Not My Will But Yours (Matthew 26:36-56)

Have you ever struggled to obey God and do the right thing? Maybe there was a time you needed to deny yourself or make a sacrifice. Maybe there was a person you needed to share the Gospel with, a sin you needed to confess, a broken relationship you needed to reconcile, a terrible trial you needed to endure, a difficult temptation you needed to resist. What emotions came along with that as you struggled to obey God’s will? Stress, sadness, frustration? Jesus had at least one moment like that, and we’ll study it today. Obedience wasn’t always easy for Him, but it would be worth it. How did He handle it? At Calvary, we’re learning to…

“Live The Cross-Shaped Life” – Cruciformity is learning to embody the self-sacrificial love of King Jesus, which God always deserves and honors.

God doesn’t always make things easy for His people, but He always makes it worth it. The living, breathing proof of this is Jesus. Everything about Jesus is humble self-sacrifice from birth to death, but God brought Him back to life and crowned Him King of kings. That’s cruciformity, and we’re learning His cross-shaped story as we preach through the Gospel according to Matthew.

We’re also learning cruciformity in the beatitudes, the cross-shaped attitudes of God’s kingdom people. We’ve been memorizing these beatitudes this year:

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:5-6)

Today, we’re going to look at two accounts leading up to Christ’s death. First, let’s remember the context. Jesus has come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread and just shared a Passover meal with His disciples, which is famously known as the Last Supper. During the meal, Jesus had predicted that His disciple Judas would betray Him, that another disciple Peter would deny that he knew Him, and that all of His disciples would abandon Him. Those heartbreaking predictions will begin to come true…

The Story

1) Jesus’ Vigil (26:36-46)

Perhaps you’ve attended a vigil before in response to a great tragedy. Jesus’ vigil occurred just prior to one–His betrayal, arrest, trial, torture, and crucifixion. He has predicted this many times already in the Gospel of Matthew, and it’s beginning to weigh heavily on Him…

A) Jesus’ Anguish (26:36-38)

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Gethsemane was an olive tree orchard just a few minutes walk outside of Jerusalem. But it was apparently a private place and therefore the perfect place for Jesus to go for prayer. Earlier, in Matthew 6, Jesus taught His disciples to pray not as a display of righteousness before other people but as an act of devotion to God. Jesus is walking the talk here on the most difficult night of His life.

Look at our sorrowful and troubled King! He’s experiencing a painful mix of emotions: deep grief and deep distress. It’s one thing to be incredibly sad. It’s another thing to be incredibly stressed. But both at the same time? That’s unbearable! Have you ever experienced a similar mix of emotions? The tragic death of a loved one? A heartbreaking medical diagnosis? Why is Jesus in anguish? He knows He will soon go to the cross to bear God’s wrath for our sin. Jesus has been predicting it all since Matthew 16, and He knew it would happen during Passover. Well, now it’s Passover.

So Jesus’ response is to pray to His Father with His disciples. He asks them to join Him. Here’s how that went…

B) Jesus’ Cross-Shaped Prayer (26:39-43)

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus had been saying that His death “must” happen because He took the Scriptures seriously–like the Psalms and the prophets Isaiah and Zechariah–which have all been quoted in Matthew and teach that God’s Servant King must suffer for the sin of His people. So now Jesus prays that He wouldn’t have to drink this cup, a metaphor of God’s wrath for sin.

Is it possible? Aren’t all things possible with God? Can God make a rock so big He can’t lift it? God can only do those things which align with His character and purpose. In other words, if something doesn’t flow from who He is, it is impossible for Him to do it. If something doesn’t align with His purpose, it is impossible for Him to do it. What is God’s character and purpose in relation to Jesus’ prayer request? We read this earlier this week in our Old Testament plan…

“The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…” (Numbers 14:18)

God is abounding in love! He forgives sin! He even forgives rebellion! But He also punishes sin! How can He do both? By giving Jesus to die as a sacrificial substitute in our place. In Christ on the cross, He is “both just and the one who justifies.” (Romans 3:26) Either Jesus dies for sin or we all do. And you know how much undeserved love God has for us??? More than we can imagine. Therefore, it is not possible to take the cup from Jesus.

So Jesus wants the cup to be taken from Him. He doesn’t want to die under God’s wrath for our sin because that is by far the worst kind of suffering in the universe. But you know what Jesus wants more than avoiding the cross? Obeying His Father. This is cruciform prayer. Jesus stated His want and overrode it with God’s. Self-denial (“not my will”) and self-sacrifice (“but Yours be done”).

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

It’s bad enough what Jesus had to go through. Worse still that He would go through it alone. They couldn’t even join in His vigil; they were too sleepy. The contrast between Jesus and the disciples couldn’t be clearer. Their lack of availability to Jesus already demonstrates that they aren’t ready to stick with Jesus as He suffers. Peter himself had promised that he wouldn’t abandon Jesus, even if all the other disciples did. But Jesus here warns Peter and the others that the spirit is willing but flesh is weak. The anecdote to our weakness is to remain vigilant and cry out to God in prayer.

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.

Jesus spent more time in prayer, praying essentially the same thing as before. But there is a bit more surrender in His words. Initially, He prayed, “If it is possible to take this cup away…but your will be done.” Now He prays, “If it’s not possible to take this cup away…your will be done.” So we can see Jesus surrendering to His Father’s will through His prayers.

The disciples, on the other hand, are not surrendering themselves. They will not be ready to endure the trial Jesus is about to face alongside Him.

44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

After praying the same prayer a third time, Jesus has fully submitted Himself for what is to come. Note the change in tone! He’s determined to go through with it. “It’s time; let’s go!” says Jesus as He sees Judas and the crowd coming to arrest Him.

2) Jesus’ Arrest (26:47-56)

A) The Violent Confrontation (26:47-51)

47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

It was dark, and it’s not like the armed mob had a photo of Jesus to go on. Everyone knew about Jesus, but probably very few knew what he actually looked like. Therefore, Judas, who knew exactly what Jesus looked like, would tip everyone off as to which one was Him. This part of the arrest is emotionally violent. Judas greeted Jesus with a “Rabbi” and a kiss, like he had probably done a million times before in friendship. But now he does so in absolute betrayal. All Jesus had poured into Judas…for this. All their shared joys and sorrows…and now this. Heartbreaking.

50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

Now the physical violence starts. Once Jesus is identified, they grab Him. In retaliation, a disciple goes all action-hero and tries to rescue Jesus. It’s about to escalate into an all out brawl! How will Jesus handle this?

B) Jesus’ Cross-Shaped Choice (26:52-56)

Upon His arrest, Jesus will speak first to His disciples and then to the crowd arresting Him. In both answers, Jesus clarifies that He is allowing Himself to be arrested because the Scriptures have convinced Him that this is God’s will.

First, here’s Jesus’ answer to His disciples…

52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

Quick aside: One question that sometimes come up at this point is the question of Christian pacifism. Is Christ forbidding any and every form of violence for Christians. What about self-defense, law enforcement, national defense? The matter at hand is Christ’s resolve to go to the cross to glorify God by dying for the sin of all who believe–not any of those other situations. Therefore, this story rules out the use of violence for all Christians who seek to advance Christ’s cause in the world. One theologian said of this passage that the one thing this passage affirms is that “violence in defense of Christ is completely unjustified.” (Carson) You would need to study other Scriptures to draw conclusions on the use of violence in self-defense, law enforcement, national defense, etc. But this passage certainly forbids violence in relation to the Great Commission, spreading the Gospel of Jesus, and making disciples of Jesus.

It was not possible to take the cup away from Jesus because it was part of God’s plan. God totally had the power to take the cup from Jesus. He had the ability to rescue Jesus from His enemies. In the Old Testament, a single angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (1 Kings 19:35), and Jesus had “twelve legions of angels” at His command. There were 6,000 soldiers in a Roman legion, so that’s a lot of angels! The power was there but Jesus chose not to use it out of self-sacrificial love for us, an obedience that God deserved and would eventually honor. Cruciformity. The ultimate cross-shaped life!

Jesus is convinced that He is following God’s will in allowing Himself to be arrested. He said, “…the Scriptures say it must happen this way…” In other words, God did not give Jesus some sort of special revelation outside of the Old Testament that He would be crucified. Jesus found God’s will in His Word and submitted to it. That’s what those prayers in Gethsemane were all about. The prayers weren’t for some new revelation that the cross was what God wanted. The prayers were a path to surrendering to God’s will, which Jesus already knew from God’s Word.

Then, here’s Jesus’ answer to the crowd…

55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Jesus says that they could have arrested Him at any point, and yet He is allowing this to happen right here right now “to fulfill the Scriptures…the writings of the prophets…” Once the disciples realized that Jesus had made the cross-shaped decision to give Himself up, they abandoned Him, just as predicted a few verses earlier (26:31).

The Lessons

1) Jesus willingly and uniquely died for His people. Be grateful.

How many of you admire Jesus? How many of you look up to Him? How many of you think He’s the most courageous, faithful, loving, and righteous person to ever live? Is He “wimping out” in Gethsemane? Of course not! Then why was He so troubled, rocked, wrecked over His coming cross??? Jesus did not die a normal martyr’s death. He died a sacrificial lamb’s death. None of us would have gone through with it! The disciples merely had to pray alongside Jesus and couldn’t.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

It is usually unwise and unhelpful to compare one person’s suffering to another’s. But we can unapologetically elevate Christ’s suffering over anyone else’s. No one has ever suffered or will suffer like Jesus when He suffered and died for sinners. Thank You, Jesus!

2) Jesus went through far worse than you ever will. Follow Him.

If Jesus found God’s will in God’s Word, we can too. And if He submitted to God’s will, no matter how tough it was, so can we with His help.

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:14-18)

You can find God’s will in God’s Word! Does God have a specific will for you in which school to attend? Which job to take? Who to date or marry? Where to move? How much to save for retirement? No. His will instead is to transform you into the kind of person who makes wise decisions in holiness and love for His glory and others’ good. Just as Jesus learned from Scripture who He was called to be and what He was called to do, we can learn too.

So, as He is shaping you, when you face that difficult act of obedience…to share the Gospel, to suffer rejection, to confront a brother or sister in Christ, to share yourself with others, to confess your sin…He helps. He’s been there. He knows what it’s like. He’s been sorrowful and troubled. He’s prayerfully worked through surrender to God. And He came through victorious for us, so that we might trust and submit to and enjoy Him, no matter the trial or temptation. We can pray like Him and to Him…not my will but Yours be done!

Questions for Reflection and/or Discussion

What’s the most difficult choice God is calling you to right now?
In what way was Jesus’ choice in the garden of Gethsemane infinitely more difficult than yours? How is Jesus’ suffering and death much worse than any martyr’s death? Read Romans 5:6-8. What feelings and thoughts does this truth put in your mind toward Christ?
Back to your own tough choice. Is it clear in God’s Word that this is God’s will? If you’re not sure, who can you ask for help? If it is God’s will, how hard will it be to submit to it? Who can you ask to pray for you? How can Jesus’ submission to God’s will inspire you to change (read Hebrews 2:14-18)?

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Jesus is Worthy (Matthew 26:1-16)

Well, Wednesday is Valentine’s Day. I hate spending money on flowers. They can be expensive, but then they just die. What a waste! But what if my wife likes them? Not because she sees them as some great investment but because she values the thoughtfulness and costliness of the flowers as a demonstration of my love for her. So here’s the question: If I get Emily flowers on Valentine’s Day, will it be a waste? Is she worth it? Of course, she is. Today’s question is this: How much is JESUS worth? At Calvary, we’re learning to…

“Live The Cross-Shaped Life” – Cruciformity is learning to embody the self-sacrificial love of King Jesus, which God always deserves and honors.

We’re also learning cruciformity in the beatitudes, the cross-shaped attitudes of God’s kingdom people. We’ve been memorizing these beatitudes this year:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:3-4)

The Story

1) Jesus’ Prediction of His Death (26:1-2)

1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

Jesus has been predicting how and where He would die (crucifixion in Jerusalem) since Matthew 16. But now, in His final prediction, Jesus foretold WHEN He would die. During Passover…in two days! Quick question: What is Passover? We read about the Passover in our Old Testament plan a couple weeks ago in Exodus 12. The Passover was a celebration of when God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by striking down all the firstborn males of proud and abusive Egypt. There were two main rituals associated with Passover. First, perfect, spotless lambs were to be sacrificed as substitutes for the firstborn males of Israel, and the lamb’s blood was to be painted on the door frames of the house to recall how God saw the blood and passed over Israelites homes on His way to judging Egyptians. The second ritual is that the Israelites were to eat bread without yeast, because God’s salvation came so quickly that there was no time to wait for bread to rise! Hence, the single-day event of the Passover kicked off the weeklong Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Israelites were to reenact the Passover every year and teach their children about God’s mercy on Israel and wrath toward Egypt.

Jesus’ prediction shows that He is aware of and ready for the suffering ahead. If I knew the time and location of my torture and death two days beforehand, I would probably drive for two days in the opposite direction. But Jesus willingly submitted to His call. We studied this verse weeks ago at this point, but Jesus said these words before His triumphant entry into Jerusalem…

“…even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

Because Jesus knew the “why” of His death–to be a ransom, a substitutionary sacrifice, sinners from sin, He submitted to the how, where, and when of His death. Jesus understood Himself to be the new and better Passover Lamb and Unleavened Bread. The Lord’s Supper was originally given by Jesus to His disciples during this very same Passover (the very next passage in Matthew). The Christian Lord’s Supper is really the Jewish Passover, which has found its full meaning in the crucified and risen King Jesus, who sets His people free with His own body (symbolized by the bread) and blood (symbolized by the cup) from Satan, sin, and death!

2) The Plot to Kill Jesus (26:3-5)

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”

We’ve known since Matthew 12:14 that Pharisees were plotting Jesus’ assassination. That conspiracy has escalated to include official temple leadership since Jesus publicly condemned hypocritical religious leaders on the Monday and Tuesday of His final week.

But these leaders could not catch Jesus while He was ministering in the Temple. Jerusalem filled up with people during the Passover (think Unity Music Festival, Bike Time in Muskegon or the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven, except way bigger). Historians estimate the population of Jerusalem would grow five times its normal size during holy festivals. Jesus was very popular with these crows. They couldn’t just go up to Jesus and arrest Him in the middle of Temple. The people would literally riot! Therefore, they needed to make their move against Jesus in secret. But how would they know where to find Jesus when He left the Temple each day? They would need to hire a spy to follow Him or, better yet, a friend to betray Him. But the plotting stops abruptly, and we have another story…

3) The Perfume that Honored Jesus (26:6-13)

6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

Bethany was a town just outside of Jerusalem. It’s where Jesus apparently stayed each night during His week in Jerusalem. It also happened to be the hometown of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary–several of Jesus’ friends who appear elsewhere in the Gospels. More on them later.

The host of this dinner was Simon the leper, who is only mentioned here in the Gospels. If Simon was a current leper, it would be strange to host a dinner just days before the Passover. Under the Jewish law, any contact with a leper required an expensive and time-consuming process of ritual cleansing, so this would have been avoided, especially by people who made the effort to travel to Jerusalem for the Passover! Perhaps Simon was a former leper, and perhaps Jesus was the one who healed him. Either way, the relationship between Jesus and this Simon the leper reveals Jesus’ compassionate heart.

While eating (that’s what “reclining at table” implies), a woman poured expensive perfume over Jesus’ head. Smelling good was a luxury in the ancient world. The hygiene industry of today aims to help us to smell good at affordable prices, but people in the ancient world generally probably smelled bad. It was hard enough to stay alive; only the wealthiest could afford to smell nice doing it. In the Gospel of John, we learn that the perfume cost a year’s wages! In modern day terms, that would be like $40k-50k gone in a moment.

What’s more is that she anointed His head with the stuff! The Gospel of Luke tells a similar story about a woman who perfumes and washes Jesus’ feet. That is a beautiful act of hospitality and kindness. But this account in Matthew is different. She pours it on Jesus’ head! In the Old Testament, it was God’s chosen priests and kings who were anointed (e.g. Aaron in Leviticus 8; David in 1 Samuel 16). Without words, using the symbols of her culture, she is saying that Jesus is the Messiah, which literally means “anointed one one.”

8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

Honestly, I struggle with this passage because I want to side with the disciples here. We as Christians absolutely need to look out for waste in our lives because God has entrusted us with so many different kinds of resources–not so we can squander them–but so that we can use them for His glory and others’ good. But Jesus rebukes His disciples…

10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Jesus is a huge fan of this woman. He came to her defense, He commended her action, and He even connected what she did to the very Gospel–good news–He would purchase with His own death and resurrection! With His death looming large, Jesus accepts her sacrifice, the honor of the woman’s perfume as preparation for His burial. For Jesus, this perfume wasn’t wasted; it was well spent. Money wasted on Jesus is not wasted!

Jesus is not downplaying concern for the poor. Here’s merely saying that, right here, right now, with Him sitting there, there is nothing more pressing than honoring Jesus directly in light of His looming death. We will always have to care for the poor. As Jesus-followers, that’s one of the main things we do! But we do it because we love Jesus and Jesus loves the poor! Even our acts of love toward others are ultimately acts of honor toward Jesus. Remember what Jesus said in last week’s text at the final judgment: His people helped Him whenever they helped their fellow disciples in need (Matthew 25:31-46).

It’s likely that Matthew’s account here is the same one we read about in John 12:1-11. By comparing Matthew’s and John’s accounts, we can get a more detailed picture of what happened.

	Matthew 26:6-13	John 12:1-11
Event	Jesus anointed by a woman at a dinner in Bethany
Timing		Night before triumphal entry
Host	Simon the leper
Guest of Honor		Jesus
Other Guests		Lazarus, Martha, Mary
Challenger	The disciples	Judas

Matthew doesn’t tell when this happened, only where (“while Jesus was in Bethany”), but John says this occurred the night before the Triumphal Entry. We’ll talk more about Matthew’s use of this account in a moment, but let’s look at some other details we learn from John’s account to fill out our picture.

John said the dinner was held in Jesus’ honor, though the host Simon the leper is not named.
John said that Lazarus–whom Jesus had raised from the dead in John 11–was among the guests, that his sister Martha was helping to serve the meal, and that it was his sister Mary was the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume.
John also noted that it was specifically Judas Iscariot who accused Mary of wasting the perfume on Jesus. John explained that Judas didn’t actually care about the poor and had been stealing from the disciple’s joint funds. Judas was greedy!

If these accounts are or the same story, I have a couple questions. First, why would Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, leave out Mary’s name? In one sense, it’s easy to see why Mary so honored Christ. Jesus raised her brother from the dead!!! But why keep her anonymous in Matthew’s account? I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because everyone already knew it was her? Or maybe because Matthew wants us all to be able to relate to her. Anyone and everyone should honor Jesus like this–not just the ones who have their siblings miraculously resurrected by Him. Why? Because the gift He gives all of us is actually greater than the gift He gave Mary and Martha when He told Lazarus to “Come out.” He gave us Himself on the cross just as He had predicted! In fact, Mary took Jesus’ prediction to heart and was in large part the rationale for her act of worship. In Matthew and John’s accounts, it’s the impending death of Jesus that seems to be Mary’s reason for making the sacrifice. Jesus said that she poured the perfume on Him to prepare His body for burial. So this act seems to be some sort of acknowledgement, not of what Jesus has already done, but what He is about to do for both her and the rest of us in going to the cross.

Now for our second question: Why does Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tell the story out of chronological order? If the anointing of Jesus did not actually occur after Jesus’ teaching in the Temple during His final week, why place it here? Matthew made a “literary sandwich” to emphasize the worth of the crucified and risen King Jesus. Matthew began by telling us about the plot against Jesus, then tells of the woman who anointed Jesus, and wraps up the sandwich by telling us the final details of the plot. The sandwich is plot, perfume, and price…

4) The Price to Betray Jesus (26:14-16)

14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Thirty pieces of silver is the compensation price in the Old Testament for a slave accidentally killed (Exodus 21:32). It’s not that much–only 4 months wages. It’s an insultingly low price for the betrayal of anyone, let alone Jesus. Judas’ hatred for Jesus is not only found in the betrayal but in the small free he took for it.

Do you see how Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has created a literary sandwich to tell the story? The religious leaders want to kill Jesus but they can’t find a good opportunity. Cut away to Jesus, being anointed by a woman who is sold out for Him, then cut back to Judas whose selling out Jesus. The contrast couldn’t be sharper. The woman sacrifices herself for Jesus. Judas sacrifices Jesus for money. Wow.

The Lessons

1) Jesus sacrificed Himself for the unworthy.

Jesus knew why He had to die: “…even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Jesus suffered and died to save us UNDESERVING SINNERS from death–the just penalty for our sin. And He came back to life to prove it. DFo you believe that? I pray you do! If you do, this next point is vital for you…

2) Jesus is worthy of our whole-self sacrifice.

I love how Paul says this in his second letter to the church in Corinth…

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

Christ’s love and sacrifice for us compels those who believe to live for Him! Judas lived for himself. Mary lived for Jesus! What about you?

Is Jesus worth your time? Like way more than gathering with His church on Sunday mornings, as essential and vital as that is. Does He deserve your time in Scripture, prayer, getting together with Christian brothers and sisters to encourage and challenge one another, and serving others in His name. No sacrifice of time for Jesus is a waste!
Is Jesus worth your reputation? Are you willing to acknowledge your sinfulness though some may think less of you? Are you willing to acknowledge Christ’s love for you and your love for Christ, though still others may think less of you? No sacrifice of reputation for Jesus is a waste!
Is Jesus worth your talents? Are you willing to submit your passions and gifts and abilities to Jesus and use them not for your own gain or praise but for Him? No sacrifice of giftedness for Jesus is a waste!
Is Jesus worth your money? Both in generous giving to advance the gospel and to the needy around you? Is He also worthy of hard work and earning a living, careful stewardship and spending of that income? No sacrifice of money for Jesus is a waste!

David Livingstone was a British missionary to Africa in the 1800s, who suffered much in his mission for Jesus, famously said, “I never made a sacrifice.” Here’s the full quote: “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa…Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blessed reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.” Or as we sometimes say here at Calvary: “We don’t have to sacrifice for Jesus; we GET TO sacrifice for Jesus!”

Questions for Reflection and/or Discussion

Read Matthew 26:1-2. What makes Jesus worthy of our whole-life sacrifice? Is the worth of Christ displayed in your life?
What is the contrast revealed between the woman and Judas in the literary “sandwich” of 26:3-16?
Read Matthew 26:6-13. Why did Jesus praise the woman’s sacrifice (as opposed to rebuking her for keeping it from the poor)?
In what ways have you already begun to make sacrifices for Jesus to no longer live for yourself but for Him? What’s the next area of your life that you need to sacrifice to Jesus on your way?

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Help till Jesus Returns (Matthew 25:31-46)

At Calvary, we’re learning to…

“Live The Cross-Shaped Life” – Cruciformity is learning to embody the self-sacrificial love of King Jesus, which God always deserves and honors.

We’re also learning cruciformity in the beatitudes, the cross-shaped attitudes of God’s kingdom people. We’ve been memorizing these beatitudes this year:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10 NIV)

What does cruciformity look like practically? Today’s Scripture–Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:31-46–gives us a great picture of “a day in the cross-shaped life of a disciple of Jesus.” This passage concludes Matthew 24-25, where Jesus has been teaching all of His disciples about His return. His main point throughout is to focus less on the timing and details of His return and more on how we should live in preparation for it. His parable about the ten bridesmaids waiting for the groom teaches us to be ready for Jesus’ return. His parable about the servants investing the bags of gold, which we looked at last week, taught us to get to work until Jesus returns. The final teaching here focuses not at all on the timing of His return but on the judgment at His return.

1) King Jesus will judge all people at His return. (25:31-33)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”

This teaching expands on 24:29-31 in the previous chapter: “All the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and glory.” The Second Coming. When Jesus returns, He will judge. Jesus will not judge like judges in our government, whose decisions can be argued against and appealed. Jesus was appointed Judge by God the Father because He lived a righteous life and died a sacrificial death, which pleased God and saved sinners. Therefore Jesus is judge, jury, and executioner. He is the Final Word.

Who will King Jesus judge? “All the nations.” Not just the Jews and not just the Gentiles, but all people. Jesus will judge at His second coming all who were the objects of the Great Commission, which concludes the Gospel of Matthew in Matthew 28: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” It also means that me and you will be there. Everyone in this room who will be there. Everyone you know and everyone you love will be there. Everyone who has ever lived will be there.

And the crucified and risen King Jesus will judge all of us, separating us as a shepherd separates sheep and goats. Sheep flocks and goat herds would often intermix, but would need to be separated from time to time. They each needed somewhat different kinds of care, and sheep were probably more valuable, because sheep offered wool in addition to milk and meat. It’s pretty easy to tell sheep and goats apart. On what grounds will Jesus judge and separate the people and what will the verdict and consequences be…?

2) Judgment on the Blessed (25:34-40)

Jesus will turn first to give His verdict on those to His right–the sheep.

a) King Jesus will accept those who helped Him. (25:34-36)

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

Jesus calls those on His right “blessed by my Father.” In fact, they are to receive an inheritance, which means they are considered children adopted into God’s family! So they inherit the kingdom that Jesus Himself rules! Wow!!! Why is that? On what grounds?

Jesus enters into evidence all sorts of loving actions to prove that those on His right truly are blessed by the Father. Interestingly, Jesus notes that the Blessed fed Him, hydrated Him, hosted Him, clothed Him, nursed Him back to health, and visited Him in prison. What? When have any of us served Jesus like this? Jesus will answer that question in a moment.

But first, we need to discuss a really important questions. If this was the only passage you ever read about how to enter God’s kingdom, you might think that the only thing Jesus expects is works of compassion. But is Jesus teaching salvation by works of compassion? No! He is teaching that those who will be saved display works of compassion as evidence that they are already righteous. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus will teach that admission in the kingdom heaven depends, for example, on…

possessing a righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees and scribes (5:20)
doing the will of the Father (7:21-23)
acknowledging Jesus before others, even when persecuted (10:32-33)
embracing the lowly position of a little child (18:3-4)

As you can see, there is more to inheriting eternal life than simply being a compassionate person.

Elsewhere Scripture teaches that that we are saved not by works but by grace through faith in Jesus and that saving faith in Jesus inevitably produces good works from changed hearts. A great example of this infinitely important line of thought is in the New Testament book of Romans, which we plan to preach through after Easter, but let me summarize some key points. While no one is as bad as we can possibly be, no one good enough for God. God is so holy, so right, so just, so good, so deserving, and we constantly fall short. No one can be saved by their works (Romans 1-3), but we can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus (Romans 3-5). We must trust the crucified and risen Christ, who makes us right with God. Those who have this faith in Jesus are continually transformed and begin to freely obey God more and more throughout their lives (Romans 6-8). The New Testament book of Galatians also deals with these ideas. Here’s a couple snippets:

…know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:6b)

True, saving faith in Jesus always works itself out in obedience to God and love for other people. If you love in a Christlike way, you must have faith in Christ. And if you have faith in Christ, you must belong to and will be saved by Christ. Though Jesus doesn’t go into all these details here in Matthew 25, this is the full testimony of Scripture. He is merely pointing out the external evidence of a person’s saving faith.

Acts of compassion need to be emphasized here as hallmarks of adoption into God’s family because others relished and relied on other things for their own kind of salvation: religious rituals, pick-and-choose morality, worldly living, nationalistic tendencies, etc. We have people living by those same standards today. But the hallmarks Jesus emphasizes here are works of compassion done for Him, which brings us to the second part of the judgment on the blessed.

b) Helping Jesus’ followers is helping Him. (25:37-40)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’”

They are surprised by Jesus’ evidence! They don’t remember seeing Jesus in need and helping Him. In other words, the blessed aren’t trying to win Jesus’ acceptance by acts of love…they didn’t even realize what they were doing. They were doing so instinctually, because Jesus had taught them.

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Ah, so the blessed were helping Jesus when they helped Jesus’ brothers and sisters in need! Who are Jesus’ brothers and sisters? Jesus answered that question directly earlier in this Gospel:

He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50)

Jesus’ brothers and sisters are His followers, and He identifies Himself with His followers, even the neediest ones. He takes personally how His followers are treated and plans to use that treatment as evidence when He judges all people.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are under divine protection! No one will get away with anything they have done to you because you follow Jesus, unless they repent and beg for Jesus’ mercy, in which case Jesus Himself will gladly forgive their sin too!

But the larger point is this: how are we each treating God’s people? The blessed instinctively show tangible love because that’s who Jesus is teaching them to be! Is that you??? I hope you are worshiping and learning from Jesus enough to see evidence of this in your life so that you can share the sure and certain hope of Jesus with all of His other followers. Because here’s the other side of that judgment:

3) Judgment on the Cursed (25:41-45)

a) King Jesus will condemn those who ignored Him. (25:41-43)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’”

Jesus calls this side cursed and sends them to hell along with the devil and his followers. Why? Because there are no works of compassion toward Christ to prove saving faith. In other words, the cursed are condemned because of sins of omission. Sins of commission are doing wrong things…like committing murder or sexual sin. But sins of omission are failing to do good things…like failing to feed a hungry Jesus!

Of course, this side is just as surprised as the first…

b) Ignoring Jesus’ followers is ignoring Him. (25:44-45)

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”

The cursed are surprised that they failed to help a needy Jesus. But they learn that Jesus identifies Himself with His followers, even the neediest among them. When they ignored Jesus’ people in need, they ignored Jesus! Jesus takes how we treat one another that personally!

If you think you’re a Christian but your needy brothers and sisters in Christ, think again! This is according to Jesus! Maybe you avoid the certain sins that you think are a big deal. Maybe you even go to church, read your Bible, and pray but it’s not transforming you to love others. It’s important to avoid all sin, gather with the church, read your Bible, and pray, but if there is no evidence of cross-shaped love in your life, you should have no assurance of salvation, according to Jesus. Wake up from your self-deception and know how much Christ has loved you! Humble yourself, receive His forgiveness, and spread that love around starting with your brothers and sisters in Christ!

4) King Jesus’ judgments will last forever. (25:46)

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

The stakes of this judgment cannot be higher. The worst a human court can do is sentence us to prison for life. Jesus can sentence us punishment or to life forever. Which side will you be on?!?! Jesus’ right or left? The blessed or the cursed?

I want to close by connecting this to our church vision tagline: A church for the community. There are so many needs in the world. There are so many needs in our immediate community! I wish I could meet all the needs; we wish we could meet all the needs. And we will where we can. While we can’t meet every need in the community or world, we can strive to meet every need in our church. Ironically, if we ignore one another’s needs while trying to meet the “community’s,” we ignore Jesus Himself.

One of the most important things we can do to reach the world, to make disciples of all nations is to show cross-shaped love to one another–fellow church members!

A church for the community…“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

However Jesus loved us, we should love one another. How did He love us? By going to the cross! And when we show that kind of love to one another, we bear witness to the world about who Jesus is! That’s so counterintuitive, but this is God’s plan right now until the end of the age and Christ returns. He wants to unify a diverse group of people around King Jesus so that they might, through love, put Him on display to the rest of the world until Jesus returns.

I like to think of Christ’s love as filling up His church and then overflowing to the rest of the world. When people see or experience this love for themselves, that is A PERFECT MOMENT to share the good news of the crucified and risen Jesus! It begins with loving one another in Jesus’ name and overflows in service and witness to our community and world.

It begins with Megan Bradley and Abby Farber mobilizing the church to feed our own and overflows in food distribution to the community.
It begins with Chris & Jennifer Lamkin hosting a stranger and his two kids in their home and overflows in an annual gift of $5,000 to two orphanages among the hill tribes of Thailand.
It begins with Ruth Rose, Carrie Albright, and others diligently visiting the sick and elderly and overflows in a hospital ministry and outreach in Muslim North Africa.
It begins with Todd Brown discipling men at the correctional facility and overflows with prayer for the persecuted church around the world.

There are of course many other ways to tangibly love people, but here’s the bottom line. Those who help instinctively, simply because their beloved Jesus said so, help Jesus Himself until His glorious return.

Questions for Reflection and/or Discussion

List everything Jesus says about the people He puts on His right. Now list everything Jesus says about the people He puts on His left. If Jesus returned to judge the world right now, would He put you on His right or left, based on how you’re living your life? Why?
What kinds of beliefs and attitudes lead to a compassionate life? How can you pursue and strengthen those beliefs and attitudes?
What disciple in need can you help for Jesus’ sake this week?
Read John 13:34-35. How can love among Christians display Jesus to unbelievers around us? What are some good ways to serve our neighbors without detracting from our need to learn from Jesus and love each other as brothers and sisters?