THE WOUNDS OF A FAITHLESS FRIEND

LUKE 22:4

A. IF WE HAD NEVER READ THE STORY OF THE BETRAYAL OF CHRIST, WE MIGHT NEVER DREAM OF A PROFESSED BELIEVER IN CHRIST TO BE THE BETRAYER OF THE SON OF GOD
  1. The treachery that surprises:
    1. A convenient tool.
    2. One who lived a double life -
      1. He was a professed follower of Christ;
      2. and at the same time a Thief;
      3. and the betrayer of the Son of God - Mark 14:10, 11
  2. The Bible teaches:
    1. That the love of money is the root of evil - 1 Tim. 6:10
    2. Here we see the conflict between following the Lord of love and self-denial and the love of money.
B. THE WOUNDS OF A FAITHLESS FRIEND
  1. It reveals a master stroke of the devil:
    1. He knows and seeks out the double minded members of the church.
    2. He knows only too well how unstable they are - Jas. 1:8
    3. The double minded have sin in their hearts - Jas. 4:8
    4. He knows their great potentials as effective agents for or against the cause of God.
  2. The treachery of Judas:
    1. He used the symbol of love for a base purpose - to betray the Son of God into the hands of His enemies.
    2. He used the kiss to deliver his Master to be murdered by Satan's agents.
  3. There is no other treachery as great as the one by a false brother:
    1. That is what Paul says - 2 Cor. 11:13; Gal. 2:4
    2. The Lord forewarns God's people of such treachery in the last days - Matt. 24:10
    3. Brother shall betray brother - Mark 13:12
    4. Not even the one sleeping in your bosom is to be trusted completely - Mi. 7:5
  4. Judas recognized the wrong of his treachery, but too late:
    1. "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood" - Matt. 27:4
    2. That confession was too late, the act of the treachery had been consummated too far, it was irreversible.
    3. What an impression this treachery should make on us this morning!
    4. We must ever keep in mind that Satan is on the lookout to use a double-minded Christian to do injury to the cause of Christ - Luke 22:31; Mark 14:67-71
C. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE RESULT OF THE TREACHERY AND THE EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH IT
  1. The arrest:
    1. The armed mob coming out to take Jesus shows that they judged Him by themselves; they themselves were overpowered; they felt the Majesty of His presence - John 18:6
    2. They could have known that He was their Superior!
    3. His nonresistance was not that He was powerless, but rather it was a manifestation of nonresistance!
    4. In this our Lord indicates the spirit and method of meeting the enemy - nonresistance.
  2. A rash defender:
    1. Peter, impetuous but sincere, felt it his duty to prevent the arrest of the Master.
    2. He used physical force with no good effect.
    3. But the Lord had no need of Peter's carnal defense.
    4. There were legions of angels awaiting to be permitted to intervene - Matt. 26:56
    5. The Lord of glory could have smitten His captors with one word - Rev. 19:15
    6. This ought to teach us that divine triumph never comes through carnal means - Zech. 4:6
    7. When the church uses carnal means to subdue others, that is an indication that it has no spiritual power.
    8. In closing, let us seek an answer to this question: Do we, as professed Christians, use a double standard?


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