The Kiss

The extreme hypocrisy and deceit of Judas kiss.

John 18:4-9 Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to Him, so He stepped forward to meet them. "Who are you looking for?" He asked. 5 "Jesus the Nazarene," they replied. "I AM He," Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed Him, was standing with them.) 6 As Jesus said "I AM He," they all drew back and fell to the ground! 7 Once more He asked them, "Who are you looking for?" And again they replied, "Jesus the Nazarene." 8 "I told you that I AM He," Jesus said. "And since I am the One you want, let these others go." 9 He did this to fulfill His own statement: "I did not lose a single one of those You have given Me."

Luke 22:48 But Jesus said, "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"

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Jesus is in the garden praying as he waits for the betrayer to make his way there. He knows that he is coming and that his time is near, Jesus knew that stepping into Gethsemane was the first in a series of events that would lead to his trial and crucifixion.

The only one of the twelve that isn't in the garden is Judas but he will be there soon. For Judas it is time to stop wasting his life living a lie and deceiving the other eleven men in his small group. Those eleven guys are going to be in complete shock, none of them had any clue about what was in Judas' heart, none of them had a good reason to suspect Judas and they didn't even get it when Jesus told them in the Upper Room.

The guards were unnecessary!

Judas proves that he doesn't really know Jesus as he enters the garden with a large group of temple guards. (Matthew 26:55) There wasn't any resistance, the Shepherd willingly and boldly lay down his life for his sheep, the crowd could have been much smaller and they certainly could have left their torches and weapons at home.

Did Judas think they were going to have to search the garden or fight the other disciples? Did he think that Jesus was going to make a miraculous escape like he had done before? Would any number of soldiers make a difference if Jesus choose to get away?

The kiss was unnecessary! 

Nobody would think anything was wrong when Judas walked up and gave Jesus a kiss. It was common practice in their culture for a Rabbi to be greeted with a kiss as a sign of love and devotion but that was not the purpose of this kiss.

Even in the dark there wasn't any problem identifying Jesus, he didn't resist or hide but instead he calmly declared who he was and surrendered to them, there wasn't any chance that they would get the wrong guy.

Psalms 27:6 Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

The extreme hypocrisy of the kiss is amazing. The deep emotions and loyalty that is felt between people that kiss is so opposite the intentions of Judas. The deceit is reminiscent of the trickery that occurred back in another garden. That snake that betrayed man in the Garden of Eden is at work in Gethsemane and will continue until God makes him stop forever.

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

It is easier to betray Jesus than we like to admit When we pretend to know and love the Lord and choose our own way we are betraying the closest friend that we could ever have. If your attitude toward Jesus is wrong, if you feel like he isn't treating you fair or if you fail to live up to your Sunday morning promises later in the week then you are betraying Jesus.

Judas proves that we can be busy in ministry and in small group and even have the best Bible teacher but it is not enough if it doesn't change your heart. Judas shows us that the desire for personal pleasure and financial gain can lead us to question Jesus and compromise our love for him.

Why? By Michael Card
Why did it have to be a friend Who chose to betray the Lord Why did he use a kiss to show them         That's not what a kiss is for	Only a friend can betray a friend A stranger has nothing to gain And only a friend comes close enough To ever cause so much pain

The Garden

The first garden is a story of disobedience but Gethsemane is all about obedience.

John 18:1-6 After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with His disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. 2 Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with His disciples. 3 The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

4 Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to Him, so He stepped forward to meet them. "Who are you looking for?" He asked. 5 "Jesus the Nazarene," they replied. "I AM He," Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed Him, was standing with them.) 6 As Jesus said "I AM He," they all drew back and fell to the ground!

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It must have been getting towards midnight by the time Jesus and his disciples reached the Garden of Gethsemane. Thousands of Passover pilgrims were sound asleep, weary from their trip to Jerusalem, and unaware of the spiritual battle taking place.

The excitement and joy that always accompanied Passover was lost on the disciples this time around as they continue to process all of the things that have happened since supper last night. They still cannot believe that Jesus washed their feet like a servant should have done and they still don't have any idea why Judas is missing. It seems so ridiculous now that they were arguing about their rank in Jesus' kingdom. (Luke 22:24)

They probably felt some comfort when they realized that Jesus was heading to the garden where they had already spent many nights with him. Jesus didn't feel the same comfort, he knew what was about to take place, still he walks on. Stepping into the garden where the betrayer would show himself and start a chain of events that would lead to his death was an act of obedience.

Gardens have a special place in history, in the beginning the first battle with sin was in a beautiful garden where the first Adam failed and now in a garden that is scarred by sin the second Adam steps into the garden ready for the battle that would change the world.

Mark 14:34 He told them, "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me."

Jesus took on the physical suffering and also the agony of the weight of every sin. We cannot imagine the experience that Jesus had as the sinless one became sin for us and experienced the separation from God that we all experienced before we became God's child.

There is another beautiful garden experience that is on the way for the children of God! It will be more glorious than the first garden and we will never have to leave!

In this new garden there will not be any sin, crying, sadness or death. The river flowing through this garden will flow forever and the tree of life will produce everlasting fruit. The glory of God will be fully revealed to us there!

I cannot wait to get to that garden! I have been in the garden of disobedience (Eden) and I have been in the garden of betrayal (Gethsemane). I cannot wait to go to the better garden heaven and experience God's presence for eternity.

Praying For Real

Jesus prays on the Mount of Olives.

Luke 22:39-46 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives.

40 There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”

41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. 45 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief.

46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”

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Jesus and his disciples had just finished the Passover meal, they left Jerusalem and went to the Mount of Olives, it was a familiar place that they have been to many times. Matthew and Mark tells that they went to the Garden of Gethsemane which was at the foot of the mount. (Matthew 26:36, Mark 14:32)

Jesus knows why he is there, Jesus is there to do some serious praying and he tells the disciples to do the same. Jesus steps away from the disciples and gets alone with God, he needs to talk to the "Father" about what is coming up very soon. Did you notice the closeness of their relationship in the use of the word Father?

Jesus didn't pray a lofty prayer or a prayer that hides what we are going through, his humanity is really showing in the agony of his prayer, he doesn't want to go through suffering but he wanted to be obedient to God's will. Jesus shows us that we are perfectly normal when we approach fear with distress and he had the same desire to avoid suffering that we have.

Jesus was willing to obey his father, to be human and to accept the undeserved suffering and death. Jesus prayed to his father with great honesty, he didn't hold back, all of his humanity shows up in this scene just before his trial and crucifixion.

Hebrews 4:15-16 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

When trials come and it seems like evil is all around, I need to remember that Jesus understands my weaknesses and he wants me to come to him in honesty so that I may receive comfort and grace.