THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Matthew: Jesus As Israel's Messiah And His Kingdom

Part XXXI: Christ As Israel's Messiah Seen In His Control Of Events Amid Man's Weakness In His Betrayal

(Matthew 26:31-56)

I. Introduction

A. Matthew's Gospel was written to explain to Jewish readers how Jesus was their Messiah even if He did not establish His Messianic Kingdom in His first advent, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, p. 1337.

B. A part of that explanation is Matthew's record of events leading up to Jesus' betrayal and arrest, and Matthew revealed that even then, Jesus and His Father in heaven oversaw each event regardless of the weakness in men.

C. We view that event, finding striking application for us in our era (as follows):

II. Christ As Israel's Messiah Seen In His Control Of Events Amid Man's Weakness In His Betrayal.

A. Jesus revealed God's oversight of His betrayal amid the disciples' weakness to stay loyal, Matt. 26:31-35, 56b:

1. Jesus foretold His disciple's coming temporary falling away from Him followed by His victorious resurrection from the dead when He would meet with them again in Galilee, Matthew 26:31, 32:

2. Conversely, His disciples overlooked the prediction of His death and resurrection, focusing only on the prediction that they would abandon him, to counter that claim, Matthew 26:33-35.

3. Peter even claimed that though all men would forsake Him, he would not do so (Matthew 26:33), but Jesus retorted that Peter would deny Him three times before the cock even crowed, Matthew 26:34.

4. Upon hearing this claim by Jesus, Peter asserted that he would not deny Jesus even if he would have to die in the process, a claim each of the other disciples also made, Matthew 26:35.

5. However, Jesus' prediction was fulfilled in the end as all the disciples forsook Him and fled, Matt. 26:56b.

B. When Jesus arrived at the Garden of Gethsemanee, He gave His disciples instruction on avoiding temptation to abandon Him, but it went unheeded in the disciples' utter human weakness, Matthew 26:36-46:

1. Aligning with His disciples' desire not to be offended so as to abandon Him, Jesus called them to watch and pray with Him that they not enter into the temptation to abandon Him, Matt. 26:36-41a. This call is repeated in the New Testament Church era as the pattern for handling angelic conflict, Eph. 6:10-17, 18.

2. However, the disciples repeatedly failed to obey, choosing rather to sleep, Matt. 26:38-41a; 26:42-46.

3. Christ revealed that His disciples' desire to stay loyal to Him was indeed a correct one, but they were humanly weak and needed God's power in the angelic conflict to overcome the Evil One, Matthew 26:41b.

C. When the betrayal by Judas occurred and a disciple tried to protect Him by cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest in errant human effort, Jesus countered the wrong action to fulfill Scripture, Matthew 26:47-54:

1. Judas' arrival, betrayal of Jesus, and the ensuing arrest where the soldiers laid hands on Jesus was met by the reaction of one of the disciples' cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant, Matthew 26:47-51.

2. Jesus' immediately countered this disciple's action, noting it was foolish since all who lived by the sword would die by the sword, Matthew 26:52. Besides, He could have called twelve legions of angels, between 36,000 and 72,000 of them (Ibid., ftn. to Matt. 26:53), but that would not fulfill God's Word regarding His need to be betrayed to be arrested and taken to the cross, Matthew 26:53-54.

D. When Judas actually betrayed Him, Jesus asked His ungodly foes why they had illogically come out against Him armed as if to arrest a thief when He had daily been with them teaching in the temple and they had not laid hands on Him, Matthew 26:55. He thus noted that the reason their action had been allowed to occur was that Scripture might be fulfilled, so God let the throng's illogical action occur, Matthew 26:56a.

Lesson: When Jesus was betrayed, (1) man's human weakness was abundantly seen (a) in the inability of Jesus' loyal disciples not to flee from Him or (b) even to pray and watch for God's help to stay above Satan's lure to abandon Him or (c) the effort of one of them to protect Jesus unrighteously by human might and (d) the illogic of Jesus' foes who used an armed throng to capture Him as if He were a thief when they had daily let Him teach in the temple unchallenged. (2) Yet, Christ's and God's control of that evening's events to fulfill prophecy was seen in contrast to man's weakness, showing Jesus' kingdom was not established due to any weakness in Himself.

Application: (1) Recalling Christ's and His Father's control of events though He was arrested to be crucified, may we trust in Jesus as the Messiah to be saved. (2) May we recall our own human inability, like that of the disciples, to live a victorious spiritual life in the angelic conflict, that we not seek to gain victory by our own futile human effort, but watch for Satanic activity and pray for the victory, Ephesians 6:10-18; Matthew 26:36-41, 51-54.