Submission to Unjust Authority, Matthew 26:47-56

Open your Bibles with me to Matthew 26:47. The parallel passages that we are looking at here are Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-11. The focal point last week was on Judas as the betrayer and on his betrayal of the Lord that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and its significance. I started off talking about the meaning of these words, treason or betrayal that this is when someone goes against the authority that is that over them and betrays them or fights against them or disobeys them and sums the serious way. But when we look at things of that nature where we see someone who is this not only disobedient to a legitimate authority established over them, but seeks to overturn that and to pervert that, it raises questions related to when it is, if ever, justified to defend yourself against a government, to fight against perceived tyranny or to even defend your life against a government power.

The details of that are really covered in studies that I've done on Romans 13 and in 1 Peter 2:13, which you can study, but in this episode we are going to see that Jesus is being attacked illegally. Both the Romans and the Jewish authorities are violating their own laws in the way they are arresting Jesus. And so Jesus in one sense has every right to self-defense, He has every right to resist the authority of Rome and the illegal actions of the Jewish authorities. Yet Jesus chooses not to exercise that right and privilege that He has, not only as an individual Jew, but as the Son of God, as the sovereign of the universe.

I want to remind you of a passage in Philippians. In this section of Philippians, Paul is talking about humility. What is genuine humility? And he is challenging the people in the congregation of Philippi to model their thinking after the thinking of Jesus, which shows genuine humility and submission to authority. It is always interesting when you go through Scripture that when many things are given as a challenge or instruction to believers that the Scriptures do not go to some historical figure or to some cultural icon. They don't illustrate with stories of the day, they go to Jesus; they go to God; they go to historical examples from the Old Testament, because we're supposed to understand the Bible and be familiar with that. This is God's word; this is the divine interpretation of events, and so we don't go to pop culture and we don't go to these other things to develop these illustrations, we go to the King of Kings and Lord of lords Himself—who Paul says in Philippians 2:6, existed in the form of God, that means He existed in with the very essence of God; He was undiminished deity.

But He did not regard that equality with God, which would mean His authority, the fact that He is fully God, that He is the creator and that He has a right to expect obedience from His creatures. He didn't regard that equality with God as something to be grasped or held on to, but He emptied Himself. That is not a good term; it really has the idea that He added to Himself the form of a bondservant. That is, He was made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man He humbled Himself by being obedient to the point of death—not just obedient to the Father but obedient to these unjust authorities that were going to sentence Him to death on the cross.

It's a great example. Now He is not saying that you always have to do that but there may be times and situations where that is the appropriate choice. Just because we have rights doesn't mean we should always assert those rights and privileges.

Three things that we covered last time: the arrival of the crowd in Matthew 26:45-47, the backdrop going back to the early part of Matthew 26, where we learned of the conspiracy by the members of the Sanhedrin—which was totally illegal—to arrest Jesus and to kill Jesus, and then third what happened when Judas arrived, and his kiss of betrayal.

This morning were going to look at three more things in this passage. First of all, the authority of the Son of God, which is not mentioned in the synoptic accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, but it is described in detail by John in John 18:4-7. Then we are going to look at Peter's emotional reaction to the men coming to arrest Jesus. This is covered in each of the Gospel accounts. There are not always things that are covered in all four Gospel accounts, so when some of the event is covered in all four Gospel accounts, that is of great significance. Then at the end Jesus emphasizes why it is important that these things take place, so that prophecy will be fulfilled. And this is mentioned in Matthew 26—not by the other two synoptic writers—and then it's mentioned in John 18:9, and you should read that along with John 17:12, which we will look at as we go forward.

Just to review a little bit, last time we looked at the arrival of the crowd. Matthew 26:47 says, "and while he was still speaking, that is to his disciples …" That is at the conclusion of his three times of prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. "… Behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs came from the chief priests and elders of the people."

When the accounts are compared with Mark and Luke we know that all of the different religious groups were behind this and participated in this, and that is an indictment on them because this is very much an illegal action that is taking place. It's happening at night, it's happening in violation of the laws that were later recorded in the Mishnah. It's happening by the religious leaders were later to sit in judgment, and so it is shows that they are not objective whatsoever, violating another law as well. Religious authorities were prohibited from arresting anyone as a result of a bribe as well. That's another law that was broken, and so they are arresting Jesus as the result of bribing a Judas to betray Him.

Were told that this crowd that came is a cohort. The English translated a detachment of troops. The Greek word SPEIRA refers to a cohort. Some people try to reduce it to something much, much smaller. I ran across a very good quote in Raymond Brown, a Roman Catholic scholar who has written a two-volume work just on the death of the Messiah that is extremely granular. He says is very good on history and background and customs, by the way. The theology is questionable in places, but he's got good background information.

He says although there are instances of this Greek word SPEIRA rendering the Latin word manipulus, which refers to 200 troops. It's the normal word, though, for the Roman cohort. In other words, what he is saying is, sometimes it translates manipulus but normally it relates to the cohort, which, as I said, is 1/10 of the Legion, 600 troops. That John means the latter, that is 600 troops, is suggested by the title CHILIARCHOS, given to the commander in 18:12, the normal Greek rendering of the Latin tribunus militum who was the commander over a cohort. And then he parenthetically says, those who reduce the cohort to simply a manipulus of 200 men have to reduce the commander to a decurio, which is a type of a corporal. In other words, he is making a good point.

If you've been there you know this area is not necessarily that large, and here you have a minimum of 600 troops, plus you have the temple police, and you have all of the representatives of these religious groups. So you have somewhere between 600 and a thousand coming to arrest Jesus.

What is interesting is, in the verses it talks about the fact that they came with lamps and torches and lights and all of this, that in the midst of what would be a dark night there was some light from a full moon because remember, it's Passover: so that's a full moon, it wasn't completely dark and clouded. But the irony here that we might miss is that they have to light their way to arrest the light of the world. Last time I mentioned that Judas was Satan possessed. Satan is described in second Corinthians as one who did who disguises himself as the angel of light. So the angel of light is also coming to betray the light of the world. It's these little subtleties in the text that are important to bring out as we continue our study.

We saw the backdrop in relationship to the conspiracy, that at the beginning of the week, the chief priests and the scribes and elders conspired with Caiaphas the high priest in order to take Jesus by trickery and to kill him. They are enabled in this by Judas who, we learn from Luke 22:3, is indwelt by Satan. And this occurred at the time early in the week when he first contacted the chief priests and the elders. And then it happened again. We saw that Satan entered into him during the Passover meal the night before Jesus went to the cross. In John 13 this it is described that Satan enters into him. So he is Satan possessed, and he goes to betray the Lord and to give him the kiss of betrayal described in Matthew and in Mark.

This kiss is described by the word used by Matthew and Mark is a word that indicates the passion. It is the same word that used of Mary, the sister of Martha, who is the one who anoints Jesus' feet with her tears and wipes them dry. And this shows that there's something going on here that is private. As it is described in the Gospels, Judas has led the troops out there so he is in the front, and he probably separates himself. That's what it indicates. Jesus is in front of the disciples and they have this meeting. And it's not just a meeting between Jesus and Judas; it's a meeting between the Son of Man, the eternal Son of God, and Satan, the leader of the cosmic rebellion against God. Judas feigns this loyalty through this kiss, and Jesus somewhat sarcastically asked him this question. I would paraphrase it this way: "Do you really think you're betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"

Jesus asserts by this that He is still in control. He is completely in control of everything that is taking place, and He is the one who is submitting to their authority, and as we will learn in a few moments He could call on the on a myriad of angels that would come down and defend and rescue Him. But instead, He is submitting to this because this is God's plan and purpose for redemption.

The last thing I want to point out from this is when Judas approached Jesus, Jesus says to him in Matthew 26:50, "Friend, why have you come?" Now, most of the time that we see Jesus use the word "friend" it is a form of the noun PHILOS, which is from the Greek PHILEO, which indicates a close personal, intimate love or affection, and is the word for a personal friend. That's not the word that Jesus uses here for Judas. He uses the word HETAIROS, which could be translated as "comrade" or "companion". It's a word that would be used of an impersonal relationship with an associate, usually someone who's inferior like an employee or a or a pupil. It does not imply a personal friendship. Sort of like your Facebook friends. You have no idea who most of those Facebook friends are. There's no relationship there. They are just somebody you said you would friend so that they could see the wise things are pictures that you post on Facebook. That's what this is. It's not an insult; it's not positive, it is just sort of a neutral word there, but it doesn't imply any kind of close personal friendship.

It is interesting that in John 15 after Jesus had sent Judas, as they're going to the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says to the other eleven, "No longer do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends PHILOS. So there's an important distinction the Scriptures make here between Judas. He is not a believer; he is not really a friend of Jesus. He is out for his own. He is a thief as described in Scripture.

Now the first thing we want to look at today is what's described in John chapter 18, which us a different look at what is going on here. According to John's Gospel here in verses 4-7, we see a different aspect of the encounter. It is not the same as what we have in the Synoptics. There it emphasizes Judas coming out and having the kiss of betrayal, but here I think this happens afterward, after that intimate conversation between Jesus and Judas. Judas goes back as Judge to the crowd as Jesus approaches them.

John 18:4 ^NASB "So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, 'Whom do you seek?'”

Because He is the Son of God, is undiminished deity, and He is omniscient. He knew everything that was going to transpire. He was fully aware of what was happening so that when He submitted to this unjust authority He knew exactly what that would entail. He knew all things that would come upon him. He goes forward, He's taking the initiative, He showing He is in control and is not a victim. He's in control and He asked them, "Whom are you seeking?"

John 18:5, They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am {He.}” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.

The English it translates that "I am he", and that "he" is usually italicized as it's not in the original. It's a phrase in the Greek that is the understood translation of the personal name of God from the Hebrew. He says, "I AM".

There are seven key phrases in the Gospel of John where Jesus uses this, and the implication is that He is saying something that identifies Himself as the Messiah, and as the Son of God. And so He just answers with the name of God, I AM, and we are told Judas was there with them. And when He says this, they drew back and fell to the ground. They hear the voice of God, not the voice of the humanity of Jesus. He speaks with such power and authority.

I would love to have had an MP3 recorder there so that we could record that. And to hear that, it reverberated from the hills get echoed down the Kidron Valley; the crowd of the thousand were knocked down by His voice. So several minutes are going to go by. They have to pick themselves up from the ground, dust themselves off, and wonder what in the world had just happened. Then is they are collecting themselves Jesus asked them a second time, "Whom are you seeking?" Again, they say Jesus of Nazareth.

John 18:8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am {He;} so if you seek Me, let these go their way,”

"He" in here it's italicized again. He says EGO EIMI (I AM) again, but He doesn't say it with the divine voice of authority as He did the first time. So this is in a more of his normal voice, and He goes on to say, "Therefore, if you seek me, let these go away." He is releasing his disciples at that point because He can read their minds. He knows exactly what they are thinking, and their thinking that they want to be anywhere else but here getting arrested by Roman soldiers and the Jewish authorities. And we will be told that that is what happens: they leave.

And so what we have here is this unjust authority that is arresting the creator of the universe, the second person of the Trinity, and they're going to take Him off and torture Him, and they are going to run Him through some illegal trials, and then they're going to crucify Him. This is what Paul is describing in Philippians 2:6. Although He existed in the form of God, although He had every right to assert His authority—and He gives them a glimpse of it, just to let them know if He wanted to, they'd all be dead—He doesn't think He should assert His rights, even though He has every authority to do so. So He is not going to hold onto it, and He is going to submit Himself, He is going to be obedient by submitting Himself to the point of death.

When this happens, of course we know that of any of the disciples are going to react it's going to be Peter. Peter is the one who many of us identify with first and foremost. He acts first and thinks later, and he is going to react. This is described in all four Gospels, and what we read here that is described in Matthew is this.

Matt 26:51, 52 ^NASB And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword".

Now there are some interesting things here that we have to point out in order to properly understand and interpret this passage. Jesus' comment is one that has brought about a lot of misuse and misinterpretation, especially by pacifists. They want to interpret that that if you use weapons if you're in the military, if you are a using weapons in self-defense, then you will die in such a manner. And that ignores so much of the context and the teaching of Scripture.

The sword that is mentioned here in both versus is the Greek word MACHAIRA, which refers to a double edged and sharp sword. It just sliced off Malthus's ear.

Why did they have these swords? Luke tells us about this in Luke 22:36 Jesus authorized them to bring swords.

Luke 22:36 ^NASB And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one."

When Jesus sent the disciples out to the house of Judah and the house of Israel earlier back in Matthew 10, He told them not to take money with them, not to take a knapsack, not to take a weapon, but just go to the house of Israel and the house of Judah, and to let those to whom he was going provide the logistics for them. But now He gets gives them a different order. It's going to be a different dispensation; there are different rules of play. He said to protect themselves along the way. This is the foundation for the biblical teaching of self-defense: that we are authorized to defend ourselves from criminal action, and so they had concealed weapons and they were to take them with them. Jesus authorized that.

Luke 22:38 ^NASB They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

So two of them are armed. Peter was one of them and there was also another one that was armed but we do not know who it was. This is why they were armed, and why Peter was armed. He was armed for two reasons. He was armed in order to provide for self-defense. Jesus did not want to be attacked in a way that would not allow Him to reach his goal of the cross, and so one reason that they had these weapons was for self-defense. Now that the arrest was taking place He is going to point out that it's not the time to use them.

Luke 22:49 When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”

This is not mentioned in Matthew but before Peter strikes out a couple of the other disciples said to the Lord, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword". He has authorized them to bring swords. The soldiers and the priests and religious leaders come, they are about to arrest Jesus, and so, "Is this the time that we use the swords?" And Peter, before he gets an answer, pulls his sword and tries to cleave the head of the servant of the high priest.

Now some people say, well, Peter wasn't a trained soldier, so he missed. Well it could be that Malthus had quick reactions and dodged. We don't know which it was, but the ear is lying on the ground, the blood is flowing. All of you know that anybody who has even the most minor of head wounds just bleeds profusely, and so it is an extremely dramatic situation.

I want to go back to talk about what Jesus meant when he said when he said those who live by the sword will die by the sword. This is not a statement of pacifism. We have to understand the idiom that's going on here. What Jesus is talking about is that if you are seeking to solve your problems through the illegitimate use of weapons then you will be taken care of by the legitimate power of the state. This is how this idiom of using the sword is seen in Romans 13:4 when Paul is talking about the authority of the state to take life: "for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil."

Remember in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve had sinned and God pointed out to them the consequences of that sin in terms of pain and sorrow in childbirth, and working and gaining food by the sweat of your brow, He then cast Adam and Eve out of the garden and He sets a guard around the garden, a guard made up of numerous cherubs. And they are bearing a flaming sword. In other words, God is going to execute anyone through the sword if they attempt to get to the tree of life.

This idea of bearing the sword implies a legitimate use of power to take life, and that's what Jesus is talking about here. If you live by the sword; if you're trying to solve your problems illegitimately through the use of violence, then you risk the government taking your life. That is what He is pointing out. Here in Matthew 26:52 Jesus is addressing Peter and saying that no matter how wicked or unjust His arrest might be, Peter had no right to take vigilante action. A right thing done in the wrong way was wrong. In this whole statement He is emphasizing that it is legitimate to defend yourselves, and He could have defended himself (Verse 53) by calling upon the angels. But there was a higher or significant purpose at play here and so it was not the time to engage in self-defense. He was going to go to an illegal trial and he would lose His life but that was the Father's plan.

Matthew 26:53, 54 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, {which say} that it must happen this way?”

This is the third point we are looking at: prophecy must be fulfilled. This is stated in these two passages: Matthew 26:54 it is stated overtly, and in John 18:9 it is alluded to.

Matthew 26:55 ^NASB At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as {you would} against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me". He's indicating that they're coming out in an illegitimate manner.

And then verse 56 reiterates the statement about the fulfillment of prophecies: “But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled. John talks about the fact that he addressed the Romans and said, "Let these go".

John 18:9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”

Now, what's interesting is just the chapter before in his high priestly prayer (John 17:12), Jesus prayed to the Father and he said: "Those whom you gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition …" That's Judas. The word for perdition is the same word that is used in John 3:16 for perishing, indicating that he was lost and not saved. "… that the Scripture might be fulfilled." Again and again, especially as we get into this section with the arrest, the trial, the crucifixion and resurrection, we are going to see numerous prophecies from the Old Testament, fulfilled. And this is designed to give us great confidence that the Scriptures are the Word of God, that God was in control of this whole series of events, and that the Scripture is true and the Word of God.

So let's look at five of these prophecies that are fulfilled. First of all He is betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. The prophecy comes from Zechariah 11:12. Several of these prophecies come out of Zechariah, that is, those that are fulfilled at this time.

Zechariah 11:12 ^NASB I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give {me} my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty {shekels} of silver as my wages.

The context is a messianic prophecy and its fulfilled—Matthew 26:14, 15 ^NASB Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.

That was the price, according to the law, of the slave. It's the treating Him as if his life has almost no value whatsoever.

The second prophecy that is fulfilled. Here's what happens to that 30 pieces of silver. Zechariah 11:13 ^NASB Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, {that} magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty {shekels} of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Now what is this thing about the potter? In Jeremiah, Jeremiah is given orders by God to go to a potter and to get some pottery. And he is going to take it out of the potsherd gate that on the southern part of the wall of Jerusalem to the Valley of Hinnom where he is going to crush it. The Valley of Hinnom was where the those in Judah practiced child sacrifice, where they offered their babies and their infants to the God of Molech. They burned them alive in the arms of Molech. This abomination was one of the primary reasons that God was bringing the Babylonians to Judah to destroy them. So this was the site of the worst sins committed by the Jews in the southern kingdom. And when Jeremiah takes this, he's giving an object left lesson. He's crushing the pottery, which represents Israel, and God is saying I'm going to crush you and you are going to be buried here in the Valley of Hinnom. And so it came to be known as the potter's field that would be that would become a cemetery for the poor. So that's why it's called for the potter. It picked up that name because of Jeremiah.

So it's fulfilled that after Jesus is crucified Judas is overwhelmed with guilt, and in Matthew 27:5 were told that he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went out and hanged himself. He takes the bag of silver, throws it in the temple and leaves. That's a fulfillment of prophecy.

Also in this verse we see that it's thrown to the potter. Zechariah 11:13 emphasizes that part: throwing it to the potter. He threw it into the house of the Lord for the potter and we are told that when this money was discovered, because it was tainted money, because it had been used to bribe someone to give an unjust, an illegal testimony, a false testimony against Jesus, it couldn't be used for anything in the temple. It had to be taken away from the temple, and according to Jewish law the only thing it could be used for is something that would benefit the poor. So they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field. This is located in the Valley of Hinnom and would be a burial place for the poor or for Gentiles who are traveling through Israel, who had no family. This is where the state would bury them. That is our third fulfillment of prophecy.

In Acts 1:11, 18, 19 because the disciples are going to replace Judas there are a couple of things said about him.

Acts 1:18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.

When that money is thrown into the temple it the Sanhedrin can't accept it because it is tainted money, and it is still considered Judas's money. So Judas is the one who bought the field in their thinking. Judas hanged himself, the branch broke and he lands, or after his body has decomposed, or whatever, when it falls off the tree this is what causes his bowels to burst open.

Acts 1:19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

The image that I have there is an image of Judas hanging from a tree. It is a painting in the monastery of Vanessa Forrest, which is located there in the Valley of Hinnom, and so this is by the field of Hakeldama.

The fourth prophecy is that Jesus would be betrayed by a friend. This is specifically stated in John 13:18-19, quoting from Psalm 41:9, "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me."

This is a messianic prophecy that is stated in John 13:18 to be fulfilled. For Jesus after identifying Judas says, "I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me". And Acts 1:16 Peter in his sermon on the day of Pentecost says, “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus." The Scripture clearly interprets Scripture as being a messianic prophecy.

The fifth prophecy that's fulfilled in this event is a prophecy that Jesus would be deserted by his disciples.

Zechariah 13:7 ^NASB “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts [God the Father]. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones".

Matthew 26:31 ^NASB 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.’

Mark records and sort of an addendum to this episode that is kind of interesting, and because Mark is the only one who includes this detail he seems to be the only one who knows this detail. A lot of people think that this was probably Mark himself. In Mark, we read that when all the disciples (the eleven) fled there was a young man who was following Jesus. So this guy is lurking in the shadows. He's a disciple want-to-be, but for some reason the only thing he has on is a linen cloth on his body, just a linen robe. And we are told that when he was identified the young men grabbed him and he just slipped out of his robe and ran off naked. Even the wannabes are fleeing from Jesus; He is being left alone, and that is the emphasis in the text.

Verse 57 goes on, "And those who had laid hold of Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest where the scribes and the elders were assembled." But John puts it a little more precisely. He says the detachment of troops, the cohort, and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and they bound Him, which is not mentioned in verse 57. They tie Him up and then they lead Him off to these trials. Again, Jesus submits he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus had a higher purpose. He could have exercised his rights but He did not. That's true humility. And He fulfilled the Father's plan to go to the cross and pay the penalty for our sins and to suffer all of the humiliation that that brought.

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