When Betrayal Becomes Blessing

1. Betrayal is Consistent with God’s Plan (John 13:18-30)

NOTE: Everything is happening according to Scripture

BIBLE: Acts 4:27-28

NOTE: Judas’ betrayal is not an accident, not a mistake on the

part of Jesus in choosing Judas (John 6:70), but all a part of the plan of God before the world began

BIBLE: Psalm 41:9; Revelation 13:8

NOTE: Jesus is troubled (compare John 12:27) because Judas whom he had loves and spent much time with is about to betray Him.

APPLY: As Jesus was troubled, so many of us as parents

have been troubled in spirit by wayward grown children.

2. Glory is the Consummation of God’s Plan (John 13:31-38)

DEFINE: Glory (x5) – Meaning:

HEBREW: Kabod = weight

SEPTUAGINT: to rise high; lift above

GREEK: Like a brilliant, bright light (God is light—1 John 1:5 ; He dwells in light (1 Tim 6:16); Jesus is light of the world—John 8:12)

EXPLAIN: This glory will be—not the word “now”—in the context of Christ’s betrayal by Judas and denial by Peter!

ILLUS: How Medieval soldiers “earned glory” by heroic acts in battle!

NOTE: So the Son of God in being “pierced through” for us

(Isaiah 53:4-6), and “bearing our iniquities” (1 Peter 2:24) on the cross will be doing something God considers Glorious!

APPLY: Think of it! That deity would leave the glory of heaven and come to earth and bear what Jesus bore on Himself—that is HEAVY; that is WAY ABOVE ME; that is INCREDIBLY BRIGHT.

NOTE: Christ will soon rightfully seek his former glory

BIBLE: John 17:1-5

EXPLAIN: Christ begins to again to speak on the sad subject of His soon departure, but first will remind us of how we are to conduct ourselves when He is gone—what is the main thing for God’s church?

NOTE: Love!

NOTE: Notice that we are to love as Christ loved us. It is not, therefore, to be a mere emotional form of love!

BIBLE: Ephesians 5:2; 1 John 1:16

NOTE: Notice also that it is to be a love between believers that the world will notice (not our love for the lost!). The world is the see the way Christians in their church love each other, and they are to desire to be a part of such a loving community. This is to be an attraction to the lost world.

BIBLE: Galatians 6:10

APPLY: I love it that many time over the years newcomers have said to me that this church is like a family to them!

APPLY: Glory even though Christ will be let down and abandoned by His own disciples.

APPLY: Peter’s failure is a reminder to me that when we think we have got everything together spiritually we should be particularly careful!

BIBLE: 1 Corinthians 10:12

APPLY: Reminder: this earthly life is fraught with failure on my part. But Christ will be glorified despite my failures.