Okay, we're turning now to Luke
22. Luke chapter 22. I want to try
to bring the message today from verse 1 and wind up in some measure
down to verse 14 of Luke 22. The title for the message today,
Preparation for the Last Passover. Preparations for the last Passover. Notice verse 8. He sent Peter
and John saying, go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat,
that we may observe the Passover. Look down to verse 13. And they
went and found as he had said unto them, and they made ready
the Passover. The Lord Jesus Christ observing
that Passover feast. Now we know that the Passover
feast that was instituted by God, we read about it just a
moment ago, in Exodus chapter 12, we know that whole Passover
feast is a type and picture of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We brought a message this morning
from the radio, on the radio program from Exodus chapter 12. Now we see in the Old Testament
Scripture three different types, three different types of the
gospel. Now I've given this to you over
the years, and I read this in, the first time that I read this
and studied this, and it was broken down for me, was when
I read Jonathan Edwards' book on the history of redemption.
This was 30 years ago. But it stuck with me and it made
so much sense to me that all through the Old Testament, we
see types and pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ. But old Jonathan
Edwards, he broke it down into three types. He said, first of
all, there's instituted types. For example, the Passover was
instituted by God. We know that's the picture of
the gospel. And then another example of an instituted type
would be the day of atonement. That was instituted by God. And of course we know that Christ
is not only our Passover, but Christ is our atonement for our
sin. And then old Mr. Edwards said
the second type we see in the Old Testament, how it pictures
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, are providential
types. Providential types. Does this
sound familiar to you? I've given this to you before
over the years. Providential types. For example, the crossing
of the Red Sea. God providentially brought that
to pass, dividing the sea, and he said, remember what he said?
Stand still and see the salvation that's of the Lord. And then
the smiting of that rock, when they needed water in the wilderness,
and the smiting of that rock, and the water flowing out from
that rock, that is a picture of Christ who is the water of
life. And then remember also another
providential type, those 40 years that they wandered in the wilderness.
Now we're talking about providing bread for a million or more people
out in the desert land. How are you gonna provide for
those? Feed a million people for 40 years. How are you gonna
do that? Pretty big job. The Lord rained
bread from heaven Six days a week for 40 years. What is that a picture of? You
read John chapter 6. The Lord said, I am that bread. The bread from heaven is a picture
of Christ. He said, I'm the bread of heaven.
I'm the bread of life. You come to me, believe me, and
you'll never die. You'll never perish. So, and
then, instituted type, providential
type, and then the third type, and I think I love, this is probably
one of my favorite types, personal types, personal types. For example, the Lord is a priest like Aaron,
a priest like Aaron, he's a personal, Aaron is a type, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and then We see Moses was a prophet and
the Lord Jesus Christ is certainly a priest and the prophet. So
Moses was a type, personal type of the Lord Jesus Christ like
Aaron. And then we think of David. David, when you think of David,
what do you think of? He was a king. He was a king. And David is a personal type
of the Lord Jesus Christ. the Lord Jesus Christ. As I've
often told you, he's prophet, priest, and king. Prophet to
tell us and reveal unto us the way of salvation, a priest to
redeem us with his own blood, and then a king to rule and reign
over us. Now, this is what we see here
in Luke 22 when we talk about the Passover that was a instituted
type of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 1.
Verse 1. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
Drunai, which is called the Passover. The Passover. The Lord Jesus
Christ sends out two of his disciples as they prepare to observe this
Jewish feast day that the Lord had instituted This was a memorial
sacrifice to remember how the Lord delivered them from Egyptian
bondage through the sacrifice of the Lamb. Now that lamb, that
Passover lamb, is a picture of Christ, our Lamb. You remember John identified
Him, remember he said, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away
our sin. God said of that Passover lamb,
there in Egypt, God said, And the blood shall be to you for
a token upon the houses where you are, And when I see the blood,
I will pass over you." Now, it's interesting if you look up that
phrase in the original, I'll pass over you. So here were all
these houses. Some houses had blood on the
door. and the lentils, some houses didn't. And the Lord said, when
I see the blood upon that house, I'll leap over you. I'll spring over you. And the houses that had no blood,
the firstborn of that house died. Judgment came to that house. Now, the Passover is a beautiful
picture of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, how he died
for our sins according to the scriptures. If you will turn
a few pages over and find Luke 24, verse 44, Luke 24, 44. These are the words which I spake
unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, in the prophets,
and in the psalm concerning me, then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the scripture." Everything the Lord
did as a God-man mediator upon this earth, he was doing to fulfill
the scripture. He was fulfilling what that Passover
signified and was a picture of. He died for our sin according
to the scripture. Now, in Luke 22 here, the Lord
Jesus Christ comes to observe the last Passover. This is the
last Passover because he instituted the Lord's table. He is honoring
the law of God for us. Remember God said, this is my
son in whom I'm well pleased. The Lord is well pleased for
his righteousness sake he will honor and magnify the law of
God for us. Now, not only is that so, but
the Lord Jesus Christ is actually going to become our Passover
lamb as he dies for our sin. Now, think about this. In 1 Corinthians
5, 7 it says there, For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed
for us. Even Christ, our Passover, He
sacrificed for us. It was through His obedient and
faithful life, faithful and obedient unto death, that the Lord Jesus
Christ accomplishes our salvation. honoring the law of God for us
in his life and his faithfulness. He said, I didn't come to destroy
the law and prophets. I came to honor and fulfill. So in his life, he honored the
precept of the law, and in his death, he satisfied the penalty
of that law. The law of God says the guilty
must die. That's what the law of God says. The Lord Jesus Christ,
upon Calvary's tree, became guilty for our sin, the sin of God's
elect. Had he not been guilty, actually
guilty? Now, he personally committed
no sin, right? Had no sin, knew no sin. But
as the substitute, God laid on him the iniquity of God's people.
He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us. He bare our sin in His own body
on the tree. It is only because of the blood
atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, only because of the blood atonement
of Jesus Christ, that we can confess our sins to the Lord
and ask the Lord to forgive our sins because he died to put away
our sin. Now, if you ask the Lord to forgive
you for your sin, upon what basis? You say, Lord, forgive me for
my sin because I'll never commit another one. Well, you just lied
because you're going to. The only basis that we can ask
the Lord for forgiving our sin is because he paid the debt for
our sin. Now, listen to this scripture.
This is 1 John 1. If we walk in the light as he
is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all our sin. Cleanses and cleanses and cleanses. So what are we to do? If we say
we have no sin, singular, sin, we deceive ourselves in truth
not in it. Now that's talking about our sin nature. You are
a sinner, right? How'd you get that way? I was
born that way, okay? And Adam all sinned. If we say
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves in truth not in it. Now, listen
to this carefully. If we confess our sins, plural,
what we've done, sin of omission, sin of commission, sin of thought,
Word, deed. If we confess our sins, boy,
this ought to encourage us to confess unto the Lord. He is
faithful and just to forgive our sins. Get it? Faithful and
just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Lord, I confess my sin. I'm a sinner. Have mercy upon
me for Christ's sake. He's faithful and just to forgive
our sin. So that's the first point. The
second point is found in verse two. Verse two. The chief priest and the scribes
sought how they might kill him for they feared him. Now you
think about How barbaric this is. The lovely Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught in the temple, who healed the multitudes, who fed
the multitude, the chief priests, the religious Pharisees, and
the scribes, they sought how they might kill him. Now, we know from reading the
Word of God, we know that all things are of
God. All things are of God, right? Of Him, and through Him, and
to Him are all things. We know that all things are of
God. Of Him, and through Him, and
to Him are all things. But think about this for a moment.
The Lord our God, in His infinite wisdom and power, in infinite
wisdom and power, He works all things at the counsel of His
own will. The Lord our God, in His infinite
wisdom and power, uses the wickedness of men to accomplish His own
purpose. Now you get a hold of what I'm
saying here. The Lord our God is absolutely sovereign over
all things, over all events and all men, that He even uses the
wickedness of men to accomplish His eternal purpose. It is true
that chief priests desired and sought out means to kill Him.
They did what they wanted to do. But they did what God determined
before to be done. They were only instruments in
the hand of God to accomplish His eternal purpose. Now, we
know that is so. Turn to Acts chapter 4. Acts
chapter 4. Acts chapter 4, look at verse
26. Acts 4, 26. The kings of the
earth stood up and the rulers were gathered
together. You got it? Acts 4, 26. The kings of the
earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against
the Lord and against his Christ for betrothed against thy holy
child Jesus whom thou has anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together
for to do... Now, what did they want to do? They wanted to kill him, right?
But read the rest of that statement. For to do whatsoever thy hand,
thy counsel determined before to be done. The death of the
Lord Jesus Christ was not an accident. Him being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Peter said
that very thing in Acts chapter two. You men of Israel, hear
these words. Jesus of Nazareth, the man approved
of God, among you by miracles and wonders
and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves
also know, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, you've taken and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain. But they did what God determined
before to be done. Even so it is now with us. Our God overrules the malicious
devices of the most wicked men to bring about the eternal good
of God concerning you. And we know, and we know that
all things work together for good. to them who love God, to
them who are called according to His purpose. Remember Psalm
76, Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, and the remainder
of wrath thou shalt restrain. Now, the Passover feast, a picture
of the gospel. the overruling sovereign providence
of God over all things. Who was in charge that day the
Lord Jesus Christ died? You remember what Pilate said,
don't you know I have power over you to release you or to crucify
you? What did the Lord say? You don't
have any power over me. but that which God has given
to you." God was in charge that day, and he has not vacated his
throne. He's still in charge. Now, the
second thing, or rather the third thing that I want to try to look at
is this thing of Judas. Whenever you think of Judas Iscariot,
what do you think of? There's not many mothers who
name their sons Judas. Why? Because he is notorious
for doing one thing, betraying the blessed Savior. He sold the
Lord Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver, which in that day
was a price for a common slave. Here we see, look at verse 3,
"...then entered Satan into Judas, surnamed Iscariot." Now, could the Lord have prevented
this and stopped Satan from entering into Judas? Absolutely. Satan and even used Satan to
accomplish his purpose. Then entered Satan into Judas.
He was also named Judas Iscariot, being of the number of the 12. I mean, he was just like, he
was an ordained apostle, just like John, Peter, Andrew, the
rest of them. James, being one of the 12, And he went his way and communed
with these chief priests who sought to kill the Lord Jesus
Christ. He went and had fellowship with them. He communed with them
and the captains, how he might betray him unto them. Oh, and they were glad. Oh, Judas, we're glad to see
you today. What's on your mind? Well, I need a little money.
I'll sell out the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. And they made
a covenant with him and they gave him money. And he promised
and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence
of a multitude. Do you remember when the Lord
was in the garden? Praying. And they came forth to arrest
him. And Judas was there. And he came forth and kissed
him, and he had an agreement. He said, that man whom I kiss,
you'll know that he's the Savior. He's the one that you need to
kill. Now Judas, we see such an important
lesson here in the apostasy. This is called the apostasy of
Judas, who was one of the chosen apostles. Judas is a glaring
example of false faith. False faith. A great warning
unto us about persevering in the faith. Another example, Judas
is, of just how wicked and deceitful the hearts of all sinners are. Now the only difference between
Judas and Peter The only difference between Judas and Peter was the
Lord's grace. Peter was just as wicked as Judas. Peter would have done the exact
same thing we're gonna see in just a minute, where the scriptures
in the same chapter, the Lord said to Peter, Satan had desired
to have you that he may sift you like wheat, but I prayed
for you. The Lord didn't intercede. For
Judas, he let Satan have him and use him. Now, the heart,
we know, of all men, desperately wicked. That's you, that's me. There's no sin that we are not
capable of committing right now. You say, well, I'd never do that.
You better not say that. You better say, by God's grace,
I hope he keeps me from it. Because apart from his restraining
grace, that's exactly what you're going to do. You see, there's
none righteous, no not one. There's none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God. We must have a mediator
to intercede for us, or we have no hope. Now, here's what we
see in Judas. A person may be very religious,
very orthodox, even make a profession of faith and not actually be
found in Christ. He may be very successful in
religion. Judas was an apostle. He may
be recognized by others as a believer. Peter and John never suspected
Judas. He may be recognized by others
as a believer and in reality not know the Lord Jesus Christ
at all. Now, consider this. How far can one go in religious
exercise and still be lost and still not know and love the Lord
Jesus Christ? Now this scares me. This scares
me. I'm concerned for you and I'm
concerned for myself. Because consider the life of
Judas for a moment. He was personally chosen by the
Lord to be an apostle. He lived three years with the
Lord Jesus Christ. He was an eyewitness to countless
miracles. I mean, Judas was standing right
there next to Peter and John at the grave of Lazarus, and
they saw a dead man come forth. Judas saw that. He saw the power
of God in Christ. He was an eyewitness to countless
miracles. He saw the dead raised up. He saw the lame to walk. the
deaf to hear. He was a co-worker, a co-apostle
with Peter and John, Andrew and James and the others. He was
even sent out to preach the gospel. When the Lord sent those men
out to preach, Judas went out preaching. He was a preacher.
He was an apostle. He was so like the other apostles
that none of them suspected him to be a betrayer and an apostate. Yet, Judas was a turncoat. Judas was a traitor. Judas was
an apostate. He portrayed the Lord Jesus Christ
with a kiss of false-hearted friendship. We know how he died,
don't we? He died in his sin by his own
hand. He went out and hanged himself. What a sad end. He perishes in his sin. Now, a vital question for us
to consider. How could this happen? How can
we account for such a diabolical, sinful behavior of this man? Judas, was Judas saved at one
time and then lost again? Absolutely not. For the Lord
saves us with an everlasting salvation. He says, I give my
sheep eternal life and they shall never perish. Was the Lord surprised
by the action of his fallen friend, Judas? No, sir. Look right across
the page, Luke 22, 21. But behold, the hand of him that
betrayeth me is with me on the table. When they observed the
Passover, and the Lord instituted, this cup is the New Testament,
my blood which is shed for you. Behold, the hand of him that
betrayeth is with me on the table. The Son of Man goeth as it was
determined, truly the Son of Man goeth as it was determined,
but woe unto the man by whom he is betrayed." Now turn to
John, Chapter 6. Now, Judas fooled Peter and John,
but he didn't deceive the Lord Jesus Christ, did he? You remember
John 6, 69, "...and we believe, and we are sure, that thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God." Verse 69, you remember? Peter said, We believe and we're
sure, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the
Lord answered, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is
a devil? And he spake of Judas Iscariot,
the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him, being
one of the twelve. Now, let me check this one of
the references I've got written down. The Lord said, I speak
not of you all. I know whom I have chosen, but
that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me
hath lifted up his heel against me. So, Judas was known by the
Lord. So how do we account for Judas?
He was a tare among the wheat. He was a goat among the sheep.
He was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He had the garments of religion,
but he had not the garments of salvation. He was full of religion,
but he was not full of Christ. He was a covetous man. He was
a thief. The Scriptures call him a thief. The reason Judas portrayed the
Lord was he was never regenerated, he was never converted, he was
never a true lover of the Lord Jesus Christ, never believed
the gospel, never repented as a sinner against God, he never
cried out for mercy, he loved money more than he loved the
Lord Jesus Christ. Look what it says there, And
they were glad, verse 5, and they coveted to give him money. Remember the scripture, 1 Timothy
6, the love of money is a root of all evil. Therefore, he became
an easy target for the malicious enemy to attack and conquer and
to Use him. It says that Satan entered into
Judas to inspire him to the wickedness that he already desired. Now,
I want to show you, and I'm going to quit with this. I'm not going
to be able to develop the second or the last part of this message.
We'll look at it next week. But I want to show you something
that's very, very critical here. Look at Luke 22, verse 31. Luke 22, 31. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon. Now he's talking to Peter. Behold,
Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. that he may have you and use
you for whatever purpose, but, oh, thank God for this, but I
prayed for you that your faith fail not. When you're converted,
strengthen, strengthen the brethren. Now, what was the difference
between Peter and Judas? If you say the difference was
in the man, you've missed the message. The difference between
Peter and Judas was the grace of God. Judas had no mediator. He had no Redeemer. He had no
advocate to pray for him. While Peter had an advocate,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.
Peter had an intercessor. He said, when you sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Peter
had one who ever lived to intercede for him. Judas had nothing but
Judas. And he died in his sin. Now let us beware and take heed,
brethren, Hebrews 3, 12, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Judas was
left to his own wicked heart while Peter The Lord interceded
and prayed for Peter. Now my friend, there are many
warnings like this throughout Holy Scripture. Let us therefore
make our calling and election sure. Let us examine ourselves
whether we are in the faith. I don't want to be religious
and miss Christ. I don't want you to be just religious
and miss Christ. Let us examine ourselves, whether
we be in the faith. Let us prove our own selves.
Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you,
except you be a reprobate. 2 Corinthians 13, 5. Let us make
sure that we are in Christ and count all else dung and rubbish
that we may win Christ and be found in him. Do you have an advocate? Do you have a Mediator? Do you
have a Redeemer? Do you need one? Absolutely. Do you have a Savior? The Lord Jesus Christ is God
our Savior. And then there is salvation in
no other but in Christ.