Matthew 26:69-27:10, A Tale of Two Disciples

Okay, Matthew chapter 26 starting in verse 69 all the way to chapter 27 verse 10 here the

Word of the Lord 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 when he went out to the entrance 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 and Peter remembered the saying of Jesus before the rooster crows.

You will deny me three times and he went out and wept bitterly When the 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 and led him away and delivered him over to pilot the governor then when

Judas the betrayer saw that Jesus was condemned he changed his mind and Brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders saying

I have sinned by betraying innocent blood They said what does 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 priest 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 is a burial place for strangers

Therefore the 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 them 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 May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word Well with all the news dominated by the coronavirus we failed to notice

I think of many of us have failed to notice the obvious Spring is here

Finally starting to warm up. We didn't have a very severe winter, but we had sort of one and now it's spring

We've already had them in our house already. You had to mow our grass twice Dandelions are starting to grow on the embankment outside and I expect

Mike to be harvesting some of them soon for tea Helps get rid of our helps get rid of our dandelions and he gets some tea

It's win -win normally many people would be looking forward to baseball season My son's used to like that playing several years of baseball now, of course is postponed now

The school year has only about two months left. I guess they have to do it online Graduations are coming soon including for angel even if they won't be held in person but that still it's spring the time for winter is over a new season has arrived spring is the

The season of new possibilities a new future for graduating starting over looking forward hoping for the end of an epidemic

Traditionally for churches at least for Baptist Church. I don't know how it is for Methodist churches. This also starts a new season revival season

Churches usually announce their coming revivals beginning in April. I guess that most of those will be canceled this year

Which would be a problem I guess for those who seem to think that God needs revivals to save some people

Now not to be condescending, but I find it amazing that a church could announce ahead of time a

Revival a true revival is a work of God. So how does the church know, you know, just schedule in Holy Spirit arrive in these days when we when we schedule our revival

So, of course what they mean is they're gonna have a series of evangelistic messages That is geared to getting people to believe and that's a good thing shouldn't belittle that many of them would normally be pushing their members

Encouraging their members to to invite their friends and their family and their neighbors to the revival and that too is a good thing

We should hope that God will revive those churches and that many people will be saved at those so -called revivals when they start to be held again and We should be aware that the

Lord is more likely to work through Churches to revive and bless them and to use them in the salvation of people

He's more likely to do that to them that are reaching out trying to are trying to spread the gospel

Even if through revivals, he's more likely to do that than he is to bless us if all we're doing is

Feeling smug and superior full of ourselves that we know better than to have a so -called revival, you know knowledge can puff up But another problem with these so -called revivals is the way that forgiveness in grace is often sold for cheap so often people today are are told at least in many of these this now tradition of revivals are often told that all they need to do about their sin is it's a say of prayer and They are then pronounced saved and they are

Then told with certainty that they're going to heaven because of that few minutes of work they did at a revival

One preacher is taking advantage of the kovat 19 outbreak to air Commercials that briefly shares the gospel, which is a good thing

But then leaves people to say a prayer that they are told at least by implication Will save them some preachers encourage this idea

You say this prayer come respond because it helps them achieve the short -term goal of Having more response a response they can they can count

The evangelist looking to get more people to come up out of their seats come forward say this prayer or maybe in the case of that commercial

To call a number it ends with call this number if you prayed that prayer part of it is so that they can count

The people saved and the more salvations that they can count they can they boast of So more churches will invite them to preach at their revivals or the more effectiveness

They can claim to have to their donors and give to us because this is how many people get saved through our ministry so he the evangelist will raise the surety raise the certainty you can know now and Lower the cost.

It's free Just say this prayer and all you have to do is pray this prayer your sins will be washed away

Now can some truly be saved through such methods? Yes, because of the grace of God, but so often such people go away now so often

Inoculated against the true gospel thinking that they are now saved even though they show no signs of it

They have no appetite for the Word of God. They have their lives show no true repentance There's no willingness to take up their cross and follow

Christ There's no real desire that you can see in their lives for God There's no and there's no understanding of the difference of why they should have such a desire to follow

Christ They've been sold what German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer called cheap grace

He wrote that cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance Baptism without church discipline cheap grace is grace without discipleship grace without the cross

Now here in this passage Which really an interlude in the story about the trial in the murder of Jesus and was it?

Matthew steps aside from that story to tell this tale of two disciples and Think about it if the message of cheap grace was true then in this tale we'd expect

Peter to have to have to shed no tear and For Judas to be able to come back to be restored

But in this tale of two disciples, we see something of what the Lord Jesus calls us to Real discipleship not cheap grace.

We see either that we will have tears or we will have death Here in this tale of two disciples

We see first the distant disciple and then the diabolical disciple The first disciple is

Peter Peter has boasted that even if he has to die for Jesus that he will do it And he believed that he was told of course by Jesus that you don't you better prepare yourself

You better be ready for what's coming? But he thought he was ready. He was so relaxed about it.

He thought he could take a nap While Jesus was praying his arrogance made him weak his flesh

That is his nature was too weak And so when Jesus is arrested when he's dragged off Peter the disciple he plays just hours before never to forsake him becomes the distant disciple

Notice that in chapter 26 verse 58 before we read just now in chapter 26 verse 58 it says

Peter followed at a distance Already his convictions are crumbling

He's socially distancing himself from Jesus Afraid that crucifixion

I guess he's afraid that crucifixion might be contagious Peter could have followed much closer you think about it

He could have tried to follow as close as the guards would have allowed him and if that meant getting arrested himself

Well, then so be it. That's what he said. He was gonna do he's not gonna allow anything between him and Jesus, but suddenly

That's what he had boasted up before suddenly His flesh is weak. It's very weak.

He's hanging back He's seeing how all this will run out Already before the trumped -up trial already

He's the distant disciple so when they when they put Jesus Through their kangaroo court in the middle of the night and then abuse and punch and slap

Jesus and mock him The distant disciple fades even further and further away

In verse 64 the Lord Jesus has been asked to confess himself That's the trap.

We saw last week the trap and the trial leading to the treatment and he does so Jesus intentionally steps into the trap, even though he knows it will mean torture and death, but it nearly the same time

While Jesus is doing that Making his good confession that leads to his death about the same time

Peter is outside Being asked a similar question You also were with Jesus the

Galilean Now could he be arrested computer be arrested for confessing

Jesus? Theoretically, maybe but I doubt it, you know, the authorities had wanted to arrest the disciples

They would have gotten them in the Garden of Gethsemane But he doesn't Peter doesn't want to take that chance So as the

Lord Jesus is making his brave confession the distant disciple Becomes the disassociating disciple the first time in verse 70.

I do not know what you mean He wants to play dumb He just happens to be hanging around there.

That's all he's just somebody passing by Who is this Jesus you're talking about? Ah Peter Is that what you meant when you said?

Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you Talk is cheap, isn't it?

Here's the moment The Peter said he was gonna be brave during here's the moment of testing just a couple of hours ago

He was boasting. I'll never forsake you How things quickly change? He's approached by a servant girl, you know, we might think okay he's intimidated these soldiers arresting

Jesus all this going on that he's scared, but It's a servant girl Who asked him and notice he denies

Jesus in verse 70 before them all he just didn't answer back quietly to the servant girl He didn't just shrug his shoulders and say only to her.

I don't know what you mean. I'm not part of this He took the girl's question as the opportunity to tell the whole crowd around there.

I'm not involved in this nothing to do with this We have the same today when people make wedding vows you know to love and Sacrifice to honor and obey

Forsake all others until death do us part When they are young and in love, it's easy to forsake all others

When you're not interested in any others, but she gets older Maybe sometimes she gets on your nerves and someone else comes along and everything in you wants the new one

Or maybe he doesn't live up to your dreams and you think you can nag him into conformity That's when your vow is tested wedding vows are tested not usually on the honeymoon

But on some cold night when it will cost you something Having put on his little show

Peter then moves out noticing moves away to the entrance of the courtyard probably getting the feeling that his audience didn't really believe him

He decides maybe to practice some social distancing Then along comes another servant girl, and this one is more assertive.

She doesn't ask Peter She just makes a statement to the bystanders. This man was with Jesus of Nazareth We hate to be thought of as part of something unpopular don't we

Less than us less than a week before this Peter had been walking behind Jesus as he rode on a donkey

Into Jerusalem people hailing him Hosanna to the Son of David Peter was probably the cheerleader of all that Jesus was popular and heading for glory

People were jumping on the bandwagon and Peter was the first among them. But now Now as Jesus is being in there being accused and beaten with his even his inner core of disciples fleeing

It looks like you know, he's not so popular anymore Now the wind is blowing in another direction

The momentum is against Jesus so already he's out of fashion now he's

Now it's kind of like the corona virus. Keep your distance The distant disciple is even more now the disassociating disciple a second time in verse 72.

I do not know the man Notice how he refers to him. He refers to Jesus as the man to be deliberately impersonal

To disassociate himself from Jesus. I don't even know his name. What are you talking about? But he can't keep his cool, which is kind of a dead giveaway, isn't it?

It's too much pressure. He had to do with an oath besides that Northern Galilean accent is a dead giveaway.

You expect us to believe it that you a Galilean We can tell by your accent just happen to be here at the same time.

Jesus the Galilean is on trial So the bystanders conclude Certainly you two are one of them this time

Well, he's going to insist so he invokes a curse probably saying something like may

God strike me dead If I'm not telling the truth, I don't know him and then to solemnly swear.

I do not know the man third strike then the rooster crowed and the distant disciple is

The denying disciple and it all came back to him with that rooster

He had he had done what Jesus said he would do What he both confidently

Asserted that he would never do he had done it and then

What he just said he was sorry right and said a quick prayer and it shucks. I'll try better next time I went about his merry way

No He wept bitterly The distant disciple is now the weeping disciple he felt remorse he experienced

Repentance real repentance and he was carried away by a flood of sorrow for what he had done He wept bitterly because he didn't accept some kind of you know

Easy believe ism just a slap on the back after having said a repeat after me prayer and told that no matter what he does After that, he's okay if he believed that like somebody around Here now

He would have not it. He would have had to wet bitterly right to say the prayer be done with it But he didn't do that He didn't accept a quick forgiveness of sins based on a kind of a merely intellectually believing the right doctrine saying the right prayer

So there's no need to he didn't think there's no need to fret about out this sin anymore. I have grace No need to weep totally not bitterly

None of that cheap grace Soul is salvation today salvation for free.

No Contrition required no real desire to be delivered from sin

No real sense of the anguish of their her how horrendous this sin is as though you can you can even keep your sin

No, none of that He wept bitterly Because he knew that there was no forgiveness

Without repentance. There's no grace Without discipleship without the cross he wept bitterly

Because there is no cheap grace So we leave him there alone weeping bitterly finally

Coming face to face with the sin of what he really is When morning comes the religious leaders want to put a fig leaf of legitimacy on this this trial

They're not supposed to have a trial at night So they wait for the first glimmer of Sun from the East and then immediately the gavel comes down.

The court is now in session What's the verdict death and then they haul him off saying that things change for the other disciple?

the diabolical disciple the distant disciple is weeping the diabolical disciple

Is sorry He wants to undo what he has done verse 3 says that he regretted it.

That's what the word there literally means perhaps Translated as he changed his mind. Now. It's not the usual word in the

New Testament for repented or changed mind It simply means that he felt regret To feel bad about something.

So let's be clear the passage there. It says Judas felt bad about betraying

Jesus Now that alone would qualify as repentance according to many people today

But not according to God Here we see in Judas that we can sin against so much light so High -handedly as the

Puritans would say high -handedly against God's Word Harden ourselves to so much truth put our self -interest so totally against God That we run out of time

That it's too late when we feel sorry for what we've done It's too late for Judas In Matthew chapter 26 verse 15, we're told that Judas came to the to the chief priest.

This is earlier He asked for a bid and what are you offering? He thought the offer was good enough.

So he took it. He accepted it. It's all about the money Now, I'm sure he had good excuse that he told himself

But the reality is that there was no Noble motivation behind what he did.

He wanted the cash in his hand. That's all the matter at that time He is a diabolical disciple, but now he regrets it now.

He doesn't want the money now. He hates it and he loathes himself For having accepted it.

He wants to turn back the clock He even admits his sin notice that I have sinned by betraying innocent blood

It's a statement of his regret Perhaps he he knew the verse of Deuteronomy chapter 27 verse 25

Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood But he probably knew that before he made his deal.

So now Judas wants to avoid that curse the curse of being the one who betrays an innocent man

But he can't now It's too late Sometimes time runs out

Sometimes it's just too late In 1993 and 94

Andrea boo heidel was a missionary in Ethiopia with her husband and three daughters She was

German hence the pronunciation of her name Andrea She and her family were stationed far out in a remote area

We actually visited that area once but you could only reach it with the sturdiest land rovers. There wouldn't were no paved roads that are

There there and even whatever you call that to where she lived I guess a trail would be the best word not even a smooth dirt road out there

I didn't get to meet her but she did visit Mary once when she was up in Addis Ababa where we were to talk about I guess the

Pregnancy because they were both pregnant and ended about the same stage a pregnancy Then she returned to her remote area about three or four months pregnant there.

She began to have Complications she had some uncontrolled bleeding They contacted American doctors up in Addis Ababa over the radio and they gave the usual kind of advice

You stabilize and wait if things get better the kind of advice they give in the u .s Where it doesn't take long to get to emergency services where you don't have to worry about running out of time

But she didn't get better. Finally. They decided to evacuate her They could have done it by air landing a helicopter there

But they thought they had time to take her out over land over that very bumpy Trail when they finally got her to Addis Ababa.

She had lost a lot of blood and she needed a transfusion But it was the weekend In the blood bank was locked up on the weekend with no one to open it

Apparently they assumed that whoever needed blood on the weekend would have enough time to wait till Monday But time ran out

Andrea boo Heidel bled to death taking the fetus in her and leaving three little girls sometimes

Time runs out Sometimes it's too late Time for Judas has run out

We have the opinion today that will always have time time to make things right time to attend to our family to influence our children to save our marriage time to repent time to get things right with God that As long as we're alive, we think we have time

But the truth is for some time has already run out Even while they live that there are people walking around on earth for whom time has already run out and they can't go back

It's too late for them. They have sinned too often refused to repent too frequently had too much light

But still loved the darkness for whatever reason the Lord lets them live still but their time is gone

Judas is one of those he feels sorry He even admits what he did is a sin

He knows that Jesus is innocent that he's done nothing deserving death, but it's too late.

He should have thought of that Before when he was haggling for a good price to hand Jesus over But all he could think about then was the money that he could get for him now

He hates the money what he earlier wanted so much what he exchanged the life of Jesus for is now

Detestable to him so he throws it away Throwing it into the inner sanctuary of the temple toward the priest

Often we sin Because we think if we only we possess This thing this forbidden thing

It will make us happy But then once we have it What's that sinful thing we desired that illegitimate relationship?

That sexual encounter that that money that lie that forbidden fruit that we originally sought once we have it the thing that We sold everything for Now becomes the thing we would rid ourselves of But we cannot it's too late the very prize that is won by sinning can suddenly become disgusting revolting and repellent and tell the one desire is to fling it all away

I wonder How is your sin? rewarding you

Think about it. How are those things that promise you so much? Whatever that affair that immorality that drunkenness that domineering

Unsubmissive attitude that love of money like Judas that self -centeredness that pornography that unconquerable individualism that Whatever it is for you

How is your sin? Treating you is it giving you all the happiness that it promised or do you want to take it back?

Realize that your sin will either lead you to be like Peter or Like Judas you'll either detest your sin and be able mercifully to repent in sorrow

Or you'll detest your sin But it will be too late Here Judas should know that he'll be cursed for betraying innocent blood

But he does it anyway and after having done it, he can't go back. It's too late He is damned and he knows it.

He's sorry, but he not really able to repent so he can't be saved that's because saving repentance is a lot more than just a just a welling up of emotion of Sorrow for some something you did wrong in the past a lot more than regret a lot more than feeling finally seeing

What should have been obvious before the sinfulness of your choices? Repentance is turning away from sin and turning toward God in faith

Judas tries to turn away just full of emotion full of regret, but notice in verse 3

He is still the betrayer It's still Judas the betrayer and that's all that he is and he's not able to turn toward God It's too late for him

Here we see the emptiness of a mere emotion So many people today think that they can be pleasing to God because they have just so much emotion

They'll they'll laugh or they'll cry they'll feel remorse or they'll feel exhilaration. They'll feel love or they'll feel

Sorry, sorry for themselves. Mostly they're always feeling for themselves. Most of all They're feeling full of feelings about themselves and they think that is enough.

But here we see Judas. He's full of feeling He's propelled by his feelings He's so full of feelings.

He storms out of the temple throws the money away and They stalks out so full of feelings of regret it drives him to hang himself

But he has no faith in God to turn to you need more than feeling feelings feelings are like fire or a good servant, but A bad master and if that's all you have if there's if they're your master instead of your servant

Then they could one day drive you to despair and death. You need something much more solid

Than feelings You need faith Faith is not just a feeling.

It's not just a sunny optimism. Everything will turn out. Okay in the end spring is just around the corner For some people like Judas.

It doesn't turn out. Okay, some get to the end of the rope and find out they're out of time

They might be sorry, but it's too late for them To have faith faith is not a feeling

It's not an upsurge of emotion of just of sweet sentiments about mom and the flag and and Jesus all mixed together called somehow called faith faith is in Someone here is in God the

God who sovereignly controlled all of this notice that all of this has unfolded Just as the father had planned

Just as Jesus had told them it would just as scripture before had foretold that it would Either Peter nor Judas could see any of this fact.

They both denied it. They both thought they had it all under control Peter would never deny Jesus.

He insisted and Judas would be rich But then Peter remembers at the sound of the rooster

Jesus was in control after all Jesus planned it. He saw it all coming when he

Peter could not and Judas takes what he had planned to enjoy and Throws it all away literally fulfilling your scripture about a potter's field

Turned into a field of blood and God had seen it God knew it. He showed it to the prophets centuries before He's the one they should have faith in Peter remembers and weeps

He still believes and so he can repent Judas can't and So he hangs himself

Here we have the tale of two disciples Peter's outside Weeping bitterly

Judas is swinging from a tree and That's the choice before us now

Somebody today try to tell us that we can have cheap grace. We can have forgiveness without repentance We can be a

Christian and live no differently from the world. We can have our sin and Jesus do our choice then they say

Is between a cheap tearless forgiveness that Inoculates us against sorrow that on one hand or hell

That's an easy choice, isn't it? Call down tell the operator what you chose

But that's not the choice the choice is between either it being too late for our weeping to matter or Weeping in repentance and faith

Our choice is between tears and death or tears and life between sorrow plus nothing or sorrow plus grace