Contrast
Matthew 26 is a busy chapter.
It takes us through the final two days of Jesus’ life on Earth:
Passover, the Garden of Gethsemane, the arrest of Jesus, and Peter’s
denial. This is a busy chapter.
However, there is something neat that happens when we read this
chapter as a whole. We see at the
beginning of the chapter that the religious leaders in Jerusalem begin by
saying that Jesus has got to go, but not during the Passover. They feared the crowd and what the crowd
would do if Jesus was arrested and done away with during Passover. Truth be told, they actually feared what Rome’s
response to the uproar would be. They
knew that if the city rioted any more times, the Emperor was going to take
matters into his own hands and destroy the city. They weren’t concerned about the people as
much as they were concerned with retaining the power and social status they
currently enjoyed.
As the chapter progresses, we see that the religious leaders
ultimately come to see Jesus as too great of a threat to allow Him to live
beyond Passover. So they decide to kill
Him while He is in Jerusalem. What I
love about this chapter is that it actually demonstrates God’s will over the
will of man. Approximately 1,500 years
prior to this moment God instituted the Passover under Moses. Passover was a foretelling of the coming and
work of Christ. The Passover lamb is a
foreshadowing of Christ. Jesus was meant
to die during Passover, not after it! So
while the religious leaders intend to wait until after Passover, God has other
plans. God’s plans win. This is an often overlooked but significant
point that leads us to understanding that when God deems something to happen it
will come to pass as He desires.
Preparations for Burial
John tells us in the 12th chapter of his Gospel that
the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with the ointment was Mary, who was the
sister of Lazarus. Don’t miss the juxtaposition
here in this story. Lazarus was dead; at
least partially for the sake of Mary Jesus called him back into life. Now, it is Jesus’ time to die. Mary returns the favor. Mary cannot prevent His death; nor can Mary
bring Him back to life. What Mary can do
is to prepare the body for burial. Jesus
Himself says as much. Nobody can save
Jesus from His destiny. But having
received her brother back from death, Mary can give everything she has to
prepare Jesus for what He has been called to do.
And then there are the “disciples.” Matthew doesn’t tell us who the naysayers were. This is probably because the whole group
shared the sentiment on some level. {Again, John does tell us that Judas led the
naysayers.} So here is Mary who at
some level gets what is about to happen to Jesus. His own disciples don’t get it. As their Messiah prepares to die – something they’ve
been warned of at least four times now – all they can think about is the money
that could have been made had the oil been sold.
How sad. In the midst of
the greatest act of love ever known to man – the crucifixion of Jesus Christ –
human greed and self-mongerism still finds its way into the picture. It is true.
No matter where we go, we as human beings bring that self-centeredness
with us. If you want proof of this, keep
reading in this chapter. What do the
disciples do in the Garden? They fall
asleep. Then they run away and abandon
Jesus. Then they deny knowing Jesus
after swearing that they would never do such a thing. As I read through Matthew’s account, the
juxtaposition of the selflessness of Christ and the self-centeredness of
humanity is glaringly obvious.
Judas
We know the Passover story.
We know that it is here that the plot between Judas and the religious
leaders is unveiled. We can also
speculate that Judas was not doing this to be “done” with Jesus but rather to
try and force Jesus to become the conquering Messiah that Judas believed Jesus
to be. All of those things are
true. But that is not where I desire to
focus today.
What I find interesting today is that none of the disciples seemed
to recognize that it was Judas who would hand Jesus over. They were in the dark. Even after Judas leaves they still seem to be
rather dull. I’ve always wondered how
they could be so slow on the uptake. I
think today I’ve had a revelation. They
actually aren’t being slow to understand.
I think this is a testimony to how Jesus treated Judas. Jesus knew what Judas was doing. Jesus knew Judas’ motivations. Jesus knew everything. Yet Jesus never treated Him as an
outsider. Jesus even invited Judas into
the Passover after the plans had been finalized! Jesus loves.
Period. Jesus loved Judas to the
end. I believe it is this intense love
for Judas that keeps the disciples in the dark about what Judas is really
doing. The disciples aren’t slow to
understand; they are blinded by the incredible and vast love of God.
Denial
Poor Peter. Peter gets a
bum rap in this story. Everyone
remembers that Peter denies Jesus.
Everyone remembers that Peter says, “Lord, even if I should have to die
with You I will never abandon You.” What
do we miss? All the disciples said the
same thing.
Oh yeah. All the disciples
flee like mad in the Garden of Gethsemane, too.
Remember what I said about the human instinct for self-centeredness?
That is just what it means to be human. Human beings naturally think of ourselves
first. Only through the power of God can we be any different. Only through the power of God can we
sacrifice of ourselves and give to another.
Only through the power of God can we represent God’s love in any way,
shape, or form. Without God, we’d all
act out of self-centered self-preservation with every decision we’d ever make.
Self-centeredness and Submission
We leave one story of self-centeredness only to enter into
another. This really isn’t a good night
for the disciples in any way. Jesus
takes them to the Garden of Gethsemane in order to have one last spiritual moment
with them as a free man. They fall
asleep. Three times they fall asleep. Jesus asks them to pray, and they are
overcome by their own physical desire to sleep.
In the midst of the disciples’ inability to rise above their
nature we see Jesus do nothing other than rise above human nature. Jesus prays and wrestles with what is about
to happen. Yet in the end, it is
submission that wins out. Jesus says, “Your
will, Father. Your will be done. What I want is irrelevant right now. All that matters is that Your desires be
accomplished.” Yeah, I paraphrased. But honestly?
That’s submission right there.
Judas, Part II
Each time I read this story – whether in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or
John – I become more and more convinced that Judas doesn’t do this act in a
sense of betrayal at all. In fact, the
Greek word translated as betrayer doesn’t literally mean betrayal. Paradidomi (παραδίδωμι) comes from two words. The
prefix “para-” literally means “across” or “over.” The verb “didomi” means “to give.” So when you ask me for a pen, I literally
paradidomi my pen to you. When I pay for
my groceries, I literally paradidomi my credit card number to the store. I’m not betraying anything. I’m simply handing things over to other
people.
That is exactly what Judas does here. He’s not betraying Jesus. He’s handing Him over. Look at the words that Judas uses when he
comes. He calls Jesus “Rabbi,” which
means, “My teacher.” He greats Jesus
with a kiss. The Greek word for this act
is kataphileo (καταφιλέω) and it
likewise comes from two words. “Kata-” is
a word that means “according to.” “Phileo”
is the verb meaning “to show love.” {You might recognize that Philadelphia, the
city of brotherly love, contains the word “phileo.”} This is not that of a mocking gesture but
rather a gesture of special affection.
In fact, look at how Jesus responds to Judas. Jesus calls Judas a “friend.” If Jesus can
find it in His heart to call Judas a friend even in the midst of what he is
doing, that’s good enough for me.
Yes, Judas is handing Jesus over to the religious. Yes, this is an act that will get Jesus
crucified. Yes, this is an act for which
Judas will absolutely be held accountable.
But when I look at how the Greek describes this event I do not see
evidence to see how Judas planned that result.
I believe Judas was just trying to help Jesus become the “Messiah” that
He expected. I believe Judas was trying
to force Jesus to take on the mantle of God’s power and start to dominate the
world as it was believe the Messiah would do.
Judas erred, to be sure. Judas
was wrong, absolutely. But I do not
believe Judas betrayed Jesus. Judas
simply made a wrong choice because he was focused on his own perception of
reality rather than what God was actually doing within His Messiah.
Again we see an example of self-mongerism. Judas focuses on what he wants, not what God
wants. It leads him down a tragic path
that results in the death of the person to whom he has devoted three years of
his life. Judas is a figure to be
pitied, not looked upon with scorn. We
all make mistakes in judgment. Judas’
mistake cost Jesus His life. But then
again, for which of my sins did Jesus not die?
Jesus Before the Religious Leaders
Jesus is arrested. He is
put on trial. But look at how He
behaves. Jesus is silent when they bring
false testimony against Him. This battle
is not between Jesus and the witnesses.
This battle is now between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. In a sense, this is the pinnacle of the
struggle. This moment will define how
the Jews relate to the Messiah for millennia.
Jesus stays silent until the right question is asked. They ask Him if He is the Messiah, the Son of
God. It is at this time that Jesus speaks. He affirms what they say. It is at this moment that Jesus lays out His
testimony. Jesus is the Son of God. That is the crux of history.
The Jewish leaders immediately cry for blasphemy. They deny Jesus. They turn on Jesus. They will crucify Him. They will not recognize the Lord’s
Messiah. Millennia of history rest upon
this decision. Jesus would die. His followers would be persecuted to the ends
of the earth. All because one man
claimed to be the Son of God.
That is truth. That is the
truth. It is that truth for which Jesus
lived. Why shouldn’t it be worth our
life as well? It is also why Jesus
died. Why shouldn’t it be worth our
willingness to die as well?
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