Jesus' Betrayal and Arrest: A Divine Plan Unfolds

You thought we were having a change of preacher then, didn't you? Maybe one day. I wonder whether you ever make mistakes. We all make mistakes, don't we, of one kind or another? One mistake I will never forget was one that I made in my early 20s at work in Berries and Edmonds. I was putting a drawing together for one of the civil engineers in the practice, and I put a dimension in the wrong place. In those days, the sise of car parking bays were 2.4 by 4.8. Where I should have written 4.8, I wrote 2.4.

The civil engineer checked the drawing, gave the okay. The drawing went to the quantity surveyor. He never picked up the mistake, did his calculations, came up with a price. And I don't really know quite how it all panned out, but either somebody ended up paying a lot more money than they should have done, or I caused a lot of embarrassment to the firm that I worked for. All I know is that when my boss found out, he was not best pleased. We all make mistakes. Often we don't intend to make those mistakes. Now, when it comes to looking at the Bible, there are no mistakes.

There are no errors. Why is that? Because God is the author of the Bible, and God doesn't make mistakes. But we can make mistakes when reading and studying the Bible.

And I think that one big mistake we could so easily make is to think that Jesus' death on the cross was a mistake. It wasn't a mistake. God ordained the sufferings and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when Jesus was on earth, he knew this. On one occasion, he said to his disciples, the son of man, he's referring to himself, must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised alive. I think it's important for us to realise this as we look at these verses in Luke chapter 22 together. God ordained the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus Christ for a very important reason. And I'm going to spell out that reason at the end of my sermon this morning.

Now, last Sunday, we saw Jesus praying to his heavenly father in the garden of Gethsemane. And he was wrestling in prayer that his human will, Jesus had a human will and a divine will, he was praying that his human will might fall in line with his father's will. Remember how he prayed, not my will, but your will be done. Father, may it be so that I'm willing to drink the cup of suffering. Well, this morning we're going to be looking at verses 45 to 53 of Luke chapter 22.

And what we see here are two events that led to the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus. Firstly, we see Jesus being betrayed, and secondly, we see Jesus being arrested.

Let's have a look at these two things as we focus on the text for a while. Firstly, we see Jesus being arrested.

Now, you may remember that in the upper room where Jesus gathered with his disciples to observe the Passover, that Jesus said one among them would betray him. Look back at verses 21 and 22 of this chapter. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.

The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to the man who betrays him. And we know that the disciple to betray Jesus was Judas. Let me remind us of what we read at the beginning of Luke chapter 22.

I'm going to read verses 1 to 6. Please feel free to follow. Now, the festival of unleavened bread called the Passover was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.

Then Satan entered Judas,. who betrays him. And we know that the disciple to betray Jesus was Judas. Let me remind us of what we read at the beginning of Luke chapter 22.

I'm going to read verses 1 to 6. Please feel free to follow. Now the festival of unleavened bread called the Passover was approaching and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus for they were afraid of the people.

Then Satan entered Judas called Iscariot one of the twelve and Judas went with the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. Well here in verse 47 we see Judas seising his opportunity.

We see him entering into the garden where Jesus and his disciples are with a crowd who are intent on arresting him. How does Judas know that Jesus will be in the garden? Well because Jesus often met there with his disciples John 18 and verse 2.

What was Judas' intention? It was to betray Jesus with a kiss. The kiss of a supposed friend. That is by going up to Jesus and kissing him he would indicate to all those who came with him who Jesus was. But we might ask the question why was it necessary for Judas to do this?

You see the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and the elders they already know who Jesus is don't they? Look at verse 53.

Every day says Jesus I was with you he's speaking to this group. Every day I was with you in the temple courts and you did not lay a hand on me. They knew exactly who he was. So why was Judas' kiss necessary?

Well we should bear in mind that it was dark. There were no street lights in those days. And it was probably thought necessary for a close friend in inverted commas to get up close to him. Perhaps with a torch or a lantern. And it may be that the soldiers didn't know who Jesus was. So in verse 48 we read that Judas approached Jesus to kiss him.

And I don't know about you but as I read verse 48 it seems to me that Jesus knows what's coming. Judas are you betraying the son of man with a kiss? Of course Jesus does know what's coming. Listen to what we read in Matthew's account. Matthew 26 verse 46 45 and 46.

Then he returned to the disciples and said to them are you still sleeping and resting? Look the hour has come and the son of man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise let us go here comes my betrayer. Jesus sees Judas and the crowd coming into the garden. He knows what Judas' intention amounts to and rather than running away he goes towards his betrayer. Judas are you betraying the son of man with a kiss? I wonder whether Judas understood the enormity of what he was about to do. You see Judas wasn't simply going to be betraying a friend.

He wasn't simply going to be betraying his teacher. He was going to be betraying the son of man. Who is the son of man? Well we read about the son of man in the book of Daniel.

Daniel in chapter 7. Daniel says that in my vision at night I looked and there before me was one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power. All nations and people of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. The son of man is one worthy of worship. The son of man is God.

He's the son of God. He's one with the Father. So first of all we see Jesus being betrayed but secondly we see Jesus being arrested.

Now we might ask the question who makes up the crowd that comes to arrest Jesus? And if we look again at verse 52 we see that it includes the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard and the elders. But it may also be that there was a detachment or cohort of Roman soldiers that came too.

Such a detachment normally amounted to 600 soldiers. Whether that many followed Judas to a. Jesus, and if we look again at verse 52, we see that it includes the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders. But it may also be that there was a detachment or cohort of Roman soldiers that came too.

Such a detachment normally amounted to 600 soldiers. Whether that many followed Judas to help arrest Jesus, I'm not sure. But certainly a reasonable number.

And we might ask the question, why were so many soldiers needed to arrest Jesus? Well, perhaps the religious authorities feared that the disciples of Jesus might put up a fight.

Or perhaps it was on the advice of Judas who had witnessed so many of Jesus' amazing miracles. Maybe Judas feared that Jesus might do something that required lots and lots of force. Well, upon the arrival of Judas and the crowd of people, the disciples, they see what's going to happen.

And so they say to Jesus, verse 49, Lord, should we strike with our swords? And we must admire, mustn't we, their desire to defend their master. But what chance do they have against so many?

There are only 11 of them. And the last time they had done an inventory, they only had two swords. Lord, should we strike with our swords, they say. And before the Lord Jesus has an opportunity to respond to them, Peter has taken his sword and gone for the high priest's servant, a man named Malchus. He clearly intended to kill him, but the guy moved his head to one side at just the right moment, and Peter only ended up taking off his right ear. Jesus won't have it. No more of this, he says. He touches the man's ear and heals him.

As I read these words, as I was preparing for this morning in my study, earlier this week I was reminded of some other words from Jesus to Peter in Mark chapter 8. He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter.

Get behind me, Satan, he said, for you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. And I think on this occasion Jesus might so easily have said something similar to Peter. Get behind me, Satan, you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. You see, Jesus has no intention to resist this arrest. Jesus knows that it is the will of God for him to be arrested and tried and crucified. Now in verses 52 and 53, we see Jesus directing his attention to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders who have come for him.

And he says this, Am I leading a rebellion that you have come with swords and clubs? What an interesting question Jesus puts to these men. Is he leading a rebellion? Of course he's not. Was there any indication throughout his earthly ministry that he was leading some kind of rebellion? Everything that Jesus did was out in the open. It was a peaceful ministry. Jesus' concern was very much to preach the good news, the kingdom of God, and to show mercy to those who desired mercy.

Why then have they come to arrest him? Well, the religious authorities hate him, don't they, with an intense hatred.

The people used to look to them for counsel, but now they seem to be looking to Jesus for instruction. When they confront Jesus, Jesus seems to have an answer for everything, and often points out their hypocrisy. I think that must have been extremely embarrassing. Jesus kept on challenging their precious traditions. But worst of all, they hate Jesus because he keeps on speaking as though he were God.

And as far as they're concerned, this is the biggest no-no. I think that must have been extremely embarrassing. Jesus kept on challenging their precious traditions. But worst of all, they hate Jesus because he keeps on speaking as though he were God.

And as far as they're concerned, this is the biggest no-no there is. This amounts to blasphemy. They want him dead. Let's make no mistake about it. In fact, they've been trying to put him to death for some time now. Am I leading a rebellion that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts and you did not lay a hand on me. No, they hadn't.

Why hadn't they? Because they were afraid of the people. Listen to what we read in Luke 19, 47 and 48. Every day he was teaching at the temple, but the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. Yet they could not find any way to do it because all the people hung on his... They knew that if they arrested Jesus, the likelihood was that the crowd would rise up and defend him. Up until this point, they had not been able to arrest Jesus, but now under the cover of darkness, when there were no crowds to be seen, they intended to do so. And they will be successful.

Verse 54, then seising him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Why are they now able to do this? The last part of verse 53 is key. Jesus says, but this is your hour when darkness reigns. Jesus is not talking about a literal darkness. He's using a metaphor. This is the hour, you see, when evil shall reign. Neither is Jesus talking about a literal hour.

He's talking about the time of these events through to his crucifixion. But this is your hour.

This is your time when darkness, when evil reigns. Now it's important for me to just make one or two comments in response to this.

The reign of darkness is not a sovereign reign. God will remain on the throne in heaven despite all Satan's activities and the activities of these wicked men. For a brief time, God in his sovereignty will permit Satan and these wicked men to do their worst against his son. A wickedness that will lead to Jesus being crucified because it's all part and parcel of the wise plan of God's great salvation. Let me ask you a question.

Do any of you play chess? If you do, I wonder whether you're any good at it. I remember playing chess when I was a little boy and loved it, but for some reason don't play it anymore. Imagine a man playing a game of chess and he begins to move his pieces around the board so that he can make his killer checkmate move. And finally he does it. And he thinks in that moment that he has won the day, but he hasn't. He's been played. His opponent is one step ahead of him.

And as soon as he makes that killer move, his opponent sweeps in with one of his pieces, knocks over his queen and says, now that's checkmate. Didn't see it coming. But it was too late.

The victory had been won. When Satan lies behind all that is happening in these verses that we're looking at this morning and in the verses that follow. And when Jesus dies on the cross, Satan along with the religious leaders will think that his killer move has won the day, that he has destroyed the Lord Jesus and that there will be no salvation for God's people. But he will not have won the day.

Jesus will have won the day. You see, Jesus by dying on the cross and rising again will obtain salvation for his people. It's on the cross that he pays the price for their sin to deliver them once and for all time from God's just condemnation. You know, Satan loves. You see, Jesus, by dying on the cross and rising again, will obtain salvation for his people. It's on the cross that he pays the price for their sin, to deliver them once and for all time from God's just condemnation. You know, Satan loves to accuse people before the throne of God in heaven. He loves to pick up the long list of their indebtedness to God and wave it about and tell God that they're worthy of his condemnation.

It's all here, he says. Lust, greed, hatred, a failure to love God with all their heart and minds and souls. He's like a prosecuting lawyer in the courtroom. Look, judge, here's the evidence. They haven't got a leg to stand on. But you know, if we are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we can be sure that Jesus paid the price for all our sins on the cross to cancel or to bring to naught the long list of our indebtedness.

And therefore Satan can no longer accuse us. He has nothing to wave, as it were, before God in the courtroom of heaven. It's all been dealt with at the cross. Listen to the way Paul puts it when speaking to the believers in Colossae. Colossians chapter 2, 13 to 15. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us. He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by... What tremendous verses. I wonder this morning, are you trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour? Are you united to him in faith? If you are, then you can be confident that Jesus was betrayed and arrested and nailed to the cross to pay the price for your sin, so that Satan can never, ever accuse you before God. What a wonderful thing it is to be trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. But if you're not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, do you know what?

The Lord Jesus invites you to come to him in repentance and to put your faith in him. And when you do that, your sins will be forgiven, and you shall live the rest of your days without any fear whatsoever of God's just condemnation. What a wonderful Saviour Jesus is. Let's pray together. Lord, as we've looked at these verses this morning, we have seen the evil intent of wicked men, and we've noted how Satan was behind all of this. He wanted to destroy Jesus. And when Jesus died on the cross, the wicked men thought that they had got rid of him once and for all. Satan thought that he had gained a victory, but he had not.

Jesus had gained a victory. Indeed, by his death and resurrection, he had purchased eternal life for all who will believe on him. And it's there at the cross that Satan was stripped of his power. He was on the cross where Satan was disarmed. He had this weapon, this weapon of accusation, a terrible weapon. But he can no longer accuse those whose sins have been paid for at the cross.

Oh, how thankful we are for that. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What lovely words they are. May we know them. May we believe them. May we live our lives in the light of them. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. whose sins have been paid for at the cross.

Oh, how thankful we are for that. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What lovely words they are. May we know them. May we believe them. May we live our lives in the light of them. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Okay, well, let's stand, shall we, and sing. I need to try and remember what it is because I've ripped out the bit of paper now that had it written on. There it is. You're the Word of God, the Father, from before the world began. Every star and every planet has been fashioned by your hand. And of course, it speaks of the cross, which is why we're singing it. Let's stand and sing.