Seeking once again the help of God, I'd like you to tell them with me to the chapter that we read together, the Gospel according to Matthew and chapter 26. And the text you'll find in verses 21 and 22. And as they did eat, he said, verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

a very solemn portion of the Word of God as we come to the last night of the physical life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the way by which he is brought to be handed over into the hands of sinful men and the way in which he is brought before that mock court to pronounce him guilty of sin and to be put to death.

And as we see the events unfolding and we see how prophecy being fulfilled, and we see even there at the court that there is no fault found in the Lord Jesus Christ, yet because of the fear of man, he is handed over to be delivered unto the sinners to be crucified.

and it's a very solemn, serious, sad, yet almost joyful account by which Christ walks this out alone to fulfil prophecies so that he He cannot be said to have been aided by any man and yet he walks this out so that he may bring multitudes of people to salvation, that he may pay the debt of sin, he may pay the fine by which sinners owe to God.

And as we read these portions in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of the end of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and as he seeks to bring about the ordinance of the Lord's Supper and the new covenant in his blood, there's so much going on. There's so much taking place in this one night, this last night of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You've got Christ seeking to fulfil all the prophecy. You've got Christ seeking to fulfil the Father's will. You've got him pressed in the garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood, praying that if it is possible, if there's another way, that the cup may pass from him. You've got him then instituting the Lord's Supper. You've got Judas betraying him. You've got Peter filled with pride, saying that he's going to fight to the death for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then you've got him denying the Lord Jesus Christ. And then you've got, right at the beginning of this evening, You've got a lady, Mary, who is worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ and so you've got almost the forces of darkness and the forces of evil and the angels of light all working together in this evening The last moments of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Satan is striving to get into the heart of Judas Iscariot. The Lord Jesus Christ seeking, determined to fulfil the all that is set out before him. And the angels coming to minister unto him. And then you've got the pride of man, you've got flesh. seeking to stand up for the Lord Jesus in pride and arrogance and everything then comes crashing down.

Judas betrays the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter denies the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is crucified but triumphantly by the predetermined counsels of God to bring about the salvation of his people.

And so as I was reading with this it was like there's so much going on in this one chapter. So much going on in these last moments of the Lord Jesus Christ all to bring about the salvation of his people.

And as Jesus purposefully is crucified upon the Passover time of year as the whole of Jerusalem is swelling with people coming to remember the deliverance from Egypt and they're there on that night to slaughter their lambs and to remember the way by which they were saved. by the blood upon the doorposts and the slaughter of the lamb as a substitute and God orchestrating all of these events to happen all at the same time so that Christ Jesus could be that Passover lamb, that fulfilment of all that took place, that perfect sacrifice. And so he says that he must go to Jerusalem to to have the Passover but also so that he could be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and to be crucified.

The Bible tells us that Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him to find a house by which they could take the Passover. And as they enter into that house the place is found and they begin to feast together on what is known as the Last Supper.

There is a lady that comes in to this Last Supper and she begins to wash the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, or his head here it is written. Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on his head as he sat at meat as he was eating.

When the disciples saw it they had indignation saying, to what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor. And so this lady who is told that it is Mary. Mary. And she comes to the Lord Jesus Christ in an act of devotion to worship him. She has heard his word and she understands that he has only limited time upon this earth before he is going to be crucified and she is moved by faith, moved by love to do something. She wants to do something to the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Jesus says, this ointment she had anointed him prior to his burial. She had believed the word of the Lord Jesus Christ, what he had spoken, that he's going to be crucified. If you remember Mary, Martha and Mary, was Mary who sat at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. She was a disciple of him and she learned from him. And so it shows us that what she has been listening to she has heard and the scripture tells us doesn't it that faith comes by hearing and she heard the word of the Lord Jesus Christ and it didn't just remain in her heart a stagnant thing But it bore fruit. The word of God bears fruit. It's planted into good ground and it brings forth fruit. And so in her life that seed planted within her heart brought forth fruit and she manifested faith and she came and acted on that faith and acted on that word heard from the Lord Jesus Christ.

And she comes in an act of devotion and she comes and she worships him. She gave something precious to him to anoint his body before the burial. But her worship seems to rile up or to annoy the apostles. I don't know if this has ever happened to you, that you see somebody do something that is good and you wish that you had done that thing or you had been the one to think about doing that thing. And instead of praising that person, it makes you angry, it makes you annoyed. Oh, typical. They've thought of it before me. I'm always the last one. And it seems like the apostles, they're feeling a bit like that. This woman. devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ, offering up something valuable, acting in faith and worshipping him and they're filled with indignation. What they are seeing is causing them to feel angry and annoyed by what this lady is doing.

But Jesus understands her motives. Jesus understands that she's doing this out of love and devotion to her saviour. She's doing this as an act of faith and she's anointing his body prior to the burial and he says that what this lady has done is going to be written down for a memorial to her. A memorial. And we know that those words are true because they're written down in the scriptures. Because Jesus says, Verily I say unto you, Whethersoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this that this woman has done to be told for a memorial of her.

And so wherever the Bible is translated, whatever language this Bible is translated into, whatever country it goes, there is the record of the devoted Mary who worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ and anointed his body prior to the burial. And as we looked at on Sunday, we saw that the offices in the church are to be held by men. but yet in the Christian body there is a work for all and God chooses and anoints women to be used by himself. He uses them for his honour and glory.

We saw of the We saw of Esther and how the Lord used her. We saw of the little maid and we see in the missionary stories of many women that the Lord has used to advance his kingdom for his honour and glory. And here we have written in scripture the unchanging Word of God, a memorial for a lady who outshined all of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ by her simple act of faith, by her simple devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ in worship.

So there is one lady who is devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ but her devotion riles up, annoys the apostles especially Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot we know is a lover of money and he looks at what is being wasted this perfume this ointment could have been sold for a lot of money given to the poor and the scripture tells us not that he cared for the poor he didn't have any compassion for the poor whatsoever but he was a miser and this act of devotion is the final straw for Judas

He goes then to the priests and he says to them, what will you give me? That I will deliver him unto you. And they conveniented with him for 30 pieces of silver. Now this 30 pieces of silver is prophesied in the scriptures, in the book of Zechariah. the prophet moved by the Spirit of God prophesied regarding the betrayal of the Lord Jesus and he prophesied that this betrayal is going to be for money

So as we have this lady who is devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ she gives of what is precious to her to the Lord Jesus. This annoys Judas Iscariot so much that he now wants to get something for himself and in doing so he fulfills prophecy.

Zechariah 11. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price, and if not forbear. So they weighed out for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, a goodly price, that it was prized out of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

as we were to continue reading of Judas Iscariot we see that he receives those 30 pieces of silver after he betrays the Lord Jesus Christ he's filled with some measure of guilt and he goes and seeks to give back the 30 pieces of silver, throws it in the temple and then they go and buy the potter's field. And so all of these things are already ordained by God that this is how his Christ is going to be handed over into the hands of sinful men is to do with money. That he's going to be sold like a slave into the hands of sinful men. In Psalms also. Psalm 41. It tells us there, verse nine, yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, did eat of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. If we look at Judas, chosen amongst the 12 apostles, is now sitting at the table with the Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. A lady is worshipping and devoting herself to the Lord Jesus and this man sitting at the table, the friend of the Lord Jesus Christ, lifts up his heel against the Lord Jesus Christ because of money. Exposes his heart.

Now just because it is prophesied that Christ will be sold for 30 pieces of silver just because it is prophesied that he would be betrayed by one who is his friend does not mean Judas is without excuse Judas is not a robot in this account He's being guided by his own heart. He's making decisions and choices based upon the feelings that he is experiencing inside. He is riled up because of all that the Lord Jesus Christ is doing.

You see all of us are only as God will have us to be. If God removes the restraining hand In our lives there's no limit to what we can do. And with Judas Iscariot he is face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. He's seen his miracles. Christ himself even says to him, the one who is with me, betrays me is at hand, at the table. He had an opportunity. to confess his sin before the others and before the Lord Jesus yet he continues to hide what he has done. He's being left to himself just like David.

You think of David and Solomon in the line of the Lord Jesus Christ yet Solomon comes because of the sin of David with Bathsheba We cannot say that God orchestrated it all to take place but he allows sinful men to go after their own hearts and because he is so merciful and kind he is able to bring about good out of sinful things. And even with the betrayal and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ He brings about good. He brings about the salvation of his people.

But Jesus says of Judas Iscariot. Verse 23, and he answered and said, he that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of Man goeth as it is written of him, but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It has been good for that man if he had not been born. You see, Jesus knew exactly who it was. Judas knew that it was himself. because he had already planned, schemed with the priests and those in the temple for the pieces of silver. Judas knew what was going on.

When Jesus asks the question, one of you shall betray me. They were all exceedingly sorry and began to, and every one of them said unto him, Lord it is I. If you've ever been in a situation probably at school or maybe even at work where you've done something you may have broken something or damaged something or said something and something's got out and you're there with a group of other people and the one in charge begins to speak and they begin to say, you know, this thing has taken place and is anybody going to confess about it? and you're there and you're thinking well I know it's me and you start getting all hot under your collar and you become stressed and you think well should I just be keep quiet or should I say something? You have a choice you can either confess or you can either hide it Judas Iscariot is presented with this question. One of you shall betray me. Remember that he's done it already. One of you shall betray me. And he doesn't confess. We don't know whether he's feeling stressed or anxious or if he's sweating that my sin has been exposed. We don't know anything about that. you would think that now would be the opportune moment to say yes it is me, this is what I have done, I'm really sorry for what I have done but he doesn't. He keeps quiet and everybody else says Lord is it I?

We read that Judas later on he says master or teacher is it I? And Judas which betrayed him answered and said master is it I? You see he's separate. And he said unto him thou hast said yes it's you. So with the life of Judas Jesus says for him, it was better that he had never, ever been born.

And you know, every person that rejects the Lord Jesus Christ, it would have been better that they had never been born because the cost of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ as saviour is to fall under the eternal wrath of God forever. It's not just for people like Judas or Hitler or some other hideous person. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and the punishment is the same. It will be better for all who reject Christ that they'd never been born, that breath had never entered into their bodies. than to live a life of denial and rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so what we see in the life of Judas is just the exposing of his unconverted heart. He was able to hold it for a while. He was able to live the life with the apostles. but there was no true change. He didn't really love the Lord Jesus. That's why he's filled with indignation to the devotion of Mary. He couldn't understand it. Why would someone waste all this precious ointment? Why would someone bother in doing this to the Lord Jesus Christ? It made him angry. Why? Because he didn't love the Lord Jesus Christ.

So there's devotion, there is betrayal, but also there's denial. In the garden, Peter, after his boasting, he is left to deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Now there is a difference between betrayal and denial. Betrayal seems to be a willful act. Something that is predetermined that I'm thinking about and I'm going to do this because I dislike this person. And so Judas betrays the Lord Jesus. Yet Peter doesn't betray he doesn't betray the Lord Jesus Christ but he just denies him.

Verse 31 Jesus says unto them all ye shall be offended because of me this night for it is written I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered but after I am risen again I will go before you into Galilee Peter answered and said unto him though all the men shall be offended because of thee yet I will never be offended. And Jesus said unto him verily verily or verily I say unto thee that this night before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter said unto him though I should die with thee yet I will not deny thee likewise said all the disciples.

Peter is filled with self-confidence. He's filled with his own strength, with his own ability. He is prime, he is ripe for a trial of his faith. He is ripe for the discipline of God. He needs to be brought down. He needs to be dealt with. God needs to humble him. It may have been said out of a sincere heart, he may have believed that he could indeed fight for the Lord Jesus Christ. And like all of them say, likewise said all of the disciples, Peter's confidence made him susceptible at the word for a fool. As the Bible tells us in the book of Proverbs, that pride comes before a fool.

So Peter's denial of the Lord Jesus Christ, as we see at the end of the chapter, It was done to humble him, to show him who he really was. Judas did not come to true repentance over his sin.

He never came back to the Lord Jesus Christ asking for forgiveness. He ran and took his own life. Peter wept with tears, asked or showed evidence of true repentance and so his denial hurt him and when a believer does sin, when they are left to themselves it hurts them They don't enjoy sinning, they don't enjoy offending the one who has died for them.

When they do sin, when they do things that displease them, when they are overcome by fear and doubt and unbelief, when they are elevated in pride and they realise it, It brings them to godly sorrow that works repentance. It brings them to their knees to the Lord Jesus Christ asking for that forgiveness. And the Lord uses all of these things for our good so that we may see ourselves and realise that we are weak and without strength.

If this question was to be asked tonight by the Lord Jesus Christ, verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. What would our answer be? How would we respond? The disciple said, Lord, Master, is it I? It can be translated, Surely not I. One of you shall, Jesus says. Think of them as a group together. When Jesus says, one of them will, that means one of them is going to do it. And so they're all now turning their eyes within and thinking, well, I don't really want to. I can't surely see myself doing that. But I know that I am capable in myself of doing it. It's like please let it not be me.

We are truly honest with ourselves and we each know the deceitfulness of our own hearts. If Jesus was to say to us one of you shall betray me you would think I know I'm capable I know I'm capable of being led astray. I know my faith is so weak. I'm so fragile. I'm easily led like a lamb to the slaughter. It's possible that I could do it, although I wouldn't want to do it. Or would you say there's no way, there's no way I would do that. There's no way I would betray the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we would respond like that, do we truly know the deceitfulness of our own heart? Do we truly know how weak we are, left to ourselves? Think of Judas, the Lord removes that restraining hand. Look at David, the Lord removes that restraining hand. Look at the kings of Solomon, the Lord removes his restraining hand and they go and commit sin. Peter, the Lord removes that restraining hand and he goes and denies the Lord Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means that the reason why you and I are not just running out in sin is because the Lord has restrained us. And if we're truly taught by God we will realize that.

That our hearts are manufacturing plants of sin and idols. and all of us are capable, left to ourselves, to betray and to deny the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter it tells us there, 1 Peter 1 verse 5 or to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fate is not a way reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed at the last time kept by the power of God If anyone makes it to the end of their life without having walked in external sin and bringing shame on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ it's because they've been kept by the power of God. Not because of any good in self. because we've been kept by the power of God.

Obviously there are safety measures that we can bring into our lives to keep us from sinning by prayerfully meditating and seeking after and pursuing after holiness and godliness and keeping ourselves from being corrupted by the worldliness did we become exalted if we become proud of our holiness and our greatness and we do end up like Peter and the Lord will leave us to ourselves that we will come plummeting down and deny him and bring shame upon him. So we are kept by the power of God. Our salvation doesn't rest in us, in our walking in obedience yet we do not sin so that grace may abound. We seek to pursue after and walk after holiness and godliness and Christ's likeness and humility

Lord. Is it I? And he said unto them, to you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceedingly sorrowful and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? You can understand why they were exceedingly sorrowful. They did love the Lord Jesus Christ. And in themselves, they didn't want to betray him. but they knew that they were capable of it.

But Judas was the one who was left to himself. Judas was the one whom the devil entered into and he went out and it was night and he betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and gave him that betrayal of a kiss and handed him over into the hands of sinners. Yet the purposes of God to bring about the salvation of his people.

May the Lord bless Bless us and help us and keep us Christ-centered and Christ-focused so we will not be drawn after and made a vulnerable target, an easy target for Satan to bring down the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our closing hymn is from Gatsby's 931 to the tune 647.

Paschal Lamb, by God appointed,
Loads of sin on thee were laid,
By almighty love anointed,
Thou hast full atonement made,
All thy people are forgiven,
Through the virtue of thy blood,
Opened is the gate of heaven,
Peace is made, twixt man, and God.

931. All thy people are forgiven,
through the virtue of thy blood.
Opened is the gate of heaven,
peace is made.

? All the heav'nly hosts adore thee ?
? Sitting at thy father's side ?
? All thy people now are pleading ?
? Heaven and earth have left their bed ?
? And have fallen asleep ?
? Interceding ?
? Till with glory they appear ?
? Make His honor, strength and blessing ?
? Thou art worthy to receive ?
? Thou art free ?
to gain.

Oh, the bright angelic spirits bring their sweetest, loveliest praise. Help to see the Savior's merits. Help to chant the Savior's praise.

Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father, with the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, to be with us now and for evermore. Amen.