A voice in the wilderness

What you will find here are thoughts and commentary on what I happen to be studying. As for me, I have two daughters who have grown up without me. Education wise, I have two AS degrees, one being in Horticulture, but no bachelors degree. The longest time spent at any one job was 15 years. Sadly, I have not been the great success I had dreamed I would be, but I find that I am becoming more content as my relationship with the Father God grows. God's word is my passion.

Showing posts with label clean. Show all posts

Friday, March 18, 2022

For the marriage of the Lamb has come. Revelation 19:6-9.

Revelation 19 opens with the declaration that His judgments have come to pass; the logical assumption is that this is after the wrath of God has been poured out upon Israel for their rejection of God and upon nations - this should be thought of as the controlling bodies, for abuses committed against humanity. Apparently, evidence of this judgment is the smoke rising from "Babylon," which is symbolical of Israel. The passages from Revelation 18 do not clearly explain, as I have stated in previous posts, why this is Israel, but it does emphasize Babylon's burning and the speed with which it falls.

"And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird." (Revelation 18:2 NASB)

"And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come." (Revelation 18:9-10 NASB)

Why talk about judgment?

Well, if you have spent your life in the church, as I have, then you have heard about forgiveness and how Jesus took all sin upon Himself at the cross. Only to have someone, just minutes later, remind you of your sinful past. Unfortunately, this is the typical pattern among religious people. I am not telling you this to keep you out of fellowship, you need that, but they have to be safe people willing to address when you are perpetuating some sin.

His judgments?

Honestly, I am not positive about how this judgment stuff is supposed to work, seeing as my years of immersion in the Bible have demonstrated Jesus to be a merciful God. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5 how we, the believers, are immediately present with the Lord upon our death. If a person was driving drunk and had given their life to Jesus at some point and crashed into a pole. We often assume little more than Jesus took them to heaven if they die. If they lived, we would tell them what a sinner they are and that they are going to hell because of their sins, which we are sure would be many. Do you see something wrong with the logic here? Me too, and I do not think it can be both ways. Either the price Christ paid on the cross is valid and authentic, or it is not, and we have been duped. What God did through His Son was very real and valid. But I have people in my life that I struggle with. I suppose God's answer to that is I am NOT the judge, He is, and His judgment is faithful and righteous.

Here is how I understand it.

If you have given yourself to God through Christ, then you are considered a part of the body of God's Son, Jesus. God, through Jesus, has taken all of the wrath that we deserved because of sin upon Himself, and that is why we, the church, are NOT subject to the wrath that is coming (Read 1 Thessalonians 5:9). Most of humanity has chosen to ignore the price Jesus paid to bring us back into the relationship and, therefore, fall under the category of those who have rejected Jesus. Because of your actions, you will be included with Israel in this retribution. If you merely warmed a church seat on sporadic Easter Sundays, this, in my opinion, does not qualify as a relationship with God, and you have simply fulfilled some legalistic motivation; and, therefore, might be included among the nations and have to suffer through the wrath that was meant for others.

The NASB and many other translations entitle this next section.

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Over my many years in church, I have heard it said, multiple times, that we should find our gifting or calling. Paul covers these gifts of the Spirit extensively in 1 Corinthians 12, and you can read that information at another time. In my own life, and after much struggle to shed the legalism that comes through the church, I have learned that I have a gift of teaching, and hopefully, I make the Word of God understandable. I also have come to understand that my calling is to the body of Christ. I believe that because we, the church, have allowed ourselves to be misled by our own false teachers, and yes, the church is full of them.

Why tell you that?

Because while I can probably explain Biblical things to the degree that anybody with an open mind could understand what I am saying, one of the things I have heard repeatedly is preaching and conversation about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. If you search for the phrase, this passage below is the only place to find it.

Revelation 19:6-8 MKJV "And I heard as the sound of a great multitude, and as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of strong thunders, saying, Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigns! (7) Let us be glad and rejoice and we will give glory to Him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. (8) And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints."

Those there with Jesus during the seven years of God's wrath may all be shouting Hallelujah!

Why?

Because the promised end has finally come. Again, we are about to see who brings that end and what it looks like. Those absorbed in protecting their masculinity may struggle with this, but we are the bride of Christ. When we accepted Jesus Christ, we accepted that His blood sacrifice was also poured over us, which caused us to be clothed in fine, white linen that was washed in His blood. This is also the description of the 24 elders, and they are deemed symbolic of the church.
(Read Revelation 4:4)

As for the crowns.

"Do not at all fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the Devil will cast some of you into prison, so that you may be tried. And you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10 MKJV)

I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no man may take your crown. (Revelation 3:11 EMTV)

Although I occasionally struggle with the once saved, always saved concept, I can see multiple references that help to convince me. The problem I have is with the "Christian" that lives like Christ has little or no place in their life. Paul told us we can know the tree by its fruit; well, to be truthful, some people's fruit is inedible.

"... for the tree is known by its fruit." (Matthew 12:33b NASB)

So, either God is a liar, or those people put on an excellent show. If it isn't a show, then I will just have to let God sort out the wheat from the things that kind of look like wheat, but they are not.

Can you see now why I spent more than a few minutes talking about things that I don't really understand?

Here is something I can understand.

How you judge is how you will be judged.

Having already experienced some of that judgment firsthand, I want NO part of my harsh judgments coming back at me. Instead, I want God's mercy.

If some of us will be in heaven shortly, due to the catching away of the church, and since many play out the Revelation as though it is chronological, then wouldn't we, the church, still have to wait seven more years to be married to Christ? Perhaps my question is more rhetorical, and perhaps scripture will answer the question. So with verse nine, we are encouraged as we have been waiting for such a long time for Jesus to return.

Revelation 19:9 EMTV "Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' "And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."

Look at those words, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb!"

I thought that we had already been invited back into a relationship with the Father and, therefore, invited to the marriage supper?

Indeed, both are true, but that relationship gives us the freedom to sit a the table with Him.

I was publicly accosted by a man I called a brother in Christ, as he called me a firebrand – one who tries to get people excited only to let them crash with disappointment because we, as a church, have been looking for Christ to come back for us, for over two-thousand years. Well, that is true that we have been looking for Him for a long time; but the Apostle Paul did not seem to be concerned about the expediency and emphasized that we are to live as though His arrival, for a waiting church, could happen at any moment.

A pastor that I listened to emphasized Jesus' words when he said, "when you see these signs beginning to happen, then know that the time is near. Well, guess what? We have been watching the signs occur for the last couple of years (It is currently 03/15/22.)

What things?

"There will be signs in sun and moon and stars,

and on the earth dismay among nations,

in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world;

for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

"Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory." (Luke 21:25-27 NASB)

There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars.
Still in Luke 21:25. "and on the earth dismay among nations."
"in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves."
Men swooning away or expiring with fear and dread and apprehension and expectation of the things that are coming on the world; for the [very] powers of the heavens will be shaken and caused to totter. (Luke 21:26 AMPC)

So, where are we in terms of Jesus' return?

We are right there.

"But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28 NASB)

Again, redemption is a matter of perspective, and dependent upon where you live, it makes more sense. But, the general idea is that we don't have to be neck-deep in the things coming upon the world.

If you lean toward God removing His church body from the earth so that they do not have to experience His seven-year outpouring of wrath, you can consider yourself a pre-tribulation believer.

Should you allow others to convince you that we should endure God's wrath, perhaps because of sin, you are ignoring that Jesus took all sin on Himself and purchased our redemption and lives back to God. Not everybody accepts that grace, and many will follow Satan to his reward, but that is their choice. This theological position is often deemed to be mid-tribulation.

If you are among those few who believe we must endure the same punishment as the nations and only gain anything close to salvation if you survive and enter the millennial reign, you can call yourself a post-tribulation supporter. These people, by their own standard, will not gain any relief from oppression until Jesus comes back and sits as the ruling Messiah during the thousand-year reign.

As a side note, you may have heard this already, but the things we are dealing with, though deadly for some, are NOTHING compared with the slaughter coming.

I had to laugh recently as I watched the news talk about police abuse with that thought in mind.

Do you think the Russian police give a thought to your personal freedoms and how they should NOT beat you up?

Not at all, and since the Ukrainian invasion, people in Russia, who thought they could, speak their mind about how Putin is running things, were rapidly and abusively hurried off to an awaiting prisoner bus. The day is coming; after the church has been removed, abuses will quickly reach deadly levels.

Amir Tsarfati frequently states how the scriptures tell us that approximately 4 billion people will be dead soon after the church is removed. The majority of deaths will come at the hands of humanity.

I like to focus on particular words, and redemption is good. It is the Greek word apolytrōsis and means deliverance, procured by a ransom payment. Wow, we just talked about that because Jesus' actions on the cross purchased our ransom. So perhaps it would be a good time to ask Him into your life.

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Can we, as the sanctuary of God, be possessed by demons?

Early Sunday morning found me doing my usual; listening to the morning devotional and playing Tiger Woods golf. As I listened to the devotional, the young man talked about how he did not know the Lord, but when he finally did, he became attached, in a sense, to Pastor James Robinson (he is also a television pastor,) as a youth minister.

James had apparently been talking about demons, and the young man admitted to Pastor James that he did not understand what was being said. This young man stated that James then had this youth minister and his wife come over to the house for homemade ice cream, and there James showed him this scripture.

Psalms 74:3 NASB Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

The young man thought about the scripture and what James had said, and then asked Pastor James, are you saying that we, as the sanctuary of God, are possessed by demons. To which James replied, well, what does it say? The premise was that we are.

At this point, I stopped everything for a moment, and asked the Father, if what he said was true. Here is what I began finger pecking on my phone.

In light of current events, that have us longing for Jesus' return, we are often directed to 2 Thessalonians 2:3. There we see the word apostasy or falling away. As I have learned from Dr. Andy Woods, it should read the departure or gathering.

The idea of falling away and gathering are opposing points of view, and open the door for doctrines of demons to be taught.

The Apostle Paul explained that anything outside of what he taught, was a doctrine of demons. There are always those, who for example, cling to the King James only – I have heard several of these say, it is the only authorized Bible we are to use. I am snickering because almost every King James Bible states that it is the authorized version, and it was, for King James, at that time; that does not make it the best and only version we should use. The twisted logic is, that to use anything else would be to fall away, and that is not the case.

As Dr. Woods explained, the Catholic church had the Greek word apostasia changed from departure to apostasy, so as to better convey the State Church's disdain for those leaving the flock and following after Protestantism.

Paul, in this letter to the church at Galatia, lays out how those who preach contrary to what he had taught should be accursed. What that looks like I do not know.

Galatians 1:6-9 NASB I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; (7) which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! (9) As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

Paul took this to the next step in his first letter to Timothy by explaining that there are doctrines of demons.

1 Timothy 4:1 NASB But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

What if one of those things were the demon possession of believers, as Pastor Robinson seems to have indicated?

First, let me say, I don't buy into the idea that a follower of Christ can be possessed. One of the few examples from scripture, that speaks about possession comes from Matthew 14: 43-45; there, it tells us that demons will come back to a clean and empty abode. That being the case, then let's make the assumption that having Christ in your life fills that empty space.

Another passage that concerns itself with demons comes from the Psalms.

They did not destroy the peoples, As the LORD commanded them, (35) But they mingled with the nations And learned their practices, (36) And served their idols, Which became a snare to them. (37) They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, (38) And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with the blood. (39) Thus they became unclean in their practices And played the harlot in their deeds.
Psalms 106:34-39 NASB

Pay attention to how this is worded.

“They did not destroy the peoples, As the LORD commanded them, (35) But they mingled with the nations ...”
They “learned their practices, (36) And served their idols, Which became a snare to them.”
“They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, (38) And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;”
And because of their actions and the gods they followed, “the land was polluted with the blood.”
And this is how “they became unclean in their practices,”

Paul, in writing to Timothy, spoke of “new converts” becoming snared by the devil.

1 Timothy 3:6-7 NASB and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. (7) And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

In Paul's second letter to Timothy, he painted a picture of repentance by a believer (note that this time it says nothing about this person being a new convert,) which leads them to the Word of God and a release from the captivity of Satan.

The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26 NASB)

Now, how did a believer become captive to Satan?

Paul tells us, that they were snared by Satan because they were in opposition to the Word of God, which Paul spoke. Paul, by the way, spoke from the Old Testament, just as Jesus did, so don't get all hung up on semantics.

I still don't see the word possessed, but it certainly spells out a life in which the person, inadvertently becomes a follower of Satan. No pun intended, but let me play the devil's advocate for a moment. Some may foolishly turn to a verse like we see in Mark's gospel.

When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. (Mark 1:32 NASB)

Here, many who were demon-possessed were brought, and Jesus healed them. But were ANY Christ-followers, living in God's grace and mercy? The answer is NO, they were, at best, ALL Jews.

Now keep in mind, we are not talking about a person that is filled with Christ in this next reference.

Luke 4:33-35 NASB In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, (34) "Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!" (35) But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm.

Where was Jesus when this event happened?

You got it, in the synagogue.

Why is it that we don't see anyone alarmed by what this Jewish man is saying?

Maybe it's because he isn't saying anything he hasn't already heard repeatedly. They did not want Jesus nor his message, and that becomes very clear to us in the gospels. It is a common belief that Jewish men talk in a caustic, argumentative manner all the time, and this day seemed no different.

What did the man say?

I will give you the first part, as it makes sense, to a degree. “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth?” I would guess that any of these men would have gladly said this to Jesus. But the voice opened with a strange phrase and NO ONE caught it, “let us alone!”

So, who was being referred to?

To many in the audience, the voice was referring to the general crowd. But Jesus knew immediately that the voice was referring to the crowd of demons in the man.

What was the next thing the voice said?

“Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"

At this point, “Have You come to destroy us?” may have applied to the Jewish audience, specifically the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees; but again, Jesus knew exactly who the voice was referring to, the demon crowd inside the man. When the demons said this, all bets were off. I know who you are – the Holy One of God!, this had to have sent a shock wave through the synagogue, as NONE of them dared say such a thing. Some might try to argue, Nicodemus would have said such a thing; really, and risk his family wealth and position as a Pharisee. Scripture proves that he was a closet believer, at best, because he came to Jesus by night.

You must know there were those possessed in the Old Testament, however, the Old Testament does not use the word to describe someone possessed, even once.

I can't find a thing that breaks this idea that a Christian, can be possessed unless of course, you choose to play with the devil, and I think it would be safe to say, you never knew the God you claim to know.

Monday, December 10, 2018

Judas Iscariot, a character study. Part 2

This examination of Judas Iscariot is the outgrowth of a recent group Bible study on Hebrews. During the evening's interactions on Hebrews my friend, in reference to eternal security, adamantly contrasted Judas-Iscariot, declaring, Judas Iscariot went to hell. I have several problems with a statement like that and spoke to the man privately about them after the study was over. Several days later that brother in Christ sent me a text message which directed me to a website he declared offered sound information on the subject of Judas Iscariot. What that website did, was to affirm my friend's arguments.
I obtained the arguments against Judas from this source https://www.gotquestions.org/Judas-Iscariot.html.
Assuming, and it's a natural assumption, that my friend and several thousand others like him, feel so resolute and judgmental aboutJudas-Iscariot, I decided to pursue this character study on the man.
I have made comments which can be seen below the bulleted points. The original document has, for the most part, been turned into bulleted points and highlighted in bold type.

The overarching question is, Who was Judas Iscariot?

As I began to respond to the thesis, which seems to have one goal - to have your opinion harmonize with theirs, my answers progressively turned into a ten-page treatise. I have learned that I cannot inundate you, the reader, with something that lengthy, as you will leave my site and probably never come back. Therefore, it is separated into parts. This is part two.

Jesus knew from the very beginning what Judas Iscariot would do. Jesus told His disciples, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (John 6:70).

Look how the Message conveys John 6:70, “Jesus responded, "Haven't I handpicked you, the Twelve? Still, one of you is a devil!"

Handpicked, now there's a visual image for you. Jesus, fully aware of the end of this chain of events, choose Judas-Iscariot intentionally. Why is that? Could it be that Jesus was the one with the plan and not Judas-Iscariot?

The plan, since the rebellion and fall of the angels that followed Satan, has been to restore peace, and redeem humanity - a necessary move since one man gave it all away. But then, God knew that would happen, just as He knew Judas would be manipulated into playing the role he did. All of it for the purpose of gaining eternal salvation for all who would follow after Jesus Christ.

What of this idea that one of you is the devil?

Luke 22:1-6 NET. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. (2) The chief priests and the experts in the law were trying to find some way to execute Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. (3) Then Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve. (4) He went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard how he might betray Jesus, handing him over to them. (5) They were delighted and arranged to give him money. (6) So Judas agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus when no crowd was present.

If I look up the word devil I get diábolos; to accuse. A false accuser, used for the devil. It is simply one who accuses. Judas did not accuse Jesus; he did, however, try to push Him to act irrationally and prematurely. How could Jesus have acted prematurely? By taking the throne without going to the cross and redeeming us all.

It seemed that the dramatic change in Judas-Iscariot came when Satan entered him. My perception is always tainted by my humanity and so I see things rather black and white. As Judas Iscariot walked with Jesus, he acted and spoke just as he always did; James and John, the "sons of thunder," were both capable of demonstrating a violent edge; Peter, much like James and John, was accustomed to the harsh, mouthy world associated with the fishing industry. These guys were just men and God saw the potential in them all.

Would God, knowing that He had Satan within His inner circle of leadership, be someone we should think highly of? Of course not. Common sense tells you that you never, knowingly, let the enemy close enough to disrupt your plans; and that is precisely what Satan was trying to do.

The Tree of Life Version of the Bible uses the term deliver instead of betray. The definition of deliver is to hand over or convey into someone's possession formally. Since the word betray means:

v. To give aid or information to an enemy of; commit treason against or betray one's country.

v. To deliver into the hands of an enemy in violation of a trust or allegiance:

v. To be false or disloyal to:

Can I then say that the act of delivering Jesus over, not to the Romans, but the Jewish council, was a betrayal? Since Judas never truly fit any of these definitions, especially when Jesus knew all along what Judas would eventually yield to; it does not feel like much of a betrayal, but a man with a mission, who was trying to provoke Jesus into a fight – one which he thought Jesus would quickly win.

You must remember that God's agreements with us were never dependent upon our actions. Yes, there has always been a benefit for following after the covenants, but regardless of our efforts, or lack thereof, God was always going to remain faithful to His end of the deal. Such was the case with God's end plan for the salvation of man. We know that Jesus went to the cross willingly, and would have been put there on that cross by some other means if necessary. Judas merely played a role.

And at the Last Supper, Jesus predicted His betrayal and identified the betrayer: “Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon” (John 13:26).

Again, the annoyance is that this is stated as though Judas was some random, last-minute alteration in the course of events. When it came to the Jews, Jesus told those who wanted to hang him, do you not realize that I could call legions of angels to come and rescue me. There is nothing that is happening to me that I have not approved and allowed. So to place words like betrayal and betrayer upon Judas is merely inciting anger and rage in the reader.

Jesus said that Judas Iscariot was not “clean”; i.e., he had not been born again and was not forgiven of his sins (John 13:10–11).

Jesus did not say, “Judas was not clean,” He merely said one of you.

What does John 13:10-11 say? (MKJV) Jesus said to him (Peter,) He who is bathed has no need except to wash his feet but is clean every whit. And you are clean, but not all. (11) For He knew who would betray Him. Therefore He said, You are not all clean.

The bulleted statement above, unwisely states, “he (Judas,) had not been born again and was not forgiven of his sins.” None of them were born again. Since Jesus had not gone to the cross, they were all living under the law, not grace.

Bathed and washed are translations; however, the Greek word is louō and means to bathe the whole person. We probably perceive this as water baptism. The idea behind the word is an immersion into a wholehearted acceptance, something that none of the disciples did. In contrast to Judas, who clearly was not 100% invested, we have Peter, who betrayed Christ three times; and John, who stayed near the cross and Mary, as Jesus was dying. The problem with thinking that any of them “got it,” is that none of them did, and scripture proves that out.

Has no need – G2192 echō A primary verb (including an alternate form σχέω scheō skheh'-o used in certain tenses only); to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remote; such as possession, ability, contiguity, relation or condition.) -

So I understand there not being a need to hold desperately onto sick relationships or possessions if I have been washed already, but to merely wash your feet as needed what did this mean? It meant that Jesus, through His word, had already cleansed them; but then, there is the daily, trivial nonsense, such stealing from the treasury bag - the stuff we call sin. In no way do I get a sense of ominous retribution worthy of separation from God. In the environment of that day, where you would sit on pillows, next to each other, to dine, I can completely understand why washing your feet would be an exceptional idea.

Would betray Him – paradidōmi - From G3844 and G1325; to surrender, that is, surrender, deliver, give over.

Yes, I am aware that paradidōmi also carries the idea of betrayal, but I do not believe that Jesus saw Judas' actions as insidious. If that were the case, then Peter would have been a write off as well. In general, I could easily say that Judas surrendered or delivered Jesus to the Jewish council; however, I do not believe Judas meant for Him to be killed. Everything I see, as I study Judas' life, demonstrates that Judas intended to force Jesus to rise on their behalf.

Consider this idea of delivering someone over to an authoritative force.
The Jewish leadership had temple guards, and this is who took Jesus captive that night. The Romans, on the other hand, were under orders to rapidly suppress any violent acts. Would the activities of the Jewish leadership have been seen in that light? This potential of misconduct is one of the reasons that Pilot so “rapidly” relented to the chief priests cries to crucify Jesus.

Luke 22:52 NIV Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?

One of the pieces of evidence we have that demonstrates that the Chief priests and elders took Jesus in the garden, is the fact that they brought Jesus to the “jail” beneath Caiaphas' home. Archaeology has proven that this place existed. Here is where Jesus was challenged over His claims to be God's son, and therefore God - a blasphemous claim worthy of death according to Jewish law. The result is that the Jewish temple guards beat Jesus, based upon claims that have nothing to do with what Romans consider rebellion before they ever handed Him off to Pilot.

Judas knew full well what the Romans could, and would do to those that caused trouble, but Jesus never did any of those things; he also knew that the Jews had no power to put someone on a cross and this was, therefore, a moot issue in the mind of Judas.

Judas, just like all the others, walked beside Jesus in a state of puzzlement.
Just a few days before this, what had taken place? At Jesus direction they had secured an unridden colt (Matthew 21) – this would have been comparable to borrowing a new Mercedes luxury car, just as dignitaries might arrive in, and placing Jesus in it. Just the sight of such an event triggered off a mad rush of onlookers, many of whom had experience with Jesus and the miracles He performed. But now He is riding into town as a King might. This moment has to be significant, and it is a long enough ride for many to have the time necessary to gather palm branches to spread upon the ground before Him.

Now, put yourself in the place of the disciples, especially Judas, as none of them were sure how this entrance into Jerusalem was going to end; for some, I am sure they were hoping for some kind of overthrow. The underlying motive is the possibility that they would hold important cabinet positions under the rule of Jesus.

Did Jesus step up and rule?
No, but He did overthrow the tables of the money changers and chased the vendors out of the outer court. The blind and lame came to Him in the Temple, and He healed them. (Matthew 21:12) Jesus then became embroiled, for two days, with the chief priests and elders about His authority to do what He did, and who He was. All this was the lead into what we see in Matthew 24 and 25, and the questions the disciples asked, “when will all these things come to pass and what will the sign of your return?” You see, they expected Him to step up and reign two days before; obviously, based upon what you are telling us now when you come back it will be to reign, so when is that going to happen?

When the disciple John wrote “For He knew who would betray Him. Therefore He said, You are not all clean,” it was understood to mean, Jesus could see the end result. In the perfect tense, the word see, meant to know. Can I surmise Jesus knowing or seeing to be comparable? Yes.

Bullet points and blocks of copy in bold have been extracted from Got Questions Ministries. I have done this to make their information distinct from my own thoughts and comments.