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your Bibles to Matthew chapter 
26. Matthew chapter 26, we continue in the passion narrative of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Our focus this morning is on 
the celebration of the Passover, where our Lord gathers with His 
disciples to remember that particular Jewish feast that was indeed 
commanded in Exodus chapter 12. But I want to read the larger 
context, so I'll start at Matthew 26 beginning at verse 1. Now it came to pass when Jesus 
had finished all these sayings that He said to His disciples, 
you know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son 
of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Then the chief 
priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled 
at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and 
plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they said, 
not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people. 
And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 
a woman came to him, having an alabaster flask of very costly 
fragrant oil, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the 
table. But when his disciples saw it, they were indignant, 
saying, Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have 
been sold for much and given to the poor. But when Jesus was 
aware of it, he said to them, why do you trouble the woman? 
For she has done a good work for me. For you have the poor 
with you always, but me you do not have always. For in pouring 
this fragrant oil on my body, she did it for my burial. Assuredly, 
I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, 
what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to 
her. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to 
the chief priests and said, What are you willing to give me if 
I deliver him to you? And they counted out to him thirty 
pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity 
to betray him. Now on the first day of the feast 
of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying to him, 
where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover? 
And he said, go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 
the teacher says, my time is at hand. I will keep the Passover 
at your house with my disciples. So the disciples did as Jesus 
had directed them and they prepared the Passover. When evening had 
come, he sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, he said, 
Assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray me. And they 
were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to 
him, Lord, is it I? He answered and said, he who 
dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me. The son 
of man indeed goes just as it is written of him, but woe to 
that man by whom the son of man is betrayed. It would have been 
good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, who was 
betraying him, answered and said, Rabbi, is it I? He said to him, 
you have said it. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father 
in heaven, we thank you for the Word of God and we thank you 
for the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know, our Father, 
that we will never enter into your presence because of our 
goodness, because of our merit, because of our righteousness, 
for we have none. It is solely and alone based 
upon the life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. How we thank you for him. How 
we thank You for what we find even in this passage of this 
perfect obedience to the Father's plan, doing all things in accordance 
with the Father's will, even submitting to the aggression 
and the opposition and the wickedness of men for us men and for our 
salvation. We pray that Your Holy Spirit 
would guide us now, that we would be instructed from the Word of 
God, that we would receive it as the Word of God, and that 
it would affect us for good. And do forgive us now for our 
sins and our transgressions. Wash us in the blood of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. We praise You that You made Him 
who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the 
righteousness of God in Him. Bless our time together now, 
we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, one of 
the things that I think is conspicuous as we move in this portion of 
Scripture is that Jesus is not a hapless victim. Jesus understands 
specifically what is going on in this entire situation. We see His sovereignty displayed 
as well. We know that He is operating 
according to the decreed plan of His Father. We know that He 
is operating according to the written word. Christ, every step 
of the way, is fully conscious of what He is engaged in for 
the salvation of His people. And as I said, in verses 17 to 
25, He celebrates the Passover with His disciples. And in the 
midst of the Passover, He announces His betrayal at the hands of 
one of them. Now, these disciples knew, and 
they had heard from Jesus, that He was going to be betrayed. 
But this was new information. They did not know he would be 
betrayed by one of their own. And that leads them to engage 
in a sorrowful response and ask, is it I? And we might ask the 
question, why does he introduce that here? Why would he sort 
of bring down the event or cause this sort of a thing to be a 
bummer on the situation? If you go back in Exodus 12, 
the master, the householder, the father of the family would 
be asked by the son, what is the significance of this service? Or what does this Passover mean? And the master of the house, 
the father, would then say, this is a time to celebrate the redemptive 
power of God, who brought us out of the house of bondage in 
Egypt and gave us this land, gave us liberty, gave us freedom. Jesus is the master, the householder, 
the head of the family in this particular instance, introduces 
his death. Because that is the means by 
which this second or new Exodus will be wrought. It was a time 
to celebrate God's power in the Old Testament, but Jesus is pointing 
them to the power of God in this new covenant setting. Namely, 
the redemption of His people. not in a powerful display as 
He did in Egypt, but in the power of the cross, in the suffering 
of the Savior. That was the means by which God 
would bring His people out of that bondage to sin and give 
them the liberty of the sons of God. I want to look at two 
things this morning. In the first place, the preparation 
for Passover in verses 17 to 19, and then secondly, the prophecy 
of betrayal in verses 20 to 25. But note in the first place, 
the particular time. Now on the first day of the feast 
of the unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying 
to him, where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the 
Passover? As I said, this is commanded 
in Exodus chapter 12. It was a time to celebrate victory. 
It was a time to celebrate redemption. Kids, you know what the word 
redemption means. It means when somebody redeems 
something. Now, I know that's very obvious, 
but redemption means to purchase something out of bondage. And God purchased or delivered 
his people of Israel out of the bondage they faced in Egypt. 
They were slaves. They had harsh taskmasters. They 
were put to many difficult things. And God liberated them. He freed 
them. And so this feast of Passover 
was a time to eat a meal and reflect upon that, to celebrate 
the glorious power of God as it had been displayed. Now the 
Passover coincided with the feast of unleavened bread. Here in 
this first century setting, it was probably merged at the same 
specific time. So it was a celebration of God's 
redemptive power as seen in the exodus of Israel out of Egypt, 
but it was also a very fitting time for our Lord to institute 
the supper. In this context, to anticipate 
again another powerful display of God, namely the salvation 
of His people through the cross, through the work of what Christ 
had done. And I think it's intriguing here 
that His disciples assume that He's going to eat the Passover. 
Now, you may say that's an odd assumption to make. Well, consider 
their history up to this point. In Matthew 16, and in Matthew 
17, and in Matthew 20, Jesus says what's going to happen to 
him when he gets to Jerusalem. He is going to be betrayed, he 
is going to be arrested, he is going to be crucified, and he's 
going to be raised on the third day. Well, they know the religious 
life of our Lord. They know that nothing is going 
to deter Him from keeping a feast. There is nothing that is going 
to keep Him, as it were, out of church. Brethren, we get affected 
by a hangnail and we don't come to church. We get a little tiny 
sniffle and the world is ending as we know it. Christ is facing 
crucifixion at the hands of a godless mob, and he nevertheless continues 
to obey the Father. J. Gresham Machen on his deathbed 
said, I am thankful for the active obedience of Christ, for there 
is no hope without it. We ought to be thankful that 
to the very end, He fulfilled the Father's law. To the very 
end, He executed the Father's plan. The disciples assumed this. They didn't ask, where will Jesus 
be when it comes to Passover? I mean the particular location, 
but in terms of the observance of it, they knew He would comply. 
You never had to wonder where Jesus was on the Sabbath day. He tells us it was his custom 
to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. In other words, 
that's where you found Christ. He was using the public means 
according to his humanity. And I think there is a wonderful 
sort of observation that we can make. Our beloved Jesus fulfills 
the law to the very end. But their question, where do 
you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover, also serves 
to function as a contrast. The last thing we see in chapter 
26, specifically at verse 15, is Judas saying to this mob, 
what will you give me? What are you willing to give 
me? How much money will you apportion to me so that I can sell Jesus 
into your godless hands? He wants to sell Christ. These 
men want to serve Christ. It's a beautiful contrast, even 
what we have with that woman. That woman in the house in Bethany 
takes that very costly oil and pours it on the feet or on the 
head of the Savior. You see this act of devotion 
in the midst of this madness, and you see these disciples, 
and these disciples later on are going to flee from Jesus, 
but we ought not to consider that they're godless men or they're 
unsaved men. The best of men are men at best. But in this instance, they want 
to serve Jesus with reference to the Passover. Now, notice 
he commands them in verse 18. He says, go into the city to 
a certain man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is 
at hand. I will keep the Passover at your 
house with my disciples. Now, this evidence is Jesus foreknowledge 
or Jesus prescience. Because in the parallel passages, 
he says, when you get in there, you will see a man carrying water 
pots. Follow him to whatever house he goes to and say to the 
master of that house. Well, how does Jesus know that? 
Because according to his divinity, he is almighty God, and he knows 
what's happening. And I think this is an evidence 
or an indicator, again, that he was not dragged to this death 
unwillingly. But he's always in control. He's 
always submitting to the Father's will. Every step of the way, 
he is doing what is required of him as our covenant mediator. Brethren, if we should go to 
heaven, he must go through these things. There is no compromise. There is no paring off the rough 
edges. There is no shaving those edges 
in this particular instance. Christ fulfills to the uttermost 
everything that was laid upon him by the Father. And that answers 
specifically to us as sinners. You know what our problem is. 
We sin. God calls us to love Him with 
all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He calls us to love 
our neighbors as ourselves. Do we do that for a second of 
a day? No. Every one of us raise our 
fist at God. Every one of us can't stand one 
another. I mean, there might be some common 
courtesy, some overtures of decency from time to time, but are we 
really selfless in our love for one another? We're sinners. The 
law condemns us. You take the first commandment, 
it condemns us. We have other gods before God. 
You take the second commandment, it condemns us. We are idolaters 
before a holy God. You take the third commandment, 
it condemns us. We are blasphemers. Even the 
best of you in here that have never uttered the name of Christ 
or God in a blasphemous way, blaspheme Him by your conduct. This is precisely what Nathan 
said to David. He says, by this action, by you 
having committed adultery and murder, you have given cause 
to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. The fourth commandment 
condemns us. Do any of us keep the Sabbath? 
And I'm talking about as Christians as we ought. The fifth word condemns 
us. Do any of us subordinate ourselves 
to parents or civil authority or other authority lawful that 
we should? No. What about murder? You maybe 
have never cut somebody's throat or put a bullet in their head, 
but if you have murdered in your heart through hatred, you're 
guilty. Adultery. Again, you might congratulate 
yourselves this morning that you have never chased and laid 
with a strange flesh. But if a man looks upon a woman 
and lusts after her in his heart, Jesus says, he is guilty of violating 
the seventh word. The Eighth Commandment. We're 
told not to steal. Maybe your practice isn't embezzlement. Maybe you're not a white-collar 
criminal that has taken millions from your company. Maybe you 
don't wander into Walmart and steal Snickers bar, but to some 
degree or other, in some place or other, you've been a thief. We're told to speak the truth, 
according to the Ninth Word. We're told to speak the truth. 
Now again, you may not be out in courtrooms perjuring yourself, 
but that ninth word speaks to gossip. That ninth word speaks 
to slander. That ninth word speaks to a whole 
host of things that condemns us over and over again. And then 
that 10th word. Let's just assume that one through 
nine didn't get you. Who of us can stand here this 
morning and say, I've never coveted. I've never wanted the deprivation 
to happen to somebody else so that I could possess their goods. 
We're all guilty. This is the point. Christ, however, 
when you take each of those 10 commandments, he never, ever 
rejected his father. He never engaged in idolatry. 
He never blasphemed. He never broke the Sabbath. He 
was never insubordinate. Even Christ as a young man, a 
12-year-old in the temple, continued in subjection to Joseph and Mary. You say, well, it's tough to 
submit to this person because they're sinful. Christ is holy, 
harmless, and undefiled, and he submits himself willingly 
to Joseph and Mary. Christ never murdered. Christ 
never committed adultery. Christ never stole. Christ never 
lied. Christ never coveted. You see, 
that's what we need, a champion. We need a law keeper. We need 
one in whom there is no sin, because we must have a righteousness 
to present to God. And by virtue of God's gospel, 
we get it through Christ. You see, it wasn't enough or 
it wasn't alone that he had to obey the law perfectly, but Matthew 
26 and 27 have to occur. We have to keep moving on. We 
have to keep setting our face like a flint and marching on 
with Jesus to Jerusalem. We have to continue when we hear 
the mob say, away with him, away with him, crucify him. We have 
to witness him being nailed to that cross, him being, you know, 
enthroned, not upon a throne, but upon a cross. We have to 
hear him mocked and abused and scourged and whipped and beaten 
and ultimately crucified unto death. Why? Because God demands 
sacrifice. And goats and bulls and all those 
things that were sacrificed in the Old Testament simply pointed 
to Jesus, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of 
the world. So Christ in His life and Christ in His death answers 
specifically to our need. We need forgiveness. We get it 
through His blood. We need a righteousness. We get 
it through His life. But we need it from a living 
Christ. He was raised the third day. That's why this gospel takes 
the shape that it does. That's why Christ is sitting 
in the midst of these men. That's why Christ is obeying 
to the last jot and tittle, this Passover feast. He's obedient 
unto God's holy law. Some suppose Christ made prior 
arrangements. I don't think so. I think Christ 
tells his disciples to find so-and-so, literally the certain man, and 
tell him, I'm gonna eat the Passover at your house. Imagine that. 
You're sitting at home and you hear somebody knock on your door 
and you open the door and they say, oh, by the way, my master's 
coming over and you're gonna host a feast for him. Okay. It's 
an incredible scene, isn't it? What's Matthew telling us? The 
godless Jewish leaders are not in charge. Judas is not in charge. God Most High is in charge. And 
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is obedient. He is submissive. He is in control. He is the one 
that designates where they will eat the Passover. You tell so-and-so 
that we will be there in order to observe the feast. And I love 
the way the compliance is wrought. The disciples do what they're 
supposed to do, and so does so-and-so. Well, I don't think so. I'm not 
going to give him my quarters for this feast. Now remember, 
Jerusalem is packed at this particular time. I remember going somewhere, 
this was many, many, many years ago, in downtown Los Angeles, 
it was a particular event, and it was at the Coliseum, and there 
wasn't parking to be had anywhere near there. I mean, we had to 
go into a neighborhood, and persons were letting people park in their 
driveways if you paid them X amount of money, and we did that, and 
ended up getting mugged on the way to the concert, and it was 
just a real incredible time. But the point is, You don't go 
to Los Angeles, California on a Friday afternoon and actually 
think you're going to find parking. In Jerusalem, at a feast time, 
what was mandated, everybody comes up to Jerusalem to observe 
the feast. The animals, the lambs are sacrificed, 
the meals are prepared. It was a ritual that had to be 
observed by these people. And yet Jesus says, go, tell 
him, and they do it, and he does it. Now notice, the reason he 
gives specifically, right there in the middle of verse 18, he 
says, my time is at hand. Go into the city to a certain 
man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is at hand. I will 
keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. It's an intriguing 
thing. My time is at hand. Remember, 
we leave off Judas betraying Jesus, looking for an opportunity 
to betray him. Luke's gospel says that Judas 
is looking for an opportune time. According to Christ, the time 
is at hand. And the time specifically is 
the time of his death. The time specifically is the 
time of the cross. The time specifically is that 
which he was appointed to, namely to die. You see, people like 
to think of Jesus as a great big example. Well, we've got 
to do what Jesus did. I'm not suggesting we don't do 
what Jesus did. I would never tell you, go out 
and do the opposite of what Jesus did. Take your bracelets off 
that say WWJD. I don't want you to do that. 
Go out and do what you would do. No, of course we follow the example 
of Christ. But in the first place, Christ's 
life is an exemplary. It's about sacrifice. It's about 
atonement. It's about fulfilling this Passover. What was the significance in 
the Passover? God tells the Israelites to kill 
the lamb. They could choose a sheep or 
they could choose a goat. And they would kill that animal, 
and prior to cooking it, prior to broiling it, you couldn't 
cook it in water. Couldn't boil it, rather. You 
had to eat it in a very particular way. What would they do with 
the blood of that animal? They'd splash it on the doorframe 
of their house. They would splash it. The idea 
that, you know, they took a little paint, a little watercolor paint 
project. They splashed the blood up there, 
so that when the angel of Yahweh saw it, he passed over. You see, 
that blood covered them. That's the significance of Christ's 
cross. His blood covers us. It is as if the angel of Yahweh 
sees us covered with that blood and he doesn't bring vengeance 
upon us. He doesn't bring wrath upon us. 
He doesn't bring judgment upon us. Christ knew that He came 
to die. Christ's already announced it 
several times, as I mentioned. He knew what lay ahead for Him 
in Jerusalem, and He obeys the law to the T. He submits Himself 
to and executes the Father's plan to a T. And here He says, 
My time is at hand. Now notice the prophecy of betrayal. 
Just to sort of set the scene, what did this Passover feast 
look like as they observed it? Again, you can read about it 
in Exodus chapter 12. All the details are specified, 
what you did, what you cooked, how you observed, all that sort 
of thing. But in terms of the nuts and 
bolts, what was happening here? In terms of their practice in 
this instance when the Lord Jesus would institute the Lord's Supper. 
One particular commentator says, in the first place, the festival 
and the wine is blessed, followed by the first cup. Now, there 
were four cups of wine. Now, don't, you know, think they 
were these massive steins. That was another experience I 
had in England. You go to this Bristol place 
and they have these great big steins. You know, that's probably 
not what's in view. But at the same time, they drank 
wine. And they had four cups in the 
Passover celebration. So the first instance, the festival, 
and the wine is blessed, followed by the first cup. Then the food 
is then brought in, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, grains, 
stewed fruit, and roast lamb. It would have this mixture in 
a bowl, and they would take their unleavened bread, and they would 
dip it in this particular mixture. Those who like great restaurants 
know this custom. You get the pita, you dip it 
in the tzatziki, and everything's wonderful. It's a beautiful thing. 
Each of these particular details had emphasis or had a purpose 
in this particular celebration. In the third place, the son in 
the family would ask why this night is distinguished from others. 
of Exodus 12, 26. What do you mean by the service? 
Imagine, you know, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years after the Exodus 
and you're observing the Passover. I hope your kids are going to 
say, why do we do this on the same day, in the same year, in 
the same month, every year? Why? What's the significance? 
Well, the Father then explains. So the son asks why this night 
is distinguished from others, the family had answers with the 
Exodus story, followed by praise to God for past and future redemption 
from the first part of the Hallel. Now the Hallel was a section 
of the Psalter from Psalm 113 to Psalm 118. When it says later 
they sang a hymn, it wasn't Isaac Watts. It was a song of Zion. It was a Davidic psalm. They 
sang from 113 to 118, the Hallel. These songs of praise to God 
from Israel's songbook. So it wasn't, you know, Isaac 
Watts, I'm not here to say he's a bad guy, but that's not what 
they're singing when the language says hymn. It then says, or they 
go on to say, the second cup of wine is drawn. The unleavened 
bread is blessed, broken and distributed. Then it is eaten 
with the herbs and fruit as the father explains the meaning of 
the bread. This is followed by the meal proper, which was not 
to extend beyond midnight. At the consummation of the meal, 
The head blesses the third cup, followed by singing the second 
part of the halal, probably Psalms 115, and then 116 to 118. And 
then a fourth cup concludes the meal. So that's what's happening. 
So look at verse 20. It says, When evening had come, 
he sat down with the twelve, now as they were eating, he said. So this is the context. We're 
remembering the exodus. This is the context. We're remembering 
God's power. This is the context. We're celebrating 
God's mercy, His deliverance, His liberation of His people 
from their bondage. And it's in this particular context 
that our Lord in the first place makes a declaration concerning 
His betrayal. Verse 21, now as they were eating, 
he said, assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray me. Jesus 
had said this before. Jesus had told them that he would 
be betrayed, but he had never told them it would be one of 
the 12. Imagine that. You see, when it 
says they were exceedingly sorrowful, you get that, don't you? They 
knew he was going to be betrayed. They knew that someone out there 
had it in for him. They knew that he was going to 
be delivered up. Had they listened to his own words? They didn't 
know it would be one of themselves. They didn't know it would be 
one of the 12. This indeed causes some concern 
on their part. Now remember, we know that Judas 
is the betrayer. Matthew 10, verse 4, the selection 
of the apostles, it indicates that Judas was the one who would 
betray Jesus. They don't know this at this 
point. They don't understand this. See, we're conscious of 
and we're privy to information from this vantage point that 
the disciples didn't have. As well, we need to appreciate 
that as he explains the significance of the Passover, it has this 
bit of a redemptive historical shift. His death is central. So when the son asks in Exodus 
12, what do you mean by this service? The father would say, 
we were slaves in Egypt and God delivered us. You see, Christ 
is telling us that there is a new exodus and the focus with reference 
to that new exodus is upon the cross. This is why he tells them 
or announces his betrayal, because it sets the stage for the institution 
of the Lord's Supper, wherein death is central. These are themes and concepts 
that have to be present in order for him to explain the significance 
of these particular events. So the Lord announces this as 
it sets the stage for his death, which is central to God's redemptive 
power displayed through Christ's death. It really is a beautiful 
passage. Notice, secondly, the investigation. Now, the investigation here, 
it's hard to find a word. I maybe could have said self-investigation, 
self-examination, but it is intriguing how the disciples respond in 
this instance. Verse 22, they were exceedingly 
sorrowful. Again, I think we get that. We 
knew He's going to be betrayed. We didn't know He was going to 
be betrayed by one of us. That would produce sorrow, wouldn't 
it? I mean, you're with the guys that you've been with for near 
three years now in the presence of one that you have grown to 
love, one you're devoted to, one you want to serve, one you 
want to worship, one you want to glorify and praise. I mean, 
Jesus was everything to them. Jesus was the altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. That's why they willingly say, 
where do you want to eat the Passover? We're willing to, you 
know, to do whatever it takes to get that set up so that you 
can observe this feast. So they're sorrowful. There's 
pain here. We ought never to look lightly 
on this. The fact that the Son of God was betrayed into the 
hands of wicked men is a sorrowful event. I mean, certainly there 
is joy at the end, namely the glory of God and the salvation 
of his people, but we ought to mark the sorrow of these disciples 
and contemplate it, because Jesus was holy, he was harmless, he 
was undefiled. It always intrigues me, in our 
own situation, how many people just can't stand Jesus? Like, 
why? You got an aversion to somebody 
who doesn't murder? You got a problem with somebody 
who doesn't commit adultery? You got some problem with somebody 
who doesn't steal? I think most people would probably 
accept Jesus' ethics, okay. He's okay when it comes to that. 
We just don't like all this exclusive talk. We just don't like all 
this I am the way, the truth, and the life sort of thing, and 
that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Who does 
He think He is? He is God's Son. He's absolutely 
right in that assertion. He is absolutely right in that 
declaration. And instead of trying to argue 
with Him and complain about it and grumble and moan and just 
do whatever sinners do, why don't we bow before Him and confess 
Him as the Son of God? Confess Him as the King of Kings. 
Confess Him as the Lord of Lords. In other words, believe the gospel 
instead of rejecting it and in refusing it and in hardening 
your heart against it. It's got to come a point in time 
where every man everywhere considers the reality that God is indeed 
a holy God, that we have sinned and violated His law, and that 
the only way of salvation is through His Son. Don't argue, 
don't complain, don't whine, don't moan, don't grumble. Confess 
Him as Lord and Savior. Believe on Him. Turn from your 
sins. Lay hold of the mercy of God 
through our Lord Jesus Christ, there's nothing better. You ask 
anybody here who's been forgiven of their sins, and they will 
say, it is a most blessed thing. That song that we sing, hymn 
number 580, there's a particular stanza that says, my sin, oh 
the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the 
whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise 
the Lord, praise the Lord. Is there anything that makes 
a pillow softer than the forgiveness of sins? Is there anything that 
makes life more enjoyable than the forgiveness of sins? Is there 
anything that gives you peace with God than the forgiveness 
of sins? I mean, Christ alone offers that 
peace, which the world does not offer. The world offers a form, 
it is fleeting, it is passing, it is called even in some context, 
pleasure, but it's just for a time. It's at the right hand of God 
where pleasures forevermore are found. Psalm 16. And this is 
what Christ meant to these men. They're exceedingly sorrowful, 
but notice their particular question that they ask. Lord, is it I? Now the question assumes a negative 
answer. I don't like broccoli, do I? Well, no, right? It assumes a 
negative answer. I actually do like broccoli, 
so don't judge me on the cruciferous vegetables there, but it expects 
a negative answer, but I think it is telling. They are entertaining, 
not the thought of betraying him, but because he has said 
that one of the 12, they don't say, is it Judas? We always suspected 
him. He looked shifty. We know that 
his family was a bit off. They didn't do that. Lord, is 
it I? A good dose of self-examination 
would do us all a world of good. Being suspicious of others prior 
to ourselves is not a good thing. In fact, listen to Spurgeon. 
He says, we cannot do any good by suspecting our brethren, but 
we may do great service by suspecting ourselves. Self-suspicion is 
near akin to humility. and a regular occurrence in the 
history of interpretation with reference to this particular 
statement is a comparison with 1 Corinthians chapter 11. What 
are we told with reference to the supper? But let a man examine 
himself. You see that here, don't you? 
They're examining themselves. I don't wanna press it too hard, 
but there's certainly some sort of parallel there. You examine 
yourselves, look, is it I? Don't assume it's Judas, don't 
assume it's Peter, don't assume it's John, assume that it could 
quite conceivably be you. Maybe the disciples would have 
sang with complete agreement, hymn number 400, prone to wander, 
prone to leave the God I love. Isn't that what Robert Robinson 
teaches us in hymn number 400? Prone to wander, prone to leave 
the God I love. Beware of the man who thinks 
he'll never fall. In fact, Paul cautions us against 
such a position. Take heed, lest you fall. Don't 
have this presumption. You're always dependent upon 
the grace of God. You're always a debtor to the 
grace of God. You know, for non-Christians, 
do they see us as these self-righteous, proud, arrogant pains in the 
neck? If they do, we are conveying 
the wrong message. We are not in church on a Sunday. 
We are not going to heaven in our future because we're good. It's solely and alone by the 
grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. If we are conveying 
to the world around us that we're where we are because of us, then 
we have mixed the message up. The only reason we're bound for 
glory is because of what Christ goes through here. We deserve 
God's wrath and judgment, both in this life and that which is 
to come. We deserve hell. We deserve damnation. We deserve 
everything bad because we've broken God's law. We have offended 
the Heavenly Father. So we're only going to heaven 
not because we're polished or we put on ties this morning or, 
you know, we're decent human beings. No one gets to heaven 
because they're decent human beings. God's demand is perfect 
obedience, exact obedience, entire obedience, perpetual obedience. 
If you don't have that, you ain't going to heaven. no matter how 
decent you may think you are. Brethren, a bit of this spirit 
in us may not be a bad thing. Now, there are some that are 
heavily introspective, and they're only ever saying, Lord, is it 
I? I heard there was a bank robbed over here. Was it I? And you 
can overdo that. A little dose of self-examination 
isn't a bad thing. And a great big dose of avoiding 
others' examination isn't a bad thing either. In fact, Matthew 
Henry says, it is observable that our Lord Jesus, just before 
he instituted the supper, put his disciples upon this trial 
and suspicion of themselves to teach us to examine and judge 
ourselves, and so to eat of that bread and drink of that cup. 
Now notice, thirdly, with reference to this announcement, there's 
identification. Verse 23. He answered and said, 
He who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me. I 
don't think this is, you know, here he is, here's Judas. They 
would have all been dipping in the dish. They would have all 
been dipping in the dish. I don't think this is the time 
where, you know, he outs Judas. You know, Judas is the only guy 
dipping and all eyes are on him. Because even in the comparison 
in John 13, when Jesus dips and hands it to Judas, the disciples 
still did not know that it was Judas. Jesus is not outing Judas 
in particular, but again, reasserting that from this band, from his 
12 close associates, one of you will betray me. And this statement 
aggravates the treachery of Judas. As Matthew Henry says, it is 
based in gratitude to dip with Christ in the dish and yet betray 
him. It is base ingratitude to dip 
with Christ in the dish and yet betray Him. But as well, I think 
that verse 23, and it's a little more conspicuous in the parallel 
in Mark, is a fulfillment of Scripture. You say, what scripture? We just 
sang it from Psalm 41. Psalm 41 is a psalm concerning 
the Messiah, concerning our Lord Jesus, and in verse nine it says, 
even my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my 
bread, has lifted up his heel against me. Christ fulfilling 
Scripture, even dipping into this sauce. Notice fourthly, 
affirmation. The affirmation of this event 
in verse 24. Again, Christ isn't taken unawares. 
Christ isn't caught off guard. Christ isn't prancing around 
the hillside looking like a hippie, wondering what it is He's supposed 
to be doing. He's driven, He's steadfast, 
He's operating according to Scripture. And that comes out conspicuously 
in what He says here. Notice what He says in verse 
24, the Son of Man indeed goes, just as it is written of Him. The specific text would have 
been Psalm 22, the psalm of the cross concerning which crucifixion 
wasn't even known at the time it was composed. 700 years or 
several hundred years rather before the death of our Lord 
Jesus, there's a psalm that indicates he would be crucified. Probably 
Isaiah 53, that suffering servant that dies for his people. We 
have all kinds of Old Testament passages, Daniel 9, 26, talking 
about the Messiah who is cut off. What's he cut off onto or 
cut off in? He's cut off in death. But there's 
other passages. I think it goes back to Genesis 
3. The idea that the soul-crushing or the skull-crushing seed of 
the woman would render a decisive victory over the devil, and it 
would come through suffering and death. The whole scene in 
Genesis chapter 22, when Abraham takes Isaac up to Mount Moriah 
to sacrifice him, and Isaac says, we have everything we need, but 
we don't have the animal. And Abraham says, the Lord will 
provide. And after the angel spares Abraham 
from driving that knife into Isaac's gut or into his chest, 
what do we find? A ram caught in the thicket. 
The Lord provides. You see, Christ goes as it is 
written. The parallel in Luke's gospel 
says he goes as it has been determined, not determined by the Jewish 
leaders, not determined by Judas himself, but determined by the 
Father. Isaiah 53, 10, Yahweh was pleased 
to bruise him, putting him to grief. Acts 2, the Apostle Peter 
says this happened according to the predetermined plan of 
God. Acts 4, 27 and 28, they praise God for his sovereignty 
over the pharisees concerning the death of Jesus. Christ is 
marching according to the eternal decree, or to the Father's decree 
revealed in Scripture. But notice, in the fourth place, 
or fifth place rather, He gives this condemnation. Verse 24, 
C, or B and C. It says, the son of man indeed 
goes just as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom 
the son of man is betrayed. It would have been good for that 
man if he had not been born. Now this idea of woe is the opposite 
of blessing. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says, 
blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the peacemakers. 
Blessed is a good pronouncement by God. Woe is just about the 
opposite. He pronounces woes upon the cities 
of his day that reject him. In the presence of his mighty 
miracles, Christ pronounces woe upon them. Matthew 23, Jesus 
says, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. He condemns 
the religious leaders of his age with this opposite of blessing, 
namely, woe. And here he highlights what is 
coming in Judas' future. Now, if you have followed the 
argument up to this point, the entirety of verse 24, listen 
to something. that it was written concerning 
his death and that it was determined concerning his death by his father 
does not remove the guilt of Judas. I don't know how this 
works. It works. Woe to that man by whom the son 
of man is betrayed. After the same lips had just 
said, he goes as it is written. The same text in the parallel 
goes as it has been determined. You see, sovereignty does not 
cancel out or remove responsibility. Sovereignty does not remove from 
Judas the culpability due to him for his sin. Listen to John 
Gill on this. He says, for God's decree concerning 
this matter and the predictions in the Bible founded on them 
did not in the least excuse or extenuate the blackness of his 
crime, who did what he did of his own free will and wicked 
heart voluntarily and to satisfy his own lusts. Spurgeon, as he 
is often want to do, puts it in a very compact statement, 
divine decrees do not deprive a sinful action of its guilt. See that? Son of man goes as 
it is written, but woe to that man by whom the son of man is 
betrayed. And then Jesus goes one step 
further to highlight the punishment that is coming to Judas. It would 
have been better for that man if he had never been born. As 
I mentioned in the last hour, that's very curious language 
if hell isn't the reality. Two big competitors to the doctrine 
of hell. The doctrine of universalism, 
which teaches that everybody in the end will be saved. Very 
curious language by our Lord, if everybody in the end will 
be saved. The other competitor to the doctrine 
of hell is what's called annihilationism. I think this is what atheists 
and everybody who's not a Christian wants to happen. Annihilationism 
is basically this, it's a dreamless sleep. You die, you enter the 
grave, and it's as if you're in a dreamless sleep. I mean, 
who wouldn't, after a life of sin and rebellion and debauchery, 
welcome that? It's like one eternal nap, right? 
Especially when you get older, you want naps. That's one long 
nap. Everybody has a sort of an inkling 
to desire this and to long for this. Again, very curious language 
by our Lord, if that's an option, if the idea of annihilationism 
is true. Jesus assumes, Jesus states, 
and Jesus even pronounces condemnation upon Judas. It would have been 
good for that man if he had not been born. In other words, what 
lay ahead of him is a whole lot more horrific than anything he 
has heretofore even begun to think. One commentator makes 
this observation. He says that sin robs. Let me just find it. Sin robs 
life of its worth. Just ponder that. Sin robs life 
of its worth. Because what Jesus is saying 
is it would have been better for you to never have been than 
to continue in a life of sin and rebellion and rejection of 
the one true and living God. The end is wretched for those 
outside of Christ. The end is horrible for those 
outside of Christ. It's not Christian preachers 
that made up this doctrine. It's not Christian bigots or 
prejudicial people that made up this doctrine. It wasn't Christian 
parents in the 17th century that made up this doctrine to keep 
their children in check. This is from the words of the 
mouth of the Lord Jesus. It would have been better for 
this man to have never been born than to suffer the wrath and 
the fury and the judgment of God most high. It is written, 
it was determined, Judas is responsible. So never begin to think, well, 
if God's sovereign, he predestines and he elects and all those things, 
it really doesn't matter what I do. Paul counters that objection 
in Romans 9. You will say to me then, why 
does he still find fault with us? What's Paul's answer? Who 
are you, O man, to question God? Today we don't like that. That's 
offensive. You've got to give us answers. You've got to tell 
us everything. You've got to put me in my safe space and coddle 
me and care for me. Who are you, oh man, to question 
God? Who do we think we are? Why have 
we asserted ourselves, worms that we are, against the true 
and living God? Persons get offended by that. 
In fact, modern hymnody has changed the language of worm in Watts' 
hymn. for such a worm as I. Worm is 
a more dignified attribution to man than man. Worms don't 
sin. Worms don't reject their creator. 
Worms don't rebel. In that shift in modern hymnody 
to get rid of worm for sinner, they've made it worse. We don't 
like to refer to ourselves as worm. No concern that Christ 
the Lord refers to himself as worm in Psalm 22. I am a worm 
and not a man. What's he mean by that? He's 
held in content by the sinners around him. They see him in that 
light and they despise him as one would despise a worm. You 
see, brethren, we have no right to question God. Doesn't mean 
we can't ask questions and determine what scripture says. We have 
Bible studies for that. We meet on Wednesday night. We 
have confession studies to talk about the historic Christian 
faith. We certainly ask questions if we wanna hear the Bible's 
answer, but this assertion of how can he this and how can he 
that and how can he this and how can he that, we are worms 
of the earth talking to the majesty on high, and we ought to be very 
careful. So Christ specifies judgment, 
and then the section ends finally with confirmation. Then Judas, 
who was betraying him, answered and said, Rabbi, is it I? The 
question here indicates he did not ask it along with the others 
in verse 22. They ask it in verse 22. They're 
exceedingly sorrowful and they say, Lord, is it I? He asks it 
here. He probably asks it here because 
he doesn't want to appear out of line. He knows it's insincere. He knows he's betraying him. 
We've already seen this account in verses 14 to 16. And in case 
we have forgotten all that time ago, Matthew reminds us, Judas, 
who was betraying him, answered and said, Rabbi, is it I? Again, he doesn't want to appear 
out of place. They're all concerned. They all have asked the question. 
They're all searching it out. So he needed to, to sort of look 
like them as well. But he's an insincere wretch. 
He's already been to traffic with the religious leaders and 
to bargain for 30 pieces of silver. Remember that 30 pieces of silver 
was the amount paid for a slave. So as far as Judas was concerned, 
Jesus was worth chomp change. The woman takes 300 denarii worth 
of ointment and pours it on the Savior. Judas sells him for 30 
pieces of silver. It really is an incredible situation 
here. But he asks this question so 
he doesn't appear out of line. And he asks it last. Spurgeon 
says, those who are the last to suspect themselves are usually 
those who ought to be the first to exercise self-suspicion. And 
then notice, verse 22, Lord, is it I? Verse 25, Rabbi, is 
it I? Now, some have observed, and 
I don't think it's without warrant, that Rabbi is actually a more 
honorific title. That could indicate that he's 
really, you know, just trying to butter him up. It is and could be a more honorific 
title, but Matthew's gospel is specific. Rabbi is only on the 
mouths of those who oppose Jesus. The disciples in Matthew's gospel 
call him Lord. Again, Lord in that context didn't 
mean the sovereign of the universe. It could also have the connotation 
of sir. The way we would address somebody 
that has more honor than us. But I think in Matthew's gospel, 
we as the Christian hearer ought to appreciate the word Lord or 
the attribution of Lord to Jesus in its sovereign of the universe 
sort of capacity. But the point here is that here 
and in verse 49, Judas calls him a rabbi. It's only been the 
enemies, it's only been the religious leaders, it's only been his contenders 
that have referred to him as rabbi. And so the shift in the 
narrative indicates that the betrayer is no longer included 
among the disciple group. He is outside. He went out from 
us, but he was never of us, because if he was of us, he would have 
continued with us. Judas is an apostate, Judas is 
a reprobate, Judas is on the outside. And then finally, notice 
that Christ affirms it. He says, you have said it. Now, whether everybody heard 
this or not is unknown. But Judas understood. Judas knew 
that Jesus knew at this particular point. Again, Spurgeon makes 
this observation. Probably the reply reached his 
ears alone, and if he had not been a hopeless reprobate, this 
unmasking of his traitorous design might have driven him to repentance. But there was nothing in his 
heart to respond to Christ's voice. He had sold himself to 
Satan before he sold his Lord. So that's Christ at the Passover 
with his disciples, the context in which he announces, again, 
the betrayal, but not just the betrayal in general, but the 
betrayal in particular by one of the 12. He identifies, again, 
as one of the 12, and then narrows it down very specifically to 
Judas. Again, whether the disciples 
all understood this or not is unknown, but Jesus goes and he 
does what he's supposed to, or he goes and he does what he is 
committed to do. He shouldn't have done it, that's 
not supposed to, He shouldn't have done what he did, but he 
goes and he does what he's committed to do. Well, in conclusion, I 
just want to draw out a couple lessons. We'll pray and then 
go eat some food together. In the first place, we ought 
to appreciate the faithfulness of the 11. Now, the 11 from this 
point on, after the Lord's Supper, it's not gonna be great. I mean, 
I'm not gonna lie to you here. Peter's gonna deny Jesus, the 
disciples are all gonna forsake him, again, in accordance with 
what is written in the prophet Zechariah. They're not unsaved 
men. They're not ungodly men. They're 
not unrighteous men. They're imperfect men. We ought 
to appreciate that. But in this particular instance, 
they want to serve Jesus and not sell him. I'm going to be 
thankful that there is a band of faithful ones that don't want 
to sell out Jesus, but they want to serve him. They want to give 
him a Passover meal. They want to give him that land. 
They want to celebrate him as the master of the household. 
It's interesting as well, Pastor Porter read from Mark 3, and 
Jesus there gives an identification of his family. You see, in the 
Old Testament, in Exodus 12, how was the Passover to be celebrated? 
It was to be celebrated in your family. Christ's disciples are 
His family, those who do the will of the Father. and this 
family loved their master, and this family facilitated this 
service so that their master could comply with the Passover. 
They are sorrowful at his betrayal, and that it would, in fact, be 
one of them that betrayed him. It should always grieve us, brethren, 
when we hear of the sins of others. There's this attitude that I 
think is exhibited in the people of God about, I knew that guy 
was gonna fall. I knew that guy had it in him. 
Why are we like that? Why are we so cold and callous? Why is it the case that if somebody 
falls, well, you know, he said him, how about we cry for him? How about we sorrow for him? 
How about we weep for him? You know, some celebrity preacher 
gets himself into some trouble. You know, immediately we get 
to the side and we say, well, you know, he should have been 
a celebrity preacher. He should have, maybe we should just sorrow for the 
guy. We can be Job's friends, can't we? I mean, initially, 
Job's friends were fine. They just sat there and cried 
with him. Sometimes that's all we need, is to be sat with and 
cried with, not then lectured on how we're not as righteous 
as we ought to be, and not then lectured about it, you know, 
it was all our fault. Okay, I get that, just cry with me. They 
were exceedingly sorrowful. Brethren, let us learn something 
from that. The announcement of and the perpetration 
or commission rather of sin ought to cause us a degree of grief. And as well, they are suspicious 
of their own hearts. Again, don't be that introspective 
person that is only ever sitting in their house with their microscope, 
holding themselves under it. Yeah, let me just answer. You 
are a monster and you are that bad. But you don't need to sit 
in your closet and tell yourself that 24-7. But a healthy dose 
of self-examination is good. Doesn't Paul tell us that? Examine 
yourselves, test yourselves to see whether you're in the faith. 
Why do I think I'm in the faith? Because of my good works? Why 
do I think I'm in the faith? Because of my righteousness? 
Or do I actually say, my hope is built on nothing less than 
Jesus' blood and righteousness? In the second place, we ought 
to consider the treachery of Judas. The plan is initiated 
in verses 14 to 16. He goes to these religious leaders, 
who had a bit of a conundrum, because in chapter 26, verses 
3 to 5, these religious leaders are plotting how they might destroy 
Jesus. But they don't want to do it 
during the Passover, because there would be an uproar. So Judas, 
lo and behold, comes to them and says, hey, I know his patterns, 
I know his habits, I know how to isolate him, I know how to 
get him alone, away from that crowd. They're like, great, what 
do you want? 30 pieces of silver, no problem, 
there you go. So the plan was initiated back 
in verses 14 to 16. The plan here is confirmed by 
Judas in verses 23 to 25. Imagine this, Judas now knows 
that Jesus knows and Judas still continues. There's really no sort of explanation 
for how hard our hearts can get, is there? Think about this. Jesus knows you're going to betray 
him, and you follow through? Jesus knows that you are the 
one who's going to deliver him up, and you keep going? This 
man's heart is so hard. This man's heart makes Flint 
look soft. This man's heart is committed 
to evil. The plan is executed in verses 
47 to 56. Of course he knew Jesus would 
be in Gethsemane. He knew that those men would 
be alone in that particular part of the world. And he has the 
gall to go and betray him with a kiss, again addressing him 
as rabbi. The plan was sinful and thus 
punishable, even though it was indeed according to the word 
and decree of God. And as well, the plan was solidified 
throughout. Every step of the way, his heart 
just gets harder and harder. I think we ought to appreciate 
in Judas, not appreciate like in a positive way, but appreciate 
what we see in Judas by way of warning. There is a point of 
no return. There is a point where we continue 
to refuse and reject and resist. And in Judas's case, open himself 
up to the devil, being a lover of money, a thief who held the 
money basket, pilfering out of it for his own desires. He gets 
to this point where he does not repent. He gets to this point 
where he will not repent. He gets to this point where he 
cannot repent. The privileged position of Judas 
did not deter him. He was one of the 12. One of 
those chosen by Jesus Christ, and that position did not deter 
him. Don't think church attendance 
makes you a Christian. Keith Green was right. Going 
to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to McDonald's 
makes you a hamburger. It is not church attendance, 
it's faith in Christ. The threat of punishment did 
not deter him. Think about that. Woe to the 
man by whom the son of man is betrayed. It would be better 
for him if he had never been born. That threat didn't deter 
him. You see, Christ had set his face 
like a flint to go to Jerusalem. Judas has done the same thing 
to oppose the Christ. And as well, the knowledge of 
Jesus Christ, specifically concerning Judas's treachery, didn't deter 
him, just hardened him, just made him more resolute. So may 
I suggest, no, may I implore? May I beg, Paul uses that language 
in Corinthians, that you flee to Christ, to come, to believe, 
that you look and you live, because this is a pathetic example of 
what sin undealt with looks like. And I suggest there are some 
in this room right now who have not believed. They have rejected, 
they have resisted, they have refused, they continue to do 
so, My encouragement is to look unto Jesus, to believe on Jesus, 
to look and live. That's what the scripture says. 
It's not, go fix your life, make yourself better, and try harder. No, it's by grace alone, through 
faith alone, in Christ alone, that ever a man was saved. And 
that holds true now as it did, as true now as it did when Paul 
wrote Ephesians 2. It's grace through faith in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. We are going to be celebrating, 
I don't know, we specifically, but this year is the so-called 
500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. It is that year 
that, 2017, it was 1517, when Martin Luther banged those 95 
theses up on the wall at Wittenberg. Reformation was already going 
on prior to that. That's just, you know, we like 
ceremony, and we like pomp, and we like to sort of attach a day 
or a date, and we say that, no, there was a lot of good stuff 
even before Martin Luther, and we have to appreciate that. But 
what was the thing that was recovered at the Reformation or justified 
by faith alone? It's not by our works of righteousness 
because we have none. It's not by our efforts. It's 
not by our merits. It's not by our doing, but it's 
through the doing and the dying and the rising of our Lord Jesus 
Christ and the way by which we lay hold of that is faith. Look to Christ and be ye saved, 
all the ends of the earth. For I am God, he says through 
the prophet Isaiah, and there is no other. Let us not wait. Let us not resist. Let us not 
refuse. Let us not reject. But let us 
run. Let us flee. Let us go to the 
Lord Jesus Christ, lest we end up with Judas. And it be said 
of us, it would have been better for that man, that boy, that 
girl, that woman, had they never been born, to go through what 
is in their future. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word and we thank you for this 
account and we pray that you would cause us to reflect soberly 
and seriously upon it. We thank you that our Lord Jesus 
went through what he went through so that sinners might be saved. 
We ask and pray that you would look with favor upon each and 
every one of us, grant us grace to look and live, grant us grace 
to know the joy of being found in Christ Jesus alone. And we 
pray in his most blessed name, amen.