LECTURE CVIII. JESUS BETRAYED, AND FORSAKEN BY HIS MATT. xxvi. 45-56. 45. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.1 46. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. 47. And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master; and kissed him. 50. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51. And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.2 1 Sleep on now. This is no time when your exertions are required, or can avail to your Master or yourselves. e We learn from St. John xviii. 10, that this was Peter, who at the present moment felt ready to redeem the pledge which he had given not long before, "Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee." 52. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 53. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54. But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? It would have answered none of the purposes of our Lord's coming, that his kingdom should have been established by the exercise of irresistible power. Such power does not affect the heart, or gain any influence over the will of men, though it may constrain their actions. And the rule which the Christian is to follow, is that practised by his divine Master: " "though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal." 3 Whoever is so unwise as to employ such weapons, instead of gaining his object, must expect them to be turned against himself. He must expect neither success nor protection from above. They that take the sword shall perish with the sword. If the apostles had now understood the purpose of our Lord's appointed death, they would not have been surprised at his yielding to his enemies. Yet they had seen enough of his power to perceive, had they recollected, that these enemies could do nothing against him, "unless it were given them from above.” They are reminded of this. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father," and he shall give his angels charge concerning me?" But how then 32 Cor. v. 15. shall the Scriptures be fulfilled? Those Scriptures which predict that "Messiah shall be cut off;" that he shall be "led as a lamb to the slaughter:" "cut off out of the land of the living.' Still more, those which promise that he shall be "wounded for our transgressions," and that "the chastisement of our 99 4 peace shall be on him." 5 Therefore" he poured out his soul unto death:" he "laid down his life of himself," and "no man took it from him :" as the people ought to have been convinced, by what he proceeds to address to them. 55. In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56. But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. His disciples were now, for the first time, thoroughly convinced that it was the intention of Jesus to surrender himself to his enemies. They were in earnest, no doubt, when they lately affirmed, "Though we should die with thee, yet will we not deny thee." It is quite natural that they might have said this sincerely at the time, and yet afterwards have given way in the hour of danger and temptation. Indeed as far as appears, they might have been ready to die with him now, if he had consented to defend himself. But his declarations and his conduct showed, in a manner not to be mistaken, that this was not his intention. So they all forsook him and fled. And See Dan. ix. 26; Is. liii. 5 Is. liii. 5-12. the tone of St. Matthew, who had been himself one of that company, when he here relates the fact of this flight and desertion, intimates a conscious recol- · lection of timidity and dismay. Jesus indeed had said, How then must the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? He had plainly hinted, that what the "wicked hands" of the chief priests and elders were now doing, was done by "the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." But as yet the disciples "knew not the scriptures;" did not understand that they would be accomplished by his death. And though long before the date of his writing this gospel, St. Matthew had been enlightened to perceive the meaning of those scriptures himself, and to expound it to others,-still, in his narrative, he is led by the Spirit to represent his former state of mind when the events took place, and never intermixes the knowledge of the apostle with the feelings of the disciple. Doubtless his conscience reminded him, that at that hour of despair, when "the power of darkness" prevailed, the feeling of himself, and of his brethren had been, that their own immediate safety must be consulted, and not that the design of the Incarnation must be fulfilled. Yielding to the crisis, they all forsook him, and fled. We are in equal danger, when trial comes, of deserting the allegiance which we owe to the Redeemer. Our constancy is too often vanquished by difficulties far less than those which overcame these disciples. It is only by that "strength which is 6 Acts ii. 23. made perfect in our weakness," that present evils are boldly met, present losses willingly undergone, present temptations successfully resisted. There was no intention on the part of Christ, that his disciples should be brought into immediate danger, still less that they should perish with him. The nature of his sacrifice admitted of no companion in suffering. Therefore he did not inspire them with resolution: but has left us this example as a testimony, that by his strength alone we can be enabled to "hold fast our integrity," even for a single day. LECTURE CIX. JESUS ARRAIGNED BEFORE CAIAPHAS.-DENIED BY PETER. MATT. xxvi. 57-75. 57. And they that laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high-priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58. But Peter followed him afar off unto the high-priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59. Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 7 See John xix. 8, "I have told you that I am he. If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way. |