RIDDING THE WORLD OF JESUS

(Luke 22:1-6)
June 11, 2017

Read Luke 22:1-6 A number of years ago a judge issued a ruling that said: "If
any of you shall mention the name of Jesus or God, or any other deity, you
will rue the day that you were born and will spend up to half a year in the
[local] jail." Where did that come from? Nazi Germany in 1937? Soviet
Union, 1941? Nope, that was the 1995 ruling of a US District Court judge in
Galveston, TX warning teen-agers to keep Jesus out of their graduation
ceremonies or spend 6 months in the Galveston jail. Trying to rid the world of
Jesus. That wasnt the first, and certainly wont be the last time that is tried.

The first time it was tried is recorded in the last 3 chapters of Luke. It begins
in todays text. Opposition to Jesus has been growing, but now that He has
entered Jerusalem at Passover and publicly declared Himself to be Messiah, a
clash is inevitable. Israels leaders are beside themselves with jealousy and
moral indignation at the authority Jesus exhibits and the claims He makes.
The only thing that keeps them from acting: they feared the people (2).

But suddenly opportunity arises. Judas walks in offering to betray His friend
and their blind jealousy comes to life as a murderous plot. Four parties are
involved; each shedding light on the danger and ultimate impossibility of
trying to get rid of Jesus.

I. Religionists

Chief priests and scribes. Chief priests were major players who reported to
Caiaphas, the High Priest. The scribes were highly educated Pharisees,
theologians -- experts at the Mosaic law, and more particularly, the traditions
that had built up around the law with which Jesus often took issue. The desire
to be rid of Jesus has reached such urgency that the Jews religious and
political elite are doing the unthinkable -- plotting murder!

Why would they want to do this? Unbelief! They did not believe Jesus was
Messiah because He did not conform to their twisted theology. Their own OT
taught salvation by grace. Everywhere! God replaced Adam and Eves fig
leaves with the skins of animals showing they needed His covering, not their
own. Gen 15:6 tells us of Abraham: 6 And he believed the LORD, and he
counted it [his faith] to him as righteousness. The Law given to Moses was
not to show the way of salvation, but the need for salvation which was then
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met by providing a substitutionary sacrifice, not by works of the law. Isa 53:
5-6 summarizes: But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed
for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his wounds we are healed. 6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turnedevery oneto his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the
iniquity of us all. Salvation by grace thru faith is OT as much as NT!

But Israels leaders believed in salvation by works -- keeping the law as they
redefined it. They were incensed by Jesus message of repentance! They
refused to see that His message completed the OT while theirs denied it. They
hated His proclamation; they hated His popularity; they hated His presence.
They wanted Him gone.

And nothings changed! The same religious people want Jesus gone for the
same reason unbelief. They cant literally kill Jesus. But church after church
is filled with leaders who deny the virgin birth of Christ; deny His deity;
deny His sinless life; deny His sacrificial death and deny in His bodily
resurrection. Whats left? A Jesus redefined by them who makes no demands
and looks amazingly like them! They kill him not with nails but by veneration
without worship manipulating Him into whatever they want Him to be, easy
to do if you disregard the historical record.

But the historical record doesnt allow that! The claims He made to be God
mean you cant just treat Him as a nice guy! Bono, lead singer for U2 was
challenged: Christ has his rank among the worlds great thinkers. But Son
of God, isnt that far-fetched? He said: No. Its not far-fetched. Some say
He was a great prophet, an interesting guy, like Elijah, Buddha, or
Confucius. But Christ doesnt allow you that. He doesnt let you off that
hook. Christ says, No. Im not saying Im a prophet. Im saying I am God
incarnate. People say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet we can
take. Youre a bit eccentric. But weve had John the Baptist eating locusts
and wild honey, we can take that. But dont mention the G word! Then,
were gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no, I am Messiah; Im
God. Then, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God,
hes gonna keep saying this. So what youre left with is either Christ was
who He said He was or He was self-deluded or a complete nutcase -- on
the level of Charles Manson. Hes absolutely right. The religionists of
Jesus time couldnt get rid of Him by killing Him. And todays religionists
cant get rid of Him by consigning Him to a corner labeled Great Prophet.
He doesnt fit. You must either accept or reject Him there is no 3rd option.

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 II. Satan
3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot. Satan Adversary.
Mormon teaching says Jesus and Satan were brothers. That is absolutely false.
Jesus was God in the flesh. Satan, though powerful, was a created being an
angel of beauty and power. We first see him in Ezekiel 28 where we are told
that he was lifted up with pride because of his beauty. He then abused Gods
gift of free will and determined in Isa 14:14, I will make myself like the
Most High. In other words, I will be my own god. From that moment he
became, indeed, the great adversary of God but never on an equal basis.

We next see Satan in the Garden of Eden, tempting Eve that if she will eat the
forbidden fruit, you will be like God (Gen 3:5). Thus, Adam and Eve fell to
the same lie that took Satan down be your own God. It was a lie, of course.
Satan became their god, and they were doomed to the death God promised for
disobedience. BUT at that moment of absolute disaster, God stepped in.
Pure, unadulterated grace! He promised a deliverer to rescue mankind from
guilt and shame. He told Satan in Gen 3:15: he [the deliverer] shall bruise
your head, and you shall bruise his heel. In other words, Satan would do
harm to Gods deliverer, but he himself would suffer a fatal blow. Without
knowing specifics, Satan knew the Deliverer was a threat!

One day the deliverer arrived -- Jesus. Demonic activity reached a fever pitch.
Satan pulled all the stops to defeat his adversary and take the throne. So far,
Jesus has won every encounter. He went forty rounds with Satan early on
and where the first Adam failed the simplest test while surrounded by a garden
of perfection, the second Adam repelled every thunderous blow in a desert.
After that beating, Luke 4:13, And when the devil had ended every
temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. He retired to lick
his wounds behind his demons continuous barrage.

But now hes front and center again. An opportune time is coming. Hes
found Judas who will help him get rid of Jesus. V. 3 Satan entered into
Judas. This couldnt have happened except for two things. First, he had to
have Gods permission. Satan cant lift a finger except God allows him, as we
see in Job 1-2. The same is true here. Look down to v.31. Jesus says, Simon,
Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you [pl], that he might sift you [pl]
like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you [singular, for Peter] that your faith
may not fail. Jesus doesnt pray they not be tempted. Tests are part of the
plan. He prays they not fail. But in Judas case, Satan found a ready victim.

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Second, Judas had long ago opened himself to Satans influence in his life. He
never committed to Jesus Lordship. He was in it for what he could get. We
know that because when Judas protested Mary anointing Jesus feet with
expensive oil, John 12:6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but
because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help
himself to what was put into it. Judas had been stealing from the others for 3
years -- being his own god making his own way -- calling his own shots. But
unconfessed sin is always an open invitation to demonic influence. Now the
devil put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot (Jn 13:2) to betray Jesus. He
entered and took over. Judas had opened the way and Satan stepped on in.

And Satan has not quit trying to get rid of Jesus. At the cross his fate was
sealed. He has no chance to dislodge Jesus as Gods anointed King. But he is
determined to take as many people as he can with him. How? Through
urging the same message hes always urged you can be your own god.
Amazing the message has never changed. Thru demonically inspired
thoughts, he urges us, Be our own god. With believers and unbelievers alike
Satan influences thru the idols we allow to run and eventually ruin our lives.

The only way to marginalize him is to be absolutely honest in Gods presence.

Jesus bought that privilege for us and it is the key to continuing forgiveness.
Brennan Manning says, Honesty requires the truthfulness to admit the
attachments and addictions that control our attention, dominate our
consciousness, and function as false gods. I can be addicted to vodka or to
being nice, to marijuana or being loved, to cocaine or being right, to
gambling or relationships, to golf or gossiping. Perhaps my addiction is
food, performance, money, popularity, power, revenge, reading, television,
tobacco, weight, or winning. When we give anything more priority than we
give to God, we commit idolatry. Thus we all commit idolatry countless
times every day. The only solution is to live in a constant state of repentance
and grace to welcome Jesus minute by minute -- not try to be rid of Him.

III. Judas

Judas was outwardly so good that his companions willingly trusted him with
their money. But unconfessed sin and inward rebellion opened the door to
Satan who eventually took over. Were also going to see in a moment that
Gods sovereignty had a part to play in the plot to kill Jesus. But heres what
we learn from Judas. Neither Satans extraordinary temptation, nor Gods
sovereignty excused his action. He was personally accountable for what he
did. Lu 22:22, For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined (Gods
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sovereignty), but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed (human
responsibility)! Judas cant say to God, Between you and Satan I had no
chance. He cant say that. The choice was his. Hes responsible.

And so are we all when we outright reject Christ or consign Him to a remote
corner of our lives. Every person is responsible for their own decisions. We
will all answer for every thought, word and deed. One boy had parents who
were both naval reservists. One day his parochial school teacher complained
to another teacher about his profanity. The 2nd teacher replied, Well, he cant
help it. Both his parents are sailors. Well, bad influence or not, there will be
no excuses before God. We are accountable.

We are all massively guilty, so what can we do? Live a life of constant,
heartfelt confession to a loving Father. When we say, Oh, Lord, there I did
it again for the 4,345th time, its humiliating. But covered by grace! Rom
5:20, Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. That where we
must live. Live there until we are overwhelmed by the wonder of His
forgiveness. Own what you are and trust what He is! Thats the way to live.

IV. God

The final, surprising party in the plot to kill Jesus. God Himself. You say, I
dont see that in this passage. No? Let me show you. Lets backtrack 3
years. Luke 6:12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all
night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his
disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles. Note that
before He chose the twelve in whom to invest His life, Jesus didnt give them
a personality survey or IQ test. What did He do? He spent all night in prayer
seeking the Fathers will. Next morning, He named the twelve and Judas
was among them. Father and Son positioned him from the beginning for his
traitorous role. And Jesus knew all along. Jn 6:64b, For Jesus knew from the
beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would
betray him. Jesus followed the Fathers instruction to select Judas knowing
He was a traitor. Thus, God was a party in the plot to kill Jesus.

But, of course, His purpose was totally different from the other plotters.
Unwittingly, they were simply serving His greater purposes to bring salvation
by the substitutionary death of His own Son. God is always in control, and His
greater purposes always prevail. The death the plotters arranged did not get
rid of Jesus at all. Heb 2:14b: that through death he might destroy the one
who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who
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through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. When Satan plotted
Jesus death, He arranged His own destruction. And our salvation!

Conc Bottom line. No one can get rid of Jesus. He will either be our Lord
and Savior or He will be our judge. But we can never get rid of Him. So, why
not accept His forgiveness and surrender to Him. Come as you are. We cant
hide. We must come admitting our intolerance, our temper, our ambition, our
addictions, our failures, our pride, our unbelief. Bring it all. Bring it daily.
Live in the good of His continuous forgiveness apart from any performance
on our part and a miracle will happen. Gradually, well find less to bring;
well find humility growing; well come to love Him. And rather than trying
to be rid of Him, we wont be able to get enough of Him.

Charles Spurgeon: "Are you content to follow Jesus from a distance? Oh, let
me affectionately warn you, for it is a grievous thing when we can live
contentedly without the present enjoyment of the Saviors face. Let us work
to feel what an evil thing this is. Little love to our own dying Savior. No
matter how insensible, how hard we may have become, let's go again in all
the rags and poverty of our natural defilement and broken condition. Let's
clasp that cross. This will bring us back to our first love. This will restore the
simplicity of our faith and the tenderness of our heart. Nothing nothing
puts life into men like a dying Savior. Dont join the plot to be rid of Jesus;
rather, lets embrace Him at the cross. Lets pray.

Song I come to the cross.