Luke Chapter 22 Verses 47 – 48
• Spurgeon calls this scene and action of Judas, “A well of grief.” In this culture, a kiss on the cheek was a common greeting but it wasn’t just for any interaction. It signified a depth of respect, honor and brotherly love. Judas’ actions were hypocritical and demeaning and hurtful in the extreme…
• His actions said, “I respect and honor You. You are my brother,” at the exact time he was betraying Jesus to be killed… I can only begin to glimpse in my imagination the intense pain of this moment for Jesus. This moment emotionally was the internal crucifixion of Jesus…
• David understood this to an extent, writing in Psalm 51:12-14, “It is not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God.” You can sense the terror and the tragedy in the words of David as he tries to process this utter rejection, feeling of worthlessness, devaluation, severe sadness full of fury…
• David continues with his heart reaction in verse 15, “Let death seize them; let them go down alive into Hell, for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them…” The implication here is that David couldn’t process the betrayal of his beloved. He was overwhelmed with grief and overcome in desperation. The same moment for Jesus…
• No one else is there. Not the disciples. Not the hundreds that have come with Judas. Everything else fades to black. In the eye and mind of Jesus…it’s just Him and Judas. The focus is the fall of the relationship, the reception on the part of Jesus that the commitment He had and felt for His beloved was not what was felt for Him…and in that the great desperation of the Son of Man…emotionally, spiritually and then expressed physically, “Judas, are you betraying Me with a kiss?” Of all the moments of pain Jesus will remember for all of eternity (and in remembering, relive in a manner of speaking), arguably this is the most damaging… And yet, I know in contemplating this scene, He endured even this for me…and for that I’m thankful to the Lord…
• Now, even so…even though all of this did indeed transpire, Jesus still has forgiven Judas today and moved on… He has let go of that offense, because that is what love does. The same is the Godly direction for us all. If you allow your heart hurt to fester and grow inside of you, just give it a place to live, it will only make you bitter and ugly. That actually keeps the pain alive! It’s time for you to forgive and let go of that offense so that you can move on and forward with your life.
• Learn for sure… You don’t ever have to allow another Judas to be your best friend again…but if you don’t forgive and move on you risk disallowing the Holy Spirit to lead you to the finest of friends you’ve had yet! Yes, the pain was killer, take the loss and take the lesson and make that experience work for you, not against you! Let it make you a stronger and a better person, not a bitter and a lesser person! And when you come out on the other side, you’ll be in a position to understand what others are going through who hurt so you can be a help and a blessing to them! Just like Jesus is today…because He allowed this… More than that…what freed Him here is that He chose this…
• Now, why a kiss? Most agree that was to identify Jesus. Nothing particularly special about His appearance. He was in all ways just like you and just like me… What made Him so very different and so very wonderful was not what was on the outside but rather what was on the inside. A heart that loved the Father with all of His heart, soul, mind and strength…and loved others as Himself. Not immediately visible on the outside and far far far more important than what the outside looks like at all….
Luke Chapter 22 Verses 49 – 53
• This was the final healing miracle of Jesus and its ironic that it was the healing of one who was coming to accuse and arrest Him…but that’s the heart of God. It was simply the righteous, the kind, the humble thing to do. Often times I get the opportunity to pray with someone and for someone after hearing a bit about their story or what’s going on…and the question they’re almost always taking to the Lord is centered around what they should do…
• The truth is, for their specific situation, life, circumstance, issue…I don’t exactly know. Every situation is layered. History, emotion, relationships, causes and consequences and complexities that are only really know by them and the Lord…but I am confident in giving this direction every time. Do the next right thing.
• What way is kind? What action is righteous? What is the humble thing to do? Even if it leaves you in a state of wrongful arrest and accusation, that’s the path. You see we so often are looking for whatever takes us out of harms way…and that can cause us to make very bad decisions. I’m thankful for the people in my life that will pursue what is right over what is good and fair for them personally…
• We know from Matthew’s gospel that this flailing sword swinger is Peter…and what a goof to do what he did. He misses by a very small margin mind you, but he misses all the same and his sword is razor sharp enough to take Malchus’ ear right off…one more inch to the left and Malchus would have take a sword right through his skull and Peter would have been stoned to death…what’s my point?
• Peter looked like a fool in this moment no doubt. Even though he displays complete bravery in taking on upwards of 600 Roman soldiers (according to the language used in John Chapter 18). He no doubt clumsily pulls out this sword he had stashed and lunges, missing his target and leaving not a soldier but a servant injured. It’s a scene rich in foolishness…but…even in this moment of disgrace, we see the providence of God… Had Peter been successful, tragedy would have ensued.
• We’ve all made a fool of ourselves in the past. Made mistakes, humiliated ourselves and even others around us…, God has his hand even in those things.
• Now Matthew, Mark and Luke all leave out one of the most amazing aspects of this scene that John does not. John Chapter 18 verses 1 – 6. “When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”
• This proclamation of Jesus was so powerful that creation failed, why? This is the declaration of creation. What Jesus actually said was, “I am.” Echoing back to the revelation of God in the burning bush of Moses, “They won’t listen to me…who am I…? Whom should I tell them has sent me?” And God replied, “Tell Him I am has sent you!” Exodus Chapter 3.
• That mysterious and wondrous identifying revelation…that God is the eternal, “I am,” claimed and demonstrated by Jesus on the night of not His accusation and arrest but His surrender and willful personal decision to accept what was excruciating for Him but meant freedom for me… No one could stand, no one except for Jesus that is…
• And at this moment, after Malchus is healed…the other gospels tell us that all of the disciples fled and forsook Him…left Him alone…because it was Him and Him alone, God in the flesh, fully God, fully perfect, fully man, fully qualified to represent all of us…it was His work alone to accomplish, as it remains yet today….
• Now, one more thing…this was the darkest hour of creation, Jesus called it, “the power of darkness,” …in that its Creator, innocent and pure, was taken by force under the darkness of night…and yet, Jesus Himself declared this night and this moment not to be His darkest hour but rather His hour of greatest glory.
• We find this in John Chapter 12 as Jesus is talking about this “hour,” and He says in verse 23…, “Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of man should be glorified…” And then He goes on to provide the process by which God is glorified…
• John Chapter 12 verses 24-26, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain (or fruit). He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”
• You and I will never ever ever glorify the Father living for ourselves. It’s just not how it works. And here’s the secret of it all… Jesus reveals here for our understanding, because they at this time couldn’t understand this, this is here for us…that when we make the decision to lay aside our own security, convenience, safety and freedom of fairness to serve someone else, allowing even the work of humility in our lives, that’s when we get company. We no longer remain alone…
• What does that mean? We become popular and we get a friend and someone on earth cares about us and devotes themselves to us? Maybe, but that’s not what Jesus is talking about and even if you have that, you can remain and you can feel alone… Jesus says here that you will produce much grain, much fruit… From whom does fruit flow forth from in the life of a Christian? Love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, self-control?
• These are all gifts and giving’s of God Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit. And so, the picture and revelation is complete. Filled by the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, blessed by the Holy Spirit, used by the Holy Spirit and enriched with and by the fruit of the Holy Spirit…reserved only for those who will gladly allow themselves to fall, be lowered, to die, set aside their “rights” and become who or what someone else needs them to be… That is not the darkest hour at all…whatsoever…that is the hour in my life and yours, as it was in Jesus’ life, of glory!