Jesus is betrayed

And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard." And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. - Mark 14:43‭-‬52 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Deception

Judas came while the disciples were still groggy. It is apparent to the reader by now who Judas is. But the text reminds us, Judas was one of the Twelve. Jesus was not married, so in terms of relationships, this is as close as they could get. Judas saw the ministry of Jesus, the same miracles, lived life together with the rest of the disciples. When Judas came with the armed crowd, it must've been a shock to the disciples. We associate Judas with betrayal, but that is not who he seemed to be. Judas was the keeper of the money bag. He was considered trustworthy, not apt to rash decisions. He was in the inner circle. Judas was ministered to by Jesus. Yet somehow, Judas was an unbeliever. 

So today, we should find this sobering. In our church, renewal presbyterian, there are unbelievers. Not just those who serve alongside us, but even church leaders. C.S. Lewis said there would be three surprises in heaven: 1) that we find ourselves there 2) who we find there with us 3) who we don't find there... Don't depend on that moment of initial conviction to carry us to salvation. Don't trust past service, spiritual office, or past good works. Live a lifestyle of faith and trust in Jesus. Today, live in faith where you are now. Judas looked like he was following Jesus, but he was known for stealing from the money bag. Judas was not driven by kingdom focus but by money. Judas was driven by worldly motivations. He looked outwardly like a believer, but was not. Judas did not take his guilt to God, he never repented.

Assimilation

Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss. This is appropriate in that day and age. That is how rabbis were greeted by their disciples. But consider another disciples, Peter, the rash one. He also betrayed Jesus, but in a different manner. Peter denied Jesus three times. When they came to grab Jesus, Peter grabbed his sword and injured the servant of the high priest. Peter was a believer, but he saw Jesus being seized and jumped to using the world's methods. Judas brought armed men because the religious leaders saw Jesus as the leader of a rebellion. Peter reacted with worldly methods, grabbing the sword. So it is today, many Christians grab the sword to defend the kingdom. But Jesus calls Peter to put away his sword. Kingdom methods are entirely different. 

Jesus heals the servant. Jesus rather than taking up a sword, goes under the sword. This is kingdom minded with kingdom methods. 

Naturalization

Jesus laid down his life to bring us into the kingdom of god. We are constantly bombarded with the world's values and methods. Kingdom values come to believers slowly but surely. We become slow to anger and quick to listen. We stand in the gap for others. As we become more and more citizens of heaven, we will become more alienated from the world. This is hard. There are two reactions that will come to us. First is to hit back at those who strike at us. Second is to hide from the world, to only hang out with Christians. But that is not what we should do. We should go to be alone with Jesus. He will remind us how he handled his enemies. How he brought us in while we were still his enemies. We will find His power to react with kingdom methods.