Betrayal and Arrest of Our Lord, Part 1

Introduction: The Lord's Resolution After Gethsemane

0:06 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, September 10th, 1989, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:16 Now will you turn with me in your Bibles, please, to the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, as this morning we resume our consecutive expositions in the Book of Mark, in Mark chapter 14, and I shall read verses 43 through 52, Mark 14, beginning the reading at verse 43. And straightway, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now he that betrayed him had given them account, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he. Take him and lead him away safely.

1:21 And when he was come, straightway he came to him and saith, Rabbi, and kissed him. And they laid hands on him and took him. But a certain one of them that stood by drew his sword and smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and staves to seize me?

1:53 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not. But this is done that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. And they all left him and fled. And a certain young man followed with him, having a linen cloth, and cast about him over his naked body.

2:14 And they lay hold on him, and he left the linen cloth, and fled naked. Now let us again seek the blessing of God in the enablement of the Holy Spirit, as we take his word and set it before our eyes and before our minds, that the Holy Spirit will come and do his most delightful work of taking the things of Christ, and revealing them to us. Let us pray.

2:48 Our Father, as we again come to this very inner sanctuary of divine revelation,

2:57 the detailed account of the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ, how we plead that the Holy Spirit would be given to preacher and people alike, that we may be given eyes to behold the glory of Christ in his betrayal, in his suffering, and in his death. And we pray that what we experience in our hearts will not be a human sympathy, but a divinely wrought gratitude to our Savior, increased measures of love and devotion to him, and hatred for everything that caused him to be handed over to the hands of wicked men and impaled, upon an instrument of execution. Speak to us by the power of the Spirit, we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Our last study in the Gospel of Mark took place on the first Lord's Day in the month of July, and at that time we completed our meditations on the record of our Lord's great wrestlings in the Garden of Gethsemane.

4:20 Those might... The mighty wrestlings recorded in verses 32 through 42 of this chapter conclude with the evident impartation of grace from the Father, renewed strength and commitment to the ordeal that lay before him, and from that garden the Lord Jesus goes forth with calmness, with resolution and determination, first of all to hand himself over, over to those who come to arrest him as a common criminal, from there to go on to a sham trial, to cruel mocking and scourging, and then from there to the agony and the shame of crucifixion, but worst of all to the reality of drinking the cup of the Father's wrath unmixed with mercy, and yet drinking it willingly, as the appointed substitute for sinners. That he is now prepared for all that waits before him is clear from those concluding words of the Gethsemane scene in verses 41 and 42, for he comes to the slumbering disciples and says the third time, sleep on now and take your rest, it is enough. The hour is come.

5:48 Behold the Son, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Arise, let us be going. He that betrays me is at hand. And here we see our Lord taking the initiative to leave that inner sanctuary where he had pressed further into the garden of Gethsemane with the three disciples, now waking them from their sleep to join the other eight by the entrance to the garden to go forth.

The Agents of Betrayal and Apprehension: Immediate and Remote

6:20 forth and put himself knowingly and deliberately into the hands of the betrayer and those whom he brings with him. And as we begin our meditation in this passage which contains the account of the Lord's betrayal and his apprehension, I want us to think together first of all of the agents involved in the betrayal and the apprehension, then secondly what our passage teaches us of the act of betrayal and apprehension, and then thirdly the accompaniments of the betrayal and apprehension of our Lord. First of all, our attention is drawn to the agents of the betrayal and the apprehension of our Lord in verse 43. And I have divided these agents into two categories, the immediate agents, they are described in verse 43 and 43a, and then the more remote agents in verse 43b. First of all, the immediate

7:34 agents then of the betrayal and the apprehension of our Lord, and straightway while he yet speaks. While he was yet speaking to his own disciples saying, rise up, let us be going, behold he that betrays me is at hand, immediately while he is yet speaking comes Judas one of the twelve and with him a multitude with swords and with staves. So the immediate agents are described here as Judas and an armed man. First of all, Judas. And notice he is described again as though to underscore the horrible nature of his crime. While he yet spake comes Judas one of the twelve. When Jesus arose from his last season of prayer, awakened the disciples, he knew that the one who betrayed him was at hand.

8:48 And our attention is drawn to the act of betrayal and the apprehension of our Lord. In verse 44b, the intention was directed to that individual in verse 41, behold the son of man is betrayed into the hand of sinners, arise let us be going, behold he, not they is me. And so when the account tension falls upon this specific individual, Judas one of the twelve. And this should not surprise us, for this is but another link in the chain of the account that Mark has been setting before us. He opens this chapter with the words in verses one and two. Now after two days was the feast of the Passover and the unleavened bread, and the chief priests and the scrot, how they might take him with subtlety and kill him, for they said, not during the feast, lest haply there shall be a tumult of the people. Verse ten.

9:59 And Judas Iscariot, he that was one of the twelve, went away unto the chief priests, that he might deliver him unto them. And they, when they heard it, were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently deliver him unto them. Then you remember that in the time of privacy in the upper room, the Lord discloses the fact that one of the twelve shall betray him. And in the more lengthy account in John's book, chapter thirteen, we find the details of how the Lord says to Judas, what you do, do quickly. And Judas goes off into the night determined that he would at this time hand over the Lord Jesus to the authorities with whom he had struck a bargain and from whom he had received the thirty pieces of silver. And because he was one of the twelve he had intimate knowledge of the patterns of our Lord Jesus Christ. And my friend, we know that our Lord Jesus Christ was not our God, we know that the law was a law, but that he He knew the ways and the whereabouts of the Lord Jesus with his twelve, and he was therefore ably suited to perform his deed of betrayal.

11:15 But not only does Judas, one of the twelve, come, but the text says, and with him a multitude with swords and with staves. We add to this the particular insight that John gives us in John 18 and verse 3, and we have a more complete picture of this mixed multitude that accompanied Judas. Judas then, having received the band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. And so the picture, you see, is filled in by John's account that, first of all, there was a band of Roman soldiers, a cohort of soldiers. And to describe what John is referring to, I can do no better than simply read two brief paragraphs in Hendrickson's Commentary on the Gospel of John, in which he writes, At the request of the Sanhedrin, Matthew 27, 62, to 66, a cohort had been secured, probably from the Tower of Antonio.

12:35 This fortress, that which was called the Tower of Antonio, was situated on the northwest corner of the temple area in Jerusalem. It had been repaired and strengthened by Herod the Great. In this castle, the Roman government kept a number of soldiers. But during the Jewish festivals, when Jewish people, patriots streamed into Jerusalem in great numbers, and with enthusiasm running high, the garrison was generally enlarged in order to be ready for all emergencies.

13:12 The exact number of soldiers in this detachment is not known, though a cohort ordinarily consisted of 600 men, the tenth of a legion. A cohort was one-tenth of a legion, a legion. Six thousand men. It would seem that the term is used in a less restricted sense here, as it is often the case with respect to such terms even today.

13:38 At any rate, the ban must have been rather large. It seems well nigh certain that permission for its use had been obtained from Pilate the governor. Matthew 27, 18 and 19 clearly proves that he knew about the case of Jesus that would be brought. Before him, prior to his actually being brought into his presence.

14:02 Matthew, Mark and Luke make no mention of the soldiers in this connection. And so adding this stroke from the pen of John, we see that accompanying Judas, one of the twelve, was a band, no little band, of Roman soldiers. It would be they who had the swords or the sabers and the swords. As their weapons, as John calls them in John 18, 3.

14:32 But then this mixed multitude was also made up, not only of a segment of this cohort of Roman soldiers from the temple area, but a group of the official temple guards or officers. At the temple, they had sort of an unofficial ad hoc police force to keep order. And they would be the ones, who carried what we would call billy clubs or riot sticks. Translated in the 1901 stage, they were clubs made of wood, much like the wooden clubs carried by riot police and the ordinary policemen on the beat in our day.

15:14 And there might be times when disorderly men would seek to cause a disruption in the temple area. And these local men, these Jews, who had been designated, as temple guards or officers, would use their clubs to bring people into line and to restore order. So with Judas, there's a contingency from the Roman army. There is a contingency of the official temple guards or officers.

15:46 But then there was also a representation of the Sanhedrin. Though Mark tells us that they came from the chief priest and the scribes, and the elders, the official full description of the Sanhedrin, that body of 70, who constituted the highest governing body in Israel. According to Luke 22 and verse 52, there was a representation of that august body there in the garden when our Lord was betrayed and apprehended. For we read in Luke 22, 52 as follows.

16:26 And Jesus said unto the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders that were come against him, Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and with clubs? So though the entire Sanhedrin was not there, apparently they designated some of their number to represent them at the actual, the actual betrayal and apprehension of our Lord. And then quite possibly there may have been another element in that crowd that made its way to the garden of Gethsemane. It could well be that there were curiosity seekers who beholding this rather large band made up of soldiers, temple guards, and a representation of the Sanhedrin, seeing them leave the gates of Jerusalem armed, and with torches and lamps, as we read in John 18, 3, that kind of a situation generally attracts the curiosity seeker. And it may well be that there were not a few who fell in behind those that are explicitly mentioned in order to see what it was on this particular Passover Eve that would cause such a stir in Jerusalem

17:53 as to bring together this strange combination of Roman soldiers, official temple guards, a representation of the Sanhedrin, and following that group could well have made their way to the entrance of Gethsemane with them. Try to picture the scene. Everyone has been in Jerusalem up until the picture painted before us, save this little band of ordinary Palestinians who had made their way out to this grove, this grove of olive trees. And just at the point that one of them at the head of three others joins a group of eight by the entrance of that garden of Gethsemane, coming out of Jerusalem is this motley crowd of soldiers, temple guards, the august members of the Sanhedrin, and perhaps followed by curious onlookers as they come to the place where the Lord Jesus is found with his disciples. These then are the immediate agents of his betrayal and of his apprehension. But there are the remote agents focused in verse 43b.

19:17 Judas, along with this mixed multitude that we've described in its component elements, came, from the chief priest and the scribes and the elders.

19:34 And the preposition that is used from underscores that the agents who stood behind the activity of Judas and those who accompany him were none other than the members of the Sanhedrin. That high body in Israel, that body that had set itself upon Jesus' destruction several years before the actual time of his betrayal and his apprehension. And while they were obviously represented at least sparsely, apparently the bulk of them were still back in Jerusalem hoping and, dare I say, even praying to their God, whoever he was, that there would be, success upon the mission of Judas in handing over Jesus to their ill will and to their predetermined commitment to see him slain as soon as possible. You will remember, as we've discovered in previous studies, for some time the Jews had no power under the Roman authority to execute any of her people. The power of capital power punishment lay solely in the hands of the Roman government.

The Act of Betrayal and Apprehension: Planned and Prosecuted

21:03 And so this highest ruling body schemes and plots and commands that they might somehow put Jesus into the hands of those who could righteously, justly, legally put him to death according to Roman law. Well, so much for what we are told about the agents involved in the betrayal and the apprehension of our Lord. Now then notice, secondly, the act of betrayal and apprehension itself.

21:39 Verses 44 through 46. The actual betrayal and apprehension itself. And there are two divisions of thought in these verses. First of all, we see the betrayal and apprehension as previously planned, verse 44, and then as actually prosecuted in verses 45 and 46.

22:06 The betrayal and apprehension as previously planned, verse 44. Now he that betrayed him had given them a token that are rendered a mutually agreed upon sign. A rather long hyphenated word to bring out the sense of the original. He had given them a previously agreed upon sign saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he.

22:36 Take him and lead him away safely. Previously planned between Judas and the mixed multitude that he brings with him to apprehend our Lord, there was this agreed upon signal or sign. And Jesus, Judas, says that the one that I kiss, and there the simple ordinary word for kiss is used, that will be the indication that we have our man. And along with that agreed upon signal was an urgent directive from Judas.

23:20 Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he, take him and lead him away safely or securely.

23:40 Through these words, Judas, you see, an element of uncertainty as to whether or not he's going to pull it off. He had been with the Lord long enough. And in spite of his wretched, covetous heart and his apostatizing spirit, he was not oblivious, nor could he utterly forget what he had seen the Son of God do. How he had seen Jesus on previous occasions slip away from the intended grasp of his enemies.

24:15 And so he is very concerned lest his thirty pieces of silver be taken back from him. And so he is urgent in his directive. Seize him and lead him away securely. So that's the previous plan, an agreed upon sign and an urgent directive.

24:38 But then as the act of betrayal and apprehension is actually prosecuted, Mark tells us these things in verses 45 and 6. And when he was come, that is Judas, straightway he came to him and saith, Rabbi, and kissed him. And you'll notice if you have the old 1901, the rendering in the margin is kissed him much. We have the ordinary word for kiss with a prefix that intensifies the nature of the kissing.

25:13 He kissed him much or he kissed him with intensity. In other words, he was going to make sure that his sign really was a sign.

25:28 And just in case in the darkness, even though they have lamps and lanterns, some might not see it, he makes sure and plants more than one bus on the cheek of the Lord Jesus. He addresses him as teacher and he smothers him with kisses. And then there follows the action of the authorities and they laid hands on him. The implication being that their hands fell upon him quickly and they took him or they seized him.

26:07 Now that's how the betrayal actually took place. The apprehension takes place when the agreed upon signal indicates to his captors the captors, who he is. And then they seize him. According to John, they bind him.

Accompaniment 1: Stunning Disclosure of Jesus' Inherent Power and Self-Possession

26:28 But then, thirdly, and it's crucial at this point in our study that we do this, we must consider the accompaniments of the betrayal and apprehension, particularly as those accompaniments are brought to us from the parallel witnesses.

26:48 Matthew,

26:52 when we began our studies and periodically I've revealed to you and reminded you that it is not my purpose to preach a harmonizing of the Gospels using Mark as my basic starting off point and we have allowed the other witnesses to be silent as we've opened up the Gospel of Mark but we have also seen at times it is crucial to take the added insights of the other Gospel records and if ever that is true it is true with regard to the apprehension and the betrayal of our Lord Jesus. And I want you to notice three accompaniments of the betrayal and the apprehension that are crucial to an understanding of what is taking place at this moment in the life history of Jesus and what will unfold in the subsequent hours. First of all, the accompaniment of what I've chosen to call the stunning disclosure of His inherent power and glory and self-possession accompanying this act of betrayal and apprehension Jesus makes a stunning disclosure of His inherent power glory and self-possession and this is recorded for us in John chapter 18

28:18 and I am making no effort to place this in relationship to the kiss of Judas I could perhaps fascinate you or entertain you with the various theories some quite insistent that the kiss came first and the evidence given others insisting that the kiss of betrayal came afterward but if that were important God would make it clear but since He has not what is important is clear and it is clear that accompanying the kiss of betrayal and the actual apprehension of our Lord was this stunning disclosure on the threshold of both the betrayal and the apprehension of His inherent power glory and self-possession John 18 3 Judas then having received the band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons and the chief priests and the Pharisees and the Pharisees Jesus therefore knowing all the things that were coming upon Him Jesus fully possessed of everything that will come upon Him and think what is bound up in that word

29:47 everything that is about to come upon Him the jeering the mocking the spittle the false accusations the horrible laugh of the scourge the sound of thorns the sound of thorns impaled raised upon the cross noise that was coming upon Him went forth He's making it evident that they're not going to have to come and with their lanterns and torches work their way through this olive tree and that one to find a cowering sooner do they make their approach to the entrance to the garden but He He went forth and He speaks first seek ye answered Him Jesus of Nazareth Jesus saith unto them I am He and Judas all said Him was standing with them when therefore He said unto them I am He

31:10 they welled to the ground again therefore He asked whom seek and they said Jesus of Nazareth Jesus answered I told you that I am He if therefore ye me if indeed I am one that you are warranted then do what you are legally committed and charged if you seek me then let these pointing to His disciples go their way that the word might be fulfilled which He spake of those that thou hast given me I lost not now this incident has fascinated commentators and there are a variety of opinions as to what precisely happened in that initial encounter some suggest that the band of soldiers having been granted by the proper authorities must already assume in their minds that they are going to have to come after someone who is far from ready to identify himself far from ready to give himself up to their hands they come ready to do not a search and destroy but a search and capture operation

32:38 and standing next to them in rank the temple guards and officers with their clubs apparently expect a tremendous reaction either from his followers or perhaps some of the Galilean zealots who would be there at that time in the feast whom they may have surmised would be with them and so some suggest that the very fact that the very one that they thought they would have to seek out on a search and apprehend mission comes forward and identifies themselves just shocked them and set them back on their heels well whatever there may have been of what we might call a natural and explainable shock effect surely there is something more involved and what we have in this passage is one of those things that John describes as many signs did Jesus do to prove that he was the son of God and here on the threshold of his betrayal and his apprehension he makes this disclosure of his inherent glory of possession and whatever it was that burst forth in the tone of his voice in a temporary shining forth of his glory

34:06 we do not know but this much is clear from the text that that immediate group that was close to him in the initial questioning including Judas when he asked whom do you seek and they say Jesus of Nazareth when he says I am he they go backwards to the ground of simply stumbling because they jumped backwards there is a picture of something that intimidated them start moving backwards and then they are prostrate upon the ground and I cannot go beyond the text of scripture and saying the precise manner and form in which our Lord did it this is why I've chosen these words purposely and carefully there was a sin disclosure of his inherent glory of possession do you call Jesus of Nazareth and in that declaration I am he it's as though someone zapped all of them with stun guns and down they went before the majesty and the glory and the call of possession of the son of God

35:33 now why did our Lord do this well he had said no man takes my life from me I let down of myself and having said those words on a previous occasion our Lord is determined to make it known at the very beginning of this period in the last of his life as surely he was in constant control within the order of the will of so now he is about to be betrayed and apprehended and subsequently tried and scourged and crucified that's his own and even these pagan soldiers and apostate religious leaders and those of the rabble he lets them know that if they do anything to him they do it because he wills that it shall be done to him it will be done because he voluntarily commits himself to their hands that he is not overcome and overpowered by them for just that momentary of his own

37:01 in and what would it do if he unleashed the full fury of it well we read in 2nd Thessalonians 1 what will happen when he unleashes the full fury of it men shall be punished with everlasting power and destruction from the glory of his power so our lord gives this stunning disclosure of his inherent power glory and self possession and he does so at the very beginning of this section of the account of his death that we who read the account would know as they were meant to know that he is indeed the lamb of God going willingly knowingly to the place of execution that none brings him to the altar of sacrifice against his will he is God's Isaac who submits willingly to be slain as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world but then the second accompaniment of this account of the act of betrayal and apprehension is what I'm calling the moving disclosure of his

Accompaniment 2: Moving Disclosure of Jesus' Determination to Preserve His True Followers

38:30 determination to preserve his true followers stay there in John 18 the moving disclosure of his determination to preserve his true followers see the language of John after that first self identification I am he and the outbursts of his glory and power stunned them and flattened them when they regain their composure and when he withdraws whatever it was that exuded from his person and word that previously flattened them he asked the question a second time verse 6 when therefore he said unto them I am he they went backward and fell to the ground again therefore he asked them allowing for an appropriate period of time to I between verses 6 and 7 again therefore he asked them whom seek ye and they said Jesus of Nazareth Jesus answered I told you that I am he if therefore ye seek me if indeed I'm the object of your mission then come and take me here I am but on this condition that you let these go their way well who's in charge here is a bit of irony

39:59 isn't there they come out to apprehend him he takes charge and says if I'm the one you want all right you got your man let these go he gives orders to them he doesn't say I humbly request that you might perhaps consider he says let these go let these go and why did he do that verse 9 that the word might be fulfilled which he spake of those whom thou hast given me I lost not one what was he doing our Lord knew that at this point in their understanding of the purposes of God that were they to be apprehended along with him if they were to be tried and martyred as the followers of Jesus it would have led to their denial of Jesus and to their apostasy they were not yet struck up strong enough to bear that identification with Christ unto a violent death and our Lord knew that and as I've puzzled over that incident that again has baffled commentators for centuries about the unnamed young man as an outer garment thrown about him hastily and yet is apprehended I wonder if the real answer to the insertion of that is not just this

41:29 to show that Jesus anticipated the what they would have done with his followers for just assuming that that young man was one of his followers they apprehended him and the Lord knew it was crucial at this point that all of the disciples be able to scatter and mingle with the crowd and in no way be marked out as his own that their faith was not yet strong enough to take what he would have to face nor for them to face it in fellowship with him and we know what happened with the strongest of them when someone suspected and even intimated that he might deny any association with Jesus and so that the scripture might be fulfilled of all that you have given me I have lost none think of it knowing all that was going to come upon him the thing that caused his bloody sweat in Gethsemane his strong ears the cup that the father would give him knowing was there to be drunk for this paragraph ends with his assertion of that the cup

42:58 which my father has given me shall I not drink it John 18 11 yet the heart of the Lord Jesus is large enough to be doing at that precise moment what he was promised to do at his conception namely save his people from their sins and here he is in his priestly role preserving his own from apostasy which would surely have taken them in this situation though it is impossible that anyone of his own should perish the Lord marvelously secures the means of our preservation not only in terms of the , the internal workings of his grace but in the external arrangement of the trials and pressures that will come upon us that would have in them the potential apart from his grace to draw us away and I say it is a moving disclosure of his determination to preserve his true followers for he used this opportunity of self identification not only to display his glory and power and self possession but he used it as an opportunity to take upon himself all of the attention of the mob of soldiers and the

44:27 officers from the temple and the others accompanying them that his own might be preserved and dear child of God you and I ought to take comfort in this great truth that we have a savior right now who is precisely the same as he was in that garden scene committed to take us safe to glory and order that we might not be tempted above that we are able that we might be preserved and kept in the way of holiness and righteousness and true confession of the Lord Jesus and I am personally convinced that one of the marvels and the glories of the world to come will be to have the Lord himself exegete to us as his children all the circumstances that would have in themselves lovingly intervened and graciously preserved and protected us by his sovereign ordering of events and people and circumstances and relationships for the scripture says he is head over all things to his church which is his body the body the fullness of

Accompaniment 3: Amazing Demonstration of Jesus' Patience and Forbearance to the Vilest of Sinners

45:57 him that filleth all in all and so here on the threshold of his giving himself up to the betrayal and to the apprehension and all of the subsequent shame and death of the cross our Lord not only gives a stunning disclosure of his power but a moving disclosure of his determination to preserve his true followers but then thirdly there is this third attendant of the betrayal and the apprehension and it's what I am calling the amazing demonstration of his patience and forbearance to the vilest of sinners his amazing patience and forbearance to the vilest of sinners we go back to Judas as one has observed on the most sacred night in Israel's calendar the Passover in the most sacred place on earth Jesus special prayer chamber Gethsemane for John tells us that Judas knew the place for all times Jesus resorted there with his disciples on that most sacred night in that most sacred place by a most sacred means the

47:27 universal symbol of peculiar affection a kiss a symbol , if not universal in what it speaks tender affection and friendship what does Judas do? He betrays the son of God one of the twelve so privileged was he given the gifts that the others were given to cast out demons to raise the dead and heal the sick given the privilege of seeing the Lord Jesus at prayer hearing him at prayer being with him when he opened the eyes of the blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf all the privileges and the opportunities that he had now he's already made his deal with the authorities and the authorities have secured the proper military attache and the proper military strength along with the temple guards and the representation of the Sanhedrin and there they come to apprehend the Lord Jesus and at the front of them for Luke gives us that little stroke that Judas is very clearly at the front of them perhaps even coming in the appearance of someone who's going to warn Jesus it could well be

48:54 and yet how does the Lord address him knowing why he's there knowing all things that are going to come upon him he's already said in the upper room what you do do quickly the hand of him that

49:12 you must do turn to Matthew 26 and verse 50 Matthew 26 and verse 50 verse 49 and straight way he came to Jesus and said hail rabbi and kissed him much and Jesus said unto him friend you notice the word do is in italics it is not in the original it was probably in the form of a question friend that for which thou art come and then the words of Luke 22 48 Judas betray thou the son of man kiss put the two things together and what do you see here comes Judas at the expression of the hardness of his heart at the action of an apart God into the hand of his enemies for thirty and when he comes mothers Jesus with kisses Jesus says friend now it's not

50:42 the most intimate term of endearment translated friend in our English Bibles but it's a reminder that he was his companion companion for which you are come don't play games with me Judas that for which you are come Judas do you betray me with a symbol of betrayal son of man

52:05 read into that but an amazing demon illustration of the patience and the forbearance of Jesus with the vilest of sinners you see Judas before or after John is careful to tell us Jesus came forth of the truity of the one he and yet our Lord is at worst one more to see if indeed there is any place where he can find a chink in the armor of Judas spiritual blindness and heart and heart and even at this late date someone says oh there wasn't a decree my friend listen God's decrees never in any way cancel the sincerity of his overtures to men that they would find mercy from him if they would only seek it

53:31 and how can Lord Jesus saying to this evil wicked debased man friend giving him a final display of his inherent be something of the amazing patience and forbearance of Jesus with the vilest of sinners but it's interesting this is the last reference we'll find about Judas in our expositions of the gospel of Mark and the subsequent silence is frighteningly eloquent when a man can stand in face to face proximity to Jesus and his and the scriptures tell us and the other witnesses shortly thereafter with a conscience tortured with the torments of hell I betray don't want it and he opens up his bag

55:00 and thrust the coins and they go clanking down upon the stone floor of the temple Judas runs out and finds a rope and hangs himself and the spirit of that man is in his place this very hour waiting the final

Application: Respond to Christ's Enduring Mercy

55:20 to be joined with that body to be cast into hell forever if ever a man was determined to go to hell at any cost it was Judas because just at the point of his betraying the son of God he receives an amazing demonstration of the patience and forbearance of Jesus with the vilest of sinners and as I close this morning I want to take the place of a pleader some of you have heard and seen the overtures of the mercy of God in Christ again and again and again and again and again and you have sinned in your unbelief against light and privilege and opportunity and yet you go on my friend the point may come where God says alright I'll take you up on your dare you're gonna go on that way I'll give you up to what

56:39 you want my friends if you do it'll never be because the heart of Jesus is narrow it will never be because the grace of Christ is of the Christ you've known from your mother's breast the sense in which you'd almost wish the Lord Jesus would write you off and cast you off you could sin with a high hand but in love and mercy he doesn't do that but he comes to you again this morning and says come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly of heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls oh my dear sinner friend young or old alike this amazing patience and forbearance of Jesus is your only hope you say

57:56 did you turn against as much light as Judas had friend betray thou the son of man young person older person man woman don't once more take the overtures of that pity and forbearance and patience and despise it but this day say oh Lord Jesus you who were willing to give yourself up to be spat upon to be scourged to be mocked to have the crown of thorns upon your brow to be hung upon that Roman gibbet to feel the waves and billows of the father's wrath inundating until hang your breast for sinners oh Lord Jesus how can I withstand such grace and mercy how can I resist such overtures of love oh my sinner friend run to that Christ and you'll find him compassionate you'll find him merciful you'll find him ready to receive even the Judas's of this very hour go to him the one who died and lives and reigns and even now

59:26 offers himself to you in the word and promise of the gospel him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out let us pray our father we thank you for your holy word we thank you for him who is the great focal point of that word even the Lord Jesus we thank you for the record of his betrayal and arrest that is indeed part of that glorious gospel of Jesus Christ the son of God concerning which Mark has written and oh Lord we ask that we your people may be comforted in the knowledge that our savior deals with us today as gently and tenderly as he dealt with his own there in the garden and that he is merciful to the vilest of sinners today as he stood ready to spread the gracious canopy of mercy over sinners in that day Lord seal your word to our heart and as we continue in our studies if you spare us to gather again and we behold our Lord

60:55 Jesus going from one court of judgment and examination to another and treated with ever increasing scorn and contempt until he is taken outside the city walls and crucified oh give us a sight of him that will ravish our hearts that will make our sins ugly that will make this world appear for what it really is no friend of grace to help us on to you oh God bless by your spirit's presence and power our meditations on these things that lie at the very center nerves of our life and salvation hear then our prayer and may your blessing rest upon us as we leave this place we ask in Jesus name amen