Let's turn now to Matthew's Gospel and chapter
25 and verse 14.
For it is just like a man about
to go on a journey, Jesus said, another
parable in relation to the second coming of
Christ and how we can be ready for
it.
A man about to go on a journey
who called his own slaves and entrusted his
possessions to them.
To the one he gave five talents, to
another two, to another one, each according to
his own ability.
And he went on his journey.
Now each of these talents was a massive
amount of money in terms of silver content
and much more in terms of buying power.
And immediately, verse 16, the one who had
received the five talents went and traded with
them and gained five more talents.
In the same manner, the one who had
received the two talents gained two more.
But he who received the one talent went
away and dug in the ground and hid
his master's money.
And after a long time, the master of
those slaves came and settled accounts with them.
And the one who had received the five
talents came up and brought five more talents,
saying, Master, you entrusted five talents to me.
See, I have gained five more talents.
His master said to him, Well done, good
and faithful slave.
You were faithful with a few things.
I'll put you in charge of many things.
Enter into the joy of your master.
Now here we see that the Lord taught
responsibility to his disciples according to the measure
in which God had given them talents to
use.
We could apply that to all of God's
gifts to us.
We have a responsibility, finally, to answer to
God, to account for everything that we have
received.
And here the important thing is not how
much we produce.
In the world, the emphasis is on quantity.
But with the Lord, the emphasis is on
quality.
It's not how much we produce.
It is a question of faithfulness with what
we have.
And that is the point of this parable.
Because the one who had five talents produced
five more.
His gain was one hundred percent.
The one who received only two talents produced
two more.
His gain was also one hundred percent.
And when they stood before the Lord, and
the man with five talents gave his extra
five, and the one with two talents showed
the extra two he had gained, the master
gave both of them exactly the same commendation.
In verse 21 and verse 23.
Well done, good and faithful slave.
You were faithful with a few things.
I will put you in charge of many
things.
Enter into the joy of your master.
Word for word, identically the same.
Proving that in the final day, our rewards
will not depend on how much we have
produced, but it will depend on how faithful
we have been with what God gave us.
If God gave you only two talents, and
say he gave another brother fifty, in the
final day, that brother will have to produce
fifty more to get the same reward as
you, who produced two more.
It's a question of percentage, not a question
of total.
It's a question of quality, not a question
of quantity.
It's a question of faithfulness, not a question
of the extent of our influence.
With what God gave you, what did you
produce?
We can apply this to many areas.
For example, with the time God gave you.
All of us have spare time.
Some have more spare time than others.
For example, those who are married and with
many children and many responsibilities and late working
hours in the office don't have much spare
time.
We can say that they are like brothers
who got two talents as far as time
is concerned.
There are many other single brothers and sisters
who have plenty of spare time.
They are like those who have five or
ten talents.
And in the final day, when the Lord
examines each one, He's going to examine each
one according to how much time they had.
How did they use their spare time?
We have energy, health.
Not all have the same.
Some have a greater measure of health and
energy than others, and God is going to
evaluate us on the basis of how we
used what He gave us.
Money is another area where there are a
lot of differences.
Some have more money, others have less.
They are not going to be evaluated on
the same basis.
It's not a question of whether you gave
one hundred rupees to the Lord's work or
one rupee.
It's not a question of quantity.
Jesus Himself said that a widow who put
in two mites had actually put more into
the box than all the wealthy Pharisees who
had put in much more.
It is not a question of quantity.
It was a question of percentage.
The widow gave one hundred percent, even though
it was only two mites.
So we see that in the parables of
Jesus and the teaching of the New Testament,
it is quality that God looks for.
1 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 12 to 15,
also makes it clear that the fire will
test the quality of each man's work, whether
it's gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood,
hay, and straw.
And so also here, we have a responsibility
with what God has given us, whether it's
time or health or money.
It could be influence.
Maybe God has given you influence over a
number of people.
Have you used that influence for God?
Others have less influence.
They are not expected to produce so much
as you.
There are many material gifts and abilities God
has given to us.
Have you used them for the Lord?
Maybe it's children.
God's given you five children.
He's given another one, only one or two.
You have to raise up five children for
the Lord.
He has to raise up only two for
the Lord.
The question is, did you raise your children
for the Lord, or did you raise them
for the world?
What did you use your talent for?
Here we read of a man who had
one talent.
What did he do with it?
He buried it in the ground.
That is like using your talent for the
things of earth.
To bury it in the ground, to bury
it in the earth, is to use our
talent for the things of earth.
And that is as good as not using
it for God at all.
And so there are no returns that come
from it.
For God, the returns are nil.
And there are many people who are using
their time, their money, their energy, burying it
in the ground in the sense that they
are using it for the things of earth,
for the things of time, which will pass
away so quickly.
And in effect, no returns are coming for
the Lord from that gift which God gave
for them to use.
We know the story of the prodigal son.
We can think that the prodigal son is
just a picture of a person who is
an outright sinner.
But think of yourself in that picture.
What did the son do?
He received gifts from the Father and he
used it all for himself.
To receive gifts from God and to use
it all for myself is to be a
prodigal son, even if you are not a
backslider or an outright sinner.
To use our time, our energy, our money,
our health for God.
That is to be a wise and faithful
steward.
To raise our children, every one of them,
for God and not for the world.
How many believers are there who do that?
Most believers want their children to live and
become great in the world.
To raise our children for God does not
mean we train them all to be full
-time Christian workers.
We can raise them up to be in
secular occupations, but they must live for God
in their secular occupations.
This is the point.
So, everything that God gives is to be
used for Him.
It could also apply to spiritual talents and
gifts.
There are spiritual gifts God gives us.
He has given more to some, less to
others.
A man like Paul was an apostle and
a prophet and a shepherd and a teacher
and an evangelist, all rolled in one.
There are others who may have only one
gift.
But however many we have, the important thing
is, have we buried it in the ground?
Have we used it for our own honor,
to make money for ourselves?
Or have we used it for God?
If we have used it for God, we
have invested it wisely.
If we used it for ourselves, it has
been buried in the earth.
This is the way to find out whether
we fall into the category of those who
invested their talents or the one who buried
it in the ground.
Do I use it for myself or do
I use it for God?
The one who uses it for himself, material
or spiritual gifts, is like the one who
buried it in the ground.
And when the Master came, the one who
had received the one talent, came up and
said, Master, I knew you to be a
hard man, reaping where you did not sow,
verse 24, gathering where you scattered no seed.
He had a wrong understanding of his Master.
His relationship with his Master was a legalistic
relationship, like people knew God under the law.
It was not one of grace.
He thought his Master was a hard, exacting
man who demanded even to reap where he
did not sow.
And the result of that type of relationship
with God is that a man becomes afraid.
There is fear in his life.
I was afraid, he says in verse 25.
I went away and hid your talent in
the ground.
See, you have what is yours.
He was legalistic.
Here is exactly what you gave me.
Here you have it back.
But his Master answered and said to him,
Such a person is a wicked person.
Do you realize that when you use God's
gifts for yourself and not for the glory
of God, you are a wicked person?
You knew that I reap where I did
not sow, I gather where I scattered no
seed.
He is using his own words.
Of course, the Master was not like that,
but he was quoting his own words to
him and saying, then you ought to have
put my money at least in the bank
so that on my arrival I would have
received at least the interest.
Therefore, take away the talent from him and
give it to the one who has ten
talents.
For to everyone who has shall more be
given and he shall have an abundance.
From the one who does not have, even
what he does have shall be taken away.
What does this mean?
It looks unrighteous, doesn't it?
To give to the one who already has.
But the meaning is, everyone who has obedience
to him more will be given and he
will have an abundance.
But the one who does not have obedience,
even what he does have will be taken
away from him.
The one who uses what God gives him,
God will give him more.
When you are faithful in your little circle,
God will expand your circle.
But if we are unfaithful there and live
for ourselves, even in the little circle we
have, complaining that the circle is so little,
then it says, cast out the worthless table
into the outer darkness.
In that place there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
Then we are exactly like the unbelievers.
Let's turn today to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25
and verse 31.
But when the Son of Man comes in
His glory and all the angels with Him,
then He will sit on His glorious throne
and all the nations will be gathered before
Him.
And He will separate them from one another
as the shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats.
We studied in our last studies about the
second coming of Christ in Matthew 24 and
25.
And we saw that Matthew 24 deals with
the prophetic details of His coming.
Matthew 25 deals with the spiritual preparation for
His coming.
And the first parable that Matthew refers to
here in verse chapter 25 that Jesus spoke,
is a parable that speaks about our life,
our inner life, our private life before God,
having content that the life of Jesus has
come in.
And that we have that inner life within
us corresponding to the oil in the flask
and not just an externally good life.
The second parable that Jesus spoke here, Matthew
25, verses 14 to 30, refers to our
responsibility with the gifts that God gives us,
material gifts, spiritual gifts, physical gifts, everything.
And our answerability and accountability to God in
relation to everything that God has given us.
In this section, verses 31 to 46, is
a picture of how the Lord would judge
the nations.
And here the emphasis is on our accountability
to God in relation to how we conducted
ourselves in relation to other people who were
in need around us, particularly our fellow believers.
Our responsibility towards our fellow believers.
So we can say that Matthew 25 deals
with three different subjects.
And there are two parables and one description
of future judgment here.
And these three sections deal with three different
aspects of our life.
One is our inner life with God, the
inner godliness that other people cannot see.
The other is our accountability for all the
gifts, spiritual, physical material that God has given
us.
And the third is our treatment of other
fellow believers around us who are in need.
We are accountable to God in all these
three areas.
Our inner life, the gifts God gives us,
and our treatment of our fellow believers.
And when the nations are gathered together before
him, he's going to separate them as a
shepherd separates a sheep from the goats.
And he'll put the sheep on his right
and the goats on his left, verse 33.
And then the king will say to those
on his right, and these are the true
sheep, come you who are blessed of my
father.
Now here Jesus indicated that until that day
there'll be a mixture.
The sheep and the goats are going to
be mixed, and sometimes it's going to be
very difficult to discern who's a sheep and
who's a goat.
But in that day there'll be no doubt.
Once Jesus comes, he will make it very
clear that these are the sheep and those
are the goats.
And the sheep are called here, the blessed
of his father.
Come you who are blessed of my father,
verse 34.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me
something to drink, to eat.
I was thirsty and you gave me drink.
I was a stranger and you invited me
in.
Naked and you clothed me.
I was sick and you visited me.
I was in prison and you came to
me.
And the righteous will answer him saying, Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed
you or thirsty and give you a drink
and when did we see you a stranger,
invite you in or naked and clothe you?
Anyone would have gladly fed Jesus himself if
he saw Jesus to be hungry or given
him water if he saw Jesus to be
thirsty or clothed Jesus if he saw Jesus
without proper clothes.
As far as that is concerned, there is
no question but that everyone would do it,
even those who are not wholehearted disciples of
Jesus.
But, the question is whether we would do
it for one of Jesus younger brothers in
his name.
Remember what John says in 1 John chapter
4, the last verse, it says the one
who says he loves God and does not
love his brother 1 John 4 and verse
20 the one who does not love his
brother whom he has seen cannot love God
whom he has not seen.
We can say we love God but the
test of whether we love God or not
is whether we love the brother whom we
can see, not the brother whom we don't
see.
It's very easy to love a brother who
lives ten thousand miles away who just writes
an occasional letter to you or whom you
have only heard of.
The test is in 1 John 4.20
Can you love the brother whom you see
before you, the one whom you see regularly?
That is the test.
When you see your brother hungry do you
feed him?
That is the point here.
When the righteous ask the Lord saying, Lord,
when did we see you hungry?
When did we see you sick or in
prison and come to you?
And the king will answer and say to
them I say to you, to the extent
that you did it to one of these
brothers of mine even the least of them
you did it to me.
When you do something to a brother of
Jesus even to the least brother of Jesus
the one who is the weakest disciple of
Jesus who is just trusted in him the
Lord says you've done it unto me.
Do you desire to serve the Lord then
serve his people?
Do you desire to do something for the
Lord then do something for his people?
Do you desire to bless the Lord then
bless his people?
That is the point here.
My love for God is shown by my
love for my fellow believers whom the Lord
has put before me.
And the way we treat them is the
means by which God determines whether we qualify
to be sheep or goats in the final
day.
Because it goes on to say here in
verse 41 then he will say to those
on his left, the goats depart from me
accursed ones into the eternal fire which has
been prepared for the devil and his angels
for I was hungry and you gave me
nothing to eat.
I was thirsty and you gave me nothing
to drink.
I was a stranger you didn't invite me
in.
Naked you didn't clothe me.
Sick and in prison you didn't visit me.
Then they will answer saying Lord when did
we see you hungry?
Or thirsty?
Or a stranger?
Or naked?
Or sick?
Or in prison?
And didn't take care of you?
If Jesus had been physically present there in
any of these states of need, hungry or
thirsty or as a stranger in a foreign
land or naked or sick they would have
gladly taken care of him but they did
not recognize Jesus in his disciples.
And that's the danger that all of us
are facing.
The danger of not recognizing Jesus in his
disciples.
Truly I say to you to the extent,
verse 45 that you did not do it
to one of the least of these you
did not do it to me and these
will go away to eternal punishment, the righteous
into eternal life.
This does not teach salvation by works.
Salvation is by faith.
But like James makes it very clear in
James chapter 2 if a man says he's
got faith James 2.14 but he has
no works, can that faith save him?
This is the scripture.
If a brother or sister is without clothing
and in need of daily food, James chapter
2 verse 15 and 16 and one of
you says to him, go in peace, be
warmed and be filled, yet you don't give
them what is necessary for their body.
What use is that?
That type of faith has got no works.
So we can say that such a person
doesn't have faith at all.
This is the point of the story of
the rich man and Lazarus.
The man who sat at that rich man's
gate was his brother, Jew.
They were both Jews, children of Abraham and
it was his brother who was in need,
whose need he did not meet and that's
why he was sent to eternal punishment.
This is not saying that we are saved
depending on whether we gave money to the
beggars or not.
But when you see your brother in need,
the emphasis is on those who have become
the younger brothers of Jesus, Matthew 25 and
verse 40.
These brothers of mine, he's not ashamed to
call some on earth his brothers, those who
are born again, born of the Spirit.
Jesus was born of the Spirit.
Those who are born of the Spirit today,
born again, are his younger brothers.
Not everyone, but those who are born of
the Spirit and the way we treat those
who are born of the Spirit is the
way we treat Jesus Christ Himself.
If only the seriousness of this would hit
us, that every time you see that that
brother in front of you is a brother
of Jesus also and the way you treat
him, the way you speak to him is
actually the way you're speaking to a younger
brother of Jesus.
He's not just an individual there.
And the Lord takes note of it.
The Lord takes note of how you speak
to him and how you treat him because
in the final day, in the same measure
in which you measured, it will be measured
back to you.
And so this is something very, very important.
These righteous are so different from those described
in Matthew chapter 7, verse 22 and 23
who also stand before the Lord in the
final day of judgment and they have a
big list of the things that they did.
These righteous are so different in the sense
that they don't even remember what they did.
When did we do that for you, Lord?
They have no recollection of the good that
they have done.
Blessed are those who have no recollection of
the good they have done.
But those in Matthew 7, 22 have a
list of the things they have done.
We did this, we did this, we did
this, we did this.
We even healed the sick.
But they lived in sin.
But the righteous did not heal the sick.
They only visited the sick.
And it's very interesting to see in Matthew
7, 23 that those who healed the sick
are sent to hell and those who only
visited the sick in Matthew 25 and verse
37 enter the kingdom.
It is not a question of spiritual gift
and how much you did with that.
It's a question of attitude of heart.
What was your attitude of heart to those
who were in need among your fellow believers?
Maybe you couldn't do much but did you
sympathize with them and help them as much
as you could?
This is the test of whether we love
God or not.
Let's turn today to Matthew's Gospel chapter 26
and verse 1.
And it came about that when Jesus had
finished all these words, he said to his
disciples.
Now this is immediately after he had spoken
about his second coming, the prophetic details of
it in Matthew 24 how we could be
prepared for it in Matthew 25.
He said to his disciples you know that
after two days the Passover is coming and
the Son of Man is to be delivered
up for crucifixion.
Jesus knew that he was going to be
crucified on the Passover day.
Having studied the scriptures, he knew that that
Lamb that was slain on the Passover day
that law that God instituted among the Israelites
right from the time he brought them out
of Egypt.
That was a picture of Jesus himself who
would be crucified as the Lamb of God
for the sins of the whole world.
So he knew that this particular year he
sensed in his spirit that the time had
come.
This Passover he would be crucified.
He was in touch with the spirit and
he knew that the time had come.
Then the chief priests and the elders, verse
3 of the people were gathered together in
the court of the high priest named Caiaphas
and they plotted together to seize Jesus by
stealth and kill him.
Everything works according to God's timetable.
No one could plot to seize Jesus and
kill him without God's permission.
We read in Acts to the Apostles in
chapter 2 in the day of Pentecost when
Peter was preaching to the multitude, he said
in Acts 2.23 This man Jesus was
delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge
of God and you nailed him to a
cross.
That was not accidental it was not just
that at some particular time the chief priest
decided God knew it foreknowledge means God knew
it well in advance and predetermined plan means
he planned it.
God knows everything and he plans everything.
The wonderful thing is Jesus said in John
17.23 He prayed to the Father that
the world may know that the Father loves
us as much as he loved Jesus.
Do you know that?
It's the only verse in Scripture that tells
us how much God loves us.
There are many verses that tell us about
God's love but John 17.23 tells us
how much God loves us as much as
he loved Jesus.
Did he have a plan for the life
of Jesus?
Then he's got a plan for your life
too if you're one of his children.
Did he have foreknowledge as to what all
would happen in Jesus' life?
He has foreknowledge as to what all will
happen in your life too.
In fact he has foreknowledge concerning everything that
will happen in anybody's life but when it
concerns you as a child of God he's
also got a plan and along with his
foreknowledge concerning all the things that people may
plan or scheme, the good and bad that
people do to you, the circumstances that will
come into your life health and sickness and
money and poverty and everything.
He knows everything and in all of that
he has made a plan and if only
we can believe in this plan we would
be at perfect rest.
God has made a plan and if the
longing of your life is only that you
might fit into that plan and do his
will every day of your life then the
pre-determined plan of God will be fulfilled
in your life.
People may plot against you it will only
fulfill God's plan.
That's what we see here.
They plotted together they did not know that
they were fulfilling God's plan.
When Joseph's brothers plotted together to sell Joseph
off to Egypt they did not know they
were fulfilling God's plan.
When Potiphar's wife plotted to send Joseph to
prison, she did not know that that was
part of God's plan that in the prison
Joseph would meet Pharaoh's butler.
And so we see here that they plotted
but they were saying not during the festival
lest a riot occur among the people.
But God had determined that it was to
be during that Passover time.
Now when Jesus was in Bethany verse 6,
at the home of Simon the leper a
woman came to him with an alabaster vial
of very costly perfume and she poured it
upon his head as he reclined at table
Now this happened more than once.
We read in Luke chapter 7 towards the
end of that chapter that it happened once
when a woman who was a sinner poured
anointment at Jesus' feet and wiped his feet
with her tears but here we read of
another occasion which is just two days before
the Passover two days before the time when
Jesus would be crucified that someone broke an
alabaster vial and poured it upon Jesus' head
and the disciples were indignant when they saw
this and said what is the point of
this waste when we compare this with John
chapter 12 we read there that Mary and
Martha and Lazarus had a feast in their
house and Mary poured out the spikenard ointment
at the feet of Jesus and there it
says that Judas Iscariot one of his disciples
asked this question why was this ointment wasted
why wasn't it given to the poor here
we read of the disciples asking that question
in Matthew 26 verse 8 why the point
of this waste this perfume might have been
sold for a high price and given to
the poor and Jesus aware of this said
why do you bother the woman she has
done a good deed to me for the
poor you have with you always but you
do not always have me exactly the same
words as in John chapter 12 verse 8
for when she poured this perfume upon my
body she did it to prepare me for
my burial exactly the same words as in
John 12 verse 7 and then Jesus said
truly I say to you Matthew 26 13
wherever this gospel is preached in the whole
world what this woman has done shall also
be spoken of in memory of her and
so we see this event recorded in the
gospels what this woman did and the interesting
thing is that she was the only one
who could perfume Jesus body for his burial
because we read that immediately after he was
taken down from the cross on that Passover
evening that he had to be buried straight
away because the Sabbath had begun and then
after the Sabbath was over in the first
day of the week when the disciples the
women came with spices to perfume the body
of Jesus they never got the opportunity because
Jesus rose again by then so the only
one who got an opportunity to perfume the
body of Jesus was the one who did
it beforehand and that's what Jesus said here
she has come beforehand to prepare me for
my burial to perfume my body if you
want to do something for the Lord do
it now if you postpone it you may
never get the opportunity now is the time
to do what you want to do for
the Lord there is a lesson here for
us what did she do?
she took a vial of costly perfume and
poured it on Jesus' head that must have
cost her quite a bit of money John
chapter 12 says such a vial cost 300
pence one pence is one day's wages that
means a whole year's wages it takes ten
years to save a whole year's wages we
could say that she took her savings and
bought something to pour out of the Lord's
feet and the disciples were indignant they say
why waste this on the Lord?
why not use it for social work to
help the poor and here we see Jesus'
answer to this question which is a very
important question because a lot of people today
also think that social work to help the
poor is far better than pouring out something
on the Lord now in our previous study
we saw in Matthew 25 that we do
something for the Lord by doing it for
His disciples now here is a balance for
that in scripture there is always a balance
one truth along with another here we see
someone pouring out an alabaster vial full of
perfume not for the poor but for the
Lord Himself that which we give with sacrifice
to the Lord is never a waste it
is always superior to social work for the
poor that's what Jesus said and so we
see here that Jesus said that this deed
that this woman had done was a good
deed but the disciples were indignant and we
read from John chapter 12 that it was
Judas Iscariot particularly who spoke about this because
he used to take the collection and he
used the money for himself which was given
for the poor and when Jesus rebuked him
publicly and rebuked the disciples here publicly saying
that the woman had done a good thing
Judas Iscariot was offended he was offended at
public rebuke and we read these interesting words
then Matthew 26.14 then when he was
rebuked publicly for this question when he was
humiliated as it were by Jesus being shown
up as not so spiritual as he thought
he was and as he had pretended to
be he got offended and he went to
the chief priest in his anger and said
alright what are you willing to give me?
verse 15 and I'll deliver him up to
you and they weighed out to him 30
pieces of silver and from then on he
began looking for a good opportunity to betray
Jesus there is a lesson for us to
learn here it's very easy to be offended
Jesus said blessed is he Matthew 11 who
is not offended in me if the Lord
were to rebuke us either directly or through
one of his servants how would we take
it?
would we get offended?
then we follow Judas Iscariot in contrast we
see that blessed man Peter who also was
rebuked in public when he said in Matthew
16 something he shouldn't have said he said
it in love but it was foolish and
Jesus said get behind me Satan but Peter's
response was different we read in John 6
he is saying whom shall we go to
Lord?
you have the words of eternal life he
knew that the words of rebuke were the
words of eternal life Judas Iscariot was offended
your reaction to correction and rebuke determines whether
you are a follower of Peter or Judas
Iscariot and your end will also be different
depending on your reaction let's learn to humble
ourselves when the Lord rebukes us let's turn
today to Matthew 26 and verse 17 now
on the first day of the feast of
unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus saying
where do you want us to prepare for
you to eat the Passover and he said
go into the city to a certain man
and say to him the teacher says my
time is at hand I am to keep
the Passover at your house with my disciples
and the disciples did as Jesus had directed
them and they prepared the Passover now we
read of the time when Jesus was going
to be crucified and he had shared with
his disciples about that and had told them
that they were going to eat the Passover
together and so they came to him and
said where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover and the
Lord directed them to a certain place and
there they prepared it and it says here
in verse 20 when the evening had come
he was reclining at table with the twelve
disciples and here we read of the time
which we call the last supper the last
meal that he had with his disciples before
he was crucified and we read there that
as he was reclining at table with the
twelve disciples they were eating he said truly
I say to you that one of you
will betray me and being deeply grieved verse
22 each of them began to say to
him surely not I Lord and he answered
and said he who dipped his hand with
me in the bowl is the one who
will betray me the son of man is
to go just as it is written of
him but woe to that man through whom
the son of man is betrayed it would
have been good for that man if he
had not been born and Judas who was
betraying him answered and said surely it's not
I Rabbi he said to him you have
said it yourself there are one or two
very good things that we see here one
is that Jesus had never in all these
three and a half years exposed Judas to
the disciples Jesus knew right from the time
that Judas went astray that he was going
to betray him when Jesus had selected Judas
Iscariot he was a sincere upright person just
like everyone else among those apostles because we
read in Luke chapter 6 and verse 12
to 16 that Jesus chose these twelve whom
he named apostles and one of them was
Judas Luke 6 verse 16 who became a
traitor he wasn't a traitor to start with
he became one he was a good man
and there was tremendous possibility for him he
could perhaps even have written some of the
letters that Paul wrote for he had a
mind like Paul's but he became a traitor
and Jesus never revealed that until the right
time he waited for it to manifest itself
for the time to become ripe and we
see that Judas was such a clever person
that none of the other disciples suspected that
he was a traitor and that's why when
Jesus said one of you is going to
betray me none of the other eleven had
a clue as to who it was going
to be in fact we see something very
wonderful here in verse 22 that each of
them said Lord is it I?
surely not I that's a very good attitude
with which to come to the Lord's table
for we know that here as we read
in verse 26 onwards it was the first
time that the Lord broke bread and passed
the cup around is what we know today
as the breaking of bread this is where
he instituted it and it begins with each
of the disciples asking concerning themselves Lord is
it I?
am I the one who is going to
betray you?
am I the one who is unfaithful?
we read in 1 Corinthians 11 that when
a man comes to eat the bread and
drink the cup he should examine himself not
the others not is it he Lord but
is it I?
with all their weaknesses this is one very
wonderful quality that we see in the disciples
a desire to examine themselves at this point
anyway but Jesus exposed Judas Iscariot now what
we can learn from the example of Jesus
here is that we are not to be
quick to expose others before the right time
there can be Judas' in our midst and
there is a carnal desire within us when
we know something to speak about it to
speak about someone behind his back backbiting is
such a common habit unfortunately among Christians here
Jesus gives us an example things have to
be exposed and Judas had to be exposed
too but there was a right time for
it and that's what Jesus knew and he
waited for God's time and until that time
came he never said anything but when that
time came of course he exposed him he
said yes this is the one who dips
his hand with me in the bowl who
is going to betray me and then Jesus
said concerning Judas that it would have been
good for that man if he had not
been born there are many people in the
world who live godless lives but the worst
of the lot are those who feign to
have a devotion to Christ and betray him
those who break bread with him and then
betray him and Judas Iscariot is not the
only one there are many through the centuries
who've come together and broken bread with others
in a holy solemn way and gone out
from there and betrayed the Lord this word
would be applicable to all such people it
would have been good for that man if
he had not been born I'm sure that
when Judas Iscariot was a little baby his
parents must have had great hopes for him
they had the habit of taking the children
to the temple to be dedicated to offer
a sacrifice unto the Lord as we read
in Luke chapter 2 they did even for
Jesus little did they expect that one day
this little child would grow up and Jesus
the son of God would say concerning him
it would have been good if he had
not been born it's a serious thing to
come to the Lord's table to break bread
together and then to betray that trust that
the Lord places in us it's far better
that such a person was never a Christian
was a godless person such a person's fate
would be better than the one who claims
to be devoted and plays the hypocrite verse
26 while they were eating Jesus took some
bread and after a blessing he broke it
and gave it to the disciples and said
take eat this is my body and he
took a cup and gave thanks and gave
it to them saying drink from it all
of you for this is my blood of
the covenant which is to be shed on
behalf of many for forgiveness of sins here
we read of the institution of the Lord's
table which we read in the episodes too
we are to do together as a fellowship
as a church and it is got a
great depth of meaning in it far more
than we can exhaust in a brief study
but here we read something of fellowship in
the new testament sitting at a table is
often a picture of fellowship Jesus spoke about
sitting at a table with his disciples in
the millennial kingdom it speaks of fellowship and
here sitting at the table they were going
to eat of that bread which was broken
a picture of his body which was broken
there it was not just a physical brokenness
that Jesus was speaking of there was an
inward brokenness inside that body all through the
years that Jesus lived on earth what was
broken inside that body his own will he
said in John 6 verse 38 I came
from heaven not to do my will but
the will of him who sent me we
know that one of the strongest things in
our body perhaps the strongest thing is our
will the strength of our will that is
what God seeks to break for that will
is what leads the body into sin Jesus
was born with that body and with a
will like that which in other words the
bible calls the flesh and he never did
that will he did the will of his
father he denied that will which he had
as a human being in order that he
might do the will of his father there
was a brokenness which finally manifested itself of
course in that physical brokenness on the cross
and this is the symbolism of that broken
bread and when the disciples partook of it
even though they didn't understand the meaning of
it right then this is the meaning that
we want to fellowship with Jesus in this
brokenness in this way of brokenness along which
he went and the cup speaks of that
blood he himself said this is my blood
of the covenant not the old covenant which
was celebrated and sanctified through the blood of
lambs and goats but here it was through
the blood of Jesus the lamb of God
the blood of the new covenant which is
shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness
of sins in the old testament the sins
were merely covered but now they are removed
completely their new covenant is their sins and
iniquities I will remember no more there is
no more remembrance of it we are not
only forgiven we are freed we are justified
we are declared righteous by God and when
we drink of that cup we are speaking
again of a fellowship with Jesus in that
shed blood and so the fellowship with Jesus
in this broken body and the cup speak
of a sharing in his death a taking
up the cross and following Jesus in the
way that he went this is the meaning
of the Lord's table to which he invites
us let's turn today to Matthew 26 and
verse 26 and while they were eating that
is the disciples at the last supper Jesus
took some bread and after a blessing he
broke it and gave it to the disciples
and said take eat this is my body
we were considering at the close of our
last study about the Lord's table which he
had instituted for the first time on that
Passover night before he was crucified and we
saw that it symbolized a fellowship with Jesus
in his death in death to that human
will that rebelled against God in the garden
of Eden and that has rebelled against God
through all the centuries and millenniums since then
Jesus brought that will down to death in
his body and did the will of his
father and now as we break bread together
with him we are expressing a desire to
fellowship with Jesus in the way in which
he went the way of obedience to the
father of pleasing the father in all things
where our own will is no longer done
in our body to understand this a little
better we could perhaps look at Hebrews chapter
10 where we read something about how Jesus
came we read in Hebrews chapter 10 in
verse 5 therefore when he comes into the
world that is when the Lord Jesus came
into the world he says sacrifice and offering
thou hast not desired what did that mean
this is a quotation from Psalm 40 verses
6 onwards to 8 sacrifice and offering thou
hast not desired in other words God was
not really looking for those external sacrifices that
were characteristic of the old testament temple ritual
it's not external sacrifice that God is looking
for primarily he is looking for that inward
sacrifice which we shall see further down in
Hebrews 10 but a body thou hast prepared
for me there is a difference between sacrificing
outside the body and inside the body a
body thou hast prepared for me again it
says in verse 6 of Hebrews 10 in
whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou
hast taken no pleasure then I said behold
I have come in the role of the
book it's written of me to do thy
will O God most people all human beings
really do their own will in their body
until they are radically converted and become disciples
of Jesus when they begin to do God's
will the entire human race consists of people
who do their own will what is it
that God desires as a sacrifice this human
self will that is what Jesus sacrificed within
his body as he saw in John 6
.38 I came from heaven not to do
my own will or in other words to
sacrifice my own will in order that I
may do the will of him who sent
me like he said in the garden of
Gethsemane not my will I sacrifice my will
so that thine may be done father so
he denied one will in order to do
the will of his father and that's what
we see here I have come to do
thy will O God in this body which
you have prepared for me God gave Jesus
a body and what did God want Jesus
to do not to offer external sacrifices but
this inward one that is the meaning of
sacrifice and offering thou hast not desired and
whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou
hast taken no pleasure all those things really
didn't please God it was the inward yielding
of Jesus will which brought satisfaction to God's
heart and this is the brokenness that is
symbolized in the breaking of bread when he
broke it he gave thanks we read in
Matthew 26 and verse 26 he gave thanks
he blessed and he broke it's not enough
to be blessed we need to be broken
too he gave thanks in the sacrifice of
his own will to his father Jesus was
thankful he didn't offer up his will reluctantly
but with thanks giving and then he gave
that to his disciples we read in Matthew
26 verse 26 saying take eat have a
fellowship with me in this in this brokenness
just like when Jesus commanded baptism they didn't
understand the meaning fully only later on the
Holy Spirit came and revealed it to them
in the same way in the breaking of
bread when they actually broke bread with Jesus
they didn't understand the spiritual implication of it
all but when the Holy Spirit came he
opened their eyes to understand the meaning of
it and now the Spirit of God reveals
this to us too it's a fellowship with
Jesus in that broken body it's a thankful
offering of our own human will that we
might do the will of the Father in
this body which now God has given us
for we are to follow in Jesus' footsteps
otherwise our taking part in the Lord's table
becomes a meaningless ritual we read in 1
Corinthians chapter 10 that this also pictures our
being one body in Christ for it is
one loaf that we break 1 Corinthians 10
.17 since there is one bread we who
are many are one body we all partake
of that one bread so this body that
Jesus speaks of here is not just his
physical body which was broken inwardly and broken
physically on the cross but also it refers
to the spiritual body of Christ of which
he has made us members and when we
partake of one loaf we are testifying thereby
like all those many grains of wheat have
been powdered and crushed to become one in
the same way that we want the Lord
to powder and crush us so that we
can be one we testify to a longing
for fellowship not only with Jesus in the
way that he went but also with one
another in the body of Christ this is
the meaning of taking part in the Lord's
table and to drink of that cup he
said this is my blood of the new
covenant Matthew 26 and verse 28 and there
is an expression that we find in Hebrews
chapter 13 where we read that God brought
up from the dead Hebrews 13 and verse
20 the great shepherd of the sheep through
the blood of the eternal covenant the blood
is called the blood of the eternal covenant
of the new covenant it was blood that
Jesus shed in striving against sin as we
read in Hebrews 12 4 you have not
yet resisted to the point of shedding blood
in your striving against sin and the previous
verses indicate clearly that the writer has Jesus
in mind there and comparing our striving against
sin with his saying you haven't striven against
sin like he did he was willing to
shed his blood in his striving against sin
in other words he was willing rather to
die than to sin he was willing to
shed his blood rather than sin that is
the blood that Jesus shed on the cross
blood that was shed in obedience willing to
obey God even if it meant death to
himself that attitude and we drink of that
cup and say Lord that's exactly the same
attitude that I want to have towards sin
you remember Jesus asked James and John once
are you willing to drink are you able
to drink of the cup which I drink
of they readily said yes but it's not
easy God wills it through the power of
the spirit we can live it but we
must do it with understanding to drink of
that cup is to have that same attitude
that Jesus had towards sin I would rather
die than sin and through that blood which
Jesus shed we have free forgiveness but forgiveness
is not to be exploited we don't take
advantage of God because he forgives us the
word of God says that there is forgiveness
with God so that he may be feared
Psalm 130 and verse 4 God forgives us
so that we might fear him so that
we do not sin again like Jesus told
the woman caught in adultery in John chapter
8 I do not condemn you but go
and sin no more that is the gospel
that is the eternal covenant that is the
new covenant that God has made with man
to forgive us and then to free us
from sins power and then Jesus goes on
to speak about his second coming verse 29
of Matthew 26 but I say to you
I will not drink of this fruit of
the wine from now on until that day
when I drink it new with you in
my father's kingdom that is the kingdom that
is going to be set up when Jesus
returns to earth and in that day in
glorified bodies you and I if you are
faithful can sit with Jesus and drink and
eat and drink with him again at his
table and then we read in verse 30
after singing a hymn they went out to
the mount of olives here was Jesus knowing
that he was going to be crucified the
next morning knowing that he was going to
be unjustly accused and condemned in a few
moments singing a hymn he was full of
the joy of his father he knew what
was awaiting him in a few hours and
all he could do was sing a hymn
of praise to his father that is the
right attitude with which to go to the
cross and that's where Jesus has set as
an example after singing a hymn they went
out to the mount of olives then Jesus
said to them you will all fall away
because of me this night for it is
written I will strike down the shepherd and
the sheep of the flock shall be scattered
that was a prophecy from Zechariah chapter 13
verse 7 what Jesus said was going to
be fulfilled you're all going to stumble he
said because of me you're all going to
leave me alone and go away but he
didn't reproach them for that they didn't have
the power of the Holy Spirit so he
knew that they were weak but one day
they'd be different when they were filled with
the Holy Spirit and endued with the Spirit's
power and after I've been raised verse 32
Jesus said I will go before you to
Galilee and there we see Jesus preparing his
disciples for that moment when he would be
crucified and he would leave them he was
coming to the end of his time with
them on earth and he tells them I
will go before you to Galilee he tells
them I'm going to be raised up and
I'm going to come back you don't have
to be discouraged there is a resurrection beyond
the cross for him and for us too
if we follow him all the way