HOLD HIM FAST
Matthew 26:47 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.
Judas, like all those greedy for money, is so arrogant! He thinks he can give instruction to everyone about everything! And here he even imagines to instruct concerning getting our Lord to the cross! Hold him fast, he says, implying that he knows all about the person of the Son of God and His purposes.
Of course, there were two occasions when the Lord, like Samson, foiled those who planned his capture and death at the wrong time. But neither a great multitude, nor Delilah’s trickery were able to bind either of them at those times. Luke 4:29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way,
John 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
But a greater than Samson is here! For that which caused Samson to be bound was disobedience to the angel’s instruction to his mother before his birth. Judges 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: But our Lord was bound by greater cords than has ever bound any man before or since. He was bound by his own perfect will, determined in absolute submissive obedience to please his Father! John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
For he had the command of numberless bands of angels, which he would not call, either here, nor in his temptation in the wilderness, when there Satan tempted him to do so. (See Matt. 4:6). Matt. 26:52 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? So upon both occasions his mind was to fulfill the scriptures, bringing about from his absolute obedience, satisfaction to both his Father and to the law’s demands! Precious Savior!
In fact it was our sovereign Lord who gave Judas the command to seek his binding now! John 13:26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
For just as the three thousand could not have been saved on Pentecost without our Lord praying, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do,” on the cross; so Judas could not have carried out his betrayal earlier than when the Lord gave him this command! For especially here at the time of his crucifixion, he is seen to have all power in heaven and earth! John 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. Matt. 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Therefore Judas and all the “wicked hands” that carried out this deed, were a result of the determinate counsel of the Lord God! Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: For we surely don’t imagine that The Eternal I AM would leave the sacrifice of his glorious Son, which was purposed before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), in the evil hands of fallen creatures, uncontrolled by his sovereignty, do we? This very hour was clearly understood by the Lamb of God to be the very hour of his sacrifice! John 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Again, the whole matter lay in the Son’s pursuit of his Father’s will. John 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. And in his prayer to his Father concerning his death, he spoke of this being the hour of his glorification, not his ‘crucifixion!’ John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
For if mortal hands alone had accomplished this, it would have been an execution, thereby providing no atonement! And if the Jews had been able to accomplish his death before this, that would have been an assassination, with no redemptive value! It could have only been a sacrifice for it to have both satisfied the Father, who is only approachable by blood, and to have provided cleansing of every sinner elected in Christ before the foundation of the world! Therefore he was offered as a sacrifice through the Holy Spirit to the Father! Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Then, and only then, could the sovereign proclamation echo throughout the halls of the universe, that redemption of the whole body of God’s elect was accomplished, and that God Himself was satisfied! And here is that proclamation: John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. Rev. 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end…. Bro. Gene.