WWUTT 2113 The Greatest Sin of All Time (Matthew 26:47-56)

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It is amazing what God had prophesied in the scriptures that we see fulfilled in the person and life of Jesus Christ.

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God had ordained even the death of his own son for our salvation when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand The Text, a daily study in the word of Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.

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Find all our videos and other ministry resources at www .utt .com.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky, and greetings everyone. In our study of the

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Gospel of Matthew, we've been in chapter 26 this week with Jesus and his disciples in the

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Garden of Gethsemane. And we bring that hour to a close as Judas comes with the mob to arrest

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Jesus and turn him over to the high priest. I'm reading here verses 47 to 56 out of the

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Legacy Standard Bible. Hear the word of the Lord. And while he was still speaking, behold,

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Judas, one of the twelve, came up, and with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

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Now he who was betraying him gave them a sign, saying, Whomever I kiss, he is the one, seize him.

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And immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, Greetings, Rabbi, and kissed him.

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And Jesus said to him, Friend, do what you have come for. Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.

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

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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.

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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?

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Therefore, how will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?

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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?

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Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place in order that the

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Scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him and fled.

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Just as Jesus said they would do. And so here as Judas brings the mob to arrest

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Jesus, we see that there are three addresses. Jesus addressing three audiences.

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The first one is Judas. You have that exchange between Jesus and Judas in verses 49 and 50.

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And then Jesus addresses Peter. Now Peter's name is not mentioned in this section. We know from other gospel accounts that it was

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Peter who struck off or struck off, who pulled out his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

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Matthew doesn't mention it was Peter, but we know that's who it was. So you have Jesus addressing Peter and saying, if we're going to have this your way, the

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Scriptures won't be fulfilled. And then Jesus addresses the mob, says the same thing to them.

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You didn't you didn't arrest me before when you had the chance. It's happened this way so that the prophets would be fulfilled.

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And Jesus is showing here that all this has been sovereignly ordained to take place just like this so that we would be saved.

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Even an evil as great as putting the son of God to death, God foreordained for our good and for his glory.

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Let's come back to verse 47. While Jesus was speaking, behold, Judas came up with a large crowd.

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Now, if you'll recall from what we read yesterday, Jesus was with his disciples. They were praying.

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He comes back and finds the disciples weren't praying, but had fallen asleep. So he says to them, get up.

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Let us go. Behold, the one who betrays me is at hand. And they look and there is

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Judas with the mob coming to arrest Jesus. And so there's Judas, one of the twelve with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs who came from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

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Now, it's only in John 18, all four gospels recall this, this event,

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Jesus being arrested in the garden and then taken before the high priest. But only in John's gospel is it said that there was a

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Roman cohort with them. Really, the if it was just a mob that had been sent from the priest, they don't have any authority to do anything.

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Jesus would have turned himself over anyway so that the scriptures would be fulfilled. But though they show up with swords and clubs, they can't actually fight or put anyone to death unless the

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Romans say that they can. So for this arrest to be official, the Romans had to be with them.

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And indeed, there was a Roman guard that had been entrusted to the high priest, and he sends them along with this mob to go and arrest

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Jesus. So then, verse 48, he who was betraying him gave them a sign saying,

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Whomever I kiss, he is the one sees him. So we know that that exchange happened before this event takes place,

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Judas giving them a sign. And as I said to you, I can't remember if it was earlier this week or if it was the week before.

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Oh, I think it was when we were in Isaiah 53, where it says in Isaiah 53 that he had no form or majesty that we should look at him.

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Nothing about his appearance that we should desire him. That was prophesied in Isaiah's prophecy 700 years before these things take place.

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Isaiah said there was nothing about Jesus' appearance that made him stand out from anyone else.

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And so there was a possibility that when this guard came to arrest Jesus, that one of the other disciples could step forward and go,

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I'm he, I'm the guy that you're looking for. And so how would they know the difference? They're all, you know,

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Galileans. Some of them are fishermen. They have regular casual jobs. It wasn't like Jesus was dressed in white with a purple sash and stood out from the rest of his disciples.

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He looked just like them. And so as the as this mob comes to arrest

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Jesus, they needed a sign so that they knew that they were getting the right guy. And one of his disciples wasn't trying to fool them.

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So Judas says, it's the one I kiss. That's how you know he was the man.

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Now surely there were servants of the high priest there that may have recognized him. Of course, it's dark. They've got torches, but you know, best guess that we can put forward that we are arresting the right guy.

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But Judas says to them, I'm going to kiss the one and you're going to know that that was him. And what a sign that he chose for his betrayal of the son of God, a kiss that he would kiss him.

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And immediately, Judas went to Jesus and said, greetings, Rabbi, and kissed him.

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You know, it's it's been asked of me before. What do you think is the greatest sin that was ever committed? And of course,

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Jesus had said earlier in Matthew's gospel that all blasphemies of men will be forgiven except a blasphemy of the

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Holy Spirit. That is one blasphemy that God will never forgive. And that was said in the context of the

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Pharisees who were attributing the miracles that Jesus did to Satan or Beelzebul. And so if they saw the actual work of God being performed in front of their very eyes and they attributed that work instead to Satan, either they were committing the unforgivable sin or they were dangerously close to doing so.

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And that was why Jesus said what he said. It may have also somewhat been prophetic to refer to Judas in this way.

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For Judas was with Jesus and had actually acted in the power of the

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Holy Spirit. Remember that Jesus had sent out the disciples to go into Israel to the children of Israel and they were given the authority to cast out demons and heal diseases and so on and so forth.

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Judas probably did. He probably cast out demons, even though he himself was going to be turned over to Satan.

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Satan was going to fill him once he made that decision that he was going to betray Christ.

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Judas at one point was probably casting out demons. So this is a man who had under the power of the

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Holy Spirit to do these things and yet betrays Christ, though he had the spirit upon him in this way.

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And that could have been what Jesus was referring to with regards to a blasphemy of the

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Holy Spirit. I think that that sin could still be committed today, but we're not going to know for sure who it is that commits a blasphemy of the

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Holy Spirit. That is what God knows. We do not know that. So as far as we're concerned, if a person has a breath in their lungs, share the gospel with them.

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For everyone who is still alive has that opportunity to turn from sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and live.

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If a person has committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, they probably don't know it and neither will we. Only God knows.

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So let us continue to preach the gospel that others may be saved. Judas, perhaps that's who

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Jesus was referring to when he talks about this blasphemy that will never be forgiven. We know that Judas was called the son of perdition, the son of destruction, that he was born to do this.

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He was predestined for hell as there were prophecies that were made about him. The greatest sin that was ever committed in the history of man was the death of the son of God, putting

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Jesus to death. The greatest sin that mankind ever perpetuated against God was killing his own son.

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And yet even in the midst of that sin, there was one greater still. And that was

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Judas' betrayal of Jesus and betraying him with a kiss.

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And Jesus revealing just how sinister this was.

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When after Judas did this, Jesus replies in verse 50, friend, do what you have come for.

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Jesus had loved Judas, even though he knew what

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Judas was going to do. Even though it would be through Judas Iscariot that the prophecies about the betrayer would be fulfilled.

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Yet Jesus loved him. He said in the Sermon on the Mount, love your enemies.

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And knowing Judas was an enemy, Jesus nonetheless loved him. As I've talked about in previous episodes, according to the context of John 13,

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Jesus washed Judas' feet. And as Becky and I considered on the Q &A this past Friday, likely

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Judas was even right there with the rest of the disciples at the Lord's Supper when he passed the cup and the bread and said, do this in remembrance of me.

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He was definitely there for the Passover meal, may have even been there when

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Jesus instituted the Lord's table. So he showed love and kindness to Judas, even welcoming him to his table.

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And Judas betrayed him. There was no evil in the history of man greater than this.

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Judas, a few hours from now, would become so overwhelmed with guilt, his conscience so dark and weighed down that he eventually took his own life.

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We'll talk more about that once we get to Judas' suicide. But here, Judas is betraying

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Jesus, probably thinking he's doing the right thing. I mean, surely he didn't think that he was doing something evil.

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Not yet, anyway. And he betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And Jesus' response to him was, friend, do what you have come for, showing that Jesus had given love to Judas, and yet Judas responded in this way.

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Just as Jesus was betrayed, we are going to experience betrayals in our life as well.

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It's inevitable that it will happen. In fact, Jesus said, they will hate you because of me. And the

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Apostle Paul told Timothy, those who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

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And so just because you want to do the right thing, you want to be godly, you want to pursue holiness, people will hate you.

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Even your own friends will hate you and betray you. Jesus was betrayed by Judas.

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Paul was betrayed by Demas. We have other occasions of betrayal that are mentioned in the scriptures.

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It's going to happen. And yet Jesus has called us to love. And so just as we have seen this modeled by our

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Savior who loved his enemies, so we too must love those who hate us.

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Leave it to the hand of God, as said in Romans 12, don't take vengeance into your own hands.

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For the scripture says, vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. If through our kindness, we show kindness to our enemies, they're convicted of heart and repent, praise

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God. And we can be reconciled with one another, amen. But if it should so happen that that person does not repent and you are not reconciled, that will also be to the glory of God.

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But he will handle those things in his time, in his way. We continue on here with the next exchange, this one between Jesus and Peter, behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew out his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

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Now, if you've seen the Passion of the Christ, it's a Roman soldier that that that Peter strikes with the sword and cuts off his ear.

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The servant of the high priest was likely not dressed like a Roman soldier. But here,

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Peter has struck his ear and cut it off. And Jesus tells him to put his sword back into his place.

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Now, in Matthew and Mark's accounts of this, Jesus doesn't heal the ear, but in Luke and in John, he does.

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I take that back. I think it's only Luke. So I think only Luke recalls that Jesus touched the ear and healed it.

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I don't believe even in John, it says that that the that the servant of the high priest ear was healed, although it does give his name there in John.

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His name is Malchus. So anyway, Peter is the one Peter's, the one who cuts off the ear,

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Jesus says to him, put your sword back into its place for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.

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Now, a lot of times people will take that as a proverb. You know, Jesus is speaking generally that if you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

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That's not what Jesus was referring to. He's talking about capital punishment here. If you live by the sword, if you think that you are going to perpetuate your cause through violence, you know what's going to happen to you?

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The one whom God has appointed to have the authority of the sword will come and kill you.

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And he's speaking of the government. In Romans chapter 13, he does not bear the sword in vain.

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He is God's servant, an avenger to punish the wrongdoer. And so Jesus is warning

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Peter here, if this is the route you want to go, you're going to be put to death. You want to live by the sword. You are going to die by the sword, dying by the sword that God has ordained to be wielded into the hands of the governing authorities who wield it.

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So he goes on to say, this is different. This is now a different statement in verse 53. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once put my, at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels.

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In other words, look at you with your little blade. What are you doing? Don't you know who

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I have access to? If I wanted to, if I wanted to fight back this mob, do you guys, do you disciples really believe

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I am who you say that I am? Remember the question that Jesus had asked his disciples back in chapter 16, who do you say that I am?

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Peter is the one who answers you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And here is Peter drawing his sword to try to fight back this mob.

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Jesus is going. If you believe that I am who you have said that I am, I could call up.

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What was it? I got to look here again. 12 legions of angels. I could call up 12 legions of angels to have at my disposal.

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The father would give them to me. You know how many 12 legions of angels are a legion is about 6 ,000.

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So that would have been 72 ,000 angels. Here's this little mob here. Well, I can really show them up with the angel armies of God behind me if I wanted them.

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But Jesus says, how will the scriptures be fulfilled? If that's what

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I'm going to do, if that's, if this is what you're going to do, try to fight back this mob with your little blade. And if I were to call up 12 legions of angels, how would the scriptures be fulfilled?

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Again, Jesus had told his disciples, this is how this is supposed to happen. So put your sword away.

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And then in verse 55, at that time, Jesus said to the crowds, now he's looking to the crowds and saying to them the same thing that the scriptures are being fulfilled even in your midst.

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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.

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But all this has taken place this way in order that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.

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And then just as Jesus had predicted with his disciples back in verse 31, all the disciples left him and fled.

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And so this section is showing us even with Judas coming and kissing Jesus, all of this was prophesied that Judas was going to do this.

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So this section is showing us that these things are in fulfillment of those prophecies that had been made about this very night.

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God had sovereignly ordained that all of this would happen just like this.

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Not that God is making the best of a bad situation. Not that God looked down the tunnel of time and saw, oh, well, you know,

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I see these people that are going to come against my son. So that's where in time it will happen. And I'm going to choose that time to, to fulfill this redemption of man.

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Let's do it right there. No, these things were prophesied to happen like this because God ordained them to happen like this.

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So that even the death of God's son, as great an evil as that was perpetuated by man, both

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Jews and Gentiles cooperating in that sin. Yet, even this evil, God had ordained for some ultimate good.

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Remember Genesis 50, 20 with Joseph saying to his brothers, you meant this for evil.

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God meant it for good. That many might be saved. And so we see that happening here, even in Matthew 26.

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Let me finish with this account here in Acts chapter four, the disciples lifted up their voices to God with one accord and said, oh master, it is you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

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And who, by the Holy spirit through the mouth of our father, David, your servant said, why did the

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Gentiles rage and the people's devise vain things? The Kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers were gathered together against the

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Lord and against his Christ for truly in this city, there were gathered together against your

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Holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the

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Gentiles and the people of Israel to do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur.

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God had predestined that this would happen for the salvation of man and my friends, he's predestined even the things that happen in your life for your good, for your sanctification that you would be made more like Jesus Romans eight 28 for God works all things together for good for those who love

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God and are called according to his purpose. Heavenly father, we thank you for what we have read here and may it be a reminder to us that you are in control.

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You have made the way of peace between us and God. You have made the way for us to have fellowship with you through your son,

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Jesus Christ. And so may we continue in looking at what Jesus did on the cross for us to trust in you with all of our situations and circumstances that we are in, that we have, that have been in our past, that we have coming in our future in any and all things.

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We trust God because we know you are working this out ultimately for our good and for your glory.

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It is in Jesus name we pray, amen. You've been listening to when we understand the text with Pastor Gabe Hughes.

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Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an

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Old Testament book. On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an