The Betrayal and Trial of the King
Chapter 26 Verse 47 through verse 75
We must never forget why Our Lord Jesus laid aside His glory and came to this earth!
Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Our Savior never deviated from this task!
Nothing happened to our Savior that He was not in full control of and that He did not allow to happen to Him!
No one took the life of Jesus, He laid down His life Himself!
Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Our Lord Jesus was betrayed by His friend, but Jesus knew this was going to happen all along!
*Mat 26:47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
What will sound tragic to us in this passage, is actually God in control from start to finish.
We will see Our Lord Jesus betrayed, arrested, tried, and deserted within just a short period of time.
Our Lord Jesus, falsely accused, was falsely arrested, had a false trial, and sentenced to a real death.
Jesus was deserted by His closest friends and forsaken by His Heavenly Father for a short period of time.
What do we see? We will see a Savior, determined to save those He loved and all the unlovable, such a I.
What is reality? Sin is mighty, but it cannot make God cease to love us!
There is nothing we do that can make God love us less!
We know a good bit about Peter and his ways, so we can just imagine Peter as he is awakened from his sleep to see Judas leading the enemies of Jesus Christ.
As a soldier, I have a hard time forgiving traitors, such as John Kerry and Jane Fonda and some others.
They may have wondered where Judas was all this time, but they now knew.
All these arrangements had been made so that it would have been impossible for our Lord Jesus to escape.
These people never understood the power of God nor do so many today!
These things were allowed because of that power of God!
We can see that Judas even walked a little in front of the crowd trying to hide his wickedness.
Luk 22:47 And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
We cannot hide our feelings about the Lord Jesus Christ!
Luk 22:48 But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?
Jesus was betrayed by an act of love.
*Mat 26:48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
Mat 26:49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
We should think of nothing strange about this kiss. It was the means of greeting in the oriental world.
Its value was somewhat like the handshake of our culture.
Remember a day, when a handshake was more binding than any legal document!
Makes us think that if Our Lord Jesus returned today and He could, how most of those who professed Him, would then reject Him?
Jesus could not preach in many modern day Churches.
Jesus would be shunned for His stance on sin!
How most would betray Him today?
We should ask ourselves this question. Would I betray my only Savior?
We can see that Judas had planned this betrayal very well.
It was dark except for torches.
Those behind him did not know the Lord Jesus by site so we can see the reason for the deception of Judas.
We can see in typology, this is the way of those who claim Jesus but are hypocrites!
They serve their own self-interest!
When we plan and plot to sin, we are just deceivers and the worst of sinners!
The plan to sin is bad, but the deception is even worse.
Those who will deceive the Lord Jesus Christ have no problem at all in deceiving others!
These are the type of people who make up our government today!
Jesus never showed any hatred even when He knew what Judas was doing!
*Mat 26:50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
The Lord Jesus Christ still loves the unlovable!
Judas had to search his heart to answer this question! Just why had he done this terrible deed?
It was Judas’ last chance to think about what he had done and repent, but he could not find it in his heart to repent even though he did have great regret for what he had done.
You see feeling sorry is never enough, we must repent.
To repent is a complete change of mind and a complete change of direction and Judas never found the peace for his soul again and he committed suicide.
When we approach the Lord Jesus Christ, we must recognize that we are sinners in need of forgiveness!
We are fools to reject the Divine love of God He has shown to us by His Son!
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
It was the fiery darts of the Devil that the Lord Jesus felt on the side of His cheeks!
Then, just before Jesus felt the cruel hands of His enemies, Peter still groggy from his sleep drew out his sword.
*Mat 26:51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.
We know it was Peter according to the Book of John.
Joh 18:10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
Joh 18:11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
It is said by some that Peter almost messed everything up in the plan of God for His Son.
If we believe this, then we would have to believe that our Lord Jesus was not in control of this scene.
We must understand that there is never a time that God is not in complete control of the things that happen in this world!
We may not understand why bad things happen to good Christian people, but we must agree that these things were allowed for God’s purpose.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
There was a purpose behind what Peter did, and a purpose for why the Lord Jesus restored this man’s ear to full use.
We can certainly believe that Malchus had a whole new outlook on this man called Jesus!
The Lord Jesus did not need anyone’s help to fulfill the will of God for Him!
Jesus had already committed Himself to the Cross and nothing could change that!
They first took Jesus to Caiaphas who was the true High Priest at this time, but let’s just say he followed the lead of his predecessor.
*Mat 26:57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
The first thing we should notice is that these wicked men were already gathered together to try Our Lord Jesus.
When we study the Scriptures, we will find that Annas, the earlier High Priest and the father-in-law of Caiaphas, still controlled all sacred matters of the priesthood and the High Priests for the next several years would all be from this same wicked family.
We know that this wicked man had predetermined that Christ Jesus must be put to death for the benefit of the nation of Israel.
Joh 11:49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
Joh 11:50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
Joh 11:51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
Joh 11:52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
The Lord Jesus Christ had been opposed and rejected by these wicked men all the days of His ministry!
You just like today, these men felt that they were stronger than God and therefore they opposed the Word of God!
The Lord Jesus would be officially condemned to die by the highest court in Israel!
In America this court would be the equivalent to our Supreme Court.
Our Lord Jesus was captured and was led to trial, and it was these, who hated Him so much because He preached the truth, would judge Him.
In fact, they had already judged Him and found Him guilty of apostacy, which according to Jewish Law was punishable with death but by Roman Law these Jews could not sentence Jesus to death nor any man though we know they still stoned some who broke those laws.
They would then accuse Jesus of insurrection against the Roman government which was also punishable by death by Roman Law.
They accused Jesus of saying He was God when Caesar claimed to be God.
Again we see Peter, but he is not following very close to Jesus.
*Mat 26:58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.
This is the same problem with many, so-called Christians, they refuse to closely follow the Lord Jesus Christ!
All the disciples were confused because they had not understood all the things of the Messiah.
Peter knew somewhat the power that the Lord Jesus had, surely, He could escape this thing if He so chose to do so.
But there is great danger in following the Lord Jesus from a distance.
All these disciples had fled just as prophesied:
Mar_14:27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
Peter was caught between his loyalty to our Lord and fear for his own self.
His fear would lead him to sin!
We probably see more of this sort today than any other day in history.
Good Christians want to stand up for the Word of God, but when ridicule comes from the other side, they cower down in defeat rather than take a stand on the Word of God!
Peter just did not understand the truth of the Bible!
We say it all the time, but ignorance of the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, will bring defeat into our lives!
Jesus had done nothing wrong against any Jew nor any Roman and had broken no laws at all!
Peter began to hang around with the wrong crowd!
If the government could just find someone to bring false witness against Jesus, it would make things better for His enemies.
*Mat 26:59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
Have you noticed lately that factions of our own government do this same sort of thing!
They bring false witnesses against good people to slander and ruin their names!
Politicians have become cruel and ruthless in their lust for power! In fact leaning toward Communism where these things go on all the time.
People will do anything for money or prestige or power, in our corrupt government!
We can just imagine the faces of these foolish men as Our Lord Jesus is brought before them and then, they suddenly realized they had no proof of their accusations.
They hated and despised the Lord Jesus Christ too much for this to remain an obstacle!
This is what hatred causes!
The Lord Jesus had done no evil at all!
As always, we will find someone who will twist His words to another meaning.
Our so-called news sources do this every day!
Jesus had asked this question.
Joh_8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
There was no answer then, and there was no answer now!
We should be able to see this court was not assembled to find Jesus guilty, they had already decided that our Savior was guilty in need if death.
This court was assembled to gather enough proof against Him to get the Romans to kill Him!
It is hard to do that with someone so innocent!
What was wrong with these foolish men?
They loved this world more than they loved God!
They knew well that Christ could not be condemned with true testimony, because there was none!
Then, they tried to put together a false witness.
If they had meant to deal fairly, they would have allowed some who knew him to speak in his favor, but this was the very last thing they wanted, or would have sanctioned.
So they found no true witnesses!
So they found those who were willing to lie, but even they were useless because their witness did not agree.
*Mat 26:60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
Mat 26:61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
You see you cannot find faults in what is perfect!
Lies will always fail against the truth!
There will always be those who will distort the Word of God!
Many of them just take what the Lord says out of the context of which He intended!
We see this many times in politicians and just recently with our president and his vice-president.
Of all the enemies of our Lord Jesus, nothing could be found that would condemn Him to death.
This is why we are taught to watch what comes out of our mouths.
Tit 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Then our enemies will find fault in our God!
Remember Daniel:
Dan 6:4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Dan 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
We must remember, these wicked men needed evidence to convince the Roman authorities that the Lord Jesus needed to be put to death, but they never got it!
*Mat 26:62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Mat 26:63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
There was no need for the Lord to answer to these accusations because there were none!
Those two false witnesses could not even agree on what the Lord had said.
This is the best reason to have in your possession a Bible copied from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures and why I use the KJV Bible.
Silence is always the best reply to slander!
They wanted our Savior to respond to these false accusations hoping He would give them more evidence.
Now we would do such a thing and then get mad and maybe say some things could be said to cause us harm, but doing things the Jesus way is always the best.
People that hate us do not deserve any response from us!
Now a question is asked that can be responded to.
*Mat 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Mat 26:65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.
Was Jesus the Messiah?
You see, if Our Savior did not claim to be the Messiah, then the case against Him had no real meaning at all.
The Lord Jesus in a sense had to respond with a positive answer to this question, in order for the death penalty to be given!
If Jesus was truly the Messiah, then according to the Scriptures, He was also King of the Jews, and these things could be used against Him though it was not the time for these things as the Lord Jesus said.
Jesus said after these things meaning, after this false trial and His death.
Then, He would sit at the right hand of God, because He is the right hand of God, and He would one day come in the clouds to get His Church.
You see, it is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that is the foundation of the Church and after a time of sitting at the throne of His Father, Jesus would come in the clouds to take His Church out of this world.
Only after these things would Jesus return as King!
The Lord Jesus spoke the truth and non-believers called this truth blasphemy.
The truth will always be the truth and the truth cannot change!
This was the good confession later written about Him!
1Ti_6:13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
The Lord Jesus did never explain His answer.
The Lord Jesus did never change His answer.
The Lord Jesus did never retract His answer.
All those that were there heard what the Lord Jesus had said!
They knew these things were true, they still rejected the man who sat before them.
Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Notice the Lord Jesus only tells the first part of the Scripture from the Book of Daniel.
Once our Lord meets His Church in the clouds, the Church will begin a seven year honey moon with Him while Tribulation and the Great Tribulation will be happening on this earth.
Once Jesus said these words, then by Jewish Law, blasphemy could be a sentence of death.
Blasphemy is the speaking evil of our Holy God!
Lev 24:16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.
Though the Lord Jesus spoke the truth, He knew they would not believe Him, but His death on the cross required this truth!
People just do not accept the truth of the Bible, the Word of God.
*Mat 26:66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.
This is the only thing that was used to sentence the Lord to death!
Joh 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
We might understand that the High Priest was also subject to death for what he had done by those same laws of Moses.
Lev 10:6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.
Lev 21:10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;
Lev 21:11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
Lev 21:12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
Who was the guiltiest by Jewish Law? It was the High Priest for the Lord Jesus spoke the truth!
Let’s not forget Peter.
Remember a boastful Peter was told that he would deny the Lord.
Luk_22:34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
Luk_22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
*Mat 26:69 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
Mat 26:70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
Mat 26:71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
Mat 26:72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
Mat 26:73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
Mat 26:74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Mat 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
We must understand that denying the Lord Jesus Christ is a very serious thing to do.
It is a terrible sin, but even this sin can be forgiven if asked during this lifetime.
What we see is that a man, Peter, who had confessed undying loyalty to our Savior, ended up denying our Lord three times just as the Lord had said.
The Lord Jesus Christ knows us better than we know ourselves!
We see the cause of Peter’s denial, Peter was hanging around with the wrong crowd. A crowd where they hated the Lord Jesus Christ.
Peter had fled when the Lord Jesus gave Himself over to that mob that came for Him.
The Lord Jesus wanted His disciples to escape safely.
In typology, Peter was following the Lord Jesus, but he was following from too great distance.
In reality, the Lord Jesus wants a close and personal relationship with all His disciples!
We cannot say we are following Christ if we are following afar off!
What did Peter learn from his mistakes?
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
We absolutely must leave our old life behind and this means to not socialize with those who do not believe the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!
We are to witness to them, but not socialize with them!
We can be friends with them, but we are not to socialize with them!
We must never fall into the trap of too much self-confidence!
Peter had said He would lay down his life for the Lord Jesus, but he found that he was afraid for his own life.
In this incident, weaknesses Peter did not know he had, came to the surface.
Even after claiming the truth of Jesus Christ and being “Born Again” into the family of God, we must know that we are just sinners saved by the “Grace” of God.
As long as we are in these bodies of flesh we will war with our flesh.
The Lord will still forgive us of our sin!
Now, if we deliberately sin trying to take advantage of God’s “Grace”, then we cannot truly say we are saved.
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
We may not know exactly what “God forbids” but it cannot be righteousness!
Like Peter, before we can be effective witnesses, then we need to know our own weaknesses!
Our confidence cannot be in ourselves, our confidence must be in our Lord Jesus Christ!
2Co_3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
We must mortify the actions of our flesh!
Mortify means just like it sounds, we must put to death all the sinful actions of our flesh!
Rom_8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Col_3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
What saved Peter?
The fact that the Lord Jesus prayed for Him just as He prays for each of us.
Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk_22:32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
We can do nothing without the Lord Jesus Christ!
Amen