The Messiah’s Last Supper

Humans are instinctively good at people-pleasing. From the time we are born, we begin to learn what irritates and pleases people, and throughout our lives, we make decisions based on how we can avoid conflict and earn people’s favor. The story of Judas’s betrayal of Christ amplifies this tendency. I find it striking when Jesus announces to the disciples at His last Passover that one of them would betray Him, that none of them say, “Oh, well, it’s got to be Judas.” Not only did none of them immediately think of Judas as the most likely traitor, but they were even concerned about their own sinful tendencies as they tried to reassure Jesus that they would never do such a thing. It’s impossible to see each other’s hearts clearly. We can take certain attitudes and reactions into consideration in our evaluations, but ultimately, we are at the mercy of everyone else’s potential hypocrisy. This is particularly significant as we consider people’s testimonies of faith when they join our church. We do our best to ensure that the testimony itself is sound and that the lifestyle matches the words, but we can’t guarantee anyone’s salvation, and many have walked away through the centuries. But the real significance of this is our evaluation of ourselves. We are often so good at our hypocrisy that we fool ourselves with our lies. The religious leaders thought of themselves as righteous even while they plotted a treacherous arrest and murder of Jesus Christ. We need to use caution that we are not like Judas who looked so much like a follower of Jesus that he likely fooled himself along with his eleven closest friends. This is the heart behind the warnings of Hebrews. We have experienced significant grace in having the gospel revealed to us, but we must keep believing it all the way to the end of our lives lest we risk the fate of Judas, about whom Jesus said, “It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Confess sin, repent, and pursue the purity for which Jesus gave Himself for us (Tit. 2:14). This is the best way to ensure that we will be believing right up until the last day of our lives. – Pastor Rory Martin

Sunday at Liberty

9AM: Pastor Rory–Submission to Government, 3

10AM: Pastor Rory–Matthew 26:17-35–The Messiah’s Last Supper (sermon notes)

6PM: Pastor Nate–Deuteronomy 16:1-8–The Bread of Affliction