God's Word Cannot Be Broken

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew chapters 26 and 27.

Now, because of the length of our gospel reading, you may be seated. When Jesus had finished all these sayings,

He said to His disciples, You know that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest whose name was

Caiaphas, and they plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and to kill

Him. But they said, Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people. Now when

Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to Him with an alabaster flask, a very expensive ointment, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at table.

And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.

But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to Me.

For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have Me. In pouring this ointment on My body, she has done it to prepare

Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, What will you give

Me if I deliver him over to you? They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray

Him. Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the

Passover? He said, Go into the city to a certain man, and then say to him, The teacher says, My time is at hand.

I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the

Passover. When it was evening, He reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating,

He said, Truly I say to you, one of you will betray Me. And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to Him one after another,

Is it I, Lord? He answered, He who has dipped his hand in the dish with Me will betray

Me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the

Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for Him if He had not been born.

Judas, who would betray Him, answered, Is it I, Rabbi? He said to Him, You have said so.

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said,

Take eat, this is My body. And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is

My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you,

I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.

And when they had sung 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 the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

But after I am raised, I will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered

Him, Though they all fall away because of You, I will never fall away. And Jesus said to him,

Truly, I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny

Me three times. Peter said to Him, Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.

And all the disciples said the same. Then Jesus went with them to the place called Gethsemane.

And He said to His disciples, Sit here while I go over there and pray. And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and troubled.

Then He said to them, My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with Me.

And going a little farther, He fell on His face and He prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping.

And He said to Peter, So could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, for the second time, He went away and He prayed,

My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

So leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.

Then He came to the disciples and said to them, Sleep and take your rest later on. See the hours at hand.

The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See My betrayer is at hand.

And while He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, with Him a great crowd, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The one I will kiss as the man sees

Him. And he came up to Jesus at once and said, Greetings, Rabbi, and he kissed

Him. Jesus said to him, Friend, do what you came to do. And they came up, laid hands on Jesus, and they seized

Him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once send Me more than twelve legions of angels?

But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so? At that hour

Jesus said to the crowds, Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture

Me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But all of this has taken place that the

Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left Him and fled. Then those who had seized

Jesus led Him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. And Peter was following Him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest.

And going inside, he sat with the guards to see the end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus, that they might put

Him to death, but they found none. Though many false witnesses came forward, at last two came forward and said,

This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days. And the high priest stood up and said,

Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you? But Jesus remained silent, and the high priest said to him,

I adjure you by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus said to him,

You have said so, but I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Then the high priest tore his robes and said, He has uttered blasphemy.

What further witness do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?

They answered, He deserves death. Then they spit on his face, struck him.

Some slapped him, saying, Prophesy to us, you Christ. Who is it that struck you?

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him and said,

You also were with Jesus the Galilean. But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you mean.

And he went out to the entrance, and another servant girl saw him and said to the bystanders,

This man was with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied it with an oath, I do not know the man.

After a little while, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.

Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not know the man.

And immediately the rooster crowed. Peter remembered the saying of Jesus before the rooster crows, You will deny me three times.

And he went out, and he wept bitterly. When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

They bound him, led him away, delivered him over to Pilate the governor. Then when

Judas his betrayer saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying,

I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. They said, What is that to us? See to it yourself.

And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed and went and hanged himself.

But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.

So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers.

Therefore that field has been called the field of blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet

Jeremiah, saying, And they took thirty pieces of silver, the price on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the

Lord directed me. Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, Are you the king of the

Jews? Jesus said, You have said so. But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.

Then Pilate said to him, Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?

But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge. So the governor was greatly amazed.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.

And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered,

Pilate said to them, Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called

Christ? For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him,

Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.

Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to destroy

Jesus. The governor again said to them, Which of the two do you want me to release for you?

And they said, Barabbas. Pilate said to them, Then what shall I do with Jesus, who is called

Christ? They all said, Let him be crucified. And he said, Why? What evil has he done?

But they shouted all the more, Let him be crucified. So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying,

I am innocent of this man's blood. See to it yourselves. And all the people answered, His blood be on us and on our children.

And then he released for them Barabbas. And having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.

And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand.

And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

And as they went out, they found the man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.

And when they came to the place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull, they offered him wine to drink mixed with gall, but when he had tasted it, he would not drink it.

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

And over his head, they put the charge against him, which read, This is Jesus, the

King of the Jews. Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right, one on his left.

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself if you are the

Son of God. Come down from the cross. So also the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, they mocked him, saying,

He saved others. He cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now if he desires him, for he said, I am the

Son of God. And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, that is my

God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And some of the bystanders hearing it said,

This man is calling Elijah. And one of them at once ran and took a sponge filled with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.

But the other said, Wait, let's see whether Elijah will come to save him. And then

Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

The tombs also were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.

And coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

When the centurion and those who were with him keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and they said,

Truly, this was the Son of God. There were also many women there looking on from a distance who had followed

Jesus from Galilee ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.

He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.

And Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, laid it in his own new tomb which he had cut in the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and then went away.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there sitting opposite the tomb. Next day, that is the day of the preparation, the chief priests and the

Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, Sir, we remember how that imposter said that while he was still alive, after three days

I will rise. Therefore, order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people that he is risen from the dead and the last fraud will be worse than the first.

Pilate said to them, you have a guard of soldiers, go and make it as secure as you can. So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

This is the gospel of the Lord. In the name of Jesus. The spirit is willing, the flesh not so much, a little weak, if you know what

I mean. As we look at, again, the account of the passion of our Lord, we're going to take a look at the first chapter, a portion of the first chapter and a little bit of the second chapter.

It's not possible to preach on the whole thing unless you want to be here until lunchtime. But all that being said, as we consider this, note that there's only one person who's righteous in the midst of all of this mess, and it's

Jesus. His disciples, man, total failures. The chief priests, total failures.

The people, total failures. I mean, this is how this works. Doesn't the scripture say that none is righteous, not one?

No one seeks for God. No one. No one loves God. Altogether we are lost.

And so in the midst of all of this, we have to kind of tease out a few things because there is a lot of hope in all of this.

Because what Jesus is doing, he's doing everything according to the predetermined plan of God.

And you'll note as we work our way through this text, over and again, either Jesus or Matthew is going to point out, and this was to fulfill what was written by the prophets.

The prophets, what they had written, must be fulfilled. In other words, the word of God cannot be broken.

It's impossible to break the word of God. Now in our study of Jeremiah last week, and during our

Sunday school, we noted that there is only one time that God ever, and I mean it, ever says something is going to happen and it doesn't happen.

It's when God determines destruction for a nation, a people, a city, or a person, and that is communicated to them and they repent.

God will relent. You see, the people of Nineveh stand as a great example of that.

Jonah went to go preach to those Ninevites, those war criminals and really, really horrible people, and he didn't want to preach to them because he knew that they would repent and God would forgive them.

And guess what? They repented and God forgave them. So we must remember that as human beings, we're all born under the dominion of darkness, enslaved to sin, to death, and the devil, and we all, well, like the rest of mankind, were by nature objects of God's wrath.

And what God has stored up for sinful humanity is hell. He's going to cast us into the lake of fire like he did, like he promises to do with Satan and his demons, as well as death.

But here's where the gospel comes in. The gospel comes in and tells us that this passion account, this man who suffered so brutally, crucifixion on a cross, this crime that was committed against him, the only innocent, sinless human being, this was so that we can be forgiven.

Jesus is indeed the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, your sin and mine.

And so we'll see here that there's a little bit of a dividing line, and the big dividing line is between those who believe in him and trust his promises, even though they fail spectacularly, and those who do not believe in him.

That's where the dividing line is. And again, the word of God cannot be broken. So picking up in the first chapter of our text here, chapter 26, verse 14, here's what it says.

One of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, he went to the chief priests and he said, what will you give me if I deliver him over to you?

And they paid him 30 pieces of silver. And from that moment, he sought an opportunity to betray

Jesus. Thirty pieces of silver. You're going to note, Judas has, he's an eyewitness to Jesus walking on the water.

He's an eyewitness to Jesus calming a storm with a word, talking to a storm as if it's his pet.

You know, be silent, I'm trying to sleep here, right? It goes whoosh. Judas saw

Jesus raise the dead, including Lazarus. Judas saw

Jesus give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute.

He cleansed lepers. He healed paralytics so that they could walk and jump for joy. He saw all of it.

He saw Jesus multiply loaves and fishes so that a multitude of people, 5 ,000 men and their families, that they all were fed and there were leftovers after that.

He saw it all. And yet the Scriptures revealed to us that the entire time, he was a thief.

Kind of a grifter, if you would. You see, Jesus also received, well, offerings from people.

People would donate money to his ministry. And he kept a bag specifically for the purpose of giving financial relief to those who were the most poor.

Jesus not only healed people, he also tended to their financial needs when they were in distress.

And it says of Judas that he, well, he helped himself to the money bag. And so one has to wonder, because it is immediately after this woman anoints

Jesus with that expensive ointment in that alabaster jar.

One has to wonder if it wasn't Judas crying out the loudest about, why this waste?

This could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor. And of course, then I'd get my cut too.

One has to wonder what's going on there. So it's immediately after this that, well,

Judas is looking for a way to betray Jesus and he wants money to do it.

Just give me money. Thirty pieces of silver. I just cannot think that that is a large amount. Thirty pieces of silver, how much is that?

Half a year's wage? I don't know. I mean, he's not filthy rich. It's not like he's going to go build a mansion on the

Mediterranean with this. Life is cheap, isn't it? Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying, where will you have us prepare for you to eat the

Passover? And Jesus said, go into the city to a certain man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is at hand.

I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. You'll note that Jesus never has to call ahead and say, yeah, we got a table, we need a table for like 12, 15, and what do you have open?

Jesus just sends the disciples in, go to that guy and says, the teacher says it's my time. Okay. And it works.

Okay, that's one of the privileges of being the son of God. So his disciples did as Jesus had directed and they prepared the

Passover. And when it was evening, he reclined at table with the 12, and as they were eating, he said, truly, truly,

I say to you, one of you will betray me. And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, is it

I, Lord? And he answered, he who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.

The son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed.

Now, I'm going to point something out here. This in the context is obviously, obviously referring to Judas.

But I would note that in the day that we live in, and well, since we are in the last day since Christ's ascension, there are many who also betray

Christ. They do so, well, as pastors and leaders and church leaders and things like this.

When they teach false doctrine, I was made aware that one of the ladies who joins us from Germany for our services, she's been looking for, she has a person that is going to baptize one of her children.

And in talking with this fellow, she made it very clear she wanted her child to be baptized in the name of the

Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Because in doing her research, she found that this fellow has been baptizing people in a completely different baptismal formula.

And he basically said, well, if you want me to do it the old fashioned way, then sure, I'll do it. Is there a new fashioned way to baptize people?

That's a betrayal of Christ. And so we'll note that breaking the first commandment, breaking the second commandment, these are ways in which all of us are capable of betraying

Christ. So don't think for a second that betraying Christ is only reserved for Judas.

It isn't. So Jesus says of him, it would have been better for that man had he not been born.

Judas, who would betray him, answered, is it I, rabbi? He said to him, you have said so.

Now as you read through these gospel texts, you're going to note that when Jesus is asked questions, he says things like, you have said so.

And we English readers read this and sit there and go, what's he talking about? He was just asked a question, right?

I have a theory on this. It's only a theory. So if some biblical scholar proves me wrong, I'll acquiesce.

But if you understand how the Hebrew language works, all right, when people make statements about themselves or ask questions about another person, they do not use the verb to be.

I am, all right? Instead, they just make a statement and then it's kind of inferred, the

I am is inferred. So for instance, when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, finally, the first two words he says,

Ani Yosef, right? And ani is I, Yosef is

Joseph. You'll notice that the word am is missing, okay? It's just a statement. But here's the thing.

The Hebrew language, how that statement is phrased will determine, or the tone of it will determine whether it's a statement or a question.

So if I were to say, you know, if I were to say to Marilyn, I would say,

At Amerikite? And you would say, Ken, right? The question is,

At Amerikite? Are you an American, all right? Or I would say,

Ani Amerikite? I am an American, but the am is provided. So you'll note then that what

I think is going on here is Judas basically said, he said,

Ani Rabboni? That's all he had to say.

I, Rabbi? And he would have said it in the form of a question, but Jesus said,

You've said so. So he kind of takes that Hebrew grammatical thing and then takes his question and just makes it a statement.

I think that's what's going on here, my best guess. So now, as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, he broke it and gave it to the disciples.

And he said, Take eat. This is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying,

Drink of it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Now, I don't want to get ahead of myself because Maundy Thursday is still a few days away. Let me just put a little pin right here and say,

You know, the Lord's Supper is exactly what Jesus says it is. And it's for the very reason that Jesus says it is for.

It is for the forgiveness of our sins. And it truly, in the Lord's Supper, we receive

Christ's body and blood, the very body and blood that Christ was crucified with on the cross, given and shed for the forgiveness of our sins.

So I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in my

Father's kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And so what's happened here is they've left

Jerusalem. They've gone out the Golden Gate, down the Kidron Valley, up the Mount of Olives. And then

Jesus said to them, You will all fall away because of me this night. And here's the first time we'll hear this in our sermon today.

For it is written, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Now here's where I would note.

These guys, these 12 fellows, well now 11, because I don't think Judas is with them at this point, they've been traipsing around the

Judean wilderness and all of Judea for three years with Jesus. Think of it as like a roaming, well, seminary degree.

Think of it like that. Rather than being in one particular place, everywhere they go, these disciples are being trained and taught and instructed by Jesus.

And these guys are just like six weeks out from graduation. And this is their final year, this is their senior year as seminary students in Jesus' seminary.

And you would think that going back to their first year, the word of God cannot be broken.

When God says something's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. Remember our first parents, Adam and Eve?

What did God say to Adam? You can eat of any of the trees in the garden, all of them, except for one, that one right there, the one in the midst, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

On the day you eat of it, you will surely die. So when the serpent tempted Eve, what happened to God's words?

Eve took God's words and went, whoo, threw them behind her back. And then she went all feelings, all right, well, it is a beautiful tree and wow, that fruit is really gorgeous and it is desirous to make one wise, feelings, right?

She took the word of God, tossed it behind her, but can the word of God be broken? No. So on the day that they ate of it, did they die?

You betcha they did. They died spiritually, right? Body follows later, but they all did die.

And so you'll note, like Bible 101, when God says something's going to happen, it's going to happen.

And so note, Jesus is speaking with the authority of scripture and after all, he is the word of God incarnate.

He says, it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered, but after I am raised up,

I will go before you to Galilee. So Jesus, knowing that God's word cannot be broken, says, but, and I love it because the but is kind of important here because he's saying,

I'll go before you to Galilee. In other words, don't worry, you will be forgiven.

I will not hold this against you. That's kind of the inferred thing here and it's important to note that.

But rather than listening to the word of God, Peter answered him, well, though they all fall away because of you,

I will never fall away. Pride comes before a fall.

It always does. Do you think you're stronger than the word of God? Do you think you can break the word of God?

Good luck on that. So Jesus stands his ground, looks him straight in the eye, I tell you, I tell you this very night before the rooster crows, you'll deny me three times.

And at this point, Peter sort of gets the last word, but he really doesn't. So Peter said to him, well, even if I must die with you,

I'll not deny you. And all the disciples said, yeah, we too, we'll never deny you, Jesus.

Now remember, this is a critical sin that we're going to be talking about here. Because what does

Jesus say? The one who denies me before men, I will deny before the Father. That's how serious this is.

This is not a small slipsie. This is not an oopsie -doopsie. This is, if you deny me before men,

I will deny you before the Father. It's every bit of betrayal is

Judas' betrayal. And that's where the parallel comes in, and it's really interesting. So we continue, so Jesus went with them to a place called

Gethsemane. He said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray. And then taking with him

Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, my soul is very sorrowful even to death, remain here and watch with me.

So you're going to know, Jesus is like really sad, despondent, down, sorrowful.

And these fellows, there's like zero empathy here, man.

It's late, Jesus, I know you're sad, but it's my bedtime. It's awful when you think about it and just quite odd.

So going a little farther, Jesus then fell on his face and he prayed, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

And he came to the disciples and he found them sleeping and he said to Peter, so could you not watch with me one hour?

And here we're going to note, I think we all have a lot of that in us. I mean, because we still have a sinful nature, have you noticed that when you sit down to read your

Bible, maybe you decide, you know what, this morning I'm going to wake up, I'm going to read my Bible with my cup of coffee. And then what happens?

You know, you open up your Bible or you turn it on, you can do that nowadays. You turn on your Bible and you're sitting there and all of a sudden you hear, ding, and you go, ooh,

I got a message. Ooh, somebody said something to me on Twitter. Ah, ah, ah, ah, hey, all right. Oh, wait, wait,

I got to get back to the word of God. And now I'm going to pray, our Father who art in heaven, ding. Oh, wait,

I got to check that. Have you noticed that we do this? Or worse, you start to read

God's word and next thing you know, you're working on this week's grocery list in your head.

I know. Listen, the reason I know you do that is because I do it. Okay? That's me.

And I'm your pastor. All right? I have to sit down and go, focus. Okay? Sometimes I feel like I need to get those blinders, you know, the horses have to wear.

It would help. Right? One of the things I was very thankful for when, you know, in the latest editions of the

Apple Macintosh operating system is the do not disturb function. It's beautiful.

It's glorious. You just hit that and all notifications stop for however long you tell them to.

But the point is this, is that you'll note that our sinful nature is really not keen on worshiping

God, reading His word, and praying. There's pretty much everything other to do on the planet that our sinful nature would desire to be doing rather than having you use it to read

God's word and to pray. And you'll note you're in good company and Christ has even bled and died for that.

So he says, watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. They don't even recognize the danger they're in.

The spirit indeed is willing, flesh is weak. And again, the second time, he went away and he prayed, my father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.

And again, he came and found them sleeping for their eyes were heavy. And Jesus didn't even wake them up this time.

So leaving them again, he went away and prayed the third time saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and he said to them, sleep and take your rest later on.

The hour is at hand. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. My betrayer is at hand.

And while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the 12 with him, with a great crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

Let me kind of put that into modern day parlance. Basically, Judas shows up with the temple security guards.

But they've got clubs and stuff like this. Always in again, it's always weirded me out when churches and places have security guards, especially these kind.

So they came with a great crowd with swords, clubs from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

So the betrayer had given them a sign saying, the one I will kiss is the man, seize him. Isn't it interesting that always and again when

Christ is betrayed, it is always under pious, loving pretenses. Well, I love

Jesus and I love the word of God, but there's no way I'm going to believe that Jesus actually bodily rose from the dead or worse, that he actually died as a human sacrifice for sins.

That's gross, right? Isn't that what we do? Oh, I totally,

I value the word of God. It's meaningful in my life. But I deny that humans in the universe were created in six days.

Come on, we live in the 21st century. We've got Macintosh computers and stuff like that now.

We don't need to believe in those things. You see what I'm saying? So Judas shows up.

Greetings, Rabbi. And he kissed him. And Jesus said to him, and I'm going to note here, the

Greek word for friend, Jesus isn't really calling Judas his friend. This particular Greek word could also be translated buddy.

If I translate it that way, I think it makes a little more sense. Buddy, do what you came to do.

I know what you're here for. We're not friends, really. So then they came up, laid hands on Jesus, seized him.

Behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, cut off his ear.

Well, Peter was just asleep just a few minutes ago, and now he's alert. And what's he do? Pulls out his sword, cuts off the ear of Malchus.

We know the name of the fellow. And I would note here, Jesus, according to the other Gospels, takes that fellow whose ear has just been cut off.

And you've got to imagine that was a bloody mess. Have you noticed that head wounds have a really bad habit of bleeding badly?

So there's this guy. His ear is lopped off, and there's this chaos.

And Jesus comes up to him, and there, his ear is restored.

Wouldn't you stop and go, you know, I think we got the wrong man. You're not the droid we're looking for.

That's where you would go with this. But they don't. Even in the face of that miracle, no repentance.

Signs and wonders do not a Christian make. Christians are made through the

Word of God. Faith comes by hearing, hearing through the Word of Christ. Signs and miracles do not turn somebody into a

Christian. There was a sign and a wonder right there, and they should have waved off, but they didn't. So then

Jesus said to him, put your sword back in its place. All who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think

I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?

You see, all this chaos, all this sin, all these people just completely acting in ignorance, unfaith, unbelief, or just sheer rank arrogance.

Christ is there saying, dudes, everything's going according to plan. This is exactly what the

Scriptures said must take place. So at that hour, Jesus said to the crowds, have you come out against a robber with swords and clubs in order to capture me?

Day after day, I sat in the temple teaching. You didn't seize me. Jesus here is basically kindly saying, you bunch of cowards, bunch of yellow bellies, calling them out for their behavior.

You'll note, read the book of Revelation when it gives the list of those who end up in the lake of fire. Cowards and hypocrites are near the top of the list.

Jesus here is speaking law to them. All this has taken place, though, so the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.

You're doing this evil, you might want to go back and read your Bibles. Then the disciples left him and they fled. Those who had seized him led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.

This is like the church council from hell. And you're going to note that this particular meeting, these are the highest church officials in the land.

Do you think that people who are church leaders are protected by God from going corrupt?

No. You'll note that even they can, too, and their behavior is so bizarre.

And so when Peter was following him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest going inside, he sat with the guards to see the end.

A little bit of a note here. They've recently, in the past few decades, found this actual spot archaeologically.

You can visit it if you go to Jerusalem. I've seen it in other people's vacation photos. That's a good way to travel if you, you know, but especially during COVID.

But the whole point is you can actually visit this place. And I'll tell you, the courtyard and the house of Caiaphas, it ain't much bigger than Kongsvinger right here, okay?

It's a pretty intimate setting. So the chief priest and the whole council, listen to these words. They were seeking false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death.

What does that conversation look like? You're the chief priest, and you say to the crowd, anyone here willing to lie about Jesus?

Note, this is a court taking place in the middle of the night. That's not justice, right? Anyone here willing to lie about Jesus?

We really would like to kill him, but we need some false witnesses. Oh, I'll volunteer. All right, come on up.

What would you like to say about Jesus? Jesus threatened to turn me into a newt. Very good.

Go sit down. Okay, right? And here's the thing. They couldn't get the false witnesses to agree with each other.

They couldn't. How many did they need to agree with each other? Two. Minimum two, because in order to establish a charge, you need at least two to three witnesses.

They couldn't even get the people to lie straight with each other, and that's generally how lies work, by the way.

But then, then it says, two came forward and they said, this man said

I am able to destroy the temple and to rebuild it in three days. That's true.

Jesus said that. He did. It's recorded for us in the Gospel of John. On one occasion when he had driven the money changers out of the temple and the

Jews were a little bit, well, upset about losing all that money that day, so they came storming up to him.

What sign do you give us to show that you have the authority to do these things? And Jesus said, tear down this temple.

I'll build it again in three days. It's taken 46 years to build this temple.

You're going to build it again in three days? And John gives us the commentary. The temple he was talking about was the temple of his body.

Now, note, here what takes place next is what I would like to consider a legal sleight of hand.

You know how magic works? You know, a little bit of sleight of hand. It's like, hey, look over there, and then poof, something appears over there, right?

A little bit of that going on here. So the high priest stood up and he said, have you no answer to make?

What is this that these men testify against you? Uh -huh, all right.

So Jesus remained silent. High priest said to him, I adjure you by the living

God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Now, a little bit of a note.

Isn't the charge that Jesus said that he can tear down the temple and build it in three days? That's the charge.

Two people said that, right? Notice the switcheroo. I adjure you, tell us if you are the

Christ, the Son of God. In Hebrew, it would have been something to this effect.

Atah HaMashiach Bar Elohim. Know I am.

And what does Jesus say? You've said so. All right, there we go again.

But I tell you, now Jesus is going to help them out a little bit here. So I tell you, from now on, you will see the

Son of Man seated at the right hand of power, coming on the clouds of heaven. And then the high priest tore his robes and said, he has uttered blasphemy.

What further witness do we need? You have now heard the blasphemy. What is your judgment?

They answered, he deserves death. By the way, he hasn't blasphemed. He's totally told the truth.

So then they spit in his face, struck him, slapped him, saying, prophesy to us, you

Christ. Who is it that struck you? And now seeing that violence has reared its ugly head and that Jesus is devoted to destruction,

Peter's bravado completely collapses. Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant, girl, it doesn't say woman, girl, all right?

Girl, 8, 12, who knows? It's a girl. Came up to him and said, you also are

Jesus the Galilean. Total coward. He denied it before them all, saying,

I don't know what you mean, little girl. So when he went out of the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, this man was with Jesus of Nazareth.

And again, he denied it with an oath. I don't know the man. And after a little while, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, certainly you too are one of them.

Your accents betray you. And he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear,

I don't know the man. One of the other Gospels record that at this point,

Jesus looks at Peter. In other words, without saying a word,

Jesus gets the last word. The word of God cannot be broken. And immediately the rooster crowed.

Peter remembered the saying of Jesus before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. And he went out, and he wept bitterly.

The word of God cannot be broken. So when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

And they bound him, led him away, delivered him over to Pilate the governor. And then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind.

Now I've been saying throughout Lent, and I'll continue to say it as long as I'm able to continue to preach, that repentance involves two things.

Sorrow for sin, confidence in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

The two run together. Where one or the other is deficient, you don't have the repentance.

Think of Saul, the first king of Israel. When he was confronted with his sin, he deflected and projected.

He put sin on everybody else. He was not wrong. No repentance, no remorse. Judas, finding out that he's betrayed an innocent man, he feels sorrow for it, but he has no confidence in the forgiveness of his sins, none, because he was too busy taking money out of the bag rather than listening to Jesus.

David, when he was confronted with his sin, sorrow and confidence.

Peter also, but it's a little bit of a longer story. So when he saw that he had been condemned, he changed his mind.

He brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. And what happens next is just, in the annals of hypocrisy,

I think this one is at the top of the list, he said, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.

Now note, Judas giving back the 30 pieces of silver, that can't atone for his sin.

So they said, what is that to us? See to it yourself. They're the ones who gave him the money.

This is bizarre. See to it yourself. We're not going to give you an absolution. That's between you and God.

You do your own thing. This is the chief priests. They're supposed to offer sacrifices when people come to them and they've confessed their sins.

They have totally abdicated their responsibility. Why? Because they're part of the plot.

This was all they're doing anyways, and Judas was just the guy going along with it and lining his pocket with their silver.

So throwing the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed and he went and he hanged himself.

Taking his life, cannot atone for his sin either. He completely despaired.

And then the chief priest, taking the pieces of silver, said, it's not lawful to put them in the treasury since it's blood money.

You think? Of course it's blood money. You're the guys right now about to hand

Jesus over to be crucified. And they recognize that it's blood money, and so what do they do?

They cover their act in piety. Well, they took counsel together and they used the money to buy a potter's field.

That's a bare place for strangers. Therefore the field has been called field of blood to this day.

Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah. They took the 30 pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field as the

Lord directed me. So all along, everything's going according to plan.

Everything. The whole thing. The word of God cannot be broken.

And as we enter into this holy week, this year, and get ready for Good Friday and for Easter Sunday, it is important for us to recognize that the word of God cannot be broken.

And so the word of God that you heard today, today you heard after you confessed your sin, you heard that you were forgiven, and I don't have that authority in and of myself.

That authority comes from Christ. The word of God cannot be broken. The one who says he has no sin, he deceives himself.

The truth is not in him. But the one who confesses his sin, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The word of God cannot be broken. Yet, despite the fact, in you, your spirit is willing and your flesh is weak.

Your piety is tepid at times. It isn't where it should be. Your prayers falter and are distracted.

Your Bible -reading time isn't where it needs to be. Despite all of that, the word of God cannot be broken.

You are forgiven in Christ. Because Jesus was also fulfilling the words of Scripture.

From Isaiah, it says that he was pierced for our transgressions.

He was pierced for yours. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement that brought us peace with God was upon him, and God laid on him the iniquity of us all.

In Christ, we have full forgiveness, mercy, pardon, and grace.

We who were born children of the devil are now the adopted, forgiven, reconciled children of God.

The word of God cannot be broken. What Jesus went through and suffered shows that in spades, and this calls for faith.

This calls for recognizing your own sin. This calls for trusting Christ and his words and never, never despairing, like Judas did, of the mercy of God that is for you in Christ.

I don't think I can add anything further to it. In the name of Jesus, amen. 567 -44

And again, that address is Kungsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th

Avenue NW Oslo, MN 567 -44 We thank you for your support.

All of our teaching messages may be freely distributed as long as you do not edit or change the content of the message.

And again, thank you for listening. Amen.