back to indexPassion Week Devotional - Wednesday 4.08
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♪ Father of kindness, you have poured out grace ♪ 00:05:37.280 |
♪ Giver of mercy, you're my help in time of need ♪ 00:06:26.860 |
♪ Beautiful Savior, you have brought me near ♪ 00:06:49.280 |
♪ Blessed Redeemer, you have set this country free ♪ 00:09:21.860 |
We're glad that you're able to join us again. 00:09:23.860 |
This week, again, we want to be deep in prayer, 00:09:27.860 |
praying much, but also engrossed in the scriptures, 00:09:39.860 |
Heavenly Father, we want to commune with you much 00:09:48.860 |
reflecting upon your incredible salvation work 00:09:55.860 |
a grand mystery from ages before you have been working. 00:09:59.860 |
And your saints long to look at all the different parts, 00:10:11.860 |
And for us, we have such a unique privilege, God, 00:10:17.860 |
We can look back at the salvation work of Christ. 00:10:20.860 |
And I pray that that would have such significance 00:10:27.860 |
would you bless us for doing so, God, with faith. 00:10:30.860 |
Lord, that our thoughts of you would be strengthened, 00:10:34.860 |
what's more, our affection for you would grow. 00:15:27.860 |
Your blood speaks a better word than all the empty claims 00:15:51.860 |
Your blood, Your blood speaks a better word than all the empty 00:16:30.860 |
Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus. 00:16:54.860 |
Nothing but the blood, nothing but Your blood, King Jesus. 00:17:11.860 |
It's over the Father's heart to make a way for us. 00:17:17.860 |
How boldly we have fought, how earthly confident. 00:17:44.860 |
Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus. 00:18:08.860 |
Nothing but Your blood, nothing but Your blood, King Jesus. 00:18:32.860 |
Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus. 00:18:56.860 |
Nothing but Your blood, nothing but Your blood, King Jesus. 00:19:14.860 |
Good evening. Tonight we are reflecting on the Wednesday of the Passion Week. 00:19:20.860 |
From Palm Sunday to Tuesday, Jesus and his disciples spend much of each day at the temple, 00:19:27.860 |
and there is much teaching taking place on these days. 00:19:31.860 |
Traditionally and historically, Wednesday of the Passion Week has been called Silent Wednesday. 00:19:38.860 |
This is because the scripture doesn't say much about Wednesday outside of the preparation being made for the Passover. 00:19:46.860 |
While Jesus and his disciples remain in Bethany for a last time of fellowship, 00:19:55.860 |
Judas returns alone to Jerusalem to arrange for his betrayal of Jesus. 00:20:01.860 |
The scripture suggests that Judas was often sent out on errands as the group's treasurer, 00:20:08.860 |
so none of the disciples probably thought much of his absence on this day. 00:20:14.860 |
I'm going to read Luke chapter 22, verses 1 through 6 for you. 00:20:20.860 |
"Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. 00:20:26.860 |
The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put him to death, 00:20:34.860 |
And Satan entered into Judas, who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the Twelve. 00:20:41.860 |
And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. 00:20:51.860 |
So he consented and began seeking a good opportunity to betray him to them apart from the crowd." 00:21:05.860 |
Satan himself enters into Judas, one of the Twelve. 00:21:11.860 |
The chief priests and scribes now had a willing inside man. 00:21:16.860 |
They did not have to seek out any of the disciples. 00:21:26.860 |
Judas Iscariot, a disciple who had been handpicked by the Lord Jesus himself, 00:21:32.860 |
was going to commit the biggest act of betrayal in the history of mankind. 00:21:40.860 |
How could someone so close to Jesus turn on him in such a way? 00:21:50.860 |
How sinister, how evil, how foolish must this man have been to do such a thing? 00:21:58.860 |
So on this silent Wednesday, we're going to spend some time 00:22:03.860 |
looking at what the Gospel accounts say about Judas Iscariot. 00:22:11.860 |
First, Judas had stuck with Jesus when most of the crowds turned away from him. 00:22:18.860 |
Two Sundays ago, Pastor Peter preached out of John 6, 00:22:23.860 |
where Jesus said that he was a bread of life. 00:22:26.860 |
He told the crowds that he was the destination and not just the means. 00:22:44.860 |
And Jesus' teachings started getting very hard to listen to and to understand. 00:22:50.860 |
And at these hard teachings, most of the crowds withdrew 00:22:58.860 |
And let me read for you the end portion of John 6. 00:23:02.860 |
As a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew 00:23:08.860 |
So Jesus said to the twelfth, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" 00:23:13.860 |
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? 00:23:20.860 |
We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." 00:23:25.860 |
Whether it was only head knowledge or simply lip service, 00:23:29.860 |
I'm sure at this point in time, this also was Judas' verbal confession. 00:23:35.860 |
Perhaps he may have only mentally ascribed to these truths, 00:23:39.860 |
but Judas too publicly confessed Jesus as the bread of life. 00:23:44.860 |
And he backed up his confession by continuing on with Jesus. 00:23:49.860 |
Secondly, Judas also had been given spiritual power and authority 00:23:59.860 |
So Judas, like the rest of the twelve, was with Jesus for most of the three years 00:24:06.860 |
Judas not only witnessed and marveled at the miracles of Jesus, 00:24:13.860 |
He preached, he cleansed the lepers, he cast out demons, he healed the sick, 00:24:27.860 |
Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits 00:24:32.860 |
to cast them out and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. 00:24:38.860 |
"And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:24:44.860 |
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, 00:24:54.860 |
And third, Judas had a trustworthy external appearance. 00:25:04.860 |
"But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples who was intending to betray him, said, 00:25:09.860 |
'Why was his perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?' 00:25:16.860 |
Now he said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. 00:25:23.860 |
And as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it." 00:25:29.860 |
Here the scripture explicitly tells us that Judas was a thief. 00:25:34.860 |
But there are a couple of details that I'm hoping that you don't miss first. 00:25:40.860 |
Judas, amongst the disciples, is usually the one making mention of the poor. 00:25:57.860 |
Usually when we appoint or designate someone to handle a group's finances, 00:26:02.860 |
we usually put the money into the hands of the one we deem most trustworthy. 00:26:08.860 |
And it does not seem the other disciples had a problem with Judas being in charge of the finances 00:26:18.860 |
One, he was a man who stuck with Jesus when most of the crowds had distanced themselves from him. 00:26:24.860 |
Two, he was one who had been given spiritual authority and power to preach and to teach and perform miracles. 00:26:31.860 |
And third, he was a man trusted by the eleven other disciples. 00:26:37.860 |
So here we have to go into a little preview of tomorrow's, Thursday's events 00:26:42.860 |
because we learn much more about the reputation of Judas Iscariot 00:26:50.860 |
So I'm going to briefly walk you through the 13th chapter of John 00:26:55.860 |
and Jesus' interactions with Judas at the Last Supper. 00:27:02.860 |
I would encourage you to follow along as I quickly work through the details of John 13. 00:27:08.860 |
The verses will be put up there for you, but you can fill in more gaps with your eyes if your Bibles are open. 00:27:18.860 |
Beginning in John 13 10, Jesus says four times that one of the twelve will betray him. 00:27:30.860 |
And it is not obvious to a single person among them that Jesus was speaking about Judas Iscariot. 00:27:37.860 |
Four times Jesus speaks of being betrayed by one of the twelve, 00:27:42.860 |
and no one has a clue who he's talking about. 00:27:52.860 |
"He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean. 00:28:03.860 |
For this reason he said, 'Not all of you are clean.'" 00:28:07.860 |
Jesus just got done washing the disciples' feet, 00:28:11.860 |
and there's nothing written about him skipping the washing of Judas' feet. 00:28:17.860 |
So we can assume that he washed Judas' feet as well. 00:28:21.860 |
The second time in verse 18, Jesus is a little bit more explicit. 00:28:27.860 |
"I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. 00:28:32.860 |
But it is that the scripture may be fulfilled, 00:28:35.860 |
'He who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'" 00:28:41.860 |
And if they did not get it the first two times, Jesus says a third time in verse 21. 00:28:50.860 |
And judging from the response of the disciples, my guess is at this time, 00:28:58.860 |
Verse 21, "When Jesus had said this, he became troubled in spirit and testified and said, 00:29:05.860 |
'Truly, truly, I say to you that one of you will betray me.'" 00:29:14.860 |
So the disciples are now perceiving that Jesus is a bit upset. 00:29:21.860 |
And you know what's absolutely crazy here is they still have no idea who he's talking about. 00:29:28.860 |
Verses 22 to 25, "The disciples began looking at one another 00:29:33.860 |
at a loss to know of which one he was speaking. 00:29:38.860 |
And there was reclining on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. 00:29:44.860 |
So Simon Peter gestured to him and said to him, 'Tell us who it is of whom he is speaking.' 00:29:52.860 |
And he," presumably John, "leaning back thus on Jesus' bosom said to him, 00:30:08.860 |
He had spent time being influenced by Satan himself. 00:30:12.860 |
In fact, in Luke's account, which you read in the beginning, 00:30:15.860 |
it says that Satan had already entered into Judas. 00:30:31.860 |
And the other disciples have no idea that Judas is the one that Jesus was talking about. 00:30:38.860 |
In fact, my guess is that he was the last one they would have suspected 00:30:46.860 |
In Matthew 26, each of them is deeply grieved at this 00:30:50.860 |
and each takes a turn asking Jesus, "Surely not I, Lord?" 00:30:57.860 |
And this brings us to Jesus' fourth time speaking of his betrayal in verses 27 to 30. 00:31:04.860 |
After the morsel, Satan then entered into him, Judas. 00:31:11.860 |
And therefore Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly." 00:31:18.860 |
Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose he had said this to him. 00:31:25.860 |
For some were supposing because Judas had the money box 00:31:30.860 |
that Jesus was saying to him, "Buy the things we have need of for the feast 00:31:35.860 |
or else that he should give something to the poor." 00:31:39.860 |
So after receiving the morsel, he went out immediately and it was night. 00:31:48.860 |
Now no one of those reclining at the table knew. 00:32:02.860 |
I have about six or seven children's Bibles at home. 00:32:06.860 |
In all of them, you kind of know who Judas Iscariot is early on. 00:32:16.860 |
He's the one looking like he's up to no good. 00:32:19.860 |
He's the one kind of standing off to the side. 00:32:23.860 |
But in reality, he is so well put together that no one has an idea 00:32:36.860 |
My guess is that he was a warm and jolly fellow. 00:32:44.860 |
He may even have been the disciple whom Jesus corrected or rebuked the least. 00:32:56.860 |
the disciples still think that Judas was just being sent out on an errand. 00:33:02.860 |
No one was suspecting him and saying, "Hey, where were you yesterday? 00:33:09.860 |
You went alone to Jerusalem. What did you do there?" 00:33:22.860 |
First, that man's spiritual vision is horrible. 00:33:26.860 |
Why does God tell the prophet Samuel not to judge by the outward external appearance? 00:33:32.860 |
Because you and I are easily tricked and deceived. 00:33:35.860 |
We read in 2 Corinthians 11.14 that Satan, and I would assume his cohorts, 00:33:46.860 |
So in our flesh, and naturally, we walk by sight and not by faith. 00:33:52.860 |
So on Silent Wednesday, Jesus was betrayed by the last person 00:34:00.860 |
Judas himself possibly had never imagined that he could be capable of such a thing. 00:34:12.860 |
There exists in every single one of us qualities of Judas Iscariot. 00:34:32.860 |
The ability to say right-sounding things at the right time. 00:34:38.860 |
And perhaps even varying degrees of spiritual talent, ability, and possibly even power. 00:34:53.860 |
Exchanging an eternal relationship with the Son of God for 30 pieces of silver. 00:35:02.860 |
So here is a sobering question to ask yourself. 00:35:15.860 |
If it were not for the grace of God, Judas' story could very well be our story. 00:35:21.860 |
Had it not been for the grace of God, our demise would have been no different from Judas'. 00:35:29.860 |
We were all asked a question a few weeks ago. 00:35:32.860 |
Is Christ the destination? Is he merely a means? 00:35:41.860 |
And I'm going to take our attentions back to John chapter 6 because Judas is mentioned there. 00:35:49.860 |
In Judas' story, we see the end result of someone for whom Jesus was only the means and not the destination. 00:36:00.860 |
And I'm going to read John 6, 64 to 65. It says, 00:36:05.860 |
"But there are some of you who do not believe. 00:36:09.860 |
For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, 00:36:18.860 |
And he was saying, 'For this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me 00:36:24.860 |
unless it has been granted him from the Father.'" 00:36:28.860 |
And John 6 tells us that for Judas, Christ was the means. 00:36:33.860 |
And at the end of the day, Judas was disappointed with the means of Christ. 00:36:40.860 |
That's perhaps why he is so indignant when Mary breaks open the alabaster jar of costly perfume. 00:36:54.860 |
And perhaps that was the last straw for Judas. 00:36:59.860 |
Jesus had known from the very beginning, it says in John 6, what Judas would eventually do. 00:37:09.860 |
And I can't presume to know how Jesus must have felt every day interacting with Judas. 00:37:16.860 |
But it's not hard to imagine that he loved Judas the same as he had loved the other disciples. 00:37:28.860 |
And it would not be out of character for Jesus to also tenderly have washed Judas' feet the same way. 00:37:40.860 |
Jesus, the radiance of the Father's glory and the exact representation of his nature, 00:37:51.860 |
And we serve a God who is able to love his enemies. 00:37:56.860 |
We serve a God who would give his life for his enemies. 00:38:07.860 |
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 00:38:18.860 |
though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 00:38:24.860 |
But God demonstrates his own love towards us. 00:38:30.860 |
And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 00:38:40.860 |
In that while we all were just as capable of betrayal, like Judas, Christ died for us. 00:38:58.860 |
Were it not for the grace of God and Christ's work on the cross and the power of his resurrection, 00:39:05.860 |
our judgment would be no different from Judas's. 00:39:10.860 |
So on this silent Wednesday, may Judas's life and example and betrayal humble us. 00:39:27.860 |
May Judas's life serve as a reminder for you and me to value Christ as our destination 00:39:48.860 |
Lord, when we see and when we take an examination of our hearts, 00:39:57.860 |
more often than not, we're disturbed by the ugliness that we see. 00:40:04.860 |
And it is our confession, Lord, that there is nothing good in us outside of Jesus Christ. 00:40:14.860 |
There is nothing desirable in us outside of Christ. 00:40:29.860 |
I pray that this week would cause us to be humble. 00:40:34.860 |
It would cause us to be joy-filled and thankful. 00:40:40.860 |
It would cause us not to harbor grudges or resentment, 00:40:53.860 |
Thank you, Lord, for loving those who were hostile to you. 00:41:01.860 |
We who were once enemies now stand as children who delight in the presence of their Father. 00:42:12.860 |
All the love I've ever found, like a flood flowing down. 00:42:28.860 |
At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life. 00:42:41.860 |
Where your love ran red and my sin washed white, 00:43:14.860 |
Where my heart is at peace with God, I give them. 00:43:26.860 |
All the love I've ever found, like a flood flowing down. 00:43:42.860 |
At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life. 00:43:55.860 |
Where your love ran red and my sin washed white, 00:44:35.860 |
At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life. 00:44:48.860 |
Where your love ran red and my sin washed white, 00:45:01.860 |
At the cross, at the cross, I surrender my life. 00:45:14.860 |
Where your love ran red and my sin washed white, 00:45:39.860 |
Father, we reflect and meditate on your incredible love. 00:45:44.860 |
God, all through this week, we recognize truly how patient 00:45:48.860 |
your love is, truly how powerful your love is. 00:45:52.860 |
God, we are reminded, every single one of us, Lord, 00:45:59.860 |
And God, at depths of which we keep seeing as we live. 00:46:03.860 |
And God, we recognize that should we be given the chance, 00:46:07.860 |
so to speak, it very well, the aspect of that kind of betraying 00:46:12.860 |
selfishness that exists in every single one of us. 00:46:17.860 |
But we are so thankful, Lord, that you redeem. 00:46:24.860 |
And God, you are changing those who were in it. 00:46:27.860 |
And through your gospel and through your salvation, 00:46:42.860 |
will continue to walk down the path of recognizing and seeing 00:46:51.860 |
and that your love is, Father, the power that's causing us to 00:46:57.860 |
We thank you, Lord, and again devote both our song,