When everything has been allowed for Judas that the most ingenious and the most charitable have begged us to consider, we must judge him to be a man whose conduct is to be solemnly and seriously condemned. It is Divine Love itself that decides this question (see ver. 22;
Matthew 26:24;
John 17:12). The text suggests to us -
I. THAT OUR DEEPEST WOUNDS ARE THOSE WE RECEIVE AT THE HAND OF OUR NEAREST FRIENDS. How much force is there in the parenthesis, "being of the number oft he twelve! What deep pathos is in those sad words of the Lord, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me" (Matthew 26:21)! This was a "sword that entered into his soul," a keen distress, one of the very bitterest of all the sorrows of the Son of man. That one whom he had admitted to his intimate fellowship, of whom he had made a friend, who had partaken of his confidence and shared his strong affection, - that he should be the one to betray him to his foes! There is no trouble possible to us so great as that which lies open to us on the side of our purest and strongest affections. It is not our avowed enemy, nor the man to whom we are indifferent, but it is our dearest friend, who has it in his power to lacerate our soul with the sharpest thrust, and to spoil our life by throwing over it the darkest shadow (see Psalm 41:9).
1. Be slow to admit to the inner sanctuary of the heart; for he who has entrance there holds your happiness in his own right hand.
2. Realize the responsibility of intimate friendship; it is not only a privilege, but an obligation; it gives you power to gladden and to bless, but also opportunity to mar and to destroy.
II. THAT MONEY PLAYS A LARGE PART, FOR GOOD OR EVIL, IN HUMAN LIFE. They "covenanted to give him money." It seems hardly credible that any man who had lived in the society of Jesus Christ, and had witnessed his kindness and his purity, should take money for betraying him. Other motives - those of resentment or ambition- are far less shocking and revolting than this mercenary one. To betray his Master, his Friend, for thirty pieces of silver, fills us with wonder and excites the deepest reprobation. But for what has not money been responsible in human history? How large a part it plays in the great drama! What untold good it is instrumental in effecting! What admirable virtues it is the means of illustrating I To what deeds of folly and even of infamy the desire to obtain it has conducted! It is clear that men who have been trained to hate immoral and criminal behavior with an intense hatred have been induced to part with every principle they have honored, and to do the worst deeds they have denounced, in order to obtain money, when they have found themselves pressed for its possession. Probably no man who has not felt it knows the deadly force of the temptation. Who shall say that he is safe from this powerful snare? It is probable that to obtain money more evil deeds have been done than under any other inducement whatever. Therefore let every man beware lest he subjects himself to this strong and fell temptation. Let neither an overweening ambition nor extravagance of habit lead where the possession of more money becomes an imperative demand. Moderation in desire and economy in habit save men from a temptation in which, it may be, their souls would be entangled and their very life taken away.
III. THAT EARNESTNESS IS SURE TO SEEK ITS OPPORTUNITY UNTIL IT FINDS IT. He "sought opportunity to betray him." By whatever motives inspired, Judas was intent on compassing the act he had undertaken. And he did not wait idly until an opportunity offered itself. He sought it. If evil is thus in earnest, how much more so should righteousness and mercy be! These should surely be about their holy and loving work "with both hands earnestly." Opportunity to raise, to help, to redeem, to restore, - this is not to be passively waited for, but to be actively sought out. There is a very marked difference between readiness to work when we are invited and even urged to do so, and that noble zeal which will not be contented without finding material for activity. It is the difference between a goodness that you do not blame and a goodness that you admire; between a life that will not stand condemned and a life that will be crowned with victory and honor. If there are those who, in the interest of error and of evil, will set about diligently to promote these ends. shall we not put forth our utmost energy on behalf of truth and heavenly wisdom? If men can be found who will "seek opportunity" to betray, shall not we with deeper devotedness "seek opportunity" to honor our Lord? - C.
Go and prepare us the passover.
Passover just at hand. Day of preparation. The Lamb to be offered is Himself. "Go and prepare — get ready — for Me; let it be heart-preparation."
1. This preparation was general. All Old Testament teachings, histories, prophecies, and events were a preparation for the death on the cross. "Go, prepare to meet Me around that table of commemoration."
2. When, or at what time, concerned the disciples. Your time to prepare is now.
3. The character of this command. Imperative. "Go." Now Grotius, who lived to be fifty before he made this preparation, said, "I have passed the whole of my life laboriously doing nothing." Cast away your sins, your prayerlessness. "I have lost ten years; I give the rest to Jesus," should be the resolution of youth.
4. You will need to carry nothing in there. The feast is prepared.
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Part of the preparation for the Lord's Supper consists in learning about Christ. Unless we know Him we cannot remember Him. If we know little about Him our remembrance of Him will be poor and shallow. Suppose you were asked to do something, to illuminate your house or to plant a tree, in remembrance of some one of whom you had never heard — Bocchoris, for instance — you might do it; but what sense would there be in your doing it? You know nothing about him. What you did would be a mere external and formal observance. If I told you that according to Manetho he was the only monarch belonging to the twenty-fourth dynasty of Egyptian kings, he would still be nothing more than a name to you. Was he a good king or a bad king? Did he build temples, pyramids, great public works, make canals, establish wise and beneficent laws, fight famous battles, contribute to the civilization and happiness of his people, or did he do nothing? Was his reign long and glorious? Was he remembered after his death with love and honour? Or was his memory execrated? You don't know; I believe no one knows. His name stands in a list of ancient kings, that is all we can say, and to do anything in remembrance of him would be an unmeaning ceremony. Remembrance must be based on knowledge, and the richer our knowledge the more vivid is our remembrance. When there is to be any public celebration of a great man, when a statue is to be erected or a building opened in his honour, the newspapers tell us about his life, and about what he did for the country; and speeches are delivered to recall the grounds on which his memory deserves to be perpetuated. And so a large part of the proper preparation for the Lord's Supper consists in learning all we can know about the Lord Jesus Christ. The four Gospels are the best preparation for the service.
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I. CHRIST'S DESIRE TO EAT THE PASSOVER. This in another place is expressed in the strongest terms (
Luke 22:15). Now, this he might do for the following reasons:
1. It was the Lord's passover, so called in Exodus 12:11.
2. Hereby he gave an undeniable proof, that He was made under the ceremonial as well as moral law.
3. This was His last passover, and had an immediate relation to His subsequent sufferings.
4. The company with which He was to eat the passover, and the gospel ordinance He was about to institute in its room, might increase the ardour of His desire. Hence those tender words: "I shall eat the passover with My disciples."
II. Notice THE PLACE IN WHICH CHRIST WOULD EAT THIS PASSOVER. Not in Herod's, or the High Priest's palace; for He who took upon Him the form of a servant, did not affect state and grandeur. Not in the magnificent dwelling of a Roman officer, or Jewish ruler, where He might be attended with a numerous retinue of servants; He came not to be ministered to, but to minister. Now this may be considered as emblematical Ñ
1. Of the gospel Church.
2. It may resemble the renewed and sanctified heart. "Commune with your own heart" (Psalm 4:4). "Enter into your own chamber" (Hebrews) The furnished room may also resemble a heart endowed with all the gifts, and adorned with all the graces of the Spirit.
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People
Jesus,
John,
Judas,
Peter,
SimonPlaces
Gethsemane,
JerusalemTopics
Eat, Instructions, John, Passover, Peter, Preparations, Prepare, Ready, SayingOutline
1. The leaders conspire against Jesus.3. Satan prepares Judas to betray him.7. The apostles prepare the Passover.19. Jesus institutes his holy supper;21. covertly foretells of the traitor;24. rebukes the rest of his apostles from ambition;31. assures Peter his faith should not fail;34. and yet he should deny him thrice.39. He prays in the mount, and sweats blood;47. is betrayed with a kiss;50. he heals Malchus' ear;54. he is thrice denied by Peter;63. shamefully abused;66. and confesses himself to be the Son of God.Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 22:7-8 5379 law, Christ's attitude
Luke 22:7-9
7328 ceremonies
Luke 22:7-12
7936 love feast
Luke 22:7-13
4438 eating
7406 Passover
Library
February 2 Morning
Oh that thou wouldest keep me from evil.--I CHR. 4:10. Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.--The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. The Lord shall preserve thee from …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathJuly 28. "Not My Will, but Thine" (Luke xxii. 42).
"Not my will, but Thine" (Luke xxii. 42). He who once suffered in Gethsemane will be our strength and our victory, too. We may fear, we may also sink, but let us not be dismayed, and we shall yet praise Him, and look back from a finished course, and say, "Not one word hath failed of all that the Lord hath spoken." But in order to do this, we must, like Him, meet the conflict, not with a defiant, but with a submissive spirit. He had to say, "Not My will, but Thine be done"; but in saying it, He gained …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth
A Great Fall and a Great Recovery
'But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.' --Luke xxii. 32. Our Lord has just been speaking words of large and cordial praise of the steadfastness with which His friends had continued with Him in His temptations, and it is the very contrast between that continuance and the prevision of the cowardly desertion of the Apostle which occasioned the abrupt transition to this solemn appeal to him, which indicates how the forecast pained Christ's …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture
The Cross the victory and Defeat of Darkness
'This is your hour, and the power of darkness.' --Luke xxii. 53. The darkness was the right time for so dark a deed. The surface meaning of these pathetic and far-reaching words of our Lord's in the garden to His captors is to point the correspondence between the season and the act. As He has just said, 'He had been daily with them in the Temple,' but in the blaze of the noontide they laid no hands upon Him. They found a congenial hour in the midnight. But the words go a great deal deeper than allusive …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture
Christ's Look
'And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.' --Luke xxii. 61. All four Evangelists tell the story of Peter's threefold denial and swift repentance, but we owe the knowledge of this look of Christ's to Luke only. The other Evangelists connect the sudden change in the denier with his hearing the cock crow only, but according to Luke there were two causes co-operating to bring about that sudden repentance, for, he says, 'Immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned and looked …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture
The Lonely Christ
'Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations'--LUKE xxii 28. We wonder at the disciples when we read of the unseemly strife for precedence which jars on the tender solemnities of the Last Supper. We think them strangely unsympathetic and selfish; and so they were. But do not let us be too hard on them, nor forget that there was a very natural reason for the close connection which is found in the gospels between our Lord's announcements of His sufferings and this eager dispute as to …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture
Parting Promises and Warnings
'And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. 25. And He said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as He …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture
Christ's Ideal of a Monarch
'And He said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.'--LUKE xxii. 25-26. [Footnote: Preached on the occasion of the death of Queen Victoria.] There have been sovereigns of England whose death was a relief. There have been others who were mourned with a certain tepid and decorous …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture
Gethsemane
'And He came out, and went, as He was wont, to the mount of Olives; and His disciples also followed Him. 40. And when He was at the place, He said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. 41. And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42. Saying, Father, If Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done. 43. And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44. And, being in an agony, He …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture
In the High Priest's Palace
'Then took they Him, and led Him, and brought Him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. 55. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. 56. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with Him. 57. And he denied Him, saying, Woman, I know Him not. 58. And, after a little while, another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture
The Lord's Supper
'Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. 8. And He sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. 9. And they said unto Him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? 10. And He said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. 11. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture
The Duty of Constant Communion J. W.
"Do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19. It is no wonder that men who have no fear of God should never think of doing this. But it is strange that it should be neglected by any that do fear God, and desire to save their souls; And yet nothing is more common. One reason why many neglect it is, they are so much afraid of "eating and drinking unworthily," that they never think how much greater the danger is when they do not eat or drink it at all. That I may do what I can to bring these well-meaning …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions
Gethsemane
"And all the unknown joys he gives, Were bought with agonies unknown." Since it would not be possible for any believer, however experienced, to know for himself all that our Lord endured in the place of the olivepress, when he was crushed beneath the upper and the nether mill-stone of mental suffering and hellish malice, it is clearly far beyond the preacher's capacity to set it forth to you. Jesus himself must give you access to the wonders of Gethsemane: as for me, I can but invite you to enter …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863
The Betrayal
Without further preface, let us advance to the subject of our Lord's betrayal. First, concentrate your thoughts upon Jesus, the betrayed one; and when ye have lingered awhile there, solemnly gaze into the villanous countenance of Judas, the betrayer--he may prove a beacon to warn us against the sin which gendereth apostacy. I. LET US TARRY AWHILE, AND SEE OUR LORD UNGRATEFULLY AND DASTARDLY BETRAYED. It is appointed that he must die, but how shall he fall into the hands of his adversaries? Shall …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863
5Th Day. Restraining Grace.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not."--LUKE xxii. 31, 32. Restraining Grace. What a scene does this unfold! Satan tempting--Jesus praying! Satan sifting--Jesus pleading! "The strong man assailing"--"the stronger than the strong" beating him back! Believer? here is the past history and present secret of thy safety in the midst of temptation. An interceding Saviour was at thy side, saying …
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser
Peter's Repentance
"And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly" (Luke 22:61, 62). That was the turning-point in the history of Peter. Christ had said to him: "Thou canst not follow me now" (John 13:36). Peter was not in a fit state to follow Christ, because he had not been brought to an end of himself; he did not know himself, and he therefore could not follow …
Andrew Murray—Absolute Surrender
Carnal or Spiritual?
"And Peter went out and wept bitterly." -- Luke 22:62. These words indicate the turning point in the life of Peter, --a crisis. There is often a question about the life of holiness. Do you grow into it? Or do you come into it by a crisis suddenly? Peter has been growing for three years under the training of Christ, but he had grown terribly downward, for the end of his growing was, he denied Jesus. And then there came a crisis. After the crisis he was a changed man, and then he began to grow aright. …
Andrew Murray—The Deeper Christian Life
Penitence
"And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter . . . .and Peter went out, and wept bitterly."--LUKE xxii. 61, 62. EVERY man at some time in his life has fallen. Many have fallen many times; few, few times. And the more a man knows his life and watches its critical flow from day to day, the larger seems to grow the number of these falls, and the oftener reaches out to God his penitential prayer, "Turn yet again, O Lord!" We have all shuddered before this as we read the tale of Peter's guilt. Many a time …
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life
The Last Supper
189. On Thursday Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem for the last time. Knowing the temper of the leaders, and the danger of arrest at any time, Jesus was particularly eager to eat the Passover with his disciples (Luke xxii. 15), and he sent two of them--Luke names them as Peter and John--to prepare for the supper. In a way which would give no information to such a one as Judas, he directed them carefully how to find the house where a friend would provide them the upper room that was needed …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth
The Sinner Seriously Urged and Entreated to Accept of Salvation in this Way.
1. Since many who have been impressed with these things suffer the impression to wear off.--2. Strongly as the ease speaks for itself, sinners are to be entreated to accept this salvation.--3. Accordingly the reader is entreated--by the majesty and mercy of God.--4. By the dying love of our Lord Jesus Christ.--5. By the regard due to our fellow-creatures.--6. By the worth of his own immortal soul.--7. The matter is solemnly left with the reader, as before God. The sinner yielding to these entreaties, …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul
Twenty-Sixth Lesson. I have Prayed for Thee;'
I have prayed for thee;' Or, Christ the Intercessor. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.'--Luke xxii. 32. I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you.'--John xvi. 26. He ever liveth to make intercession.'--Heb. vii. 25. ALL growth in the spiritual life is connected with the clearer insight into what Jesus is to us. The more I realize that Christ must be all to me and in me, that all in Christ is indeed for me, the more I learn to live the real life of faith, which, …
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer
Otho, Bishop of Bamberg.
As a new Christian revival distinguished the close of the eleventh century, missionaries were then sent forth from the reinvigorated Church. We will sketch a portrait of one of these, to whom Pomerania owes its Christianity. It was Otho, bishop of Bamberg, who had already in his pastoral office distinguished himself by his fidelity and his self-sacrificing love. He gladly imposed abstinences on self, in order to be able to give more to the poor. All that was presented to him by princes and nobles …
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places
General Introduction
In this volume we have sought to present the view taken by Thomas Aquinas of the moral and spiritual world in which we live, and of the conditions of man's self-realization which are consequent upon it. The final end of man lies in God, through whom alone he is and lives, and by whose help alone he can attain his end. The teaching of Aquinas concerning the moral and spiritual order stands in sharp contrast to all views, ancient or modern, which cannot do justice to the difference between the divine …
Aquinas—Nature and Grace
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