The Betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ Matt 26 47-56 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The world has a twisted impression of Jesus Christ as did the Pharisees. Jesus had come to give them liberty and all they could see is that he was stealing their followers. As men believed on him they feared the Romans would come and take away their place and nation. So, they arrested him like a thief. They tried him like a thief. They convicted him like a thief. They hung him like a thief, with two thieves.
Not to disappoint his accusers and murderers, he said that would return as a thief in the night:
- He will come when he is not expected; the devil doesn’t even know when he is coming [Mk13:32, Matt 24:43].
- He will come to take something [the rapture; he steals our bodies from death].
- And when he encounters the guard [the devil] he will bind him.
No, the thief that day was not the Lord. The thief was:
Judas Iscariot – Matt 26:47-50, Jn 12:3-6 – the one who accused and betrayed him was the thief.
The Devil – Jn 10:10 – in the Garden of Eden he stole their innocence – he stole Adam’s dominion [Lk 4:5-6, Gen 1:26] – against Job, he stole all of his possessions, his children and his health – and he will attempt to steal the throne and glory of God [2 Thes 2:3-4] – and he has stolen your soul; you are child of the devil until you get saved. And people fuss at God and blame him!!
Sin – sin like an embezzler almost indiscernibly steals from you until you are bankrupt – it steal your innocence, your wealth, your mind, your joy, and your heart – and then like a bloody killer, it steals your life – as in the story of the good Samaritan, sin leaves you broke, bloody and half dead; you are something that only Jesus can fix. No sir, Jesus was not the thief!
The men for whom he died – they stole his clothes [Matt 27:35], they stole his throne [Jn 19:15; 19:21-22], and they stole his glory [Matt 26:63-66; 27:39-44] – and when you run your own life, you steal his throne – and when you take his name in vain or do things for your own glory and recognition, you steal his glory – if they can’t see Jesus in you, then you are a thief – and when you don’t give, you steal his tithe – and when you corrupt the Bible, you steal his words.
You – you are a thief when you try to enter heaven by any other way than through Jesus Christ [Jn 14:6] – “He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber,” [Jn 10:1].
Quit trying to steal heaven by your religious means and your self-righteousness. Instead, receive Jesus Christ and his gift of eternal life so that you can truly be saved and, like the thief on the cross, be with him in paradise!