Introduction:

Last Week we learned some interesting things about Judas:

ü Judas was the son of Simon (John 6:71). The term Iscariot, which is used to distinguish Judas from the other disciple named Judas (Luke 6:16; John 14:22; Acts 1:13).

ü Judas’ was called by Jesus “to be with Him” (Mark 3:14) and his name appears in three of the lists of the disciples (Matt. 10:2–4; Mark 3:16–19; Luke 6:14–16), although it always appears last.

ü Judas was a treasurer (John 13:29), a thief (John 12:6), hypocrite & deceiver (John 12:39), criticizer (Mark 14:5).

ü And worse of all Judas was one who had been not only influenced by Satan (John 13:2), but also possessed by Satan himself (John 13:27)!

ü During the week of the Passover festival, Judas went to the chief priests and offered to betray Jesus for a reward (Matt. 26:14–16; Mark 14:10–11). Jesus announced that He would be betrayed and that He knew who His betrayer was (Mark 14:20), the one to whom He would give the piece of bread used in eating (John 13:26–27). Jesus was saying that a friend, one who dipped out of the same dish as He, was His betrayer.

a) He Followed Jesus, But He Criticized Other Believers (John 12:5)

b) Criticism Is A Sign Of Hypocrisy (Matthew 7:1-5).

(1) When We Judge Critically We Also Manifest A Mistaken View Of Ourselves (2 Sam12:1-6).

(2) The Criticizer Will Be Judged (Matthew 7:2).

(3) The Criticizer Fails To Examine Himself (Matthew 7:3)

(4) The Criticizer Is Deceived About Himself (Matthew 7:4)

(5) The criticizer is a hypocrite (Matthew 7:5)

c) Judas Expressed Concern For The Ministry, But He Had An Ulterior Motive (John 12:6)

d) He worked for Jesus, but he did not love Jesus (John 12:7-8)

I. jUDAS THE DECIEVER (jOHN 6:70-71)

Standing right in the midst of the chosen men was one who looked and sounded like the most sincere disciple. His name was Judas, a name which has itself become a metaphor for betrayal.

A. sUBTLE dECEPTION

1. Why Was Judas Chosen By Jesus If He Was Going to Betray Him?

a) The Scriptures Foretold It.

(1) John 17:12 cf. Psalm 41:9 tells us this: While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

(2) God did not force Judas into that betrayal against the man’s will. Jesus even said of Judas that it would have been better for him if he had never been born, because of the choice he made (Matt. 26:24; cf. Luke 22:22). Instead He used Judas’s evil intent to accomplish His own predetermined purposes (cf. Acts 2:23).

b) It Gave Occasion To Uncover The Awfulness Of Sin (Matthew 26:14-16)

(1) The greed he evidenced by that act was another indicator of his wicked heart. Driven by greed, he betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of silver, and damned his soul to hell.

c) It Supplies The Sinner With A Solemn Warning.

(1) A person may experience the closest possible contact with the Lord Jesus & still not come to Him for Salvation.

d) It Shows Us There Are Hypocrites In The Church Today (John 12:1-6; 13:2, 26)

II. Reasons For Betrayl ( Mark 14:10-11)

Judas was personally irresponsible. He forsook Jesus, denied and betrayed Him, and Judas is to be blamed. No one made him do it; he personally took the initiative. But why would Judas deny and betray Jesus? Several things are suggested in this passage.

1. Jealousy. Judas Seems To Have Been Jealous Of The Other Apostles.

a) The exact words, “Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve” are significant.

(1) The Greek actually reads, “Judas Iscariot, the one of the twelve.” The word “the” is inserted. There seems to be some kind of priority and importance suggested.

(2) Jesus Had Noticed Some Great Potential, Some Unusual Qualities About Judas.

(a) Jesus did not only call Judas, he was elevated and given a position of authority among the apostles.

(b) He had been appointed the treasurer of the group. He was in charge of the Lord’s funds and the purchasing of whatever was needed (John 12:6; John 13:29; cp. Luke 8:2-3). Such a high position and responsibility indicated the high esteem with which Jesus and the others held him. But something happened.

(c) Judas was never seen as one of the inner circle of three (Peter, James, and John).

(3) He Began To Turn Sour At Some Point. Jesus knew what was happening to his heart and character; therefore, Judas saw himself excluded more and more from intimacy with Jesus. He saw himself, who had been one of the first, becoming one of the last.

(4) Jealousy And Envy Began To Fill His Heart, And He Refused To Deal With It. He became even more unreachable to Jesus, less and less important. He began to be consumed with jealousy and envy and the urge to retaliate.

“Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:26).

“A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).

2. Ambition. Judas Was Definitely Ambitious.

Definition A fervent desire for rank, fame, or power, desire to achieve a particular end

a) Ambition is Good If it is being used for seeking:

(1) The Best Gifts (1Cor.12:31)—But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way."

(2) Spiritual Goals (Phil.3:12-14)—"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14, NKJV)

(3) The Gospel’s Extension (Romans 15:17-20)—"Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient— in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation," (Romans 15:17-20, NKJV)

(4) Acceptance Before God (2Cor.5:9-10)—"Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:9-10, NKJV)

(5) Quietness (1Thess.4:11)— "that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you," (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

b) Ambition is Evil If it leads to:

(1) Strife (Mark 10:35-45) James and John The Two Sons of Zebedee

(2) Sinful Superiority (Matt.18:1–6) Argued Which is the Greatest

"But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”" (Jude 9, NASB95)

(3) A Pharisaical Spirit (Mark 12:38–40)

(4) Contention About Gifts (1 Cor. 3:1–8)

(5) Selfish Ambition (Phil.1:14–17; Galatians 1:6-9)

c) The difference Between Judas and the others.

(1) Judas was seen seeking after the higher positions in the government Jesus was to set up. There was one difference, however, between Judas and the others. They never lost faith in Jesus’ Person, that He was the true Messiah, but Judas did.

(2) Judas became convinced that he had been mistaken about Jesus. Judas experienced his dreams of wealth and power and position with Jesus being shattered. In going to the chief priests he was trying to get what he could out of the situation.

3. Greed. Judas Was A Thief, Consumed With Greed And The Love Of Money.

In fact, this is the sin of Judas that is stressed above all the others by Scripture. “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” (Matthew 26:15).

a) Note four significant facts about greed.

(1) Greed Is A Growing Sin, & It Has To Be Fed To Grow (James 1:13-15). Desiring is normal and natural. It is when we feed our desires that they become sin.

"You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask." (James 4:2, NASB95)

(2) Greed Will Eat At Us Just Like A Cancer. Judas had what he needed: food, clothing, and housing. He did not go without. What was he after? The sin of lusting for more and more ate away at him and caused him to betray the Son of God!

(3) Greed Is Sin. But note: it is not money that is sinful; it is the love of money (1 Tim. 6:10). Money is a thing; it is inanimate, lifeless. It has no feelings, no desires, no will to act. Man is the one who lusts for more and more; therefore, man is the one who sins, not the piece of paper or metal.

(4) Greed Is Very, Very Dangerous. It is one of the most dangerous sins.

b) Desire is never satisfied apart from God.

The problem is this: man misunderstands his spiritual craving for physical. Man’s deepest and most restless craving is spiritual. God has made man a spiritual being, a being who is restless until his spirit is at peace with God. Man may deny, ignore, neglect and reject this fact; nevertheless, the denial of truth does not do away with the truth. God has made man a spiritual being, a being with a soul that craves for spiritual satisfaction:

c) Man’s spiritual desires and cravings cannot be satisfied with physical and material things.

(1) There is that within man that lusts and craves for more and more. And as more and more is taken, the lust does not diminish; it grows.

(2) Man’s cravings are never satisfied. They have to be controlled. If man feeds his cravings and continues to feed and feed them, he is eventually consumed by his lusts.

(3) Man is not able to control his desires, not completely and not always. Man must have the presence and power of God to control all his lusts and desires.

4. Men Have Two Thirsts (John 4:13-14) / (1) physical (2) spiritual

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalms 42:1-2)

My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God (Psalm 84:2)

a) The Physical thirst (v.13) – “whoever drinks of this water will thirst again”

(1) A Statement That Should Be Written Over Every Ambition That You Have.

(a) What is it that you are hoping to achieve or attain in life?

(b) What is it that you think will bring you satisfaction and happiness?

(c) What is it that you are pressing towards? The goals that you hope to fulfill?

(d) Whatever it is, write over the top of it, “Drink of this water but you will thirst again.”

“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. (Isaiah 55:2)

"Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." (John 6:27)

(2) It’s The Excitement Of The Pursuit, But The Achievement Is Disappointing.

(a) Success really doesn’t mean much to the person who has achieved it.

(b) There’s disappointment when you finally achieve. Because it doesn’t satisfy.

(c) It is like salt water, once you drink you will only crave more & more.

"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13 cf. 1 John 2:15)

"Then he cried and said, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' (Luke 16:24)

b) The Spiritual Thirst (4:14)

(1) Jesus Is Saying If You Are Thirsty For God, Come To Me And Drink.

(a) He alone can satisfy your thirst for God.

(b) He alone can fill that spiritual void in your life. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are filled with both abundant life and eternal life.

(i) He is “full of goodness, filled with all knowledge” (Romans 15:14).

(ii) He is “filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph.3:19).

(iii) He is “filled with the Spirit” (Eph.5:18).

(iv) He is “filled with the fruits of righteousness” (Phil. 1:11).

(v) He is “filled with the knowledge of His [God’s] will” (Col. 1:9).

(vi) He is “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52).

c) How Do I Know If I Am Truly Hungering And Thirsting After Righteousness?

(1) Are You Satisfied With Yourself? Are you self-satisfied? Do you think that there is no room for growth in your life?

(2) Does Anything External Satisfy You? Do you find that things have an influence on how you feel? Do you fill your appetite with the wrong stuff and then lose that appetite? A hunger for righteousness will be satisfied with nothing else.

(3) Do You Have A Great Appetite For The Word Of God? The rules, the obedience of which brings about righteousness, are in His Word. Jeremiah said, “Your words were found and I ate them” (Jeremiah 15:16). If you’re hungering and thirsting after righteousness, you will have such an appetite for the Word that you will devour it. If you’re not hungering and thirsting after righteousness, maybe your child of God who’s being sinful. Or maybe you’re not a child of God at all.

(4) Are The Things Of God Sweet To You, or are you Chasing Happiness? Proverbs 27:7 says, “Honey seems tasteless to a person who is full, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.” I can recognize somebody who is seeking righteousness, because when God brings devastation into his life, he is filled and satisfied. He receives it of God, even though it’s painful. Some people can rejoice only when good things happen. When tough things happen, they don’t like it. They are not hungering and thirsting; they are merely chasing happiness.

(5) Is Your Hunger And Thirst Unconditional? Remember the rich young ruler who told Jesus Christ that he wanted to know how to enter the kingdom, but he wasn’t willing to give up his possessions? His hunger was conditional, and he was never filled. What about you? Do you say, “I want Christ and my _____ fill in the blank”

"Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”" (Luke 12:15, NASB95)

"Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!" (James 5:3, NASB95)

"He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live." (Proverbs 15:27, NASB95)

"He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity." (Ecclesiastes 5:10, NASB95)

"And the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied. And they are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unjust gain, to the last one. “Come,” they say, “let us get wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today, only more so.”" (Isaiah 56:11-12, NASB95)

5. Judas Sought Sin, To Deceive And Betray Jesus (Mark 14:11).

a) The picture is that of being on the prowl, searching and seeking.

(1) Judas’ heart was set, plotting evil and planning its strategy. He did not believe in Jesus, but even more, He willed to do evil against Jesus, to hurt Him, to destroy Him; and he sought opportunity to do so. Just how deceitful Judas was is clearly seen:

(2) Immediately after bargaining with the authorities, he sat down to eat with Jesus. He sat at the very table where the Lord’s Supper was being instituted.

b) Judas not only rejected Jesus, but he also promised and sought opportunity to destroy Him.

(1) Judas Makes A Covenant With The World. Note the words, “He promised, and sought opportunity to betray Him.”

(2) Judas finally sought after Jesus, but not for good, but to destroy (Heb.1:6)

(3) Judas was seeking for an opportune time, just like Satan (Luke 4:13).

c) There are those today who feel that they must destroy Jesus, and have established diabolical plots to do so.

(1) Those within the movie industry, who always cast the Christians in a very negative light, are really seeking to destroy Jesus.

(2) The A.C.L.U. have long been seeking to destroy Jesus, and unfortunately been receiving help from the Supreme Court, in seeing that Jesus is destroyed from the public sector.

(3) Even the liberal legislators in Washington are seeking to destroy Jesus and have drafted a bill that would prohibit a person having a Bible on their desk, or witnessing in their work place because it constitutes religious harassment.

(4) Our forefathers in the constitution established the freedom of religion clause, by which they intended that there should not be any state church, but that a person would be free to worship God in any denomination he may desire. England was punishing those who were seeking to break away from the Church of England, and they wanted to be sure that the government did not seek to establish a mandatory state church here.

(5) There are those who have twisted the intent and purpose of this constitutional right to be free to worship God however you may desire, that is the freedom of religion to mean freedom from religion, these men are seeking to destroy Jesus.

(6) Why would they seek to destroy Jesus today?

(a) Jesus said “men love darkness rather than the light (Jn.3:19).

(b) Jesus spoke out against adultery, they desire to commit adultery.

(c) Jesus spoke out against hatred and taking revenge, they hate and desire to destroy.

(d) Jesus spoke against lying. These men are liars, and they love to defraud others.

(e) Jesus taught that we should forgive others their wrongs against us. These men are unforgiving.

(f) Jesus said that the most important thing is to love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. These men are filled with hatred toward Jesus and any one who seeks to follow Him.

(g) What things did Jesus say that you find offensive?

(h) What is it about Jesus that has created such a negative reaction by you that you seek to destroy Him?

d) The motive to destroy Jesus was not rational, but emotional and spiritual.

(1) When they finally brought Jesus before Pilate to get the Roman government to crucify Him, Pilate realized that they had no real charges against Him, but that they were envious of Jesus, because of His popular appeal, and they were afraid that they were going to lose their control over the people.

(2) When they were crying for Pilate to crucify Jesus, he asked for a logical reason, but they had none, they just cried all the louder, "Crucify Him."

(3) Today it is the same, the hatred of Jesus is not logical, you cannot point to the teachings of Jesus and find fault, you must admit that He was right, and what He taught is good, yet people hate Him so much they seek to destroy Him.

(a) Christian bashing has become a favorite sport in the liberal sector of the country, they are seeking to make the word fundamentalist an evil word.

(b) We are being identified as one of the greatest dangers to freedom in America.

(c) Freedom to what? Freedom to lie, steal, cheat, defraud, kill, rape, to with anyone at any time under any circumstances.

(d) You see, we are so narrow that we call sin, why does that upset Janet Reno and Joyclyn Elders, and Hillary so much? It is because they feel that a person should be protected to have those freedoms.

(e) We say that it is wrong for an adult man to seduce a boy of eight years of age. We are a real threat to freedom.

(f) We say that it is wrong to use your public office for personal gain, that it is wrong to smoke pot even if you do not inhale, and that a person who is in a high place of public trust making laws whereby others are to be governed should set the highest moral standards for themselves, they should not be womanizers. You bet we are a threat to such freedoms.

(g) We oppose the freedom to do evil, and we promote the freedom to do good.

(4) Wherever Christianity has gone, freedom has followed. Why is it that the communists feared Christianity so much?

(5) Who is it that seeks to destroy Jesus? Men with evil hearts.

(6) Why do they seek to destroy Him? Because they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.

e) Are you seeking to destroy Jesus today (Matthew 12:30)? Jesus said, if you are not for Me, you are against Me. You cannot be neutral.

(1) Jesus next made clear to the Pharisees that there is no neutral ground as far as relationship to Him is concerned. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

(2) It is not necessary to oppose Christ in order to be against Him; it is only necessary not to be with Him.

(3) Nor is it necessary to actively interfere with His work in order to be one who scatters; it is only necessary to not gather with Him.

(4) The person who does not belong to God is the enemy of God (Rom. 5:10); the person who is not a child of God through Christ is a rebel against God.

(5) There are only two possible relationships to Jesus Christ, and therefore to God: with or against. It is both spiritually and rationally impossible to accept Jesus as a kind man, a good teacher, and a great man of God-and nothing more. Only God has the right to claim for Himself the honor and authority Jesus claimed for Himself; and only God has the power over disease, sin, demons, Satan, and death that Jesus both claimed and demonstrated.

f) Two other opponents of Christ (Luke 22:1-6).

(1) The Religionists Rejected Him Lest They Lose The Favor, Security, And Position (v.2).

Luke paints a dramatic picture. While the people were in the streets openly preparing to praise God for His delivering power and the saving of life, the religionists were behind closed doors plotting to murder the very One who had come to be their great Deliverer (Savior).

(a) The plotted to use deception and lies (Matthew 26:4; Mark 14:1).

"After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death." (Mark 14:1, NKJV)

(b) The reason they sought to get rid of Jesus was because they feared the people.

(i) This means that they feared both losing the support of the people and the reaction of the people against them if the people knew they were killing Jesus.

Topical - Judas, Agrees To Betray