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The Convergence of the Streams - Matthew 26:1-16
Argyle – 2/22/15 – The Gospel of Matthew
Introduction to Scripture
Today is the first Sunday in Lent, a 6 week period of preparation that leads
up to our remembrance of Jesus’ death on the cross and celebration of his
resurrection. It is a good time to join a Bible study or Sunday School class, read a
Christian book, try out a new spiritual discipline, eliminate a distraction, get
serious about eliminating a sin from your life or do something else to draw closer
to Christ. It is also a time when many of our non-Christian friends are more open
to the Christian faith, so we want to pray for and be alert for opportunities to talk to
them about Jesus.
For most of my preaching during Lent I will be focusing on the last 24 hours
of Jesus life. Today, however, I want to look at some things that happened a little
earlier in that last week of Jesus’ life. This will help us get the bigger picture of
what was going on in the crucifixion and resurrection. (Read) (Pray)
Convergence of the Streams
Recently I was driving up the Northway with someone from out of the area.
He was surprised to discover that the body of water we crossed between Exits 17
and 18 was the Hudson River. He knew the Hudson from down in New York City
and never realized that it came up this far north. The Hudson actually begins
farther up in the Adirondacks at the convergence (picture) of Indian Pass Brook
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and Calamity Brook near the outlet of Henderson Lake (picture) in Newcomb, NY.
Along the way from the Adirondacks to the Atlantic Ocean a number of other
streams and rivers flow into it, including the Mohawk River. If you are familiar
with the Hudson in the New York City area, it is hard to imagine the various small
streams that came together to make up this important river.
In this morning’s Scripture passage we see the convergence of the streams
that led to the two most important events in human history - the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jim Boice writes, (picture) “In all human history, no
events have ever been of greater significance or more specifically prophesied than
these. This drama is the turning point of history, the very center of Christianity.”
Notice the three streams that we see flowing together in this passage. First, is the
plot of the Jewish leaders, second is the offer of Judas to betray Jesus and third is
the plan of God to save humanity.
Matthew tells us that the chief priests and elders of the people met in the
palace of Caiaphas, the high priest, to plot Jesus’ arrest and killing. They didn’t
want to arrest him during the Passover Feast because it might trigger a riot. Jesus
was very popular with the common people who would have flocked to Jerusalem
to celebrate the Passover. This was not the first time the Jewish leaders had
discussed getting rid of Jesus. As we’ve seen the last two weeks, their opposition
to Jesus was growing. In Chapter 21 after Jesus told the parable of the tenants the
religious leaders looked for a way to arrest him because they realized the parable
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was about them. In this morning’s Scripture passage we see their plans becoming
more specific and deadly.
The second stream we see converging here is Judas’ offer to betray Jesus.
What in the world was he thinking? He had just spent 3 years living with the only
perfect person who had ever lived and now he was willing to hand Jesus over to his
enemies. Why? Why? We are told in John 12 that Judas was the group’s
treasurer and had stolen from the money he was entrusted with. So, he was greedy
for and dishonest with money. Yet 30 pieces of silver was not a lot of money to
turn someone into the authroities. Some have suggested that Judas may have been
connected with the Zealots, a Jewish revisionary movement that expected the
Messiah to overthrow the Romans. When he realized that Jesus had no intention of
doing this, he may have become disillusioned and bitter. Whatever his reasons,
Judas’ offer to betray Jesus radically changed the religious leaders’ plan. They had
wanted to wait until after the Passover to execute their plan, but now they had an
offer they couldn’t refuse.
The 30 pieces of silver and the timetable change both point to the third and
most important stream leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection - God’s plan to
save humanity from their sin. The 30 pieces of silver was prophesied in Zechariah
11 and Jeremiah 19. Jesus himself had predicted a different timetable for his death
than the Jewish leaders had originally planned. Jesus said to his disciples, “As you
know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to
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be crucified.” The leaders had wanted to wait until after the Passover, but God had
planned for his Son to die during the Passover to help us understand that he died,
much like a Passover lambs as a sacrifice. This was the fourth time Jesus had
warned his disciples about his coming death, each time being more specific.
Jesus came into this world to die as a sacrifice for sins. When John the
Baptist first saw Jesus he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of
the world.”(John 1:29) Jesus himself said, “The Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Here
is one author’s attempt to explain this in poetry
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Born To Die
Shawn Pearson
The birth of a child, what a blessed event,
And this, the Christ child who, from Heaven is sent!
There He lay near the mother who bore Him,
In a stable where shepherds flock to adore Him.
All was so peaceful that silent night,
But this babe was born entrenched in a fight.
The placid scene of the meager manger,
Seemed worlds away from impending danger.
From first breath this precious One’s days were numbered,
He was to save a world that was by sin encumbered.
No birth announcement or baby shower,
He only arrived with God’s saving power.
Long, long ago in the Bethlehem stall,
The answer was told to us once for all.
The perfect gift given to you and to I,
Is Jesus, God’s Son, who was born to die.
Like the convergence of Indian Pass and Calamity Brooks to form the
Hudson River, the convergence of the religious leaders’ plot, the offer of Judas and
the plan of God lead to the death and resurrection of Jesus. I like Peter’s summary
of how the good plan of God and the evil plan of men converged. This was part of
his sermon on the Day of Pentecost. “But God knew what would happen, and his
prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of
lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.”(NLT, Acts 2:23)
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Contrast in Reactions
We see in this passage the convergence of the streams that led to Jesus’
death and resurrection. The other thing we see is the contrast in reactions to Jesus.
We have already talked a little bit about Judas living for three years with the only
perfect person to ever live. He got to experience Jesus’ love and graciousness and
teaching and power up close and personal. What a great privilege, a dream come
true, more than any of us could ask for. Yet, Judas turned his back on Jesus and
rejected him. None of us would do that, would we? Judas is a warning to those of
us in the church that it is possible to be quite close to Jesus - to sit in a church
listening to sermons about him, to be in a Bible study, to have Christian parents
and Christian friends, yet fail to love Christ and never reach the point of making a
personal commitment to him as our Lord and Savior. We can be that close to
Jesus, yet still be lost. So, before we pass over what Judas did, shaking our heads
and asking how he could do such an evil thing, we need to ask ourselves if we are
guilty of doing likewise. We certainly can’t betray Jesus like Judas did, but we can
ignore him and trivialize him and disobey him. Are our lives more like Judas’ or
the woman who poured perfume on Jesus’ head? That’s the contrast in reactions
we see in this passage.
On the one hand there is Judas who sold Jesus for a few bucks and on the
other is this woman who poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ head. We are
fortunate that both Mark and John also record this incident and fill in some of the
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details. Although Matthew doesn’t name this woman, John tells us that it is Mary,
Lazarus and Martha’s sister. She is the one in Luke 10 who we find sitting at
Jesus’ feet listening to his teaching while Martha is running around. Jesus affirms
Mary for choosing to do what is better. This is Mary who when her brother,
Lazarus, had died, fell at Jesus’ feet when he came to comfort them. Whereas
Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, Mary poured a jar of expensive perfume on
Jesus’ head as an act of gratitude and worship. She didn’t merely dip her finger
into the perfume and smear in on Jesus’ head or carefully sprinkle out a little of it.
No, she broke the jar and poured the whole thing out on his head. John tells us that
this perfume was worth a whole year’s wages. A whole year’s wages! What
would that be for you?
Whereas Judas is a warning to us, Mary is a challenge. What does your
giving to Jesus look like? I just did my taxes this week which is the annual report
card on the extent of my generosity. Right there in black and white I can compare
my giving to my income and see what percentage we have given away. What does
your 1040 form say about the extent of your generosity this year? But our giving
is not limited to just money. As we saw with Mary in Luke 10, she gave time to
Jesus, learning from him. How much of your time do you offer to Jesus in learning
and service, how much of your devotion, how much of you giftedness and
experience? I am afraid a lot of us are just dippers and sprinklers. Mary
challenges us to be all in.
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Mary and Mary are quite a contrast in reactions to Jesus. They both spent
lots of time with him, Judas a lot more that Mary. They are an example of that old
adage that there are two kinds of people in the world - givers and takers. You
know people who would give you the shirt off their back or anything else that you
needed. And then there are the kind of people who just seem to be interested in
what they can get from you - a sale, status, free labor. Givers and takers. Mary
was interested in what she could give to Jesus and nothing was too extravagant for
her Lord. Judas, on the other hand, apparently was in it for what he could get out
of Jesus and when he didn’t get what he wanted, he turned his back on him.
Which of these two are you more like? In your relationship with Jesus are you a
giver or a taker?