77 Luke 22.47-53
The Kiss, The Sword and The Cup
Luke 22:47-53
v Here we find Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Ø Behind is the upper room with all its activity…
§ The Passover meal
§ The Foot washing
§ The in-depth Teaching
§ The explanation of the new covenant that is about to be initiated in his own blood
§ The singing of psalms
Ø He then leads his disciples to the mount of olives overlooking Jerusalem
§ A place where Jesus always receded to in the evenings
· To a place called Gethsemane
v Here we learn from Matthew that he took Peter James and John a short distance from the others and asked them to pray with him
Ø He went back 2 times and woke them
§ When he went back a third time and …
· He looked in the distance
¨ Saw torches and lanterns approaching
¨ He saw a large detachment of soldiers that the leaders of Israel had sent climbing the mount of olives
¨ He saw the armor of the temple and Roman guard flashing in the light
¨ He saw swords and clubs brandished
Ø Think of it for a moment…
§ The Leaders of Israel…
· The ones that were to spot the messiah
¨ Sent a posse to capture and kill him
§ They brought torches and lanterns to find the light of the world!
§ They brought swords and clubs to subdue the Prince of Peace
v Luke tells us that he woke them up a third time and said…
Ø V. 46 ~ “Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
§ For he knew that His disciples were going to be sorely tested that very night
· He knew their loyalty would be tested
¨ Peter
· He knew their Courage would be tested
¨ They all ran off (Matt & Mk)
Ø And not only that very night, but for the rest of their lives!
§ The temptation to deny Jesus
§ The temptation to turn their backs on Jesus
· A temptation that Judas had succumbed to…
READ v. 47-48
v No sooner had those final words of encouragement left his lips than his betrayer approached and kissed him
The Kiss of Betrayal
v The kiss was the predetermined signal to the guards that that was the one
Ø A kiss was a natural way for a follower to greet his Rabbi
§ It was probably more than one
· And it symbolized…
¨ Respect, Humility, and Love
Ø And here it was being used in just the opposite way
§ And so Jesus realizing this says…
· “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a Kiss?”
v In this simple response by Jesus, we see several things going on
Ø First…
§ Jesus is warning Judas, yet again, about what he is doing
Ø Second…
§ He is once again telling Judas, along with the rest of the arresting party, who he is
· The term “Son of Man” is deeply rooted in OT
· It is distinctly Jewish term that spoke volumes to the Jews
¨ It is a term that spoke of the messiah’s humiliation
Ø He is declaring that he is…
§ The suffering servant of Isaiah 53
· But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
· But the term also speaks volumes regarding Jesus’ exaltation
¨ He is declaring that he is…
Ø The exalted anointed one in Dan 7:13-14
§ In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed
¨ By using the term “son of man”, Jesus is declaring that he is…
Ø The once and Future King
Ø The all-powerful, almighty God himself
§ The Theanthropos
· The God-man
§ John’s account gives us a great visual of this reality
· READ John 18:4-6
Ø And after all of this, Jesus looks right at Judas and says…
§ “You betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
· Do you know who you are betraying?
· Are you sure you know what you are doing?
¨ The very sad thing is…
Ø Judas did know what he was doing!
§ Oh, how powerful and how sad!
READ v. 49
The Sword
v The eight have rejoined the three and they are standing there watching this all transpire
Ø They see the armed guards and the shiny armor
Ø They see their Rabbi about to be taken into custody
§ And being good disciples they remember what Jesus had just told them in the upper room
· They put two and two together and ask Jesus…
¨ “Should we strike with our swords?”
v You see…
Ø The disciples even at this late hour do not understand what Jesus was talking about in the upper room
§ Look back with me to V. 35-38a
Ø So naturally they ask Jesus…
§ Now?
§ Are we to use the swords now?
§ Is now the time Lord?
Ø I can understand this question, can’t you?
§ They have seen amazing miracles before…
· They had seen healings
¨ They had seen withered arms re-inflated
¨ Cataract-white eyes given sight
¨ Lifeless legs given strength
¨ Bleeding stopped
¨ The dead raised!
· They had witnessed demons cast out
¨ Even one named legion!
· They had seen violent storms calmed with but a word
· They had seen 5,000 fed on 5 loaves and 2 fish
¨ Why not eleven untrained disciples defeating 100 trained temple guards and Roman soldiers?
Ø But like so many things Jesus said, they simply did not understand
§ You can see this in Jesus’ reaction to their question in the upper room…
· “That is enough”
¨ He realizes that they have once again misunderstood what he meant
§ Here Jesus was talking figuratively
· He was saying…
¨ “Circumstances are about to unfold that will take great courage to get through, so be prepared”
Ø Before when I sent you out, I was here on earth
§ Now I will not be here
Ø Before they welcomed you into their houses
§ Now they will revile you
§ The days to come will take courage to get through
· But have courage…
¨ The symbol of courage being the sword!
Ø But they did not understand what Jesus was saying to them
v So one of them, not understanding Jesus, doesn’t wait…
Ø READ v. 50
§ John tells us that this is Peter once again!
· He draws one of their two swords and lops off the ear of Malchus, the High Priest’s servant
Ø You see…
§ Peter is ready!
§ He is going to with this with action
§ He sees Jesus needs defending and acts
· But interestingly, look at Jesus’ reaction to Peter’s action
READ v. 51
v Jesus could have enabled the two swords to defeat the trained guards…
Ø But he didn’t
v He could have fought with sword and club
Ø But he didn’t
v He could have fought with flesh and blood
Ø But he didn’t
§ This interchange underscores two things:
· 1) That is not how we are to fight
¨ Eph 6:12
Ø For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms
¨ We have so much trouble understanding this
Ø We want to fight like the world does
Ø We want to fight in the flesh
Ø We want to take up the sword, don’t we?
§ We want to be like Peter
¨ That was the mistake that the crusades made
Ø They answered the sword of Islam with the sword
§ 13 crusades over 200 years
§ 100’s of thousands of people later…
· To this type of action Jesus says…
¨ “That is enough”
¨ “No more of this”
· You see…
¨ It is not about the physical kingdom
Ø It is about the spiritual kingdom
§ That is what Jesus tried to teach the disciples in his 3 years with them
§ That is what he answered the Pharisees with when they tried to trap him
§ That is what Jesus answered Pontius Pilot with when he was questioning him
· My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.
§ Jesus’ kingdom this side of his second coming is spiritual!
· It is not about land
· It is not about power
· It is not about status
¨ It is all about furthering the message of Christ
Ø The Gospel
§ That is what it is all about
· And whether you can further it by…
¨ Witnessing to it
¨ Defending it
¨ Living it
¨ Or Dying for it
¨ That is what it is all about!
¨ And the Disciples finally understood this
Ø And they dedicated their lives to it!
The Cup
§ Secondly, Peter’s action underscores yet another confusion…
· 2) They still did not understand Jesus’ mission
¨ He came to take The Cup
¨ He came to suffer and die
Ø Not conquer and reign
¨ He came to sit and teach
Ø Not to sit on a throne
¨ He came to gather his church
Ø Not to gather an army
¨ Jesus came to drink the cup of judgment
Ø Not the cup of victory
Ø He came to take the judgment of the world upon himself
§ So that you and I would not suffer it
Ø He came to take the wrath of God upon himself
§ So that you and I would not weather it
Ø He came to take the separation from God upon himself
§ So that you and I would never be separated
Ø He came to die
§ So that you and I will not have to
· Jesus said…
¨ I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies
v That is the Gospel in a nutshell…
Ø He takes the cup so that we do not have to
v Notes:
Ø The second thing we have to remember is…
§ 2) Jesus had just encouraged them to get ready and buy a sword
· Hadn’t he told them…
¨ Get ready for war
¨ Get ready for battle
Ø “Buy a sword”
§ The disciples, hearing this, say…
· “Here are two swords”
Ø Have you ever felt that way?
§ “What is Jesus saying?”
· Why doesn’t Jesus just come right out and say what he means!
· Why does he have to talk figuratively?
· Why does he teach in parables?
· Why is he so seemingly clandestine?
¨ So that those who have ears will hear and those who have eyes will see