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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26. I'll begin reading in 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." Amen. Well, 
let us pray. Father, we thank you for the 
Word of God, we thank you for the Gospel records, we thank 
you for Matthew's account concerning our Lord Jesus Christ and his 
act of obedience and obeying the law of God every step of 
his way, every jot and tittle, obeying what the Father had commanded. 
We thank you for his passive obedience, his death at Calvary. 
We thank you that through that he satisfied divine justice. 
Through that he brought atonement. And we just praise you for his 
life and his death and his resurrection. As we enter into this section 
in Matthew's Gospel, may we do so understanding that this is 
indeed holy ground. This does reveal to us the sufferings 
of the Son of Man, reveals to us the death of the Son of Man, 
does as well show us the empty tomb and the resurrection and 
the fact that He sits enthroned at your right hand even now. 
And we do look forward to that day when He comes again in glory 
to judge the living and the dead. We pray that everyone here this 
morning would be prepared for that day, that everyone here 
this morning would be trusting, believing the gospel, looking 
to Christ alone in whom there is salvation. And our Father, 
we pray that your Holy Spirit would be sent, that he would 
be working and active in our hearts and lives. We would pray 
even now that you would forgive us for our sins and transgressions, 
cleanse us from sins, darkening influence and power. God, we 
want to receive with thanksgiving your word, and we want by the 
power of the Holy Spirit to put that word into practice. Again, 
sanctify your people, save the unsaved, and bring glory to the 
name of God most high, even Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we 
pray these things through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, chapters 
26 to 28 in the gospel record is essentially where this gospel 
has been heading all along. It does supply the answer to 
some of the things that we see previously in Matthew's gospel. 
Remember it was announced in Matthew 1.21, it is He who will 
save His people from their sins. Well, chapters 26 to 28 indicate 
how. The Lord Jesus, prior to entering into Jerusalem, said, 
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve 
and to give his life a ransom for many. Well, chapters 26 to 
28 will evidence or indicate or show us how it is that he 
gave his life a ransom for many. Also, when Jesus is with his 
disciples in the upper room, or rather the last supper meal, 
he says very specifically, for this is my blood. of the new 
covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins. So 
chapters 26 to 28 evidence how that does indeed take place. 
And essentially what we have in chapters 26 and 28, I just 
want to give you a brief overview as I read this morning. We're 
going to look at the prologue to the passion narrative in verses 
1 to 5. But essentially what we have 
in verses 1 to 16 are the final hours of Jesus' I'm sorry, the 
scene is set for the Passion. The final hours of Jesus with 
his disciples at the Last Supper and Gethsemane is in 26, 17 to 
46. Interestingly enough, the disciples 
will not be part of the story from that point on except Judas' 
suicide and Peter's betrayal. The disciples don't look too 
good sort of in this particular section. And I think that it's 
important for us to realize that the best of men are men at best. 
And that does underscore as well that Jesus faces his enemies 
alone. He has no co-mediator. There 
is no co-redemption person along with him. Christ faces his final 
hours all alone, subject to the wrath of God, ultimately subject 
to the wrath of man, and that for our salvation. The arrest 
and trials are recorded in chapter 26, 47 to 7, 26. Essentially 
what you had was a substantive Jewish trial where they had indeed 
declared him guilty. And then basically the Romans 
just endorsed that verdict and delivered him up to crucifixion. And then we see the execution 
and burial of Jesus in chapter 27, 27 to 66. And then of course 
the resurrection in chapter 28. I just want to read a brief quote 
by J.C. Ryle as he introduces this section in his expository 
thoughts on Matthew. I kind of wanted to do something 
like this, but he does it a whole lot better. He says, Hitherto 
we have read of his sayings and doings. We are now about to read 
of his sufferings and death. Hitherto we have seen him as 
the great prophet. We are now about to see him as 
the great high priest. The place whereon we stand is 
holy ground. Here we see how the seed of the 
woman bruised the serpent's head. Here we see the great sacrifice 
to which all the sacrifices of the Old Testament had long pointed. Here we see how the blood was 
shed which cleanses from all sin, and the Lamb slain who takes 
away the sin of the world. We see in the death of Christ 
the great mystery revealed, how God can be just and yet justify 
the ungodly. As I mentioned in the last hour, 
if Matthew's gospel was a temple, we are crossing the threshold 
into the Holy of Holies. Well, I want to look at verses 
1 to 5 under two considerations this morning. First, the prophecy 
concerning the crucifixion in verses 1 and 2, and then secondly, 
the conspiracy involved in the crucifixion in verses 3 to 5. Basically, you have two parallel, 
structurally parallel statements, what Jesus says and what the 
religious leaders say, but they are completely opposite in terms 
of content. Christ prophesies his crucifixion, 
these chief priests and elders, they secure this particular verdict. Let's look at the prophecy concerning 
the crucifixion in verses 1 and 2, the occasion. It says, now 
it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these sayings that 
he said to his disciples. Remember, this takes place in 
one particular week. After the triumphal entry, when 
Jesus comes to Jerusalem, though it's taken us a long time to 
work through the Olivet Discourse, we are in the same Passion Week. 
And very specifically, we're on the same day. I think total, 
we preached 16 sermons on the Olivet Discourse in verses 24 
and 25. So that took 16 weeks, if it 
was consecutive. But we need to realize that what 
happens here is on Tuesday night. The Lord Jesus had spoken. He 
had given the Olivet Discourse to his disciples. And this is 
the same Tuesday night that he speaks concerning this particular 
subject. And so when it says, and it came 
to pass, now, I'm sorry, now it came to pass when Jesus had 
finished all these sayings. Yes, the Olivet Discourse, but 
then as well, I think the entirety of his discourses in Matthew's 
Gospel. You see this Moses typology here. Moses was typical of our Lord 
Jesus, and very often in the final hours of Moses, similar 
statements are made concerning his address to the children of 
Israel in 31.1 of Deuteronomy, 31.24, and in 32.45. Now, after 
all these things, Moses then said, And it is interesting, some have 
seen the five discourses of Jesus sort of answering to or antitypical 
of the five books of Moses. But as well, you need to consider 
the larger theology presented in this particular section. Christ 
links his crucifixion with the Passover. What was Passover? That was the feast wherein God 
had indeed commanded his people to remember the exodus. That 
exodus led by Moses, the human instrument, where he brought 
the people out of Egypt. What we find is that Christ is 
a new Moses, leading a new exodus. The typology is strong. and it's 
realized or recognized by all the New Testament authors, and 
we'll see it as we move along. But his public ministry has come 
to a conclusion. To echo Ryle, we have seen him 
or heard him as the great prophet, and now we're gonna see him as 
the great high priest. And note his declaration. After 
he had said these things, he then says to his disciples, you 
know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man 
will be delivered up to be crucified. Now, the knowledge of the Passover. 
When he says, you know, this could either be an indicative, 
you already know this, or it can be an imperative. You need 
to know this. And it's tough to know specifically, 
not know again, but it's tough to know specifically whether 
it's an indicative or an imperative. Is he appealing to something 
they already knew, or is he telling them something that they didn't 
know? Well, they would certainly know 
that Passover was two days away. Now, by Jewish reckoning, Tuesday 
night would have been Wednesday, so that's why it was two days 
away. They would have known that Passover was near. They would 
be observing the Passover. They would be in the city that 
was filled with people observing the Passover. As well, they knew 
that Christ was going to be delivered up to be crucified, if they had 
been paying attention. In Matthew 16, Jesus makes a 
declaration, and he says that he's going to Jerusalem. He's 
going to be killed. That's when Peter says, Lord, 
may it never be. And Jesus rebukes him and says, 
get behind me, Satan. You're not thinking God's thoughts 
after him, but rather you're putting your own thoughts ahead. 
And then as well in Matthew 17, we see a second prediction of 
Christ about Jerusalem concerning his death. And then again in 
Matthew 20, a third prediction or prophecy from Christ concerning 
his death. So the disciples knew both that 
it was Passover and they had knew if they had been paying 
attention that Jesus was going to be crucified. Perhaps what 
Jesus is commanding them to know is that the crucifixion is going 
to take place on the Passover. That has been information that 
has not been revealed up to this particular point. So I think 
that in that context it's probably an imperative. I want you to 
know something. The Passover is in two days, 
and on that Passover day, the Son of Man is to be delivered 
up to crucifixion. So I think that's where He's 
going in this particular situation. Note the timing of the crucifixion. You know that after two days 
is the Passover. As I said, Jews reckon the day 
beginning with the sundown. So Tuesday night would be the 
beginning of Wednesday, hence, two days until Friday. Now, the 
link between the Passover and his crucifixion, again, is conspicuous. You're not supposed to say, wow, 
that's pretty amazing. Whoa, that's curious. Whoa, that's 
lucky. Whoa, that was a happy coincidence. No, you're not supposed to say 
that. You're supposed to appreciate the reality that we find in John 
1, 29, when the Baptist says, behold, the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin of the world. You're supposed to understand 
what the New Testament writers, what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 
5. Christ is our Passover sacrifice. What God did in the Old Testament 
through Moses with reference to the children of Israel was 
typical of what he would do through Christ with reference to the 
new Israel or the true Israel of God, the elect. You see, the 
one brought them out of bondage under Egyptian power. The second brings us out of bondage 
under the devil's power. It brings us out of the bondage 
of sin, and depravity, and wickedness, and rebellion, and the violation 
of every one of his ten words. This is the new exodus that Christ 
will bring forth through His death. The great redemptive act 
of the Old Testament was typical of the great redemptive act of 
the New Testament. The New Testament sees this, 
recognizes it, and highlights it conspicuously. John 1.29, 
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the reference 
here, by our Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 5.7, Christ, our 
Passover, was sacrificed for us. 1 Peter 1, verse 19, the 
same sort of thing. These New Testament authors interpreted 
the work of Christ as the exodus, as the new exodus, as the one 
wherein the power of sin is broken, wherein the power of sin is dashed 
to the ground, wherein the Son of God is that Genesis 3.15 man 
that would crush the head of the serpent. That's how these 
New Testament authors saw it, that's how they interpret it 
for us, and that's what we are to appreciate. What we find in 
John's Gospel even is it's structured around three Passover feasts. You've got to remember this command 
in Exodus 12, to take that blood and splash it upon your doorposts, 
pointed forward to the blood that would be splashed at Calvary's 
tree. That blood that does cleanse 
us from all sin. That blood in the old covenant 
that the angel saw and spared that Israelite family pointed 
to the new covenant wherein that blood is the means by which we 
are spared from the wrath and fury and the judgment of God 
Most High. It truly is a beautiful image 
applied. to this particular event of our 
Lord Jesus. Now notice what Christ says specifically. You know, or I want you to know, 
that after two days is the Passover and the Son of Man will be delivered 
up to be crucified. Intriguing, the Son of Man. Again, 
a passage or a title. that Jesus uses often and frequently 
of Himself. He just used it in Matthew 25 
at verse 31. Notice, when the Son of Man comes 
in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will 
sit on the throne of His glory. Son of man, oftentimes interpreted 
by us, means his humanity. But more often than not, it points 
to his divinity. It points to his regal power. 
It points to his royal authority. It points to Daniel 7, 13 and 
14, where he is that son of man that comes to the ancient of 
days, and he is given dominion and glory and a kingdom. But 
notice the flow and the context. This son of man who prophesies 
in 2531 that he is the one who will judge the living and the 
dead, this son of man first must give himself up. This son of 
man first must suffer. This son of man must first bear 
the wrath and fury and judgment of God. This son of man truly 
is a suffering servant. This son of man truly is one 
who lays down his life for the sheep. This son of man who will 
have all this glory and power and dominion must first go through 
the dark passage of the cross. I mean, when you read these passages 
and you see these connections, I mean, he goes from the judgment 
day in 2531 to 46, where absolute authority is his, he's clothed 
with glory, he's clothed with power, he's got the holy angels, 
he sits upon the throne of his glory, and then we read Matthew 
26 and 27? How do we explain that? This one who's going to 
be my judge wears a crown of thorns for me? This one who's 
going to be my judge is the one who bears the wrath and fury 
of God first and foremost and of man secondarily? This son 
of man who's going to judge me is the son of man who laid down 
his life for me? Exactly. You need to appreciate 
that. You need to praise God for that. 
You might look at 26.1-5 and say, well, what's the practical 
import of such things? How am I going to go home and 
be a better me? Hopefully a worshipping you. Hopefully a praising you. Hopefully an adoring you. Because 
as we cross that threshold into the holy of holies in Matthew's 
gospel, we're gonna see some amazing things. We're gonna see 
the reality of a savior who laid down his life, not for righteous 
people. Doesn't Paul tell us this in 
Romans 5? For scarcely for a righteous man would one lay down his life. 
But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while 
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You see the logic Paul 
employs? I'd like to think if somebody 
threw a grenade into the middle of this sanctuary this morning, 
one or two or three of us might say, hey, I'm going to jump on 
that because I want to spare my brethren. I like to think 
that, but scarcely for a righteous man would one dare to die. But 
the glory of the gospel is not that he came and jumped on a 
grenade for righteous men. No, much worse than a grenade, 
he bore the wrath and fury of God most high for unrighteous 
men, for unjust men, for men who blaspheme, for men who are 
idolaters, men who break the Sabbath, men who are insubordinate 
to governing authority, men who are insubordinate to their parents. 
I mean, what a blot on creation as a little boy or a girl that 
is in defiance to the parental authority that God has stationed 
over them, and yet Christ comes to die for such. He dies for 
such who would murder. He dies for such who commit adultery. And if you say, well, I've never 
committed those acts, at least externally, we're all guilty 
in heart and head. Does anyone here can ever say, 
well, I've never been angry with anybody without a cause. I've 
never killed somebody in my heart. Never committed adultery in my 
heart. Well, whoopee to you. I hope that you have a great 
life as a wonderfully righteous person. But for the rest of us, 
Christ came to die for the ungodly. Theft, lies, covetousness. For a righteous man would one 
die. God demonstrates his own love 
toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died 
for us. And then note the language that he employs, the Son of Man 
will be delivered up to be crucified. This word is oftentimes translated 
as betrayed, and it's a good translation, but we miss something 
of the theological import if we only translate it as betrayed. Because Christ in the first place 
is delivered up by Judas. There it's an apt translation, 
betrayed, right? Didn't Judas betray Jesus? Didn't Judas hand him over? Didn't Judas deliver him up? You see, it wasn't just Judas 
as a part of the process. The second group that we ought 
to observe that was complicit in delivering up the Lord Jesus 
is the religious leaders. That's the plot, the conspiracy 
to commit murder in verses 3 to 5 that we'll see in just a moment. 
They would deliver him up. They would deliver him up to 
Pilate because they didn't possess the lawful authority to execute. 
They didn't have their own electric chair. They didn't have lethal 
injection. They didn't have a gallows. They didn't have the lawful authority 
in the Roman Empire to execute criminal offenders. They needed 
Pilate. So they deliver him up to Pilate. 
And of course, what does Pilate do? Same word, this word paradidatai 
is used often in this particular section. Everywhere we turn, 
Christ is being delivered up. Everywhere we turn, Christ is 
being handed over. Everywhere we turn, Christ is 
being betrayed. So what does Pilate do? He delivers 
him up because he doesn't want to have to deal with an angry 
mob at Passover. You see, if we only ever translate 
the word as betray, we'll miss some theological punch. Who was 
Christ ultimately delivered up by? The Father. You see, these were the instruments 
or the means by which our sovereign God executes his decree, but 
make no mistake about it, Christ is operating in the context of 
that eternal transaction, about the salvation of the elect, compacted 
by Father and Son. All those times in John's gospel, 
for instance, when Jesus says, my father who sent me. My meat 
is to do the will of him who sent me. I always do what pleases 
my father. This is covenantal language. 
The Lord Jesus is operating to a particular set of marching 
orders. We call it in theology the covenant of redemption. Some 
call it the council of peace, whatever we want to call it. 
Our confession acknowledges it as an eternal transaction between 
the father and the son. But it was the Father who delivered 
him up, ultimately. Yes, wretched Judas. I'm not 
suggesting we let Judas off the hot seat here, or somehow acknowledge 
these religious leaders are good men, or that Pilate, what a bastion. No, the whole idea of God's decree. He is the first and the primary 
cause. This establishes the foundation 
for the second causes. It doesn't mitigate against the 
responsibility of men. These men are culpable for everything 
they do, but you need to acknowledge that it's according to the plan 
of God, like we saw on Wednesday night. Rehoboam's idiocy, Rehoboam's 
naivety when he takes the throne from his father Solomon. Everything 
he does is wrong. Every step of the way, he's out 
of his league. He's in too far. He doesn't know. 
He doesn't have a clue. Instead of seeking wisdom from 
the elders, no, I'm going to listen to the younger men. Instead 
of trying to make concessions, no, I'm going to threaten and 
intimidate them. Instead of doing the things a good king is supposed 
to do, he does the opposite. And as a result, the kingdom 
is ruptured, it's split in two. But it's according to the plan 
of God! It happens according to Yahweh's word, through Ahijah 
the prophet, to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. You see, there's 
nothing that takes place in this earth apart from our sovereign 
God. And the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is no exception. Look 
at Isaiah the prophet, chapter 53, to appreciate this whole 
idea that he was delivered up by the Father. Isaiah 53, where this verb in 
the Greek translation of the Old Testament is used conspicuously, 
it is used many times. But notice in 53.10, yet it pleased 
Yahweh to bruise him, Christ. He has put him to grief. When 
you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, 
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall 
prosper in his hand. Turn over to Acts 2, verse 23. He's looking at the language 
that Christ uses, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to 
be crucified. Yes, wretched Judas. Yes, wretched 
chief priests and elders. Yes, wretched Pilate. But yes, 
righteous God. Because this is the means by 
which, through the act of obedience, the passive obedience of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that He would save us from our sins. Notice, 
in Acts 2.22, men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, 
a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, 
which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves 
also know, him being delivered by the determined purpose and 
foreknowledge of God. You see, if we only ever translate 
that word betray, we're gonna miss this nuance. He wasn't betrayed 
by the Father. He was delivered up by the Father, 
willingly submitted to by the Son, according to that eternal 
transaction betwixt the two, including the Spirit, the three. 
You see, it was the plan of God. Men didn't conceive this. Men 
couldn't conceive this. I always find it amazing when 
people look at Christianity like it's just another made-up religion. 
Who makes up a holy God? If you were to make up a God, 
would you make up a God who hated your sexual sin? A God who hated 
the acceptance of, a God who hated your rebellion against 
parents? Would you make up a God who wanted 
to judge you with fire and brimstone and hellfire? No, we wouldn't 
make up such a God, would we? And when you look at the heathen 
and you look at even the pagans and the heathen in the Old Testament, 
what kind of gods did they make up, the heathen around Israel? 
Well, we have a fertility god because we like our land watered 
and we need crops. But he doesn't really care about 
morality. In fact, the way, not the whale bale was worshipped, 
but the way bale was worshipped was through fornication, copulation. We engage, if we let go and let 
bail, then he's gonna let go and let bail, and we're gonna 
get rain on our crops, and we're all gonna be happy forever. See, 
we wouldn't make up a thrice holy God that's gonna punish 
us for our sin. We certainly wouldn't have made 
up blood atonement. We certainly wouldn't have conceived 
of a glorious God, one in substance, three in person, the second person 
coming and identifying with us in such a way that he takes on 
our humanity. He submits to the law of his 
father. He lives in perfect compliance 
and obedience to that law, and then he goes to the cross on 
our behalf. Who would have thought this out? Who would have thought 
this up? It was God. See, another evidence that the 
salvation that we enjoy was not conceived by us, was not contributed 
to by us. It was certainly not helped along 
by us. It's of God, of His will. He brought us forth by the word 
of truth. It's not our will that's primary in this whole matter 
of salvation, but notice what Peter goes on to say. This does 
not relieve the guilty parties of their guilt. Him being delivered 
by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have 
taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. He 
doesn't say, well, because God is sovereign, you're not responsible. 
Because God is sovereign, it's okay for you to do those sorts 
of things. Because God is sovereign, Rehoboam, it's okay to be a complete 
fool in the kingdom in Israel. No, the sovereignty of God does 
not reduce the responsibility of man. Notice in Acts 4, Acts 
chapter 4, again highlighting this statement of our Lord Jesus, 
He'll be delivered up to crucifixion, yes, by Judas, yes, by the religious 
leaders, yes, by Pilate, but by His Father. Notice in Acts 
4, verse 24, so when they heard that, they raised their voice 
to God with one accord and said, Lord, You are God who made heaven 
and earth and the sea and all that is in them. who by the mouth 
of your servant David have said, why did the nations rage and 
the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their 
stand and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and 
against his Christ. For truly against your holy servant 
Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with 
the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together 
to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before 
to be done. So as Christ is closing in on 
the cross, He is mindful of the reality that He will be delivered 
up. But you know what causes him 
the most, I don't know if consternation is the right word, the most sorrow 
in Gethsemane? It's not the actions of Judas, 
it's not the actions of the religious priests, it's not the actions 
of Pilate, but what causes fear in the Lord Christ, according 
to his humanity, is the cup of God's wrath. He never didn't 
see this. He always knew what lay in his 
future. So back to Matthew 26, the son 
of man would indeed be crucified. This would be willingly, John 
10, verses 17 to 18. Christ highlights his willingness 
in this covenant of redemption. He highlights his willingness 
submitting to his father, even unto death. So he's not an unwilling 
participant. He's not a Grinning Barrett sort 
of man. He's a resolved man. I love that 
passage in Luke 9 when they make their trek to Jerusalem. The 
old King James says, he set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem. He is not going to shrink back. 
He is not going to be a coward. He is not going to be like us. 
Some difficulty comes before us. What do we do? We run and 
we hide. I think I'm not going to get out of bed today. Christ 
was resolved every step of the way, and that is a lesson we 
need to appreciate and a lesson that we need to take and turn 
into worship for our God and this Christ who came to save 
us from our wretchedness and our sinfulness. Now notice, secondly, 
the conspiracy involved in this crucifixion. We see the prophecy 
concerning the crucifixion in verses one and two. Note the 
conspiracy, and there's three things we ought to observe here. 
First, the assembly, secondly, the plot, and third, the fear. 
But note the assembly. Verse 3, then the chief priests. Now the word then there. It used 
to be kind of a joke back in the day with some Reformed Baptist 
preachers. They could preach 100 sermons 
on four in the John 3, 16. Four. God so loved the world. By sermon 984, we're finally 
getting to the end or getting to the idea. It was a bit of 
a joke. That famous sermon by Martin 
Lloyd-Jones, which is absolutely incredible, the two words of 
Ephesians 2, 4, but God. Now that's some preaching, brethren. 
You listen to that and you'll hear a man expound two words 
in a way that is absolutely incredible. But this word then is pretty 
incidental, isn't it? I mean, it's not a big word. 
It's not a powerful word. It's not one that's loaded with 
a great deal of theological freight, yet it is. Note the connection. I think we ought to appreciate 
this conspicuously in light of what we saw in the prophet Isaiah. 
The prophecy, then the conspiracy. In other words, Christ knows 
what's happening. Christ's not out of control. Christ's not just some hippie 
wandering the Palestinian countryside looking for his next experience. Christ is in absolute control 
of these events. The then highlights that prophecy 
precedes the actual conspiracy. It's conspicuous. Davies and 
Allison say that his prophecy precedes the account of his opponents, 
underlines his foreknowledge. He is more in charge than they 
are. So I think when we get to 26 
and 27, and we should, we should see the man of sorrows, we should 
see the one acquainted with grief, but we ought to also realize 
he never ceases to be this blessed person with two natures. He never 
ceases to be the glorious son of man. And while he is in the 
role of victim here as the sacrifice for sin, he's not a victim the 
way, say, a lamb out of your flock or a bull out of your flock. He willingly undertakes. He willingly goes forward. He 
keeps his mouth shut like a lamb that's led to the slaughter. 
A lamb doesn't have any choice, really. Christ does it because 
he's submitting to his Father. So we need to appreciate that 
his prophecy precedes their conspiracy. Now note the participants. It 
tells us the chief priests, the scribes, if you're in the King 
James tradition, and the elders of the people assembled at the 
palace of the high priest who is called Caiaphas. Now it would 
be hard for us not to hear Psalm 2 here, wouldn't it? You say, 
well, what does Psalm 2 say? Well, we just read it in Acts 
4, but let me refresh your mind. Psalm 2, verses one to three. Why did the nations rage and 
the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves 
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against 
His anointed, saying, let us break their bonds and pieces 
and cast away their cords from us." This is just what the apostles 
rehearse when they're praying to God, underscoring the reality 
to do whatever your hand purposed to be done. We have a conspiracy 
to commit murder here. And it's according to the Psalter. 
Psalm 31, the righteous sufferer there says, for I hear the slander 
of many, fear is on every side. While they take counsel together 
against me, they scheme to take away my life. Now, certainly 
that's applicable to David. I mean, when we studied 1 and 
2 Samuel, David didn't just lay on the couch and rule the kingdom 
from a position of comfort and ease. David was always on the 
run. David was hunted like a dog. David had nothing but foes and 
enemies. But the psalm is messianic as 
it's applied to the Lord Jesus on the cross in Luke 23. Father, into your hand I commit 
my spirit. See, the psalms give us the theology 
in poetry of what Matthew 26 and 27 is going to declare to 
us. The teaching of our Lord Jesus 
is consistent with what these men are conspiring. Specifically 
chapter 20, you can go back there. I already mentioned that he announced 
three times prior to this his going to Jerusalem in order to 
suffer and die. He does it in chapter 16, he 
does it in chapter 17. Notice in chapter 20 at verse 
17, now Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the 12 disciples aside on 
the road and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, 
and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the 
scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him 
to the Gentiles to mock and discourage him to crucify, and the third 
day he will rise again." Back to 26. These men are operating 
according to the divine plan that Christ knows, recognizes, 
but we need to understand they are culpable. They are responsible 
every whit as much as Rehoboam for being a foolish king after 
Solomon. I'm going to say, well, Rehoboam actually did what the 
will of God was, so therefore it's okay. We could apply that 
to any notorious figure in history. Certainly there's more that can 
be said concerning God's decree and the actions of men. We have 
a confession study every other Sunday morning. We cover chapter 
3 on God's decree from time to time, at least every 64th week. You're welcome to come and hopefully 
hear how those things work together. But as well, this reflects the 
tension in the Gospel of Matthew, doesn't it? Hasn't Matthew been 
conspicuous to show us that there's two responses to Jesus? With Jesus, it wasn't, you know, 
you kind of liked him a little bit. There's people like that 
today. You kind of like this guy a little bit, but, you know, 
he's not necessarily a cup of tea. You either were with him 
or you were against him. This is his words in Matthew 
12, 30. He who is not with me is against me. Well, Matthew's 
gospel conspicuously demonstrates that such is the case. In fact, 
as close as Matthew chapter 21, you can turn there to see this 
tension that has been building in Matthew 21 at verse 45. Now, 
when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived 
that he was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands 
on him, they feared the multitudes because they took him for a prophet. Now, remember, that's Tuesday 
too. So during the Tuesday day, they 
wanted to arrest him and take him away. Now, have you ever 
pondered why they wanted to arrest him? What did he do? This is a great mystery in the 
gospels, isn't it? When you get to Gethsemane and 
they put the handcuffs on him. I'm speaking anachronistically 
here. Does anybody ever wonder why 
did they do this? What had he done? Nothing. Not a thing. Wholly harmless, undefiled. or 
in hymnody, guilty, vile, helpless we, spotless Son of God was he. Full atonement can it be? Hallelujah, 
what a Savior. Note their plot. It says, the 
chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled 
at the palace of the high priest, who is called Caiaphas, and plotted 
to take Jesus by trickery and kill him. Now, the religious 
leaders are two days away from Passover also, right? I want to make sure everybody's 
awake. Everybody with me? I mean, if Jesus is in Tuesday 
night, these guys are on Tuesday night. What's Passover celebrate? Freedom! Redemption! Liberation! No more bondage! Look at what these guys are plotting 
on the eve of the Passover. murder of the one sent by the 
Father as the Messiah to usher in real freedom, real liberty, 
real peace, real joy. One commentator says, those who 
should be celebrating their freedom make plans to preserve their 
servitude by killing the one who can give them true freedom. 
And notice how they have to operate, how they have to proceed. They 
plot to take Jesus by trickery and kill him. Isn't that sad 
and pathetic? If you're actually right, you 
don't have to try and proceed by trickery or by stealth or 
by deceit to try and arrest the one who's so conspicuously wrong. Just going back to that thought 
for a moment, what did Jesus do to merit arrest from these 
Jews? Davies and Allison, in a footnote, 
say the historical reason why Jewish authorities, or rather 
the high priest, had arrested Jesus, or had Jesus arrested, 
has no certain answer. It really doesn't. I mean, imagine 
just some pagan lawyer looking at the gospel records and examining 
these things. He'd probably say, why did they 
arrest him? They didn't have a probable cause. They didn't 
have a smoking gun. They didn't have any evidence. 
These guys couldn't have got a search warrant to go into Gethsemane 
after him. What did he do? Davies and Allison 
continue, the best guess is that Caiaphas was primarily or exclusively 
concerned with the possibility that Jesus would incite a riot. 
But the gospels, so far from enlightening us, presuppose that 
they hated me without cause. Is that what is applied to our 
Lord Jesus in John 15? It's from this altar, Psalm 69. 
And then they end with this particular statement that I find very satisfying. 
There is no rational explanation for an irrational act. It's irrational. Man-wardly. We know God-wardly, 
it's the eternal decree fleshed out through these particular 
means. But if we ask the question, why 
Caiaphas? Why religious leaders? Why would 
you arrest this man? He didn't do anything wrong. Well, we ultimately know the 
answer to that, don't we? Sin, depravity. It's just the 
reality of scripture. John sets off his gospel presentation. With that fact, he came, Christ, 
to his own, and his own received him not. Not only did they not 
receive him, they positively rejected him. They wanted to 
arrest him earlier in the day, and now they are plotting in 
Caiaphas's courtyard, a palace, about how best to take him by 
stealth, by deceit, by trickery. which I think is at least an 
indirect proof to the holiness and the harmlessness and the 
undefiledness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Has anybody ever accused 
you of something that you didn't do? Probably, but you're probably 
guilty of a whole host of other things they had no idea about. 
And when somebody says, I wanna talk to you, you're a real sinner, 
you don't know the half of it. It's like those deli machines, 
take a number, because I just got a whole litany of things 
that I could tell you about. These men are plotting to destroy 
the Son of God. Now note their fear. Verse five, 
but they said, not during the feast, lest there be an uproar 
among the people. Now popular support for Jesus 
was well known. In the triumphal entry, what 
happens? Galileans come down to Jerusalem in order to go to 
the Passover feast. Remember, Jerusalem at this time 
is pretty packed. And I think this translation 
is right, not during the feast. There were people present. Jesus 
had popular support. And we find that even in Matthew 
21, when they ask him, by what authority do you do these things? 
And Jesus says, I'll ask you a question. Was John's baptism 
from heaven or was it from men? They don't just answer why, because 
they feared the multitude, because Jesus was received by the multitude. And if Jesus puts them on the 
horns of this dilemma and they confess a certain way, then it 
will validate what this multitude wants. These men are driven by 
fear, the fear of man. Christ is a willing, submissive 
servant to the Father. We wanted to moralize, we could 
jump to the side of the passage and say, the fear of man brings 
a curse. There's safety in the fear of 
God, and this is what we find played out before our eyes. Now, 
the potential for riots during Jewish feasts was real. Josephus 
records a particular event that had a riot. As well, Josephus 
records preparations the Romans would take for Jewish feasts. So it wasn't unfounded on their 
part to think, hey, if we take them during the feast, there's 
gonna be this uproar. It had happened. There were precautions 
taken by the Roman government in order to make sure it didn't 
happen. So on the one hand, they have this validly. But as well, 
notice verse five. They said, not during the feast, 
lest there be an uproar among the people. These men underestimated 
the doctrine of total depravity, didn't they? So why do you think 
that? Because the popular support will 
turn against Jesus. The popular support is going 
to go from, isn't this the son of David, or could this be the 
son of David, to away with him, away with him, crucify him. So 
you see these religious leaders are operating under two fundamental 
errors. They don't know when it's going 
to be, this crucifixion, but they certainly don't want it 
to be the case that the popular support will rally for Jesus. 
They're wrong on both points. The Lord Christ knows exactly 
what's going to happen. Calvin makes this observation. So far as lies in their power, 
they delay it till another time. But contrary to their wish, God 
hastens the hour. And it is of great importance 
for us to hold that Christ was not unexpectedly dragged to death 
by the violence of his enemies. but was led to it by the providence 
of God. For our confidence in the propitiation 
is founded on the conviction that he was offered to God as 
that sacrifice which God had appointed from the beginning. 
And therefore he determined that his son should be sacrificed 
on the very day of the Passover, that the ancient figure might 
give place to the only sacrifice of eternal redemption." The point, 
brethren, The prophecy is sure, the conspiracy is sure, but not 
because of the integrity of the men, but because under the sovereignty 
of God, according to his eternal decree, wherein he was pleased 
to bruise his son, this would be accomplished for the salvation 
of God's people. There is an extended theology 
or theological comment in John's gospel. You turn there quickly. 
I won't spend a lot of time here, but notice in John chapter 11, 
parallel to what we're studying here, Ryle notes that some of 
the Gospels leave out some of the particular details of our 
Savior's life. You might see something in John 
that maybe isn't in Matthew, Mark, or Luke, or you might see 
something in Matthew, Mark, or Luke that you don't see in John. 
You might see something in Matthew you don't see in Mark. You get 
the point. Ryle notes that all four Gospels universally testify 
concerning the Passion Week because of its significance, because 
of its importance. But notice in John 11, specifically 
in verse 49, and one of them, Caiaphas, this is that council 
meeting. This is probably an official 
council meeting, a Sanhedrin. Some suggest, no, it couldn't 
have been, but the language certainly seems to indicate it was an official 
gathering with the purpose of adjudicating. But notice in verse 
49, one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to 
them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is 
expedient for us that one man should die for the people and 
not that the whole nation should perish. Now, John's going to 
tell us in a moment that he's speaking unwittingly. He doesn't 
really know how well he is speaking, but that's substitutionary atonement, 
isn't it? I mean, God used Balaam's ass to 
speak truth, didn't he? What Caiaphas says here, not 
in terms of how he understands it, but in terms of the significance 
of the event, is accurate. And that's going to be fleshed 
out by John the theologian in a moment. Nor do you consider 
that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people 
and not that the whole nation should perish. Now they're worried 
about their position, they're worried about their nation, but 
in a sense he is vomiting out substitutionary atonement. Now 
John interprets, verse 51, now this he did not say on his own 
authority, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that 
Jesus would die for the nation. And not for that nation only, 
but also that he would gather together in one the children 
of God who were scattered abroad. Isn't that the theology of the 
covenants come to fruition? God says to Abraham, in you all 
the nations of the family will be blessed. And John, the theologian, 
interpreting Caiaphas for us, says he was right. I mean, he 
was wrong in his motivation, he was wrong in his end game, 
but he's right in terms of theology, because this Christ is going 
to die, not only for that nation, but for all the people that are 
scattered abroad. It's consistent with John's theology 
of the Savior of the world. Remember, the Samaritans confessed 
God that way, or Jesus that way. He is the Savior of the world. 
Now, world in John doesn't mean every single human being, but 
it means Jew, Gentile, it means every tribe, tongue, people, 
and nation. And this is what John tells us, and not for that 
nation only, but also that he would gather together in one 
the children of God who were scattered abroad. Pretty amazing, 
huh? Caiaphas and his boys are plotting the crucifixion. John 
says this means the salvation of the world. Beautiful the way 
God works. Calvin again says, Caiaphas, 
therefore, might be said at that time to have two tongues, for 
he vomited out the wicked and cruel design of putting Christ 
to death, which he had conceived in his mind. But God turned his 
tongue to a different purpose. So that under ambiguous words, 
he likewise uttered a prediction. God intended that the heavenly 
grace should proceed from the high priest seat, that the Jews 
might have less excuse. It's consistent with the theology, 
not only of John, but the entirety of the Bible, that Christ came 
and the significance of his death is not to set forth a good example 
for us. The significance of his death 
is not to just start a new religious sort of movement, but the significance 
of his death is satisfaction. The significance of his death 
is atonement. The significance is the just 
one dying for the unjust. That's the theology that we need 
to grapple with. That's what 26 and 27 flesh out 
for us. That when He's on that cross, 
He is there for all those whom the Father had given Him. He 
takes the wrath. He takes the punishment. He takes 
the curse that we deserved. The whole idea of substitution 
is most blessed when we consider what Christ did. He stood in 
our place. He took our punishment. He took 
our pain. After having accomplished perfect 
obedience to the law. So because of that obedience 
to the law, because of that death on the cross, God saves us. That's what 26 to 28 ultimately 
tells us as God's people. Well, in conclusion, I think 
we ought to learn something concerning, first of all, the resolve of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. We mentioned this last hour. 
The Son willingly did undertake for us. You know, sometimes as 
Christians, all right, I'll go to church. Man, you know, don't 
do us any favors. Okay, I'll read my Bible. All right, I'll try to love her. 
Christ willingly undertook on our behalf. So that we could 
be half-hearted, sluggish, almost sloth-like beings? No. He came to give us life and to 
give it to us abundantly. And yet we drag ourselves around 
like we're Baal worshipers. Not a lot of energy needed for 
Baal. But our Lord Jesus willingly undertakes. Consider the fact 
that He knew exactly what lay ahead of Him. He knew what was 
gonna happen on Friday. How would you be? How would you receive that? How 
would you interpret the events around you? Again, last hour 
we talked about we all have anxiety, we got these depression issues, 
we got these sorrows of soul, we got a big appointment at work 
tomorrow and it's going to be a hard one. Imagine if you were 
facing what the willing son of man was facing on the Friday. I don't care how bad your work 
week is this week, you ain't got nothing like Friday coming. 
He didn't shrink back, he didn't run and hide, He didn't go seek 
his therapist. I'm not saying never seek therapy 
or help or run or hide. I mean, it might be a good idea. 
If somebody comes in your house with a big gun, go hide, run, 
please. Don't say, Butler said I can't 
run. No, run and hide. But he knew what was coming. 
He knew the wrath of man and what it was going to look like. 
He knew he was going to be slapped and beaten and hurt. Not necessarily 
because as God he saw the future, but according to his humanity, 
he read the prophets! According to his humanity, those 
Old Testament scriptures informed him, instructed him. He knew that his beard was gonna 
be plucked out. He knew that he was gonna have 
stripes on his back. He knew all this. Again, not 
according to his divinity, wherein he knew what Friday was gonna 
bring, but according to his humanity, because he was so aware of the 
scriptures. They informed his messianic consciousness. And yet, he doesn't shrink back. He knew exactly what the wrath 
of God would look like. Doesn't he cite Psalm 22 on the 
cross? My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me? He knew what was coming. Gethsemane 
indicates this. Again, not necessarily according 
to his divinity and he sees the future, but according to his 
humanity, he understood what was happening because the scriptures 
testified. Psalm 22 was available for the 
boy Jesus as it's available for us. As a man, Christ would read 
the word and it would inform his mind and his heart concerning 
his particular calling and activity. He knew what the wrath of God 
was gonna look like, and yet he presses forward. He doesn't 
shrink back. So what should we learn from 
all that? Yeah, get up out of bed and read your Bible. Yeah, 
pray. Yeah, do things that you ought 
to do. But even at a more fundamental level, adore him. Praise Him, 
worship Him, and glorify Him. Blessed God, second person of 
the Trinity, takes on our flesh. with all the essential properties 
and the common infirmities thereof, yet without sin? He identifies 
with us who for us men and for our salvation came down from 
heaven? What is the legitimate practical 
response? I'm always bothered by these 
sort of practical sermons. Here's five things to do to have 
a happier life. You know what's most practical 
for us? Getting on our face and worshiping our triune God. adoring 
the blessed Trinity, worshiping and delighting in the sovereign 
God, seeing our Savior and His resolution to go to the cross 
on our behalf. We need to as well understand 
the resolve of the religious leaders. They hated the one sent 
by God to them. He came to His own, His own received 
Him not. Not just the religious leaders, 
the crowds as well. Popular support waned, didn't 
it? See how quick a crowd can change? One minute you're on 
top of the world, next minute you're being crucified. This 
mob says, away with him, away with him, crucify him. I think 
as we consider the resolve of the chief priests, the scribes 
and the elders here in verses 3 to 5, it ought to teach us 
in the first place something of their depravity. their wickedness, 
their vileness for missing the self-same scriptures that Jesus 
fed himself with. They saw it and yet they rejected 
it. They didn't connect the dots. 
They didn't see that he indeed was the son of David, the son 
of man sent to save his people from their sins. But we need 
to see our own depravity. I think we fool ourselves if 
we think, well, you know, I would have been different. Not apart 
from regenerating grace. Because you wouldn't be different 
now apart from regenerating grace, right? You're not here worshiping 
the triune God because you're a great guy or girl. You're here 
worshiping the triune God because the Holy Spirit is great, because 
he's powerful, because he's able to make us willing in the day 
of his power. So when we look at the resolve 
of these religious leaders, we ought to appreciate just how 
bad sin really is. How could they do that? Because 
they're sinners. How could we do half the things 
that we do because we're sinners? You know, I think that's a very 
important thing for us to remember, not only that God is holy, but 
that we're sinners. The best of us on the best of 
days are still sinners. Now, we may be redeemed sinners, 
we may be forgiven sinners, but we're still sinners. We stand 
in need of God's grace every moment of every single day that 
we occupy space on this earth. And this sin really is just an 
enormous one for us to marvel at. As well, we ought to appreciate 
the glory of Christ our Passover. For indeed, Christ our Passover 
was sacrificed for us. The Exodus in the Old Testament 
was a magnificent display of the sovereign power of God in 
the gracious liberation of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The same 
is true in the New Testament. I think it's Luke 9, the Mount 
of Transfiguration. There specifically, when Moses 
and Elijah come to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, do 
you know what they talk about? Christ's departure. Specifically, 
the Greek word is His exodus. You see, the Bible is a consistent 
whole. What is foreshadowed or typified 
or set forth in picture form or image form or in a physical 
form in the Old Testament comes to fruition in the New. Paul's 
not whacked out because he says, for indeed Christ our Passover 
was sacrificed for us. This was always God's intention. 
It was always God's plan. Lead the children of Israel out 
of Egyptian bondage. Let it point forward to that 
blessed time when that new Moses, that new accident, that greater 
exodus takes place under our Lord Jesus Christ. We ought to 
appreciate the reality that the Lord God Most High has displayed 
the glory of Jesus Christ with that particular image of Passover. And parents, remember the significance 
of the Passover? Well, the significance was you 
put the blood on the doorposts and then the angel of the Lord 
passes over so you don't die. Do you know when you're eating 
that meal and you've splashed the blood on the doorpost, the 
kids are going to say, why are we doing this? What's the purpose? Your kids might say to you, why 
do you take that bread and drink that cup? Your kids might say 
to you today, why do we go to church? Why do we read the Bible? What are you supposed to say 
to that? You're supposed to say Christ was crucified for sinners. And all those who look to Him 
in faith will have everlasting life. Praise God if our young 
people and our children ask why. But as parents under God, let's 
point them to the cross. Let's point them to the Savior. 
Let's point them to the one displayed for us in Matthew 26-28, who 
was crucified, who died, who was buried, and who was raised 
the third day. That was one of the significant 
features of the Passover feast, so that when your kid was eating 
his portion of lamb, you would say, because God is delivering 
us from Egypt. The same is the case for us today. God delivers from spiritual Egypt 
through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ revealed in the 
Christian gospel. In some kids, here's the problem. God's holy. You're not. And the only way to be saved 
is if Christ lays his hand upon you. So how does Christ lay his 
hand upon me? Believe in him. Look to Him in 
faith, because just as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, 
all those who looked and lived, the same is the case with the 
Son of Man. He's lifted up. Look and live. The typology is 
beautiful. The fulfillment is beautiful. 
And certainly, as God's people, we ought to worship, we ought 
to adore, we ought to rejoice in Christ our Passover, who was 
sacrificed for us. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for the Word, and we thank you for this section of Scripture, 
and we would say with Ryle, it is indeed holy ground. And as 
we move through it, we pray that you give us reverence and a holy 
joy as we consider and contemplate what our Lord did on our behalf. 
Certainly no greater love can be seen than this, that this 
one laid down his life for the sheep. I pray that anyone here 
that is outside of Christ, that things would have been said, 
and things would have been heard, and things would be applied by 
the Holy Spirit, so that they would be brought out of darkness 
into marvelous light, looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, believing 
on Him, and turning from their sin. Go with us, we pray, and 
we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Why don't we close by singing 
the doxology? Praise to the triune God, I hope, 
is fitting and appropriate response after considering the Lord Jesus 
Christ.