⁴⁷ And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” ⁴⁹ So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.⁵⁰ Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.”

Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹ But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.

⁵² “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword.⁵³ Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands^[g] of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? ⁵⁴ But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

⁵⁵ Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. ⁵⁶ But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Jesus before the Council

⁵⁷ Then the people who had arrested Jesus led him to the home of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of religious law and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸ Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance and came to the high priest’s courtyard. He went in and sat with the guards and waited to see how it would all end.

⁵⁹ Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council^[h] were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus, so they could put him to death. ⁶⁰ But even though they found many who agreed to give false witness, they could not use anyone’s testimony. Finally, two men came forward ⁶¹ who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

⁶² Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

⁶⁴ Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand^[i] and coming on the clouds of heaven.”^[j]

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What is your verdict?”

“Guilty!” they shouted. “He deserves to die!”

⁶⁷ Then they began to spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him, ⁶⁸ jeering, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who hit you that time?”

Peter Denies Jesus

⁶⁹ Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”

⁷⁰ But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

⁷¹ Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.^[k]”

⁷² Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.

⁷³ A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”

⁷⁴ Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.

⁷⁵ Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.

27 Very early in the morning the leading priests and the elders of the people met again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death. ² Then they bound him, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

³ When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. ⁴ “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.”

“What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”

⁵ Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

⁶ The leading priests picked up the coins. “It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.”^[a] 7 After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners. ⁸ That is why the field is still called the Field of Blood. ⁹ This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah that says,

“They took^[b] the thirty pieces of silver—
    the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel,
¹⁰ and purchased the potter’s field,
    as the Lord directed.^[c]”

¹¹ Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him.

Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

¹² But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. ¹³ “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded. ¹⁴ But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.

¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted. ¹⁶ This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas.^[d] 17 As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ (He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)

¹⁹ Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”

²⁰ Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. ²¹ So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?”

The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”

²² Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?”

They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

²³ “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”

But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴ Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”

²⁵ And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death—we and our children!”^[e]

²⁶ So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Matthew 26:47 – 27:26

³⁶ Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” ³⁷ He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. ³⁸ He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁹ He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

⁴⁰ Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? ⁴¹ Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

⁴² Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away^[f] unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³ When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

⁴⁴ So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. ⁴⁵ Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”  Matthew 26:26-46

This is a picture I took in the garden of Gethsemane during my visit to Israel in 2016, the very place Jesus challenged us to keep praying to defeat temptation.  It’s easy to give into our tiredness and go into sleep mode, or going to our, what I like to call unfiltered mode, and allow media and other things to be exposed to our mind.  The “spirit is willing but the body is weak,” raise your hand if you can relate.

Lets remember the temptation Judas fell into when he was tempted to betray Jesus just to gain personal wealth.  There are poor choices one is willing to make when their guard is down, however God knew the condition of Judas’ heart which would be used to fulfill prophecy of Jesus being handed over to be crucified.

Remember tonight the price paid for your life with Jesus’ blood.  Are you letting your life be unfiltered of the things of this world?  Are you pushing off communicating with God because your tiredness and other excuses are more important to you?  God knows our heart, He knows our thoughts and intentions, we may say we want to be in closer communication, but only those who follow and obey truly mean what they say.  Allowing your relationship with Christ to be something you should have done before it was too late, is a very bad idea.

You can find peace in your relationship with Jesus in a chaotic life.  You do that by going to God in prayer.  Sharing what it is that’s on your mind just like a close friend.  More importantly you can guard yourself against the temptations of this world.

 Is it not the truth?  Some people argue, bash and complain like it’s there job, literally their lifestyle.  Though it’s the very thing that most hate to be around, it also seems to be the most popular thing to do. Some it’s there way of getting attention and/or sharing with the world their frustration.  Cry me a river will ya?  Actually please don’t, I really don’t want to hear about it, unless you can speak from a place of seeing life from another perspective, unless it morally stands against God’s standards.  I do my best to see things from Paul’s & Christ’s mindset, especially politics.  Of course it’s okay to talk about such things, but let me make the follow statement.  A friend of mine constantly bashes Trump.  It’s non stop and is getting very irritable.  We have moments where we engage in a friendly debate, but it’s very downhearted and wicked to constantly tear someone down, over the same issues, even though the political party of your choice made the same choices before, especially when it’s coming from someone who claims to be a Christian.  No, I’m not saying if you’re a Christian you have to be a republican or a Trump supporter.  It’s simple,…

Mark 12:29-31  (NLT)

²⁹ Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. ³⁰ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’^[a] 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] No other commandment is greater than these.”

Whatever leader you have above you, from the President of the United States to your small business workplace, can you tell me how one, who claims to be a Christian, finds it to be okay to downgrade others, unless they themselves are going to do their part to help find solutions to the problems?  These type of ABC’s are what ruins the day for me.  We need to have Christians in the political realm, but only if they’re actually going to do what’s necessary and morally right in the eyes of God.

It is me or do many followers take Jesus’ words light hearted?  Loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength is saying a lot.  It means that no matter what you go through, or who you come in contact with, you must demonstrate to God that you Love Him, through your words and actions, not just towards Hm, but towards others (Matt 25:40-45).  Not just whenever you feel like it either, because most of the time, when it comes to someone disagree with, you’ll never feel like loving them, unless you stop to realize that the most powerful action that will cause a ruckus for God in this world, is indeed and I quote loving “…your neighbor as yourself.”

For people who have the time to follow through with their ABC’s of annoyance, must really love themselves since they act as if they have all the answers to others problems.

I know what its like to hear a broken record, times I even I got tired of listening to myself.  The image and reputation that comes with it, it’s not so pretty, and no one wants to be around that.  Unless they themselves are a broken record, then the both of them might be a match made in gossip land.  But chew of these teachings Paul and Jesus give us.

Philippians 2:14-16 (NLT)

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing, ¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. ¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.

We are to think the best of others, despite their flaws, and remember the flaws that we need to work on ourselves.  I find it more uplifting to live life by this motto.  That fact that Paul encourages us to do so, it seems to help take the load off that we should not be anxious.  He clearly specifies to HOLD FIRMLY TO THE WORD OF LIFE!

Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Experiencing anxiety of any kind is not enjoyable.  Though Paul and Jesus speak of this peace that surpasses understanding.  Life can be a very uncomfortable experience, but God’s words and promises of experiencing His peace, is the most comforting experience you’ll ever know or have.  Peace that surpasses all understanding means, you can still have peace during the times that seem unfortunate.   Through the world’s eyes, when bad times are bad, nothing can ever be good.  And when good times are good, do whatever you want that makes you happy.  Through God’s Truth, you WILL be comforted if you turn away from your sins, trust and obey His commands, which will then bring peace into your life.  To claim you believe in Christ but yet don’t live it out, don’t expect anything to change.

So, to have our hearts and minds guarded through Jesus, we must take everything into prayer, be thankful and give these worries of the world up to Him making your request known.

Matthew 6:25-27  (NIV)

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

It’s hard to live by this for those living in hard times, especially when you have the desire to do what it takes to change your outcome, though there’s times, and maybe more than you care to experience, where it just seems there’s no way out of the rut you’re in.  In between a rock and a hard place, it’s character building, that’s often when we have the opportunity to trust God all the more.  It’s easier said than done, especially when your on the side of being uncomfortable.  I know both sides of having a security blanket, and at this time I’m not sure what I have left.  It feels like, if I take one more step back in life, I could lose everything.  In hindsight, I’ve found these places the most maturing experiences I have ever had.  Can you relate?  Maybe these experiences are so He can bless us with something else?  God uses things in our life for our good.  Though a lot of these I have worried, argued and complained about.  Or bashed those that I felt necessary to do so as if things were all their fault.  In the end where does it get me?  No where.

The very things that Jesus and Paul warned us about are often easily put to the side, and the exact opposite is accomplished.  But for someone who wants to live in the blessings of God, despite the hard times.  Let me make this simple point real quick, there is a thought out there that becoming a Christian life is suppose to be… easier.  Well, If you meditate on scripture like Jesus commands us to (John 15:7), and live out in obedience, you’ll gain a deeper meaning of the peace that surpasses all understanding.

2 Timothy 2:15-18  (NLT)

¹⁵ Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. ¹⁷ This kind of talk spreads like cancer,^[a] as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. ¹⁸ They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith.

Lets save others from listening to ourselves gripe about things we either cannot change or are unwilling to change, and understand, that living the way Jesus commands us to live, in itself has more power to change the world simply because His love will show through us and inspiring others.  If we believe that God is the true Almighty, the Great I Am, the most powerful being ever, and can change the world if we simply follow His instructions, then wouldn’t you agree that instead of living by the ABC’s of ignorance and living out God’s love needs to show more than our thoughts and attitude towards others?  There’s no good excuse.  Abide in Christ and He will abide in you, and when you have Him manifesting in your heart, soul and mind, you bestow the most effective weapon in the entire universe, His Love.

1 John 4:8 (NLT)

⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love