[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.
[0:14] Take your Bibles if you would, and let's go to Matthew chapter 26. What a beautiful thought that we should see Christ, show us Christ. What a great thing. I hope that you will see Him today.
[0:26] In the passage of Scripture you're going to read, I want you to think about how you would react to Jesus. You're going to read about how different people reacted to the Lord Jesus in this passage of Scripture.
[0:38] And then I would like you to consider as you read that, where would you have been that day? How would you have reacted? How are you reacting right now? So go with me first, if you would, to Matthew chapter 26 and verse 56.
[0:50] The Bible says in Matthew 26, 56, But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
[1:02] If you have your Bible open, you should underline in that verse right there that everything that's happening in this story is according to the plan. Everything that's happening in this story is according to the plan.
[1:15] All this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Underline, all done that the prophets, Scriptures, would be fulfilled.
[1:26] So I want you to maybe make a note somewhere here. Everything's happening according to God's plan. You need to understand that the story of salvation is not the story of an accidental death of an innocent guy who was grabbed and drug a cross and put on a drug a cross and put into judgment and then falsely accused and crucified on a cross.
[1:48] This is God's plan to save you so that you wouldn't go to hell when you die. This is our story. This is the story of how our God rescued us from sin.
[1:59] And it was all done according to God's plan. As you read the story, you could easily get caught up in the details and miss the main point. God is doing all of this to bring about our salvation.
[2:12] This isn't a Mel Gibson movie about how he suffered and we're watching his suffering. We're watching our salvation. We're watching God rescue us.
[2:23] The Scriptures are being fulfilled. The Bible says in Psalm chapter 41 verse 9 that a close friend would betray him. And the story you have in front of you, that's what's going to happen.
[2:36] Psalm 41 verse 9, the Bible says, Yea, my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
[2:47] In the story, Judas, who is one of the twelve, who is a very trusted one of the twelve. He's one of the twelve. Nobody has in mind that Judas is the betrayer.
[2:58] Jesus knows because he's God and he knows everything. But the other eleven have no idea. Please don't think that the other eleven look at Judas and notice that he has horns under his hair.
[3:10] And all through the three and a half years, they're all thinking he's the wicked one and he's the one that's going to do something bad. He was the treasurer. You make the treasurer of any organization. You're trying to look for the most trustworthy, highest character person you have.
[3:24] You don't want somebody handling your money you think's a thief. They often are. Judas was and CFOs of many organizations have been. But obviously, that's not what you're looking for.
[3:35] They didn't think of Judas as a thief. He was a familiar friend. He walked with them. He talked to them. He ate with them. And Jesus said, I trusted him. Verse 55. Or Psalm 55, verse 12.
[3:47] Another prophecy says, For it was not an enemy that reproached me. Then I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me.
[3:58] Then I would have hid myself from him. But it was a man. Mine equal. My guide. And my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together and walked into the house of God in one company.
[4:11] That's what's going on in Matthew chapter 26 and verse 47. Open your Bible there. All according to Scripture. Now listen to me. All according to Scripture.
[4:23] You understand that there's something bigger happening in the story here than a man going to die on a cross. There's somebody bigger than all of this who from before the foundation of the world has worked out a plan of salvation to save sinners from their sin.
[4:38] And that's what's going on. In chapter 26 and verse 47, the Bible says, And while he yet spake lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people.
[4:50] Underline Judas. Maybe circle the word Judas and underline one of the twelve. You've got to understand. Think with me a second. You don't even know the names of hardly anybody that Jesus hung around.
[5:02] Of all the Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John stories, of all those stories, there are very few names of individuals that were his friends. We know there were 70 that were sent out to go witness in groups of two, 35 teams of two.
[5:17] We know that. We know about Zacchaeus he spent an afternoon with. We know about Nicodemus he spent an evening with. We know about Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and another Mary maybe.
[5:28] But there are very few people's names that are mentioned. But there are twelve guys. They're with him. There are twelve guys. They're his team. There are twelve guys that serve with him and go everywhere with him.
[5:40] And one of the most trusted is a guy named Judas who is the actual treasurer. He carried the bag of the group and he is the one who is going to betray Jesus. One of the twelve.
[5:51] Not a Pharisee. Not a Sadducee. Not a religious leader of another group. But one of the inner circle will betray him. By the way, he will betray him with a kiss and mock respect.
[6:05] Look at Matthew 26, 48 if you would. The Bible said, Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss the same as he, hold him fast.
[6:16] And forthwith he came to Jesus and said, Hail, master, and kissed him. Get this. The whole big crowd of guys come and they're kind of, I don't know what they're doing. They're hiding out in the dark just beyond the reach of the candlelight or the lanterns that they've got lit or the campfire.
[6:31] And they're all hiding behind that and you can't see them. And Judas comes walking in to the crowd and he walks up to Jesus and in front of everybody, he's making sure everybody can hear him because he's got all these people hiding.
[6:42] There's a big crowd. They're fixing to grab Jesus. And he walks up and says, He says, Hey, Jesus. Hey, Jesus. Hail, master. And he kissed him. Jesus even responds to him and says, Friend.
[6:56] Look at chapter 26, verse 50. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, why'd you come? Wherefore art thou come? Then came they and laid hands on Jesus and took him.
[7:08] Now stop a second and understand, all of that was known before it ever happened. Do you understand you serve a God who knew the future before it ever happened?
[7:19] And it may be past now when we're reading about it, but before the world was ever created, God knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew Judas was going to betray Jesus. He knew the whole story. Did you realize that when the psalmist was alive hundreds of years before and he's writing stories about it, he's going to write about the crucifixion.
[7:35] And you might not recognize that until you understand the New Testament. But then when you go back and read the psalms, you'll say, I see that happening. That happened just like he put it in the psalms because God's got a plan and he's working that plan to bring about our salvation.
[7:52] Jesus doesn't want to be defended. When they come to get him, he doesn't want to be defended. Look at chapter 26 and verse 54. What happens is, Peter's going to draw a sword.
[8:06] Chapter 26, verse 54, he says, How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be? See, when they came to get him, old Peter grabs his sword and he's going to split old Malchus' head in two and he misses his head and chops off his ear and he's standing there with a sword and Jesus says, Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[8:23] Put your sword up. Put your sword up. If you'd stop him from getting me, how are we going to fulfill the scriptures? We're on a plan here. I've got something working here. God, from the beginning of the world, has planned that I would die so that the people sitting at Vision Baptist Church on this day in November could hear the gospel and be saved.
[8:43] So in chapter 26 and verse 51, the Bible says, And behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword. And he struck a servant of the high priest and smote off his ear.
[8:54] Then said Jesus unto him, Put your sword up, buddy. Because if you take the sword, you'll die by the sword. And by the way, Peter, your puny little sword's not much in this game.
[9:06] Because if I wanted, I'd call the angels of heaven. You'll realize I've got armies at my behest. I have armies I could call if I didn't want to die right now. But I came to die.
[9:17] Chapter 26, verse 53. Look at it. Underline, Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father and he shall presently give me more than 12 legions of angels? You and your puny little sword and I could have 12,000 angels standing here who could whip anybody?
[9:31] I could call them. But I came to die. But I came to die. Peter puts your sword up. Don't try to stop what's happening here. This is intentional.
[9:42] I came to die. Jesus was willingly laying down his life. He told Peter to put the sword up because he didn't need or want protecting. He even turns to the crowds and says, Guys, chapter 26, verse 55.
[9:58] You didn't need to plan all this little plot you got going on and have Judas come out here and kiss me and try to trap me at night like a thief. I have not even tried to hide from you guys.
[10:09] I've been right in the middle of you. Chapter 26 and verse 55. Read what it says. In that same hour, said Jesus to the multitude, to the crowd, Are you come out against me as a thief with swords and staves for to take me?
[10:20] Hey guys, I sat daily with you teaching in the temple and you didn't lay hold on me. He said, I was there all the time. I sat around all the time teaching. I mean, any day you could have wanted, you could have gotten me. I was there.
[10:31] I haven't been hiding. I haven't had soldiers around me. I haven't tried to hide. You didn't need to treat me like a thief. You didn't have to get a traitor to come and get me. You didn't need a plan. I've been available all along.
[10:44] But all of this is happening because God was providing our salvation. Look again at 26, 56. But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.
[10:59] Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. I need you to understand something really big and deep and special here. The word of God is just that.
[11:10] The word of God. And so what God said in Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy and what God said in the Psalms and what God said in the prophets was true and it would take place.
[11:23] And Jesus wouldn't stop it or hinder it because God had a plan. God knew you were going to sin. God knew you would deserve to go to hell. God loves you and before the foundation where he made a plan where he would come in human flesh and die on a cross and pay your sin debt so you could be saved.
[11:41] It's the plan of God. Not the plan Adam and Eve made up. They didn't have one. They hid and covered themselves with fig leaves. Not the plans that the apostles had. They drew a sword and tried to stop Jesus from dying on a cross.
[11:54] But the plan that God had. He loves you. He loves you and he's loved you all along and that's why he died on a cross so you could go to heaven when you die. He loves you. Now there's only one way they can convict Jesus of any crime.
[12:07] You see he's perfectly innocent. He is perfectly perfect. He's never sinned and so when they bring him on the trial I mean what are they going to do? I mean what are they going to do?