But it's good to see you all.
I want us to turn this morning in our Bibles to the gospel of
Mark chapter 14. Mark chapter 14. You just can't beat this book.
Did you know that? I guess some programs are nice.
Some things have their place, but nothing, nothing, nothing
takes the place of the opening and reading and expounding of
God's holy word. And Mark chapter 14 is a pretty
neglected chapter, an important chapter, a very instructive chapter. And a lengthy chapter, 72 verses. So I just want to say a few things
and nibble down through these verses in Mark chapter 14 with
your Bibles open. The events in this chapter occurred
just before Christ was crucified. He was crucified, as you know,
at Passover. And verse one states the time
to be two days before Passover. The religious Jewish leaders,
the chief priest, the scribes, they desire to put Jesus to death,
but they say in verse two, not on the feast day. They know there
will be more people in Jerusalem at Passover than any other time
of the year. It'll be so busy, there'll be
no rooms in the inn, which we read about with Mary and Joseph. So it'll be a busy, busy time,
be a lot of people there. And these religious leaders don't
want this to be a public event. They say not on the feast day.
They wish to quietly put Jesus to death and be out of the public
eye. But things didn't work out as
they wished. Uh, things don't work out because
we wish, uh, Jesus Christ was destined to be crucified at Passover. He is the Passover lamb. And
of all the things recorded in this chapter. I want to note
this morning that there are several mentions of Judas Iscariot, he
that should betray the Lord to be crucified. In the earlier
verses where Jesus is having a meal in the house of Simon
the leper, a woman comes to worship him.
And she brings and breaks an expensive alabaster box of ointment. You've all heard that story.
Uh, the wealth, the, the worth of it, possibly her life savings. And she brings it and breaks
it to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus. He tells them later
in verse eight, that she did this to anoint my body to the
burying. for his burial. And of course,
because she did this, some got mad about it. Verse four says
they had indignation within themselves and said, what a waste. This
could have been sold for lots of money to help the poor. As you just said, the poor is
going to be around from now on. You don't need to think about
that. This woman hath wrought a good work on me. And some complained about it.
Well, John's account, it's good. It's good to compare the four
gospels. When you read the Bible, there
are four accounts of the life and ministry of our Lord from
birth to crucifixion, to resurrection, to ascension. Now, they don't
all say exactly the same words. Some will include some events
that others leave out. Others will make some point that
this one left out. But scripture is to be compared
with scripture. So it's good to compare the four accounts,
the four gospel accounts, they're called, Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John, to study about the Lord Jesus. Well, John's account
tells us that this complaint about what this woman had done
came first from Judas Iscariot. It was he that asked, why was
not this sold? And then John adds, not that
he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag
and bear what was put therein. So Judas had great resentment
and indignation that the son of God should be honored as she
was, as he was by this woman. He was that cold and against
it. May I say the world today, like
Judas Iscariot, complains of people being fully committed
to Christ. They'll say they believe in it.
They'll say, I go to church, I'm a religious person, but they
believe in moderation. Isn't it strange that it's all
right if a man is totally consumed with a love and pursuit of money
or politics or sports. That's their world. That's all
they do. But if a man is totally given to Christ, people will
say he's gone overboard. He's a fanatic. He he's, he he's
taken his religion too far. So we understand that that spirit
of Judas Iscariot lives on in our time. Now in the next segment
of the chapter, verses 10 and 11, we're not going to touch
every verse, but verses 10 and 11. This same man, Judas Iscariot,
he covenants with the chief priest to betray Jesus. Notice it's
not Roman governmental authorities, but it's Jewish religious authorities,
the chief priest and the agreement is made. And when Judas presented
his offer, verse 11 says, And when they heard it, they were
glad and promised to give him money. And he saw how he might
conveniently betray him. So we've seen Judas Iscariot
twice already in this chapter. First, he complains at the woman
using what's hers to honor the Lord Jesus. And secondly, he
makes a deal with the. Religious chief priest to betray
Jesus the next segment of the chapter beginning in verse 12
Is preparation being made for Jesus and the 12 to observe the
Passover In verse 18 We read and as they did sat and did eat
Jesus said verily I say unto you one of you Which eateth with
me shall betray me Here, a third time, attention is called to
Judas Iscariot. And the other disciples don't
know it's him, of course. So they begin asking. Verse 19,
they began to be sorrowful and say unto him one by one, is it
I? And another, is it I? He answered and said unto them,
it is one of the 12 that dippeth with me in the dish. The son
of man indeed goeth as it is written of him, but woe to that
man by whom the son of man is betrayed. Good were it for that
man if he had never been born. Now in verses 22 to 24, Jesus
institutes the Lord's Supper and replaces Passover with the
Lord's Supper. I know we're coming up on that
time of the year and we're going to have the Lord's Supper here
in a few weeks, but you'll hear about Passover on the news over
in Jerusalem and even probably the Pope will get in on it and
all that stuff. But you see, Christ is the true
Passover lamb. That ended, he replaced the Passover
with the Lord's Supper. The Old Testament Passover was
a type pointing to the Lord Jesus. You remember that first Passover,
that night back in Egypt, when they, uh, when they slew the
lambs and applied the blood of the lamb on the houses, that
was a token. And God had said, when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. You will not be destroyed. And
so in obedience to God, they slew a lamb, applied the blood
and walked out of Egypt that night, a free people. And Christ now says, this is
what the Passover has been all about all these generations. The breaking of this bread that
he's going to do here in verse 22, it speaks of my body being
broken and nailed to the cross. The cup spoken of is my blood,
verse 24, which is shed for many. And he says in verse 25, verily,
I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit
of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom
of God. I will be present with you in
the person of the spirit. I'll drink it with you in my
kingdom, not of this world, but in this world after the supper,
verse 26. And when they had sung in him,
they went out under the Mount of Olives. Then he tells them,
uh, that they'll all be offended in him that night. Uh, the shepherd
shall be smitten. That's him. And the sheep shall
be scattered. That's his disciple. And he then
speaks of his resurrection, verse 28. But after that, I'm risen.
I will go before you into Galilee. Then in the following verses,
he tells Peter about his denying the Lord three times. And when they come to the garden,
Gethsemane verse 32, Judas Iscariot is not with them. He's he remember
he's left the supper early. to go to the chief priest and
betray Jesus. You'll find that in one of the
other gospel accounts, but he's not there. Now, Jesus knew that
Judas knew where he'd be on this night. He'd go to the, this Mount of
Olives into this garden called Gethsemane. Luke calls it, says
that it was a place Jesus was want. To go that is he was accustomed
or would ordinarily go to pray that night. And Hey, Jesus, knowing
what Judas was doing, did not avoid being where Judas suspected
he would be. He went there as he usually did. So here entering the garden.
It's Jesus and the 11. He leaves eight of them at the
entrance to the garden. Verse 32. Sit you here while
I shall pray. Then he takes three of them with
him. Peter, James, and John. Take
it with him. Peter, James, and John began
to be sore amazed and to be very heavy. And saith unto them, My
soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death, tarry ye here and watch. The sorrow is exceeding great
now. The atmosphere of Calvary is
closing in. It's not this dark on the outside,
but it's getting dark. It's getting dark, dark, dark
in the very being of our Lord in the very
flesh of our Lord, emotional. The physical suffering is approaching. He knows it. And the emotional
or soul suffering is present already. And so he says here,
my soul, verse 20, 34, my soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death. He then, verse 35, he says, he
went forward a little and fell on the ground and prayed. There he prayed. He returned. If you read on, he returned to
Peter, James, and John three times, and he found them sleeping
each time. This on top of his sorrow. Said
clearly that he walked this road alone. They wouldn't even with
him enough to stay awake. They wouldn't disturb that much. After the third time he returns,
he says to them in verse 42, rise up, let us go. In verse 41, he'd said the hour
has come. He knew it. So then he said, rise up, let
us go low. He that betrayeth me is at hand.
Note he's not going to lead his disciples away from the danger.
But right into it. He is not avoiding. Judas and
the soldiers that come. He knew exactly how close they
were. Could have fled the other direction. Verse 43 says, immediately
while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the 12, with him a great
multitude with swords and staves from the chief priest and the
scribes and the elders. Here is, as it were, a small
army coming out to the Lord Jesus, assuming he would resist, but
he wasn't there to resist. He was there to submit, not to
their will, but to the Father's will. He that betrayed him had given
them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same as he,
take him and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, this
is Judas Iscariot. He didn't beat around the bush.
As soon as he was come, he goeth straightway. That word straightway
means immediately to him, to Jesus. And saith, master, master,
and kissed him. I want to talk just a few minutes
about the latter words of this verse
45, master, master, and kissed him. The condition of perdition. The word perdition means no hope doomed and damned. When Christ prayed to the father
in John's account, John 17, he called this man, Judas Iscariot,
the son of perdition. John 17, 12, those that thou
gavest me, talking about the 12, I have kept and none of them
is lost, but the son of perdition, Judas, that the scripture might
be fulfilled. In John 13, 18, Jesus said, I
know whom I have chosen, that the scripture may be fulfilled.
He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against
me. This was before Jesus did it.
Jesus knew it. John 6, 70, he said, have not
I chosen you? 12, and one of you is a devil.
He's talking about Judas Iscariot being what he was. And doing
what he had do long before he did it. So it's not a question this morning
of what it takes to be in the conditions Judas Iscariot was
in. The question is, what does it take not to be in the condition
he was in and not to do what he did? I'll
tell you what it takes. It takes the mighty power of
God. to intervene in our lives. Otherwise we all like Judas Iscariot
would betray the Lord for 30 pieces of silver or less. Here in Mark, we read that they
promised Judas money. We read that in the verses. But
Matthew says in Matthew 26, 15, that Judas went to them first
and said, what will you give me if I deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him
for 30 pieces of silver. And from that time, he sought
opportunity to betray him. So at the supper table that night,
Jesus said to Judas, get on with it. That thou doest do quickly. And Judas went out. According
to Luke's account, Luke 22, 48, when Judas came forth to identify
Jesus with the kiss that we read about here, Jesus asked him, Judas, Betrayest
thou the Son of Man with a kiss? Are you going to do this? He let Judas know that he knew exactly
what he intended to do. And Judas did it. He was cold. He was lifeless. The presence,
the power, The love of the Lord Jesus Christ meant nothing to
this man. What does it mean to you? He was cold, lifeless. He had
no spiritual life that is. He'd have sold his own mother
for a dollar. And so is the spirit of this
world today. Judas action here in the latter
part of verse 45, master, master, and kissed him a kiss. We all know is a token of affection. And the Greek term that's used
here does not mean a little peck on the cheek. But it's an earnest expression
or kiss of affection, signifying a deep sense of affection and
honor. But this kiss of Judas was hypocritical. He had no heart for the Lord
Jesus, and he did not do this to honor him. Not at all. He didn't care to honor him.
He was never given a heart to honor him. This kiss known in history as
the kiss of death. Most think it refers to the sealing
of the death of Jesus. Not so. He came to die long before
Judas Iscariot was ever heard of. But this kiss of death, to
me, sealed not Jesus' death, but Judah's death. Matthew 26, 4, Judas went to
the chief priests and elders, and he brought back the 30 pieces
of silver after he had seen that they condemned crucify the Lord
Jesus he brought it back and he said I have sinned in that
I have betrayed the innocent blood not just innocent blood
but the innocent blood Judas Iscariot testified that the blood
of Jesus Christ is the only innocent blood there is and He came back, he said, I've
done wrong. I betrayed the innocent blood.
And they said, what is that to us? See that to it. See it out
to it. That's, that's not our business. And he cast down the pieces of
silver in the temple and departed and went out and hanged himself. Judas had kissed him with his
lips. but he had cursed him with his
mind and heart. Oh, may no one here today be
guilty of the same. With an outward profession of
religion, to dress up in clean clothes
and carry a Bible and come to church and march in as if it
were we were there to Kiss Jesus, honor him, show our affection
to him, and then have a heart that's
cold with no love for him, no affection for him, no conviction
concerning him. Now, just a few words about what
Judas said, and I'll be through. He addressed the Lord, verse
45, Master, Master. It was common in those times
and in the Old Testament times even, in addressing someone in a very
serious, respectful, sincere, affectionate way to repeat the
name in addressing someone. Even God did this a few times. Way back in Genesis, when Jacob
was moved to go down to Egypt to see Joseph, the Lord said
to him, Jacob, Jacob, don't be afraid. Go on, go on. And even before that, Genesis
22, when Abraham took Isaac, his son, to offer him upon the
mountain, the Lord said, Abraham, Abraham repeated it. And then in Exodus three at the
burning bush, the Lord spake to Moses and said,
Moses, Moses, And then in the midnight at Eli
the priest's house, the young lad Samuel, the Lord was speaking
to him in the night and said, Samuel, Samuel. Just a few of these places in
the Bible. When Elijah was taken up in a chariot of fire, Elisha,
Said, oh, my father, my father. David at the death of his son
Absalom. Oh, Absalom, Absalom. My son, Absalom. In the New Testament,
you know the story when Martha, she objects to Mary sitting at
the feet of Jesus. Well, she has to fix supper alone
by herself, you know. And the Lord said to her, Martha,
Martha, thou art cumbered about many things. Saul on the road
to Damascus. Saul, Saul repeated there. There is this emphasis. Jesus warned Simon Peter when
he told him he'd deny him three times. And he said, Simon, Simon,
Peter said, I won't do it. No, I will not do it. Lord said,
Simon, Simon repeated it. The most dramatic use of the
repetition is on the cross. When Jesus cried out, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So that repetition. It communicates a most. Intense
sense of affection. But the most fearful one. Is
in the words of Jesus. In Matthew 7. The Sermon on the
Mount. He said this near the end. Not
everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord. Shall enter into the kingdom
of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father, which
is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord. We not prophesied in thy name,
and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful
works? Then will I profess unto thee, I never knew you. Depart
from me, ye that work iniquity." Here in our text, Judas does
not even say, Lord, Lord. He says, Master, Master. which simply means teacher, teacher,
teacher. Everybody gave Jesus credit for
being a teacher. That's all the credit Judas gives
him. In Matthew 26, and we'll not
turn there. You can look it up. When Jesus
said to the 12, one of you shall betray me. The Bible says that
every one of them begin to ask, Lord, is it I? Lord, is it I? Lord, is it I? Every one of them
except Judas. He didn't say, Lord, is it I?
He asked, Master, is it I? He's just a teacher. That's all
he is to Judas Iscariot. He couldn't call him Lord. Paul
said in first Corinthians 12, three, no man can say that Jesus
is the Lord. That is from the heart, but by
the Holy ghost, Judas couldn't call him Lord. But in Matthew
seven, that sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned that in the day
of judgment, religion would be so broad spread. So popular,
such big business as it is in our day that many, not a few,
but many will venture to address him with the address of affection
and honor and say, Lord, Lord. They'll boast in religious works
and accomplishments. And say, didn't we do all this,
that, and the other as if to say, I know you're proud
of me. And then Jesus says these sad,
sad words. I never knew you. I know who you are, but I never
knew you. I never quickened you. I never beget you. Spiritually
depart from me, ye that work iniquity. They just got through
bragging on the religion. We've done all this, many wonderful
works, cast out demons, done this, we've done, we've had all
kinds of wonderful things. And Jesus called them workers
of iniquity. He was saying to them, your religion
is not about me. It's about you. It's not about honoring me, but
about honoring you. It's not about worshiping me,
but about worshiping yourselves. And so I ask, what is our religion
about today? Is Christ not worth our all? Is he not worth our total allegiance
and commitment and full obedience? Yes, he is. Yes, he is. How very,
very blessed today you are if you be not left to perdition. No hope, doomed and damned. And it is only God that can change
that. I close with this verse, Hebrews
10 39. But we are not of them who draw
back unto perdition, damnation. But we are of them
that believe to the saving of the soul. Which direction are
you going this morning? Are you drawing back into perdition,
the very flow and the broad road in this world, or are you believing
to the saving of your soul? That's the only question that
really matters. The condition of perdition. It's
a real thing. This is not a fairy tale I've
read you. This is about the life of a man.
who had no heart for the Lord, he lived and died that way. And
so will you, if the Lord don't make the difference. Amen. All right, let's pause.