A Fraudulent Rebel Thief?
Luke 22:47-53
December 13, 2020
Well as you know, we have now left the upper room.
• Jesus has finished with His instruction of the disciples.
• He entered the garden of Gethsemane and there He told the disciples to pray.
• Satan had already demanded permission to sift them.
• Jesus knew that his hour had come.
• And the attack that was on its way was too much for them.
• But instead of praying, they were sleeping and the stage was set for their failure.
At the same time we saw Jesus praying fervently in the garden.
He was so distraught that He was sweating drops of blood.
He prayed that this cup might pass from Him.
That is to say He prayed that He might not be
Subjected to the full fury of the wrath of God.
He prayed that He might not
Feel the utter weight of God’s holy condemnation.
And yet, understanding the will of the Father,
He endured and submitted to the plan.
We said that in the garden Christ was IDENTIFYING WITH US.
• The writer of Hebrews pointed out how every good high priest is one who will
negotiate before God like his life depends upon it.
• In short, you and I want a priest who will plead our case with a real and
sincere fear of hell.
Jesus learned that fear in the garden.
He faced condemnation…
He faced judgment…
He faced God’s fury…
And the trauma from such contemplation actually caused Him
To sweat blood and cry out to God with loud tears.
In the garden He was educated as a priest.
• He identified with sinners.
• He identified with the condemned.
• It was a moving scene.
While the disciples were sleeping, Jesus was doing for them
What they could not and would not do for themselves.
But this morning, the prayer time comes to a close.
We read in verse 47, “While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them;”
• The prayer time is over
• The sifting is at hand
• The judgment of God is about to get real
THIS MORNING WE COME TO THE ARREST OF JESUS.
Now, as we prepare to work through this text I want to CALL YOUR MIND
Back to something Jesus said just a few hours prior.
Luke 22:35-37 “And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one. “For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘AND HE WAS NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.”
We certainly remember that announcement.
• Jesus told the disciples that the days of safety and hospitality were over.
• They should no longer expect to be welcomed into homes
• They should no longer expect to be invited in for supper
• They should no longer expect to freely without fear of attack
And the reason things were about to change was because
An Old Testament PROPHECY about Jesus was about to be FULFILLED.
Jesus quoted from Isaiah 53:12
And He said, “For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘AND HE WAS NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.”
You remember this right?
We talked about the reality of FOLLOWING A FUGITIVE.
• The entire narrative on Jesus was about to change
• That would be a change that would be felt by His followers too.
Jesus was about to IDENTIFY WITH SINNERS (we saw that in the garden)
And Jesus was about to be TREATED LIKE THE SINNERS with whom He identified (we see that here)
As you now realize, Luke focuses on
Different aspects of these events than other gospel writers.
For example, Luke has been very gracious to the 11 disciples.
• He is the only one to record that commendation Jesus gave them about sticking with Him in His trials.
• He is the only one to mention Satan’s activity in their coming desertion.
• He gave an abbreviated account of their sleeping in the garden, only mentioning it once.
• And you’ll notice here that unlock the other gospel writers, Luke does not speak about them fleeing in fear.
• Luke is gracious to the 11 and does not focus on their failures and follies.
Another thing that again becomes evident is the fact that
Luke likes to focus on the spiritual realm of things.
• That is to say Luke likes to show the activity of Satan who is working behind the scenes.
Remember when Jesus sent out the 70 and they returned with joy because even the demons were subject?
Luke 10:18 “And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.”
Remember it was Luke who showed us the spiritual motive behind Judas?
Luke 22:3 “And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.”
It was Luke in the upper room that explained the coming desertion of the disciples as the sifting of Satan.
And even here, Luke records words of Jesus
That no other gospel writer includes.
(53) “While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”
Luke wants you to understand that
The battle raging here is a spiritual one.
This is not a petty war between Jews and Jesus,
This is a spiritual war between good and evil.
YOU SEE OTHER DISTINCTIONS.
• For example, while other writers reveal that Peter cut the ear off of the slave of the high priest, only Luke reveals that Jesus healed the man.
• Luke also doesn’t out Peter by revealing which one did it.
• Luke also is the only one to reveal how Jesus responded to the kiss of Judas. (48) “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
And as we have said before the reason for the differences in each account
Is because each writer, while telling the story,
Is focusing on different points and purposes of the story.
If you read the arrest scene from Matthew’s gospel,
• Over and over Matthew points out that everything that happened was to fulfill what was written.
• Over and over Matthew wants the reader to understand that everything that is happening to Jesus is all part of the plan.
If you read the arrest scene from Mark’s gospel,
• It is very violent and sudden and abrupt,
• No doubt Mark (taken from Peter) is focused on the horror and hardship of the moment of what Jesus had to endure.
If you read the arrest scene from John’s gospel,
• John focuses on the meekness of Jesus,
• Who at one moment put the entire posse on the ground with a word,
• Then negotiates the freedom of the disciples,
• Then consents to go with His arresters.
They all have different purposes to show you through this event.
LUKE’S PURPOSE?
To continue on his theme of showing you how Jesus identified with us.
By now you should be familiar with the terms, since we have discussed them frequently,
But in regard to the work of Christ we like to talk about:
1. His Active Obedience
2. His Passive Obedience.
His active obedience refers to the intentional obedience of Jesus to submit Himself to and actively obey the Law of God.
• It speaks of the righteousness He earned on your behalf.
• It speaks of the Law He fulfilled for you.
• He did what God told you to do, and then imputed that righteousness to you.
And His passive obedience speaks to what He submitted to on your behalf.
• It speaks of the treatment He received and endured that you deserved.
• It speaks of the punishment He took that you earned.
Here Luke is showing you Jesus’ passive obedience.
You see it very clearly here in His arrest simply by looking at
How Jesus is regarded or treated or labeled.
He is here numbered with the transgressors.
Very simply, in the garden Jesus is regarded as
A Fraudulent Rebel Thief.
Of course you know He was anything but,
But look and see how He is regarded and then realize that once again,
He is identifying with you; He is being numbered with the transgressors.
3 Points: In His identification with us, Jesus was:
#1 MOCKED AS A FRAUD
Luke 22:47-48
Well now Judas has shown back up into the story.
• He departed during the middle of the Passover meal.
• While Jesus has been instructing the 11 regarding His departure, Judas has been rounding up the posse.
• He knew where to find Jesus, because Jesus purposely went where He had been going.
So after a night of facing the anguish of the coming condemnation of God,
Jesus has now arisen from prayer and the wait is over.
“behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them;”
There is extra sting there of course that Judas was “one of the twelve”
But we talked about how Judas was a picture of the nation who betrayed their King.
• It had to be betrayal.
• And Judas was the guy.
The part that increases our frustration with Judas
Is the ABSOLUTE EAGERNESS he shows in doing his Satanic work.
Judas “was preceding them”
• He was quite eager.
• He didn’t just tell the Jews were to find Jesus.
• He didn’t stop a few yards away and say, “He’s in there”
• He didn’t try to stay anonymous as the traitor.
• There is no shame at all.
Now, Judas is leading the pack.
He’s confident, he’s arrogant, he’s absolutely despicable.
“and he approached Jesus to kiss Him.”
The other gospel writers give us the logistical reason for this kiss.
Matthew 26:48 “Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.”
So this was the sign.
• Evidently there was some concern that one of the other disciples might stand up and claim to be Jesus so that they arrested the wrong man
• Judas was going to give definitive proof by pointing Jesus out to them.
• And apparently the sign was this kiss.
But what Luke points out, which the other gospel writers omit,
Is how offended Jesus was by this.
Only Luke reveals Jesus’ response.
(48) “But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss?”
To put it another way:
• “Really, a kiss?”
• “Are you serious, a kiss?”
• “You’ve got to be kidding me, a kiss?”
It is important to Luke’s narrative that you understand
That beyond the traitorous act of leading the posse to Jesus,
There was A SPECIAL STING in the fact that Judas kissed Him.
WHAT DO WE MAKE OF THIS?
There is some really detestable play going on here.
On one hand a kiss was often times a token of extreme respect.
• You would kiss the cheek of a rabbi or one who you held in high regard.
• It was a token of affection and admiration.
So in that sense alone, this is deplorable that Judas would put on such a show of hypocrisy by pretending respect for Jesus by kissing Him.
But there is perhaps EVEN MORE AT PLAY here than that.
ALL OF THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS share a common interest in their story as they reveal that during the arrest of Jesus we really enter sort of “BIZARR-O-WORLD”
Starting here things start going crazy and backward.
• We’ll have an undeserved arrest here…
• It will be followed by an illegal trial in which more Jewish Laws were broken
than you can imagine…
• That will be followed by an uncharacteristic cowering by Pilate…
• And then Jesus will be executed after being publicly acquitted.
• We’ll see a known killer released while a Savior gets condemned.
Beyond that, we will be witness to a mocking coronation.
Jesus entered Jerusalem on Monday seated on a donkey’s colt and being lauded as the coming King.
• He’s about to have His coronation with a crown of thorns…
• He’s about to clothed in purpose robe…
• He’s about to take His throne which is a cross, and as for those seats on His
right and on His left that James and John wanted, those seats will be
occupied by criminals.
Everything that’s coming is totally wrong and totally backward.
AND IT ALL STARTS HERE WITH THIS KISS FROM JUDAS.
Remember Psalms 2?
(You should, it’s another passage we go to a lot)
Psalms 2 is the story about the REJECTED MESSIAH.
• However God laughs at their rejection and declares that He has already put His king on the throne.
• Remember?
And it ends with a warning.
Psalms 2:10-12 “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
“do homage” there is the Hebrew word NASHAQ (naw-shack)
It means “to kiss”
In a world that is rejecting God’s king, you should show discernment,
Go against the grain, and instead kiss the Son.
They are mocking Him, you should honor Him.
Which is why the NASB rendered it “do homage”.
NOW GO BACK TO JUDAS.
“he approached Jesus to kiss Him.”
Now do you see why Jesus balked?
It was more than a signal.
• It was a mockery.
• It was a humiliation.
In fact, Judas just put out the greatest signal he could
To say as boldly as possible, THIS MAN IS A FRAUDULENT KING.
He was openly humiliating Jesus.
He was saying, “You’re no king!”
His action is right there with the soldiers who in a few hours
Will mock Him with a crown of thorns and a purple robe.
He is accusing Jesus of being a fraud and a fake.
THERE’S THE FIRST THING LUKE WANTS YOU TO SEE.
In His identification with us,
Jesus was MOCKED AS A FRAUD
He most certainly wasn’t, but we were.
• Born in the image of God and yet sinful to the core.
• Isaiah even taught us that all the righteous deeds we did were actually nothing but filthy rags.
Every one of us at one point in our life masqueraded as a good person
When we were nothing but sinners in disguise.
We were the frauds, not Jesus.
Isaiah looked at the children of Israel and said:
Isaiah 1:2-3 “Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.”
Again:
Isaiah 30:9 “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD;”
They were false. They were frauds
Jesus is identifying with them here.
Jesus is identifying with us here.
He is being numbered as a transgressor.
Mocked as a Fraud
In identification with us Jesus was:
#2 DEFENDED AS A REBEL
Luke 22:49-51
Even though Jesus had repeatedly told the disciples that arrest and death was coming, it is evident that they never really grasped the reality.
It is especially shocking sense John’s gospel reveals to us that Jesus had just spent the previous night explicitly telling them that He was going away.
Luke even mentioned that they were sleeping in the garden from sorrow.
You would think they would have been more ready for this.
But perhaps the kiss of Judas set them off too, we don’t know.
But what we do know is that
It didn’t take them long to figure out what was going down
And they sprang into action. (Especially Peter, which Luke omits)
(49) “When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
They figured it out.
• Jesus is about to be arrested.
• That traitor Judas led the troops right to Him!
• They’re about to take the King!
And the one thing they were certain of at this moment was that
THIS COULD NOT HAPPEN!
If you’ll put yourself in the scene you can actually feel their anxiety
And affection for Jesus as they see what’s happening.
And in sort of confused desperation they yell,
“Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
Jesus, what do you want us to do?
Obviously Jesus does not answer,
• So Peter, convinced this cannot go any further,
• In a moment of impulsiveness takes a sword and goes for it!
(50) “And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.”
This wasn’t a warning shot, this was a miss.
Peter was going for his head, but the guy ducked.
It was courageous, but it was impulsive.
• There is no way that Peter could have thought this would end well.
• In reality, Peter was likely signing his own death warrant there.
But again, the FOCUS OF LUKE is on the response of Jesus.
(51) “But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his hear and healed him.”
What do we make of such a moment?
Although the disciples had His best interest in mind,
Their behavior actually made Him look like
Anything but a meek Savior.
By going instantly into battle mode
They actually made Jesus look like the rebel
He was about to be accused of being.
You know what’s coming later.
Luke 23:1-5 “Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.”
The battle plan of the Jews is to get Rome to crucify Jesus.
Jews were not allowed to execute anyone so they needed Rome to do it.
But Rome could care less if Jesus broke Jewish Law.
Rome could care less if Jesus was a false prophet.
Rome could care less if Jesus offended the chief priests.
So the plan of the Jews was to CONVINCE ROME
That Jesus was an insurrectionist; a militant rebel.
They needed to paint Him as a terrorist that was coming for the throne.
Jesus had never done anything in His life
To insinuate that He was going to take the Roman throne by force,
But on this night that is precisely what the disciples made Him look like.
With their impulsive action they (by association) accused Jesus
Of being the rebel that the Jews would soon label Him as.
They asked if they should strike with the sword
And then answered “Yes” on His behalf
And nearly killed this slave.
LUKE MENTIONS that not only did Jesus stop the disciples,
But He also healed this man.
In fact, it is quite likely that Jesus just saved the lives of the 11.
John 18:7-9 “Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”
It was important to Jesus to not lose any of His own.
He quite likely saved their lives by stopping Peter and healing this slave.
Now, despite the flaring tempers, there would be no grounds to arrest the others.
But the point is that by their actions
The disciples made Jesus look like a rebel.
But you know, He wasn’t the rebel, we were.
• He was treated as an insurrectionist…
• He was treated as a militant terrorist…
• We were the rebels.
• We were the ones who had rebelled against authority.
• We were the ones who lacked meekness and submission.
And here, Jesus is identifying with us.
He is being numbered with the transgressors.
He is being treated according to our sinfulness.
Mocked as a fraud, defended as a rebel
In identification with us Jesus was:
#3 ARRESTED AS A THIEF
Luke 22:52-53
We get here the third response of Jesus.
• This response is due to the massive number of well-armed troops who have come to arrest Jesus like He is some big time threat.
(52) “Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against a robber?”
• You came out after Me armed for bear (we would say)
• You must think I’m a real dangerous and violent guy.
And then Jesus points out.
(53) “While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me;”
• Wasn’t it just a couple of days ago that I was teaching in the temple, and you didn’t do anything then?
And of course we know why.
It is because His hour had not come.
But here they are now treating Him like He is a thief.
• Like He is a robber.
• Like He is a criminal.
You and I know that this was certainly NOT THE CASE.
Jesus was no criminal.
He was sinless and perfect in every sense of the word.
• We were the criminals.
• We were the robbers.
• We were the transgressors.
Jesus is merely being labeled and treated as a transgressor.
Do you see that nothing going on here in the garden makes sense?
• Jesus should not have been treated as a fraud.
• Jesus should not have been treated as a rebel.
• Jesus should not have been treated as a thief.
He was the last person who should have been treated like that.
THAT IS WHO WE ARE.
But here, just as He said, He is being numbered with the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
THAT IS WHAT IS HAPPENING.
• He is identifying with you.
• He is taking upon Himself your scorn and your shame and your sin.
• He is being treated accordingly.
He was treated like a FRAUDULENT REBEL THIEF
The sinless and perfect Son of God
The rightful King of Israel
The holiest Man to ever live
In order that He might save us,
He is clothing Himself in our sin and our shame.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
He is a great Savior!
And one other point Jesus makes that Luke includes, because he likes to show you the spiritual aspect.
“but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”
This wasn’t a just arrest…
• This wasn’t a deserved apprehension…
• This was not an earned attack…
This was Satan.
• Satan had tried to get Jesus to skip the cross, Jesus overcame.
• The plan now will be to kill Him and try to keep Him dead.
But Satan is at work and Jesus knows it.
The only reason you can arrest Me now
Is because God has sovereignly decreed that this is your hour.
God is allowing Satan to prevail in this instance for His greater purposes, but rest assured if that were not the case,
There would be no arrest in this garden.
In short, it is PASSIVE OBEDIENCE.
• They DIDN’T arrest Him because He was guilty…
• They DIDN’T arrest Him because they surrounded Him…
• They arrested Him because God ordained for them to be able to.
And Christ submitted.
Acts 2:22-23 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”
He had spent His entire life in active obedience to the Law of God that He might have righteousness to impute to you.
And now He is ending His life in passive obedience to your suffering as your sin is being imputed to Him.
It is all wrong because it should have been anyone but Him.
BUT FOR OUR SAKE, HE SUBMITTED.
Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”
