"JESUS RECEIVED THE COLD KISS OF BETRAYAL SO THAT WE MIGHT NEVER BE ALONE."

Singing: (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise" Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Psalm 59:1,4
Hymn 22:1
Psalm 41:3,4
Psalm 55:3,6,7,11,12
Hymn 21:1,2,3

Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ!

In this broken life, one can feel alone, so very alone - even while one lives with spouse and children, or even parents. It’s even possible to receive from the spouse, the parent, the child, a good-night kiss, and yet feel so very alone.

We don’t like that lonely feeling, don’t like being alone. What we long for so much is affection, appreciation, respect, love.

So long ago, brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ was alone, so very alone. No, not that He had none around Him; never during His sufferings on Good Friday and the evening before was He all by Himself. In fact, so close were His companions that one even kissed Him. Yet Jesus was alone, so terribly alone. For the kiss He received was not one of love, but one of betrayal. Alone He was..., that we might never be alone.

I summarise the gospel with this theme:

JESUS RECEIVED THE COLD KISS OF BETRAYAL SO THAT WE MIGHT NEVER BE ALONE.

1 Why was it, brothers and sisters, that Judas gave to Jesus a kiss? We know the answer: the kiss Judas was to plant on Jesus’ cheek was to be a sign to the soldiers to identify the man they were to arrest. That’s what we read in vs 44:

For our part, beloved, we can possibly understand the need for a signal. It’s possible that the soldiers had seen Jesus somewhere along the line before, but not necessarily so; so He may have been a virtual stranger to the soldiers. Besides, it was dark in the Garden, and Jesus not alone. Yes, we can understand the need for a sign. But questions arise when we consider why the sign had to be a kiss. Surely if we had to identify a suspect we wouldn’t consider a kiss as a means to identify. So the question comes back to us: why did Judas and the soldiers settle on a kiss as the needed sign? Why not simply point Jesus out? Or stand beside Him? Why a kiss?

Nothing in this world ever happens by chance; all things occur as a result of God’s direction. That Judas and the soldiers, then, should agree on a kiss as the needed signal is because Almighty God in heaven desired this signal as opposed to some other, for Jesus’ betrayal. So the question becomes this: Why might God wish this sign to function at this critical moment in the history of salvation?

In our modern western society, mature men with any sense of decency do not kiss each other, and certainly not in public. In the culture common in the days of the Lord Jesus, however, the kiss did have a place even among men. So, when that lost son of Jesus’ parable returned home to his father after squandering his inheritance, "his father...ran" - we read- "and fell on his neck and kissed him" (Lu 15:20). And when the apostle Paul said his good-byes to the elders of Ephesus, "they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him" (Acts 20:37). From other literature surviving from the days of Jesus, we receive more evidence that fathers kissed mature sons, receive more evidence too that disciples at times kissed their teacher. In other words, given the culture of the times, there was in itself nothing surprising about the fact that Judas gave to Jesus a kiss.

That, however, does not explain why the Lord God allowed the kiss to be the signal Judas gave to the soldiers. To understand this kiss, we need to look into God’s Old Testament revelation.

Scriptures mention the kiss rather frequently. Seldom, though, is the kiss mentioned with an erotic connotation; kissing in the Bible does not involve sexual notions or romance, with the exception of the Song of Solomon and one text in the book of Proverbs where the harlot is described (7:13). Rather, in the Bible the kiss is commonly used to communicate close friendship and hence loyalty. So we read that the fugitive Jacob kissed his uncle Laban and his cousin Rachel when he first came to Padam-Aram (Gen 29:11,13). When he returned to the land to Canaan twenty years later, Jacob kissed his brother Esau (Gen 33:4). Similarly, when Joseph identified himself to his brothers in Egypt, he kissed them (45:15). And we can go on listing examples; the Scripture gives numerous instances of family members greeting each other with a kiss, and so communicate the feelings of friendship and loyalty befitting family members. For our part, these are instances we can rather understand.

This concept of communicating friendship and love through the kiss stretches in Scripture beyond the circle of actual family. David and Jonathan had bound each other in a bond of lasting friendship. When David had to flee from the presence of king Saul, David expressed his good-byes to his soul-mate with a kiss (I Sam 20:41). After David had squashed the uprising of his son Absalom and could return to Jerusalem, an aged man of Gilead came to escort David across the Jordan. David expressed his appreciation to this old man - his name was Barzillai- with a kiss (II Sam 19:39).

Possibly the most graphic example of the fact that the kiss between men communicated friendship and loyalty, though, is the kiss which Joab (general of David’s army) gave to Amasa (another general). There was competition between the two men as to who should be the commander-in-chief of David’s forces. We read in II Sam 20 that the two men met each other somewhere, and Joab politely asked about Amasa’s health. Then we read this:

Amasa interpreted the question and the gesture of kissing as evidence of friendship, and so relaxed his guard. Joab, though, while he kissed Amasa, drew his sword with his left hand and opened up his competitor’s stomach. The point is: the kiss was understood to communicate friendship and unity. Joab, though, abused the kiss in order to kill (cf Prov 27:6).

With this information from the Scriptures in mind, congregation, it becomes apparent that the kiss Judas gave to Jesus in our text involved more than a convenient signal to the soldiers. Certainly, Judas may have intended no more than to use the kiss as a sign. But given what the Lord has said earlier in Scripture about the kiss, He means more with this kiss than a simple signal to the soldiers. By the providence of God, the kiss has received in Scripture the function of communicating friendship, loyalty, unity, a bond of fellowship between the two persons involved. When Judas, therefore, comes with a kiss, he comes with the pretence of friendship, comes with the pretence that his allegiance to Jesus is undivided, that he’s very much on Jesus’ side, that he loves Jesus. Here is then a show of friendship, while in fact Judas hates Jesus, wants to kill Him. Given the meaning Scripture gives to the kiss, there is something terribly diabolic in Judas’ deed; under the guise of love and loyalty he sticks a knife in Jesus’ heart. What Judas did to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is as revolting as what Joab did to Amasa. The difference is this: Amasa died straightaway from Joab’s blow; Amasa did not suffer long under the load of being so horribly deceived. Jesus, however, was not physically wounded through Judas’ deceit, and so had to live with the hurt of being treated so treacherously. That brings us to our second point this morning: the hurt of the kiss Jesus received.

2 For hurt there truly was for Jesus in this kiss. God had led things in such a way that the kiss was a symbol of love, of friendship, of loyalty; whoever kissed another communicated his love for the other, his loyalty to the other. And Judas certainly should have loved Jesus; he was, after all (says Mark in vs 43), "one of the twelve". Judas had, in other words, followed Jesus for the three years of His public ministry, had listened to Jesus, been taught by Jesus, eaten with Jesus, even took care of Jesus’ finances. A friend Judas was supposed to be, one of Jesus’ inner circle. That such a one, now, one who had eaten with Jesus (Ps 41:9) should now turn around and hand him over to the enemies: look, that hurts, that involves heart wrenching deceit. And if Judas had betrayed Jesus from a distance, it would still be one thing. But that Judas should specifically use that symbol of love and loyalty, should press his lips to Jesus’ cheek, in order to betray: yes, that hurts. Here is deceit that penetrates much farther than the outer act of being betrayed; here is deceit that rips the heart apart. This is worse by miles, far more painful, than the hurt Amasa felt when his stomach was cut open.

In fact, the Scriptures indicate something of the hurt involved. We read Ps 55, that psalm of David in which he complains so bitterly of being betrayed by a bosom friend. The identity of that betrayer is recorded in vs 12f:

And David goes on to explain the relation he used to have with this betrayer. Vs 14:

A friend, a brother in the faith with whom he together worshiped the Lord: that’s who it was who deceived David so cruelly with his betrayal. Vs 21:

David’s reaction to it all? Vs 2: "I am restless..., and moan noisily." Vs 4: "My heart is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me." Vs 5: "Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me." As a result of such betrayal, such deceit, David wants to escape (vs 6), wishes death on his enemy (vs 9,15).

If that, beloved, was David’s painful reaction to the deceit and betrayal he experienced, how much more painful was the suffering in Jesus’ perfect heart resulting from Judas’ kiss! No, Mark does not explain for us the turmoil that raged in Jesus’ heart after He received that kiss, and the other gospel writers do not either. But Scripture is not silent about the sufferings Jesus experienced here. With Ps 55 we receive a little indication of what it was for the Lord to be so betrayed.

And add to that the fact that Jesus knew very well that nothing happened by chance; this kiss of betrayal was part of God’s providence, part of His Father’s plan for Him. It was God’s will that Jesus should be "despised and rejected by man" (Is 53:3), and here with this kiss God in heaven saw to it that Jesus was "despised and rejected". O yes, His friends were still around Him, He was not physically alone. But if such betrayal is what friends can afflict, how much better to have no friends at all! Under the guise of friendship Jesus was pierced so ruthlessly; how alone can you really get!

Then, yes, it’s true that one disciple sought to rise to Jesus’ defence; he drew his sword and attacked the servant of the highpriest. But this effort at defending the Lord Jesus was rather half-hearted; cutting off an ear is hardly the conduct of a soldier committed to defending his master. What lived in the hearts of the disciples became so obvious when they all took to their heals and fled; to a man, Jesus’ disciples - friends they were supposed to be!- deserted Him. And note how desperate they were to get away: one young disciple stayed behind to follow Jesus, but when the soldiers grabbed him by his clothes, he was so driven by fear that he left his shirt in the hands of the soldiers and fled away naked.

Alone Jesus was, betrayed by the kiss of friendship through one of His own close friends. Whatever comfort there was left for Him in the fact that His other disciples were still close by was quickly dashed when they shot through. Alone Jesus was, all alone, deserted by Judas, deserted by His disciples, deserted by that almighty God who permitted Judas to kiss so deceitfully, who permitted the disciples to flee so fearfully. All alone.

David - Ps 55- had been rejected by his bosom friend, betrayed. His reaction? O yes, David had been hurt, was terrified, overcome by fear and despair. But he was moved by the Spirit of God to bring his hurt and loneliness to the Lord. Vs 16:

David’s convinced:

So David could even come with advice to the rest of God’s covenant people:

But, my beloved, we do not read of Jesus that He in His alone-ness cried out to God, that He prayed, that He was convinced that God would hear Him. Scripture tells us instead that "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth" (Is 53:7). For God almighty would not hear Jesus! God Himself saw to it that Jesus was so cruelly betrayed by that deceitful kiss of friendship, God Himself saw to it that Jesus was deserted even by His closest companions. And God did so because He Himself deserted Jesus! The Lord God laid on Jesus "the iniquity of us all" (Is 53:6), made Jesus to be "an offering for sin" (Is 53:10), and so He deserted Him, let Him be all alone, "despised and rejected".

No, congregation, that kiss of betrayal was no pleasant thing for Jesus of Nazareth. But this was only the beginning of His forsakenness. From here on it got progressively worse. The elders of God’s covenant people accused Him falsely, condemned Him to death. Others of the leaders "began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, ‘Prophesy’", who struck you (Mk 14:65). Beloved Peter denied Him, the governing authorities wanted nothing to do with Him, the masses of the people shouted that He be crucified. And on the cross God Himself turned His face away from Jesus, let darkness prevail on the land. And never throughout it all could Jesus cry out to God for relieve, never in all that alone-ness could He call upon Him for comfort, nearness, reassurance. Truly, that kiss was only the beginning of His being alone. How it must have hurt the Lord, hurt....

3 Why, beloved? Why did Jesus have to experience such horrid alone-ness, rejection? Why could He not join David in Ps 55 and cry out to the Lord to save Him from the deceit and the hurt of being betrayed by a soul-mate? It was, my brothers and sisters, so that we might never experience such alone-ness, such rejection. He could not join David in Ps 55 and cry out to the Lord because He had to earn for David - and all of us- the privilege to call upon the Lord. David could give advice to the rest of Israel to "cast your burden on the Lord", could promise to Israel that "God will hear", "the Lord shall save", but David could give such a message to Israel only because Another would one day be completely alone and receive from God no help at all. Jesus "was forsaken by God that we might nevermore we forsaken by Him." See there, my beloved, why it was that God Almighty caused Judas to kiss Jesus so deceitfully, see there why God Almighty caused Jesus to be pierced with such alone-ness. It’s rejection by men and rejection by God that we deserve on account of our sins, but that rejection, it’s alone-ness, is something Jesus received so that we might never experience it!

Notice then, too, brothers and sisters, what it was that Jesus said on another occasion about the results of His saving work on Calvary. Said Jesus in Jn 14:

That’s a reference to the Holy Spirit being poured out after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, a reference to Christ in the Spirit coming to live in the hearts of God’s own. Then a kiss of lips on the cheek certainly may convey friendship and closeness, loyalty and unity. But the Holy Spirit living in the hearts of those for whom Jesus died definitely conveys friendship and closeness, loyalty and unity in a still more intimate way. For when the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ has made His home in the hearts of God’s own, He is with that person always; never is that person alone. Then Yes, such a child of God may feel alone, may even be betrayed by a bosom friend - be it spouse or parent or brother or sister or anyone else- yet such a child of God is never alone, never because Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit dwells in the heart. So the instruction of David in Ps 55 is always valid for every one of us:

He’ll always be there, to hear and to save, will always be there for us because He was not always there for His Son on that Good Friday of so long ago.

In fact, it is the will of the Lord that the friendship which Jesus has graciously worked between God and us, between us and God, should always find expression in the communion of saints too. So Paul could be moved by the Holy Spirit to instruct the saints repeatedly to "greet one another with a holy kiss" (Rom 16:16; I Cor 16:20; II Cor 13:12; I Thes 5:26). And no, that does not mean that we are to walk around ever kissing our brothers and sisters in the faith. What it does mean is that it is for each of us to demonstrate to the rest of us that none of us are ever alone; we’re a body together, we all belong, interested in each other, concerned for each other. God the Father never rejects us, and that sense of His children always being secure in His hands is to receive expression in the concern the one has for the other. It simply may not be that a child of God feels alone, may not be because he is never alone.

Then Yes, in this broken life it still happens that we do feel alone, forsaken by people, betrayed by loved ones, even forgotten by God Himself. But the gospel of the kiss Jesus received so long ago is this: what we feel is not the end of the matter. My feelings may be real, but I believe that I am never forsaken by God Himself. So I can always, always turn to Him, even when people turn away from me, even when my brothers and sisters betray me, and I can count on it that He is there, that He hears and saves.

More: this God of mine will also direct events in such a way that one day I shall experience perfectly the riches of the communion of saints. On the last day, when Jesus returns on the clouds of heaven, I shall be visibly with God and God with me; more, on that day all the saints shall be perfectly united with me and I with them, and we all with Jesus the Saviour.

That’s the gospel of Good Friday: we are never alone. Amen.