We appologize, but due to technical difficulty, the video of the sermon wasn’t recorded.
Who killed Jesus Christ? Was it the Jewish religious leaders? Was it Judas Iscariot? Was it Satan? Yes, all of these were players in the drama of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But the ultimate Player behind it all was God Almighty Himself!
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Who Killed Jesus Christ?
Luke 22:1-6
As we come this morning to Luke 22, let me remind you that we are in the last few days of our Lord’s earthly life. Jesus has steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem where He knows that He will die a horrific death in order to atone for the sins of the world. He has told His disciples about His upcoming death and resurrection over and over, but they could not understand Him. It just didn’t make any sense. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah who would break the Roman yoke, and cause Israel to be the greatest nation on the face of the earth. They had no categories for a suffering and dying Messiah.
As we come to Luke 22:1, we are probably at the Wednesday of the last week of Christ’s life. He will die on Friday. As we work our way through this text, I want you to see four major players in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ: the religious leaders, Judas, Satan, and God Himself.
1. The Religious Leaders
“Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.”
Who killed Jesus Christ? An obvious answer to that question would be the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Our text tells us that the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death. Matthew 26:3 tells us that the elders were also in on the plot to kill Jesus. These elders would make up the Jewish Sanhedrin. All of the various sects of the religious leaders were represented. The Sadducees who were the theological liberals, but held control of the priesthood and the temple were involved. The Pharisees, who were the theological conservatives were involved. The scribes, who were the doctors of the Law were involved. And the elders who were the ruling body in Israel were involved. These are the enemies of Christ that we have seen over and over again the gospel of Luke. As early as Luke 6:11 these religious leaders were filled with rage at Jesus and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus, because He had healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. Jesus had publicly exposed their hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and pride. He had even called them snakes, and sons of hell! All of the multitudes were going after Christ, and the religious leaders could not permit this. They must, at all cost, retain the people under their authority. Remember, that they did all of their religious observances to be honored by men. However, now that the multitudes were going after Christ, they were honoring Him. That’s why it says in Matthew 27:18, that because of envy they handed Him over.
We have another glimpse of the situation in John 11:47-53, “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.” Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead. The chief priests and Pharisees were rightly afraid. Jesus was becoming so popular, and the crowds so massive that were following Him, that they were afraid that the Romans would come in and take away their places of position and authority, and the nation. They felt that Jesus was fomenting so much unrest among the people, that the Romans would come in and take away all Israel’s rights and privileges as a nation, and strip the religious leaders of any of their authority. Well, Caiaphas, the high priest came up with a solution. He has to die. It’s either Him or the whole nation. It is expedient for one man to die instead of the whole nation, right? Verse 53 says “So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.”
Yes, they had settled it. He had to die. Now, it was just a matter of figuring out how to do that.
You see, they had a big problem. They knew they couldn’t arrest Jesus and hand Him over to the authorities publicly in broad daylight, because all the people were hanging on His every word. Jesus was incredibly popular with the crowds. Jerusalem always swelled during the Passover season. It is estimated there could have been as many as two million people in Jerusalem at this time. When He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey just three days earlier, great multitudes of people were crying out loudly that He was the Messiah, and putting palm branches down for Him to ride over. Matthew 26:5 says that they did not want to arrest Jesus during the festival because they were afraid a riot would break out among the multitudes. In Luke 20:6 these same religious leaders were unwilling to say that John the Baptist’s ministry was from men, because all the people would stone them to death. They know that if they arrest Jesus Christ with the full knowledge of all the multitudes that they may riot and may end up stoning them to death. They desperately want Jesus dead, but they know they can’t do it in full sight of all the people. They can’t do it openly. It has to be done in secret.
But how is that possible? At night, Jesus and His disciples disappeared into the Mount of Olives. There were no electric lights. When the sun went down, it was very dark, and became difficult, if not impossible, to find Jesus. No doubt, there would also be thousands of Jewish pilgrims camping out in the Mount of Olives also. How would they ever be able to find him in that thick bush grove, when there were so many others in there as well? They needed a mole, an informer, an insider who could take them to where He was. That leads us to the second player in the crucifixion of Christ – Judas.
2. Judas Iscariot
The name “Judas” was very common for Jewish men in the first century. We know this because there are many people named Judas in the New Testament. One of Jesus’ own brothers was named Judas. We have a mention of “Judas of Galilee” in Acts 5:37. Later, in Acts 9:11 when Paul was blinded by the glory of Christ on the road to Emmaeus, God told Ananias to go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and inquire for a man named Saul, for he is praying. Later, in Acts 15:22, two men were sent with Paul and Barnabbas to Antioch – Judas and Silas. However, although the name Judas was very common in the first century, it is extremely uncommon now. Let me ask you, have you ever met someone named Judas?! Because of his treacherous act of betrayal, his name has gone down in infamy.
When all four gospel writers introduce Judas, they all say, “Judas, the one who betrayed Him.” We don’t know a whole lot about Judas. He is called “Iscariot”, which means “from Kerioth”. Kerioth was a small village in southern Judea. Interestingly, Judas was the only disciple of the 12 from Judea. All the rest are Galileans. And this works in his favor. He comes into the group with complete anonymity. They don’t know Judas, and don’t know anyone who does. He’s just a single isolated individual from a distant region, and that in the end will serve his evil purposes.
Luke 22:3 says that Judas belonged to the number of the twelve. Judas was an apostle of Jesus Christ! He was privileged to belong to the inner circle of Jesus’ friends. He was one of the twelve. He heard Jesus preach day after day. He saw Jesus heal lepers, and paralytics, and blind and deaf men. He saw Jesus calm storms, walk on water, multiply bread and fish, and cast demons out of people. He saw Him raise dead men to life. Not only that, but Judas was one of those sent out to preach the gospel and heal the sick. And, no doubt, he did heal the sick and cast out demons. Oh, what a privileged, blessed individual. The only one that we can really compare him with was Adam. Both Adam and Judas beheld the face of God every day, and both defiantly sinned against Him.
Jesus made an interesting statement about Jesus in John 6:70-71, “Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” Now He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.” Jesus said Judas was a devil! Certainly Judas was never a true believer. He was never regenerated. He was never converted. He was a fake, a fraud. In fact, Acts 1:25 says that Judas turned aside to go to his own place. Judas didn’t go to God’s own place. He went to his own place, that is hell.
Jesus said in John 17:12, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.” The word “perdition” means “eternal damnation.” Judas is called the son of eternal damnation. Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 26:24, “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” It was written in the holy Scriptures centuries before that Jesus would be betrayed by an intimate friend and handed over to death. However, it would have been better for Judas if he had never been born. Now, why would it have been better for him to never be born? Because he is going to spend eternity in hell. It would be much better if he had never been born.
Now, we might get the impression from all of these Scriptures, that Judas was just a pawn in God’s cosmic chess game. All of this was determined from eternity past. Therefore, Judas was not culpable. He was just an innocent bystander that God chose to play the part of the villain, and then He punished him for all eternity. So, was Judas culpable or not? Did God put a gun to Judas’ head, and make him do something he did not want to do? No, the sad truth is that Judas wanted to betray Christ. Why? Because he was a lover of money. John 12:5-6 tells us that Judas objected when Mary poured out the expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. He said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.” Judas was a greedy, money-loving man, pure and simple. Satan didn’t have to force Judas to do this despicable act against his will. All he had to do was wave a little money in front of him, and Judas was after it like a hound on a t-bone steak.
Luke 22:4-6 says “And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.” Judas walks into a meeting of the religious leaders and says, “How much is it worth to you to get your hands on Jesus of Nazareth? How much will you pay me to hand Him over to you?” Judas was a mercenary. He lived for money. Rather than being a lover of Christ, he was a lover of riches.
Verse 5 says “They were glad.” Now, I think that is a bit of an understatement! I think they were ecstatic! They couldn’t believe their good luck. One of the twelve had just come to them and offered to take them to Him so that they could apprehend Him and put Him to death. This was too good to be true.
What was his price? Matthew 26:15 says it was thirty pieces of silver. This was the price of a slave. It amounted to about four months wages for a common laborer. That was Judas’ price. What is yours? How much would it take for you to walk away from Christ? If someone offered you 10 million dollars if you would quit praying and worshiping and following Christ, would you do it? What about a billion dollars? What if they could make you the wealthiest man on the planet, so that you could do anything your heart desired? Would you walk away from Jesus? If there is any price that could lure you away, you are no different than Judas. You just have a different price than he did.
So, who killed Jesus? Was it the Jewish religious leaders? Yes, in one sense. Was it Judas Iscariot? Yes, in another sense? Let’s look at a third player in this divine drama.
3. Satan
Verse 3 says “And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.” Satan entered into Judas. Satan wasn’t going to entrust this one to any of his understudies or lesser demons. Judas was his. He was going to do this himself. John 13:2 says, “During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him.” Later on in John 13, verse 27 it says, “After the morsel, Satan then entered into him.” First Satan suggested the thought to Judas, and then he entered into him.
Now, there is a difference of opinion between good men on the question of whether Satan knew that Jesus’ death would destroy him. Some believe that Satan didn’t want Jesus to go to the cross, because he knew that the cross would bring about his own destruction. They refer to the interchange between Jesus and Peter after Jesus predicted His own death. Peter rebuked Jesus and told him that would never happen to Him. Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind Me Satan, for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” They say, “See, Satan doesn’t want Jesus to go to the cross.” However, I believe that Jesus wasn’t actually saying that Peter was Satan. He was saying that Peter was doing what Satan does. Peter was setting his mind on man’s interests, instead of God, and Satan does the same thing.
I believe that Satan did not understand the implications of Jesus’ death. I believe he was trying to get Jesus murdered, to get Him out of the way. I think it is clear in the text. Why else would Satan put the thought into Judas’ heart to betray Jesus, and then enter into Him, unless he wanted Jesus dead? It seems to me that the text clearly implies that Satan wanted Jesus dead. Perhaps that’s why the religious leaders wanted Jesus dead. Jesus said in John 8 that they were of their father the devil. Perhaps it wasn’t just Judas, but also the religious leaders’ hearts that Satan put this thought into.
Jesus had bested Satan in the wilderness after fasting for forty days and nights. Jesus had continually taken authority over, and cast out demons throughout His ministry. Jesus was going about plundering the strong man’s house, by drawing sinners to Himself, and freeing them from Satan’s clutches. Satan wanted Jesus dead. He wanted Him out of the way. And Judas was the one he chose to do His dirty work for him. So, he waved some money in front of him, and that was all it took to get him to do it.
By the way, there is a false teaching going around in certain “faith” churches that God and Satan are equal and opposing forces, and that unless you have enough faith, make the right positive confession, and bind Satan and his demons, he can do terrible things to you and your family. If your child gets sick or dies, it is because of Satan. If you lose your job or get a divorce, it is because of Satan. If the wrong man or woman gets elected as President, Satan did it. This theology sees God as doing everything He can to respond to and overcome Satan. Those who hold to this view of Satan, believe they need to say just the right things, and bind him continually, or he can do horrible things in their life. The truth is that Satan is God’s devil. Satan can’t do anything unless God lets him. And if God lets him, that means that God has a reason and a purpose in letting him do it. God, not Satan is sovereign. God is in control of everything. We see this in Luke 22:31 when Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Satan wanted to destroy Peter’s faith. He demanded permission – very interesting phrase is it not? He couldn’t do it without getting permission to do it. And, God have permission. However God knew that Satan wouldn’t be able to destroy Peter because Jesus said “once you have turned again.” Satan would lay into Peter with everything he had, but Peter would stand by grace. Take comfort, my friends, that nothing can take place in your life unless God allows it. And if He allows it, He has a good reason for it. You can be sure of that!
Well, we’ve seen three players working towards the goal of Jesus’ crucifixion – the religious leaders, Judas, and Satan. However, there is one more player working toward that same goal. Only, He is the ultimate player. He is not mentioned in our text, but He was nonetheless invisibly working according to His almighty power and inscrutable wisdom to bring to pass the redemption of sinners through the death of Christ. Of course, I’m speaking about God Almighty.
4. God
So, who killed Jesus? Was it the religious leaders, Judas, or Satan? Yes, in one sense. However, if we turn things around, and look at them from a different angle, we will see that it was actually God that killed Jesus.
In Acts 4 we find Peter and John arrested for preaching Christ. Eventually they were released, and gathered together with the disciples and prayed together. This is what they prayed in Acts 4:27, “Truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” Did you hear that? Yes evil men, rejected Jesus, hated Jesus, abandoned Jesus, pierced Jesus, betrayed Jesus, denied Jesus, condemned Jesus, spit upon Jesus, scourged Jesus, and killed Jesus. However, all of those things are only what God’s hand and purpose predestined to occur! In other words, behind the religious leaders, and Judas, and Satan’s desire to kill Jesus, there is the invisible and unseen hand and purpose of God which had already predestined that these things would take place! God sets His plan in motion, and then allows evil actions of men and Satan, as long as it contributes toward bringing about His predestined purpose.
Last week, someone kept interrupting my sermon to argue with my interpretation of Scripture. At one point, I said that God knows all things because He has ordained all things. This man interrupted the sermon to ask me, “Does God ordain rape?” I replied, “Yes, there is a sense in which He ordains rape.” Of course, I did not want to take the time to go down that rabbit trail then. I just left my statement hanging. But let me ask you – what is worse? Rape or murdering the infinitely pure and worthy Son of God? Hating, rejecting, betraying, denying, flogging, piercing and killing Jesus Christ has got to be the worst crime man has ever committed, far worse than rape or genocide or anything else. But, did God ordain the killing of Jesus? Yes! A thousand times yes! So, if God ordained the most evil act of men in killing His Son, then He has also ordained all the other evil acts of men. Now, I am not saying by that, that God causes people to commit evil acts. God hates sin, and will judge it. And those people that commit evil are guilty and will be judged for it. But I am saying, that God has decided to let those acts happen, and use them within the parameters of His sovereign will to bring His purposes to pass.
Notice how the prophet Isaiah puts it in Isaiah 53:10, “But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief.” Who crushed Jesus? The Lord! Who put Jesus to grief? The Lord.
That is why the Bible says that God sent forth His son into the world in the fullness of time, which means He was on a divine schedule. And He went out of the world on a divine timetable as well. That’s why we read Jesus saying over and over in the Gospel of John, “My hour has not yet come.” However, when Jesus came to the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed, He prayed to His Father, and the first words out of His mouth were, “Father, the hour has come.” Jesus couldn’t die, until it was God’s will for Him to die. The religious leaders tried to kill Him over and over. They tried to cast Him off a cliff. They tried to stone Him. But they could do nothing to Him, until His hour had come. Jesus’ death was planned by God before the foundation of the world. That’s why it says in the Book of Revelation that He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Jesus didn’t die on the schedule of the religious leaders or the Romans. He didn’t die because Judas planned it, or Satan schemed it. He died only when God planned it.
Jesus said in Luke 22:53, “This is your hour and the power of darkness.” This was God’s hour, so it was their hour, and it was the devil’s hour. God set the hour, and the devil, and Judas, and the religious leaders fit into it.
Conclusion
Folks, why should it matter if God was the main Player in the death of Christ? It matters, because if God had nothing to do with Christ’s death, we will all perish in our sins and spend eternity in hell. The reason Christ’s death is the heart of the gospel, is because God was doing it. If you break God’s activity in the death of Jesus, you lose the gospel.
John puts it like this in 1 John 4:10, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The great truth is not that we loved God. The great truth is that God loved us, and out of that great love, He sent His only begotten, infinitely pure and worthy Son to be the sacrifice that would avert His white hot wrath against our evil actions. If God had nothing to do with Jesus’ death, then there is no gospel, and we are all lost.
My friends, let’s worship God this morning as the great Sovereign One who has loved us from all eternity, and sent His only Son into this corrupt and dark world to save us from our sins! Who killed Jesus? Yes, the religious leaders, Judas, and Satan had a part, but ultimately God the Father killed Jesus.
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