even in this moment, Jesus still calls out to Judas and tells Him that he could be His true friend.

- Judas was fine with his hypocrisy and his kiss brought the guards upon Christ.

•  Matthew 26:51-54  :  "And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, 'Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?'" : Matthew doesn't tell us this disciple's name. Why?

- Most believe that this was ommitted because of the trouble that could come of it. John being the latest gospel identifies this disciple with bad aim as Peter. The servant's name is Malchus.

- This was Peter's idea of not stumbling. He was standing to defend Jesus, thinking that this was what it meant to not stumble.

- Peter responded from an area of His own strength, in an effort to control. However, if he takes up the sword, the authorities will use a sword against him! That is what Jesus means here.

- Second, even more importantly, using his little dagger is akin to Caleb using his light saber! Jesus has a much more potent posse!

- More than 72,000 angels wait at Christ's disposal, even then, at the moment! One angel killed 185,000 Assyrians once. Imagine how much damage 72,000 could do!

- Even greater still, Jesus is telling them that the scriptures must be fulfilled! God has a plan and Jesus is committed to it!

- Jesus understands what is happening because He has been praying. He knows that this is the Father's will. Peter has been sleeping!

- Had he been praying, he might have understood this better. He might have had an inclination that nothing could have saved Jesus from this moment.

- You wish that Peter had come to peace with God's will!

- Even now, Jesus shows the determination of God to redeem, refusing angelic help.

•  Matthew 26:55,56  :  "In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, 'Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.' Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled."  :  Jesus speaks to this group of people and asks why He is being treated with such hatred. He had taught daily among them and they did not seize Him.

- The idea is that even they had been conflicted about Christ and His power. They knew that He was innocent. They knew, their conscience bearing witness to Christ's honor.

- But even here, Jesus allows them to take Him for the sake of the timing of His Father's will. The scriptures spoken by the prophets are being fulfilled.

- As the mob began to take Jesus, the disciples fled, all forsaking Him, just as Jesus had said. He would not deliver Himself. He refused to stop this.

- The disciples having no other resource, fled and left Jesus alone, just as He said they would!

Conclusion

- The pressures that we face in this life, combined with the flesh that we are all encumbered by, force us to know that any failure is possible.

- Jesus the Man, with every wave of temptation, grew closer to His Father as He prayed.

- What will you do this week as you walk with Him? Will you see the advancing group or awake to a horrible reality? I pray for your sake and my own, that it will be the former!