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    Apr 07, 2023

    How Much of Judas is in Us?

    Preacher: John Repsold

    Category: Good Friday

    Keywords: sins, betrayal, good friday, judas iscariot

    Summary:

    As much as we would like to think we are nothing like Judas Iscariot, the reality is that there is a bit of Judas in every one of us. This Good Friday message looks at the man who fooled even his closest associates into thinking he was just like them and what the process and sins were that grew him into the betrayer of the Lord Jesus that night.

    Detail:

    How Much of Judas is in Me?

    Good Friday 2023

    It’s always easier to see other people’s faults and failures, isn’t it?  But the truth is, that which bothers us most in others are often the very things we tend to struggle with. 

    Tonight we’ve seen the slow but steady march of one of Jesus’ closest disciples into the darkness of deception and betrayal.  That disciple was Judas Iscariot.  We’d all like to think that we’re nothing like Judas.  But the troubling truth is, we all have a bit of Judas in us.

                To help us grapple with that harsh reality, let us start by asking, “Just what were the failures and sins of Judas Iscariot?”  And as we mention just a few of them, let us ask ourselves how many of them we might still be engaged in. 

                Some of Judas’s failures were rather obvious while others take a little more digging to unearth.  Let’s start with the obvious:

    1. Theft & Greed: this seems to be Iscariot’s ‘sin of choice.’  John 12 tells us about a very revealing encounter Judas had with an extravagant worshiper of Jesus—Mary.  You’ll remember that Mary was the one who poured out some enormously expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, perfume worth an entire year’s wages.  Then she wiped his feet with her hair.  For that extravagant act of worship, Mary (and probably Jesus), earned the ire of Judas.  “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?” Judas said.  Then John tells us that it really wasn’t because he genuinely cared all that much about the poor that moved him to say this.  It was because “he was a thief” (vs. 6).  He was the Apostle’s bookkeeper/ accountant and as such was in the habit of embezzling—helping himself to the cash in the till.  His sticky fingers became an extension of a greedy heart that was discontent with what God had provided.  And he became convinced that he deserved more than what the other disciples around him were apparently content to live with.  Taking what was not his sprung from a heart that valued material things more than right relationship with God or the people God had put around him.  But his greed and resulting theft was really just an extension of another sin.
    2. Deception: The passage I just referred to in John 12 makes it clear that by the time Jesus and His Apostles had all arrived at Jerusalem for Jesus’ last Passover celebration, Judas was into full-blown deceit and deception.  Clearly, he was used to saying what he knew would sound and look spiritual and good to others while knowing full well that his true motivation was selfish and materialistic to the core.  That deception ran so deep in his soul that he was even willing to publicly criticize the sincere, extravagant and costly worship of a woman whose life Jesus had utterly transformed.  But having a heart full of greed while looking virtuous to others was something he was willing to lie, slander and deceive about to hang onto.   

    That level of deception usually doesn’t develop in a day.  It begins with self-deception of the heart—convincing ourselves that we something that we are not.  The Gospels consistently present Judas Iscariot in the beginning of his time with Jesus like all the other Apostles—one of the hundreds of disciples or “followers” who wanted to be near Jesus. 

    Judas didn’t start out as a traitor; he started out just as seemingly sincere as every one of the 12.  In fact, Luke tells us in Luke 6 that after talking with the Father all night about which disciples to choose to be part of the 12, Jesus chose Judas. And then it makes this little interesting statement specifically about Judas: “Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” 

    There is no indication anywhere that Jesus chose Judas because he was a traitor.  He was not the traitor he became infamous for three years later.  He became that man over 3 years of close contact with Jesus while the other 11 Apostles, sharing the exact same experiences with Judas, would became men who would all eventually suffer tremendously and die horrible deaths because of their love for their Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. 

    In fact, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Jesus was a lot harder on many of the other Apostles than he was on Judas.  Peter certainly could have gotten much more bent out of shape than Judas when Jesus rebuked Peter’s attempt to dissuade him from the cross with the words, “Get behind me, Satan”.  Satan was always looking for one of the 12 to ‘sift as wheat.’  But it was Judas Iscariot who falsely convinced himself that he was the true kernel of wheat and the others were the chaff.  Deception of people, particularly of ourselves, makes us more like Judas than we care to admit.

    Which brings us to a third sin of Judas…

    1. Arrogant ambition: While Judas didn’t have the corner on the market of arrogance and ambition when it came to the Apostles, he apparently took it to another level that eventually led him to despise the one Man in human history he should have revered and worshiped. 

    We’re told that shortly after James, John and Peter personally experienced the transfiguration of Jesus…some measure of the heavenly brilliance Jesus had with the Father before the incarnation… that they were involved in an all-Apostles argument about who was the greatest.  That’s stunning arrogance in the face of an encounter with the glory of God (Mark 9:34; Luke 22:24)!

    And then there was the mother of James and John who thought her boys were the best candidates to sit on the ruling Christ’s right and left whenever he took power.  I wonder who put her up to that request? 

    But Judas, for all the lack of discussion about him in the Gospels, clearly took personal arrogance and ambition to an entirely new level among the chosen.  Jesus confronted the pride and arrogance of each of the Twelve.  Eleven of them took those rebukes to heart.  One of them took offense.

    Judas chose a very different route in dealing with his arrogant ambition.  He fed that beast by choosing his own wisdom over Jesus’.  He stoked the fires of arrogant ambition by holding onto his own agenda about Jesus rather than holding onto Jesus.

    In fact, John 6 recounts what happened to many of Jesus ‘disciples’ when he gave them one of the most difficult to understand truths in the Bread of Life teaching.  When he told them they must “eat his flesh and drink his blood”, that was the turning-away point for many.  And John tells us that Judas was a part of that.  “61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!  63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who [sing., masc.] would betray him.”

    John is telling us that Judas, like so many supposed ‘disciples’ of his day, when Jesus’ teaching and demands grew hard, opted for his own assessment, his own wisdom and his own flawed understanding instead of belief and wholehearted trust in Jesus.  His betrayal months later was incubated in his arrogant, disbelieving personal ambition. 

    How do we know that?  Put this story of John 6 together with the one we have seen about Mary and the expensive perfume in John 12.  Jesus’ rebuke of Judas’ feigned compassion for the poor happened just before Judas initiated contact with Jesus’ murderous antagonists, the chief priests. 

    By the time we arrive at that last week of Jesus’ life, Judas has made up his mind that Jesus is expendable but his passion for power and plans for a Roman-conquering messiah are not.  So he goes to the priests, settles on a price and spends the rest of the week looking for just the right opportunity to take out the Son of Man in whom he had initially put so much hope but with whom he was now clearly disillusioned (Mt. 26:24-26; Mk. 14:10; Luke 22:3). 

    Judas would rely on his own understanding.  He would build the longed-for kingdom of the Jews his own way.  Perhaps he even thought HE would take the reins of this Palm Sunday political movement himself if Jesus wouldn’t.  He fully believed his plans, fueled by his arrogant ambition, were superior to the will and plans of the Savior of the world. 

    Judas evidenced many more sins that night with which all of us can identify to some degree: hypocrisy, idolatry, offendedness, partial obedience, being a hearer of God’s word but not doing it, hatred and eventually even murder.

    But there was one sin Judas manifested which plagues all of us.  It made the difference between love and hate of Jesus and between heaven and hell for Judas. That was the sin or…

    1. Unbelief: Just to be clear, belief/faith and unbelief/faithless-ness is a part of every human being—child or adult, wealthy or impoverished, simple or intellectual, short or tall, athletic or clumsy.  We are people who are always exercising faith as well as unbelief.  It’s just a matter of who/what we choose to truly believe and who/what we choose to doubt/not trust.

    So, how did Judas’ journey of faith and faithlessness develop?  Well, he began looking all the world like a dedicated disciple. He probably began with curiosity in Jesus—finding out where he was speaking next, listening intently to His teaching and probably even engaging the Lord with insightful, thoughtful questions.  He may even have been initially quite generous in support of Jesus ministry.  Perhaps he was the most successful businessman of the bunch so that when Jesus made him keeper-of-the-purse everyone saw that as a reasonable, natural move. Maybe Judas gave up more wealth than all the rest to for the chance of being in the inner circle. 

    Judas certainly looked like a true believer…like so many do in churches today.  Even up until that last night when he betrayed Jesus, the other Apostles couldn’t tell he was actually a man of unbelief.  Only when he finally greeted Jesus with a betraying kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane did the real Judas become evident.

    While we don’t know what Judas’s real agenda was in becoming a “follower”/disciple, we do know where it led him.  As time went on, Judas, like all the disciples, had some faith-decisions to make. But he repeatedly chose unbelief. 

    • Would he seek God above all other priorities, agendas and possibilities?
    • Would he embrace Jesus as Christ, the Messiah.
    • Would he submit his intellect, his desires, his dreams and his sins to the Lord Jesus and Lamb of God who takes away sin?

    OR…

    • Would Judas withhold judgment until Jesus gave him what he wanted more deeply than God himself?
    • Would he believe in Jesus even when that believing was hard or would he keep his options open and hedge his bets by believing real life could be found in some other self-serving savior?

    Step by step Judas chose faith in himself over faith in Jesus while the other 11 chose Jesus.  Like all of us who ever encounter Christ and his claim as Lord of our lives, Judas could not remain neutral. 

    • When confronted with his sin, his need for repentance and the Savior he knew in Jesus, he chose his sin.
    • When given the choice between keeping Jesus at a safe arms-length as a “Teacher” rather than surrendering to him as “Lord”, Judas chose “Teacher”. Just read 26 that records how, in the Upper Room when the disciples were troubled about Jesus’ prophecy that one of them would betray Jesus, the others called Christ “Lord” (Mt. 26:22) while Judas settled for “Teacher” (Mt. 26:25). 
    • That ultimately led Judas to value Jesus at no more than the price of a common slave—30 pieces of silver. It eventually led him to being a key accomplice in the murder of the Savior of the world.  And it ultimately led him to take his own life in guilt-filled regret rather than face Jesus on the cross, cry out for mercy and wait for the resurrection.

    But in the end, this is really about us too.  For there is something of Judas Iscariot in all of us. We will either come to Jesus as Lord OR we will turn from Him as Savior.  Judas’s failure to believe he needed a Savior hardened him to believing in Jesus as Lord.

    APP:  Which brings us all on this dark night to a place of personal reflection. 

    • Most importantly, are you, like Judas, choosing faith in yourself over surrender to Jesus? You may look like the best Christian in the room.  But if you haven’t truly surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and embraced him as your Savior and your Lord, you are choosing the sin of unbelief and the path of Judas.  You may be fooling everyone around you.  But you’re not fooling God. 

    Instead of walking the road of Judas, won’t you stop, turn around, face Jesus and embrace Him as your Savior and Lord?  Tonight, if you want Jesus, then I invite you to tell Him in a simple prayer like this:  Lord Jesus, I repent of running my own life.  I confess that I am a sinner who needs you to save me.  I want to turn from my sins and embrace your forgiveness.  I need you to be my Lord.  Please, take charge of my life and fill me with your Holy Spirit.  I welcome you as Lord and Savior into my life. 

    If you prayed that prayer or have any questions about how to believe in Jesus Christ, would you please talk with me or one of the other pastors or the person who invited you here this evening.  We want to help you grow in your journey with Jesus.

    • To all of us tonight, how much of Judas have you seen in yourself tonight? How much unbelief is there in you?  How much greed or ambition or selfishness is infecting your soul?  How much deception, secrecy, hypocrisy or idolatry is evident?  Maybe you’re walking in the way of Judas by despairing of life rather than turning to God and embracing His forgiveness and the personal relationship He wants to have with you?  Or maybe your disappointment with God at not meeting your expectations in life has taken root and is poisoning your relationship with God. 

    The proper response to seeing a bit of Judas in ourselves is confession of that to God and repentance—a change of direction from hiding or running away from God to running to Him. 

    Let’s pray. 

    PRAYER: 

    “Lord Jesus, save us from ourselves.  Rescue us from that part of ourselves that is too much like Judas.  Help us to be honest with you and honest with ourselves about the sins of our souls that keep us from really honoring you as Lord and enjoying you as Savior.  We don’t want even a little bit of the spirit of Judas in us.  We want only your Holy Spirit in charge of our lives.  Please lead us in the way of life and light.  Deliver us from the darkness of our day, of our sins and of ourselves. In the glorious name of Jesus, AMEN.