It is such a blessing for us to have four different versions of the gospel! We get to read about many of the episodes in Jesus’ life – often from several different perspectives. Comparing these can be fascinating and revealing!
Since we’re closing in on our celebration of the
resurrection, I thought it might be good to look at a particular exchange that
took place during the Lord’s Supper. All
four gospels tell us about this evening meal, but Matthew gives us information
that is unique from the others.
Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve
disciples. As they were eating, He
said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will
betray Me.” Being deeply grieved, they each one
began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” And He answered, “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 by 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, said, “Surely it is not
I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have
said it yourself.” [For accuracy, this is from the NASB – Matthew
26:20-25]
In comparing the other gospels, we get a much deeper
picture of the events of this evening.
It was obviously a powerful time as Jesus conveyed some of His last
teaching to these men [see John 13-17 for the most comprehensive and detailed
teaching.]
These were sacred moments filled with passion and likely
very emotional in nature. This – and the
night of prayer that followed – was the last time that Jesus would be with
these devoted followers! He knew it, but
they were not clearly aware of this fact.
Jesus knew that He had a betrayer in His midst, and He knew
who it was. It was time to release Judas
to negotiate with the Pharisees for the betrayal. All of the gospels report that after this
particular exchange – JUDAS LEFT!
Words are so important!
In the above passage, Jesus makes it clear that “one of you will betray Me.” Matthew
wants us to know that the group was immediately grieved! How could this be true? Yet the Master had
said it – so it must be true! Who would
do such a thing? Who among us – His
closest followers – would betray Him?
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As a counselor, I find it very interesting that “they each…began to say to Him, ‘Surely not
I, Lord?’”
Why would these men- who had been called out of other
trades to become fishers of men – ask this question? These were men who had briefly been empowered
to heal and cast out demons, These were men who had seen incredible miracles
and witnessed remarkable healings. They
had been there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead – just a few weeks
earlier! Why would they ask: "Surely I wouldn't betray You, would I, Lord?"
These deeply devoted, faithful following, completely
committed men had to ask the question: “Lord,
is it I?” [KJV]. In spite of the
fact that they had been following Him for at least two years, apparently each one of them asked that
evening if they were the one who would betray Him!
Dr. Haddon Robinson was
a highly respected preacher/leader/teacher in the Christian community. He served as professor and president at
several different theological seminaries.
He was a regular contributor on the ‘Discover the Word’ radio program
for twenty years. I was a frequent listener because of his responses and
perspectives. His obituary describes him
as “one of the world’s foremost experts in
Biblical preaching.” One day on the radio
broadcast I heard him say, “If people knew the thoughts that cross through my
mind on any given day, they wouldn’t listen to a word I say.”
I frequently type out prayers in the early morning hours of my day. These are VERY PRIVATE prayers that are only between me and God! I confess my sins and call on Him for help in reforming me. I spare no details. It’s raw. I am painfully open and honest with Him. Remarkably, it’s a healing process for me. It helps me to remember how corrupt I am and how dependent on His grace I am! And when my devotional time is over - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I delete the document.
The biblical accounts are clear in making
us aware that all twelve apostles asked Jesus: “Surely not I, Lord?” [TM]. Doesn’t this indicate that each one of
them had some sense that it could – possibly – be them. It’s always been
surprising to me that Peter didn’t bellow out: “Well, it won’t be me, that’s
for sure!”
But he didn’t. Even brash Peter needed to
know if it would be him.
A little later in the meal Jesus tells
them – after Judas’ departure – that “Tonight
you will all stumble in your faith on account of me…” At that point,
Peter does speak out: “Everyone else may stumble in their faith
because of you, but I will not.” We all know how that ended.
All of us who love and serve Jesus lament
our personal weakness. It’s painful to
admit that we fail, doubt and sin. We want to be faithful and true, but this
sinful nature is hard to harness. All of
us – without fail – are dependent on the marvelous grace of our loving
Lord!
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But let’s make one more observation before
we leave this pregnant passage.
We’ve already made the point that each of
the twelve asked Jesus “Is it I…”
However, if you look closely at Matthew’s
record [above], you’ll see that Judas’ response was slightly different than the
response of the others.
Eleven apostles asked, “Is it I, Lord?”
But Judas asked, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
[vs.25 NASB].
Notice the difference! It’s a very significant one! To eleven
apostles Jesus was Lord! To one apostle – He was just ‘Rabbi’.
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How about you today? Is Jesus Lord for you, or just a great,
influential teacher?
The difference is MASSIVE! If He’s just your teacher, you have NO
ASSURANCE of making Heaven! To have the
kind of peace and assurance of making it to Heaven – He must be your LORD!!!!!
The implications of this are enormous! To make Him your Lord means that you totally
submit to Him. It has been noticed
elsewhere that it is not possible to say ‘No, Lord.” When someone is our Lord, the answer is
ALWAYS YES!!!!!!
If you want to live a life free of chronic repentance [such as described above], you must learn to say “Yes, Lord!” consistently!
Right now might be a good time to start practicing
this.
Hymn
written by Julia H. Johnston in 1911:
1 Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!
2 Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross. [Refrain]
3 Dark is the stain that we cannot hide;
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today. [Refrain]
4 Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive? [Refrain]
