The Heart of a Bad Man (Jesus and Judas)
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”
Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
The heart is an open book before the Lord our God. He knows not only our actions before they are performed, but He knows the thoughts and intents of our heart. Repeatedly throughout the New Testament do we read that Jesus knew their thoughts or that before ever a word was said He knew what individuals were thinking. Thus, Jesus was not murdered; rather He gave His life as a sacrifice. He was, however, betrayed by one of His own. Judas, ere the deed was done, was known as a traitor.
Take note of the setting for Judas’ exposure. Judas had been stung by Jesus’ rebuke before the disciples. Actually, all the disciples were rebuked, but Judas seems to have taken the rebuke quite personally, as well he should have! The other eleven disciples seem to have taken the rebuke in the spirit in which it was delivered, accepting the instruction which was appended to the reprimand. Judas, however, accepted the blood money and began to seek opportunity to deliver Jesus into the hands of the high priest. Underscore in your mind that He actually contracted to perform this nefarious, infamous deed even before he went to that upper room with Jesus and the other disciples.
The Passover was near, that time when the Lord would give Himself as a sacrifice for man’s sin. The disciples, as had been their practise for the previous several years, inquired where Jesus intended to observe the meal with them. Unusual instructions were given them. Two unnamed disciples were to go into the city of Jerusalem. Within the city they would see a man carrying ajar of water. It seems apparent that this unusual, eye-catching sight was a prearranged signal because normally only women carried water jars (men carried wineskins). The two disciples were to follow this man, apparently a servant, who would lead them to the right house. At that house they were to tell the owner … The Teacher asks: Where is My guestroom… [Mark 14:13-15]? The single self-designation Teacher implies Jesus was well known to the owner and the possessive pronoun My implies His prior arrangement to use the room.
He (aujto;", the owner himself) would show them a large Upper Room, built on the flat ceiling, furnished (with a dining table and reclining couches) and set up for a banquet meal. The owner also would likely have secured the necessary food including the Passover lamb. These two disciples were to prepare the meal for Jesus and the other men [cf. Mark 14:12] there. Tradition claims that this was Mark’s home and that the owner was Mark’s father. Presumably preparation of the Passover meal involved roasting the lamb, setting out the unleavened bread and wine, and preparing the bitter herbs … a sauce made of dried fruit moistened with vinegar and wine and combined with spices.
The evening came and the disciples, together with Jesus, were observing the meal. The ancient tradition was observed and the disciples again were reminded that God had delivered His people out of Egyptian slavery. Again, they saw portrayed the deliverance from death as a lamb was slain in the place of the firstborn of all Israel. They heard the timeless prayers recited, the Holy Scriptures read, and shared in this most meaningful of meals for the Jewish people.
While they were eating the Passover, Jesus startled them with a shocking comment. I tell you the truth, one of you will betray Me. Have you ever wondered what must have been the tone of His voice? Have you ever questioned the manner in which the Master spoke? Did His words betray a deep sadness? Did He express anger or shock? Do you suppose His words were simply matter-of-fact, a recitation of what was determined already? We do not know, but we do know the impact of His words on the disciples. Matthew is ever so careful to inform us that they were very sad. Mixed with their sorrow was a sense of confusion. Hearing this, they stared on one another, at a loss to know which of them He meant [John 13:22]. Then, slowly coming to their senses they began to speak one after the other, every lip raising the same question, Surely not I, Lord?
Jesus responded to their multiplied questions which spoke the same unthinkable thought by saying, The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. These words must surely have added to the confusion of the disciples since each had dipped the pita in the bitter sauce. John was reclining next to Jesus, his head near the Master’s breast. Peter motioned to him and leaning to hear, Peter prompted John to ask the Lord which of the Twelve He meant. Lying back, John asked Jesus, Lord, who is it?
Jesus held in His hand a piece of the pita. At John’s query, the Master responded, 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 13:23-26]. The words John penned in later years are chilling. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him [John 13:27]. Receiving the bread, Judas, apparently quiet to this moment, feigned surprise, Surely not I, Rabbi? John no doubt watched in horror, realisation slowly dawning as he heard the words Jesus then spoke. Yes, it is you. What you are about to do, do quickly.
None of the disciples understood, not even John who was privy to the Lord’s words and actions. In the din of conversation and no doubt because of their distraction, the assembled disciples thought Jesus had instructed Judas to buy food for the feast which attended the Passover proper, or perhaps that He instructed him to give a gift to the poor. John was perhaps too shocked to respond, or maybe his youth did not permit him to speak out in horror at what he had just witnessed. His mind must surely have failed to comprehend what had transpired. Jesus had openly revealed what was happening, but the disciples were too dull to understand. They were in denial.
After this exchange, Judas hastened out to begin the final stages leading to the betrayal of the Son of God. Upon Judas’ exit, Jesus initiated the Lord’s Supper with the disciples who remained behind. The words following our text and which are read in this church on a regular basis outline the institution of that continuing ordinance. At least once each month we observe the meal, and we do well to remember that the context in which the meal was initiated was rife with confusion and sorrow. No doubt for us there is confusion and sorrow at the thought of our Lord’s betrayal, just as there is joy at the knowledge that through the grief comes relief from sin and victory over death.
That is the story … shocking in its stark simplicity. Simply reciting the story likely leaves us confused, certainly we are grieved at our Lord’s betrayal. However, as is true of all the Word of God, no incident recorded in the Scriptures is without value. As we focus on this account with a spirit of submission to the Holy Spirit of God, we can learn that which will benefit us and glorify our Lord and Saviour. Join me in exploration of the heart of a bad man that we may turn from sin and turn to righteousness.
Confronted with the Truth, the Hearts of Good Men Question Their Own Motives. Take note of the singular fact that the disciples (with the exception of Judas) responded with such spontaneous humility to Jesus’ words. They were solemn words which Jesus spoke, prefaced with an initial word which would focus their minds — ajmh;n, translated in our version, I tell you the truth. The word was strong, calculated to grab attention … for what followed was of utmost importance … One of you will betray Me.
For three years these twelve men had travelled together with Jesus throughout the length and breadth of the land. They had shared privation and hardship, laughter and joy, victories and losses. They had heard the teachings which you and I read in the Gospels. They had grown intimate with one another as only those who have shared life at its most basic level can experience intimacy. Theirs was a trust in the truest sense, and now the Master stunned them with unthinkable words that one of them would betray Him.
You will note that the warning of Jesus was not even questioned by the disciples. These men had learned one truth well from Him … when He spoke His words were true. He was very God … of that they were convinced. He had ever spoken the truth, unlike some world leaders who in recent days have betrayed our confidence. Presidents and prime ministers may “mislead” us, but the Son of God always spoke truthfully. He challenged the religious leaders by asking, Can any of you prove me guilty of sin [John 8:46]? This was the challenge which He threw down and which was never accepted by His enemies. The whole of that exchange revolved around the fact that He spoke truthfully while the religious leaders were unwilling either to accept the truth or to speak truthfully [John 8:40-47].
Now the Master revealed that with the disciple band was a traitor, one who had skilfully hidden his deceit. In fact, the deceit was not utterly hidden had they but heeded the warnings of the Master. Only scant days before this moment of revelation, the Master had confronted adherents, calling them to Himself with hard words … words which were so difficult that even the disciples began to grumble. In fact, the grumbling was so severe that many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him [Luke 6:60-66]. Asked if they also wished to leave, Peter speaking for the Twelve asked, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life [Luke 6:68]. The Lord then said, Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil [Luke 6:70]!
How could they have failed to take heed? How could they have let this warning slide? How could they have ignored the implications of what the Master was saying. With benefit of hindsight, Doctor Luke states that He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray Him [Luke 6:71]. At the time, however, the Twelve simply passed over this saying as yet another of the hard sayings of the Teacher.
They could no longer discount His warning: there was a traitor among them. One of them would betray Him. If I apply a bit of sanctified imagination, I would suppose that the disciples were thinking in terms of inadvertent betrayal. While attempting to do what was right, things were working out wrong and the Master would be betrayed by one of them — one’s actions innocent but nevertheless serious in its impact. Certainly they could not imagine that one of their own would deliberately betray the Master, selling Him out to the religious leaders who hated Him with such bitter hatred.
The disciples responded spontaneously, and with deep humility, thinking that they had perhaps done something wrong. The heart of the innocent knows that though nothing of a deliberate nature may have been done to betray the trust of another, because of our fallen condition we may unwittingly betray a friend. Though we would never willingly betray a friendship, each of us has known the sting which accompanies careless words, and how a friend or a loved one may believe themselves unjustly betrayed by our words or actions. I would suppose there is none of us who has not at some time shed bitter tears at the thought that we have hurt another through indiscreet words or through thoughtless actions. To this extent we can understand the disciples’ confusion and hurt.
I would caution you that the heart of a good man knows its wickedness. The heart of a good man dares not trust overly much in its own goodness, regardless of how determined the individual may be. Jeremiah warned,
The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
[Jeremiah 17:9]
Paul, writing in his first Corinthian missive, cautions Christians against overconfidence: if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall [1 Corinthians 10:12]! We who are the true circumcision … we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, we dare not put confidence in the flesh [cf. Philippians 3:3]. In short, the hearts of good men will not be shocked at the capacity for evil lurking within, though shocked by evil actions.
How desperately we need divine grace. This is the reason we cannot imagine that we can ever please God in our own strength. We who know God know that we can never be good enough, never do enough good deeds, never achieve perfection … we need His grace. We are utterly dependent upon Him and upon His mercy if we will know Him. What else do those words mean which the Apostle has penned? As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath [Ephesians 2:1-3]. Our hearts have deceived us and it was a willing deceit which condemns us eternally.
It is precisely because we are in such desperate peril that we need God’s grace. Thus God’s words which remind us It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast [Ephesians 2:8,9]. I have always been humbled by the words of David recorded in the 139th Psalm.
O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you
[Psalm 139:1-12].
Should we be surprised that God knows us — knows even our inmost thoughts? He made us. Contrary to the specious speculations of pseudoscience we are not mere products of time and chance; it is the hand of the Living God which has given us being. He made us and we are accountable to Him. The baby conceived by the union of a man and a woman is not a fœtus … a piece of tissue, an invader of the woman’s uterus. Within the womb is a living child whose life was given by the gracious hand of our God. It is because of our fallen condition that we do not look to Him by nature, but require the gracious call of His Spirit to waken us and to draw us to life in Him. We know that it is in Him we live and move and have our being [see Acts 17:28]. Should we not therefore pay heed to Him when He cautions that we do not even know our own heart?
The words of John which review Jesus’ response to the crowd at their attempt to crown Him king are humbling. Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man [John 2:24,25]. If the Lord was unwilling to commit Himself to man because the heart of man was deceived and deceitful, should we not use caution in estimating the motives of our own hearts? The Wisdom Literature speaks to this very issue when Solomon writes:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil
[Proverbs 3:5-7].
“Ah, Lord God, I don’t even know my own heart! And though I would serve You by doing Your will, I know that I am liable even to deceiving myself. Show me mercy, O Lord my God. Show me mercy. Reveal to me what is good and pleasing in your sight, and deliver me from reliance upon my own wisdom.”
The setting in our text would indicate that as the disciples each asked whether he was the one to betray the Master, the Lord kept His silence, perhaps looking thoughtfully at the bitter sauce which served to remind of the bitterness of sin. Perhaps the realisation arose gradually within their hearts that this betrayal was more than the unintentional consequence of oversight or neglect, that the betrayal of which He spoke was intentional. The thought was too horrific to comprehend, and silence began to reign. As their horror increased, the words of Jesus must have fallen on their hearts with sledgehammer blows: The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. Then was appended the warning which confirmed in their hearts that this was no mistake, but an act of deliberate lesé majesty. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.
It was at this point that John, prompted by Peter, asked the Lord whom He meant, and the Master said that it was the one to whom He would give the piece of bread in His hand after it was dipped in the sauce. Then, dipping the bread in the bitter sauce, Jesus gave it to Judas. Knowing who would betray the Lord, John seems to have been shocked into silence by the enormity of this knowledge.
Confronted with the Truth, the Heart of a Bad Man Denies His Own Motive. Confronted with the exposure of his own sin, Judas denies such a thing was possible. How could he betray the Master! was his shocked exclamation. How can we know this? The words recorded of Judas are identical to the words recorded for the remainder of the disciples (mhvti ejgwv eijmi, kuvrie; contra mhvti ejgwv eijmi, rJabbiv). As stated earlier, we cannot know the tone of voice when reading these words, nor do we know the facial expressions nor the body language. In our daily interactions we have a variety of clues which inform us of the meaning of spoken words. We have no such clues here.
It is astonishing that the identical words were spoken in either instance, but the meaning was so utterly different. The disciples spoke in astonishment; Judas feigned shock, no doubt surprised at the exposure of his deed. These disciples, good men all, were truly shocked at the Master’s announcement since no such though had ever crossed their minds. Their words and their subsequent actions verify such an understanding. Judas, on the other hand, had already commenced his dastardly betrayal; he had already received money from the agents of the high priest and the betrayal of Jesus was even now moving to a climax as they kept the Passover. He was committed to an evil course, his subsequent actions revealing the heart of a devil. He could not, however, openly confess his actions, for bad men always hope to cover their dirty deeds.
Within recent memory there have appeared several Broadway shows and Hollywood movies each presenting the thought that Judas’ intentions were honourable. Perhaps Judas did convince himself that he was acting honourably in betraying Jesus. He was, however, self-deceived if he thought he was acting honourably, for he was repeatedly warned by the Master and called to righteousness. Frankly, I question the insight of godless men who think themselves capable of interpreting the Word of God. Tragically, these movie producers and directors are fallen men whose destiny is destruction, whose god is their own stomach, and whose glory is their shame [cf. Philippians 3:19]. They are incapable of lighting the way for the God of Light or of lighting His glorious Word. Their darkened interpretations hold credence only with theological lightweights and the self-deluded of this darkened world who are incapable of thinking righteously.
You will likely remember the dark, disturbing words recorded in John’s Gospel. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God [John 3:19-21]. A failure to be open about one’s actions is proof that the deeds are evil. A refusal to openly confront one’s motives is demonstration that the motives are less than pure. Mankind does love darkness, because their deeds are evil. Those captivated by evil are not ignorant of the fact that their actions are evil; but they cannot bring themselves to confront their own wickedness.
Perhaps it is appropriate to remind each of us of the words of James, who wrote of a double-minded man who is unstable in all he does [cf. James 1:5-8]. The individual who hears the deliberations of the church, perhaps giving silent assent to that recommended course of action, and yet acts unilaterally, demonstrates that he is double-minded … appearing to live in the light even while acting in darkness. Such an individual is unstable in all his ways and bears watching. If you are such a person — a lone wolf Christian, take heed that your double-minded life does not lead you into self-destruction. Long before Judas deceived the remaining disciples, he deceived himself.
I have often carefully considered the words which John wrote in his first missive. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin [1 John 1:5-7]. Only as one lives openly — walking in the light — can fellowship prosper. So long as the professed people of God walk in darkness, there is no possibility of fellowship either with God or with one another. Fellowship requires honesty, openness with one another and with God.
Let’s draw the message together. Good men are shocked by suggestions of evil. Bud Robinson was a Holiness preacher of distinction during the early years of this century. The old man of God was respected by multitudes, even from outside that movement. Uncle Bud, as he was known, walked the streets of New York on one occasion. He saw the shows with all their glittering advertising, and he saw the seamier side of life in New York. As the man of God walked away from the allurements of the flesh, he was heard to pray, “I thank you, O Lord, that I saw nothing that I had need of.”
Godly men are not insensible to the darkness of sin, but they are still shocked at the suggestion of evil. They are grieved at sin and at the heartbreak resulting from human wickedness. Many of the saints of the Most High are grieved at the spectacle which has played out publicly in Washington in recent days. These good people grieve, not because they think the President of the most powerful nation on the earth should be a saint, but they grieve at the thought that the most of their fellow citizens seem willing to exchange righteousness for a momentary prosperity. Can it really be that transient prosperity is a fair exchange for godliness? Lassiez les bons tons roulez!
Again, the heart of a bad man masks dark secrets and cannot be shocked by evil. Feigned indignation at being caught in one’s sin is unbecoming of those who know God. My actions do affect far more people than just myself. The man is a fool who thinks that he can insist that his actions are nobody’s business but his own, that his actions affect none save for himself, his family and their God. The horizontal effects of sin contaminate extensively, being far-reaching and touching far too many lives to be long ignored. All the protests raised that sin is private, that it's nobody's business but ours, are specious.
The greater the responsibility of an individual – whether responsibility to family, to friends, to nation, or to the people of God – the greater the impact of the sin of that individual. David numbered the troops of Israel. He vested confidence in the size of his armed forces instead of trusting in the Lord God of Israel. Seventy thousand of the fighting men of Israel died in the judgement which followed … a plague sent by God. Seventy thousand homes grieved the loss of husbands and sons, because of the sin of one man [1 Chronicles 21:1-27]. The same God who held David to account is the God who judges the hearts of world leaders in this day. That knowledge causes me to tremble, for David stayed the hand of God from further judgement through quick confession of his sin, and few national leaders in this day humble themselves to confess their sin. Few leaders in this day confess before the Lord that they alone deserve judgement.
This day, I caution the professed people of God, against such wicked self-deceit. As the sin of Achan led to the defeat of Israel before the people of Ai [cf. Joshua 7:1-26], so the unconfessed sin of members of the assembly of Holy God in this day invite defeat before the foes of God. Should you be tempted to think that you can sin with impunity, know that God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows [Galatians 6:7]. Determine that you shall keep short accounts with God, quickly forsaking sin and submitting to Him.
Whenever an individual within the assembly can no longer act in concert with the assembly nor act in submission to the leadership of the assembly, let that one withdraw from the congregation. For as soon as anyone begins to act unilaterally, however noble they imagine their actions to be, they have appointed themselves a committee of one and their subsequent actions without the prayerful participation of others, are dark and destructive. There is, you see, divine wisdom in uniting heart and mind with the assembled people of God to seek the mind of God that we may do the will of God.
I pray that the heart of each one who has listened to me this day is submitted to Christ as Lord. I pray that you know Him as Saviour and that you are quick to acknowledge that you are a fallen individual in need of His grace. Our God is gracious and merciful, a God who is quick to forgive sin restoring intimacy with Himself as we forsake our sin. Perhaps you are not a fellow saint. Perhaps you are yet in your sin since you have yet to be forgiven your sin. I invite you to consider the invitation of the Word this day. Hear the call of our God through His servant, Paul.
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13]. Look to Him. Receive His mercy. Be saved today. Amen.