Betrayal of the cross
Key Passage: Matthew 26:46-50
Date: April 13, 2025
If you would, turn to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26, like the last line of that rest beyond the river. Isn’t rest a wonderful word? My wife and I have been talking about it a little bit; true rest comes from the Lord. And just awesome to get rest. Nothing like it. If you want rest, it comes from the Lord.
Think about that verse. We focused on it a couple of Sunday mornings ago. When God was talking to Moses, he said, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” True rest comes from God. And praise the Lord for it.
The theme for tonight is the betrayal. I want you to feel how Jesus was portrayed.
And just a little bit of that tonight, and then we’ll have an invitation, and then we’ll have the Lord’s Supper after that, a special time for us to remember what Jesus did for us. But before that, we want to look at this real quickly: Matthew 26 and verse number 46. Matthew 26, verse number 46. This is Jesus after he has been praying in the garden, and he is leaving the garden.
Look in verse number 46. If you are able, would you please stand? We try to do that just to show the Word of God respect. They did that in the book of Nehemiah, so we follow that pattern there. Matthew 26 and verse number 46. Jesus is talking; he says, “Rise, let us be going. Behold, he is at hand who betrays me.” Jesus knew. He was about to be betrayed.
Now watch what happens. “And while I yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people.” So there, I think many of them were Roman soldiers, with swords and whatnot. They were following the Jewish leaders in that.
Verse number 48. “Now, he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, ‘Whomever I shall kiss, that same is he; hold him fast.’” Wouldn’t it bother you if somebody’s about to turn on you? They are stabbing you in the back, and the sign they gave to your enemies is, “I’ll kiss him.” I mean, you want to say, “Man, I’ll kiss you back. I’ll call a dot in the eye,” you know. That is how he was betrayed. He was stabbed in the back.
Watch what Jesus does about it. Watch this. Verse 49: “And forthwith he came to Jesus and said, ‘Hail, Master,’ and kissed him.” He wasn’t his master. He wasn’t following Jesus; he was following money. He betrayed him, sold him for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus knew all that. Jesus taught, “You can’t serve God and man,” and Judas was serving that money.
“Hail, Master,” and kissed him. Watch what Jesus does. Amazing. And Jesus said unto him, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” Then came they and laid hands on Jesus and took him.
Would you pray with me that God, for just a minute, would speak to us about what Jesus went through? He was betrayed for you and I. Would you pray about that? Lord, would you make this thing real to us? Father, I believe you have led us to this angle of it. Lord, you know, over the years we’ve looked at every angle, it seems like. But this angle, Father, make it real to us. Lord, I pray you to use it to heal and to grow us, and to follow in your footsteps when we are betrayed. Bless the Lord’s Supper tonight; make it real to your people. And Father, we’ll thank you for what you do, and we ask for this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated. Did you notice in verse number 47, “While he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve”? He was talking about the twelve apostles. Jesus, when he had his public ministry, maybe one of the most important things he had to do was train special men, apostles, who were to take the gospel and take the ministry of Jesus and spread it beyond that little region where Jesus was. He was a special man.
In fact, before he chose the twelve, he prayed all night long. That shows how important it was to Jesus. He prayed before a big decision; he had to pick the right twelve men. He was calling them unto him; they were going to be special men. They were with Jesus for three and a half years. They would watch him heal the blind, make the lepers clean, and make the lame to walk. They were with Jesus; sometimes they stayed in the same place as he was. They ate with Jesus. They were the special men that he called to be the special twelve men.
And yet it was one of those—isn’t it amazing sometimes the people you trust the most? I wouldn’t say Jesus trusted him; Jesus knew he was fulfilling prophecy by selecting him. But isn’t it just ironic that those sometimes for whom we do the most, those whom we teach and train and do so much for, often one of those betrays you and stabs you in the back? It was Judas, one of the twelve, that was there and just laid a kiss on him. That was kind of a traditional cultural thing on the cheek and whatnot, but it gave the sign of a friend, though he was being the ultimate opposite of a friend. He was betraying Jesus.
Jesus knew this, as I do. Jesus could have called—we sing, “Jesus could have called ten thousand angels” to wipe them all out. Jesus could have called twelve legions—that might be about 72,000 angels—and wiped them all out. Jesus could have just spoken and been done. But Jesus allowed himself to be betrayed.
Now, I want you to think about this tonight for you. He allowed it. By the way, you know there is something about outwardly when you are betrayed, but when you get betrayed by people that you have done so much for, something is going on inside. Man, I tell you what, you are like, “Man, this is just killing me that they are betraying me right now.” That’s what is going on, but Jesus went through that for you and I.
Not only that, not only was Judas one of the twelve—it doesn’t tell us this here in this passage. Let me just read it for you. John 12:6 says this, speaking about Judas: “This he said, not that he cared for the poor…” Remember over there, Mary had taken that ointment and had anointed Jesus with it? It was a sign, a special thing before his death, burial, and resurrection, but it was very costly, very expensive.
When we were out of town, we went by—I think Ross’s—to get some cologne because I am out of cologne. If you smell me, you might say, “Well, you need some cologne, man.” You know, and there you can’t try it on. So we went to one of the fancier, more expensive ones where you can try it on. They said, “We’re going to find out the one we want, then we’ll go back and buy it over here where it is cheaper.” Amen. Come on now. You know, my mom didn’t raise a dumb boy besides my brother, you know.
So anyway, we went there, and this lady said, “Try this right here.” Oh, that’s good. Praise the Lord. My wife liked it. If my wife likes it, amen, that’s a good thing. And then we said, “Well, how much is that?” They said, “When we were looking, you know, we were looking at $20, $30.” She says, “$115.” The boy didn’t smell so good after that. We just went back to Ross’s and got one we knew Sammy likes, whatnot. “Hey, what did you go buy back there? $20 when I’m in there,” you know. We are good, you know.
I wasn’t planning on telling that crazy story. But Mary had anointed Jesus with that $150 stuff, you know, expensive—more than that, actually. And Judas is complaining about it. It was special; it was for Jesus’ burial.
But let me read what Judas said about it. I want you to get one thing about Judas. John 12:6: “Not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag and bore what was put therein.” Judas was a chief financial officer. Judas was a treasurer. It was under his direction. But Judas was not just one of the twelve; he was that, but he was the one that took care of the money. I mean, he was trusted, he was in a trusted position, and he was the one that really just stabbed Jesus in the back. I think about it: when someone you trust, someone that you’ve trusted with a lot of things, betrays you, that’s what is going on here.
Now let’s leave Judas for just a minute here, just talking about the betrayal of the cross. There are so many ways that Jesus was betrayed. The Jewish people—not every Jewish person, but the vast majority as a nation—they betrayed Jesus. You probably know the verse, John 1:11: “He came unto his own,” talking about the Jewish people, “and his own received him not.” For the most part, by the way, it was my sin, just like their sin. I don’t want to point my finger just at them; my sin too. They put him on the cross. But, you know, for the most part, it was the Jewish people that were there saying, “Crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.”
There is a parable that resembles the people Jesus came for. Let me read for you one of the lines of it. Luke 19:14: “But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’” Notice his citizens—the Jewish people.
Jesus, you know, it’s like you go to the world, but you are American. And when America as a whole betrays you, that’s what happened to Jesus. He was betrayed—betrayed by Judas, betrayed by his people, his nationality. Interestingly, Jesus sent, first of all, his disciples and even the apostles first of all to the Jewish people—“to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” That’s always a pattern in the Bible. But the Jewish people betrayed him. They said, “We don’t want him; crucify him, crucify him.”
Can you imagine how his heart must have felt when he was betrayed by Judas, by his own citizens, his countrymen? Fellow Americans, if you will—not all of them, but the high priest and Pharisees. You realize he was the Messiah? They should have said, “Man, we’ve been looking for you. We’ve been teaching and preaching about you. You’ve been preaching Isaiah, and you fulfill all the promises of the first coming.” And we’ve been looking for you. They should have joined up with Jesus and said, “Hey, we want to tell everybody you’re the Messiah, you’re the Savior.” And yet the religious crowd, they betrayed him; they turned against him. I want you to just think about how Jesus must have felt. The very people that should have been working with him are working against him; they are portraying him.
Pilate. Look over in Acts chapter 3. We have been studying the book of Acts on Wednesday night. Look over in Acts chapter 3. This is Peter preaching there a little bit. I want you to know something about this. I always thought it was interesting. Look in verse number 13, Acts 3:13: “The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son, Jesus, whom ye”—speaking of the Jewish people there in Jerusalem—“whom ye delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.”
Pilate would not let him go, but the chief priests and the high priest and scribes and all this and the Jewish crowd there said, “Crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. We will have no other king besides Caesar.”
Now here is the thing: Pilate won’t do the right thing, but in his wimpiness, in his lack of a backbone, in his lack of standing as a man ought to stand, and his lack of leadership, he would not stand and would not say, “Hey, we are not crucifying him. I can find no fault.” He questioned him twice. “I find no fault in this man.” And yet Pilate would not stand. You call that when a weak person betrays you. That bothered Jesus. I mean, you talk about strength—never has there been anyone as strong as Jesus. Pilate, out of weakness, out of a spaghetti noodle for a backbone, would not stand in the heat of the battle, and he turned against Jesus.
We do not know this; the Bible does not say this, but history tells us that Pilate just kind of went a little bit crazy, and you would often find him washing his hands and washing his hands and washing his hands and washing his hands and washing his hands. Hey, you cannot wash that guilt away. The only thing that will wash that guilt away is the blood of Jesus Christ, we say that. But think about Jesus when Pilate, who had questioned him repeatedly and said, “I find no fault,” yet he betrayed him.
The betrayal of the cross. This is so interesting. Look back over in Matthew 26. That is where it started out tonight. Look in verse number 56: “But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Here it is: “Then all the disciples forsook him and fled.” Mark 14:50 says, “And they all forsook him and fled.”
I mean, those are the people he had trained, many of whom he had healed, touched, and been preaching to—I mean, just pouring his life into them—and all of them forsook him and fled, betrayed him as well.
He said, “Preacher, man, I’ve been betrayed.” Hey, Jesus understands that. If anybody understands you, Jesus does; he has been betrayed by all his disciples. At one point, all of them left. Of course, you know Peter, his great leader, Peter is over there, denies him later on, like, “Man, I never knew that man.” But Jesus knows what it is to be betrayed.
I mean, you just feel like sometimes they stuck the knife in your back and they just keep twisting it—twisting and twisting. And you are like, “Man, it’s been years, and they are still twisting.” Jesus understands. Jesus was betrayed. He understands the hurt and the scars and the lumps. You just feel like heaven—Jesus understands all that. He was betrayed. He was betrayed.
The hurt, the pain. I have met with people when their spouses cheated on them, and boy, the hurt, the pain, and the betrayal. Jesus understands what that feels like. He was betrayed. A child turned against you, a parent turned against you, a boss lied about you, a coworker turned against you. Jesus understands all that. He was betrayed. He has gone through it all, tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. He was betrayed.
Jesus—I like this little thought here—Jesus took the betrayal so you will never be betrayed by the Lord. Never will he be. Even when we do not deserve it, even when we fail and we sin—by the way, we all do—still, he said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” How can he do that? Because Jesus took our sin. That is why he was going through that hurt and the pain: so he could pay for the sins of your life and my life. So you never have to worry. He will never betray you. He will never turn his back on you, even when I deserve for him to turn his back on me.
You know, just a thought about this: Jesus is never too busy for you. I like that verse over there, Isaiah 57:15: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity.” I mean, he inhabits eternity past, eternity future, eternity present. I mean, he inhabits it all. And I say that to say, you know what? He never runs out of time for you. He is always got all the time in the world for you.
Sometimes, I think some of our young people were singing not too long ago, “He treats me like I was his only child.” Great song, great song. Some of our people sang that before. But that is exactly how Jesus treats you. He has got all the time in the world for you. Man, have you ever just needed someone to talk to? Isn’t it amazing? He is running the universe, friend, and yet he has plenty of time to talk to me. I mean, he just sat down and talked to me. The Bible says the prayer of the upright—that is the guy just trying to walk, trying to live for the Lord, not perfect, but he is trying to walk uprightly—the prayer of the upright is his delight, and he likes to hear your prayer. He went through all that betrayal, people turning against him, so he will always be by your side if you are saved, if you are a born-again Christian. He is there.
I love Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” I love Psalm 139:7 and 8: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” We call that the omnipresence of God. He is everywhere at one time.
Sometimes, when I am praying for someone, I think about my sister in Michigan, and I think, “Man, thank you, Lord, you are in Tennessee with us hillbillies, you are in Alabama with my brother’s real hillbillies, and you are with them Yankees up there in Michigan all the same time.” Maybe, you know, he is. He has got all the time and all the time for you.
D.L. Moody used to say, “No one will ever leave from God empty-handed unless they go to God full of themselves.” I mean, you come humbly before God honestly; he has got all the time in the world for you. Just being honest about it. Hey, Jesus went through the betrayal of people turning on him so you can trust him. He is better than your best friend, amen? Or they call it nowadays your BFF. Is that it? I always get those things messed up, you know. But what is it? BFF? Is that? What does that stand for? Best friend forever. I got it, I got it, you know. Jesus is better than your BFF, amen, for all eternity. And he went to the cross; he went through the betrayal so he can always be there for you.
He is there for you, especially in time of trouble. I love this verse, many of you probably know it, Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Notice that: very present help in trouble. I like to think of it this way: when trouble comes knocking at your door—and hang on, if it is not there, it will come knocking pretty soon; it comes to everybody—when trouble comes knocking at the door, go over there and open the door, and look around, and you will find Jesus there, friend. Very present help in trouble. He went through the betrayal so in the toughest of times or the darkest of times, man, you open that door up, trouble is standing right there. You look around, Jesus is standing there too, always, always there in a special way during your time of trouble.
I love this verse: “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him in truth. I love it. I love it. Hey, you say, “Man, I’ve been hurt. People have betrayed me. People I loved, I invested in, I trusted in.” Jesus understands that. Jesus has been through it. He understands not just kind of book knowledge, but he knows heart knowledge. He has been through it. And he says, “Hey, I want you to come over here. You can trust me. I went through the darkest of times paying for your sins so we can be BFFs for all eternity.”
He will always have time for you. Always. Grandparents, you know grandparents? Somebody said this, and I said, “Man, that is the way it is.” You know, you love your kids, but you are in love with your grandkids, you know. And you have got all the time to spend with that little kid there, you know. I mean, you just, when they want to spend time with you, man, you love to spend time with them and all that. You know, it is just awesome, you know. And God is—oh, and I am, don’t get too technical with me—but God is a little bit like a grandparent. He has got all the time in the world. I love it.
Someone has been sharing a little bit in our church, but once you are saved, you will always be a child of God. You can be saved for 50 years, but you are still a child of God, a child of the King, one of his little ones. And he loves you. Jesus went through betrayal for you and I on the cross.
Hey, let’s just spend a little time tonight. Just thank him. Just love on him a little bit. We are going to have an invitation. We’ll have the Lord’s Supper after that. Just spend some time and say, “Man, I’m so grateful. You went through that. You understand me. You know what it’s like?” All of us have been betrayed in some ways. And you are just telling him thank you so very much. Love on him. I want to be so faithful to you. You are so faithful to me. I won’t be perfect, but I want to be. Would you do that?
Let’s pray. You come to the altar if you like to, but have the Lord lead. You will stand if you would, please. We’ll have a word of prayer. Just spend some time alone with the Lord and loving on him and thanking him. Would you do that?
Father, thank you so much that you gave your Son. Lord, we didn’t have time to go at that angle of it—how you gave your Son. You watched him go through that because you loved us. Thank you, Jesus. You went through the betrayal more than any of us really experienced, and you went through it for us, for me. Thank you, Lord. I don’t deserve it. Help us to love you, Lord. You said that is the greatest command. Help us to love you. Thank you, Lord. I wish that’s better for you, but help us to do just our best to serve you, be faithful to you, and bless your people, Father, especially in these few minutes, and we’ll thank you, Lord, for what you do in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - ＂Betrayal of the Cross＂ Sunday PM 04⧸13⧸2025 [ER1o73dyCf8]