Judas Iscariot; The Traitor
(A First-Person Sermon)
(Summary statement: On this, the Sunday before Easter, Pastor Mike assumes the role of Judas Iscariot in bringing a first-person sermon.)
You may be wondering what am I doing here today? What could I possibly say that could be of any benefit to anyone?... It’s my understanding that you have had a few visitors from my … lifetime…
On this particular Sunday, in the past few years – you have heard from Barabbas, a Roman Centurion, you’ve even heard from Pontius Pilate himself!... You also heard from Nicodemus, Peter, and John… It’s about time you’ve heard from me… My name is Judas Iscariot… My father’s name is Simon…
Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.
You might be interested to know that Iscariot simply means “from Kerioth”... I am from a community that was really a “rural farm area” in Judea… All of the other eleven apostles of Jesus were from Galilee… I’m the only non-Galilean – the only Judean of the original 12…
The point is, I started out … different. I was an outsider … and in reality remained an outsider… Despite that, I am one of the most well-known of the original disciples of Jesus, and the most … infamous…
When you search the Scriptures, you won’t find much recorded about Bartholomew, who was also known as Nathanel. You won’t find much about Philip, or Thomas, or … the other Judas, who is also known as Thaddaeus… (In fact when that Judas is referred to …
Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”
… there is usually a disclaimer mentioned, that he is NOT … me.)
However, … and this is just a part of what grieves me… everywhere you find my name mentioned …
Mark 3:19
and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
… you will also be reminded … of what I did…
I’ll talk more about that later… But first, you need to know a little more … of the backstory…
Let me begin with a little … defense. You may find my name a bit … reprehensible, and I get that… but it wasn’t always that way… You see, the name “Judas” was rather … popular in my day… Judas is really a good name. It is the Greek form of the Hebrew word, Judah – and it means … “Jehovah leads”... What faithful Jewish family wouldn’t want their child to be … led by God?... Surely, you wouldn't mind giving your child something of a name that means “God leads”...
Judas was a good name … until I came along. Because of what I am, and because of what I did, my name is always mentioned last among the disciples… And now you don’t hear of anyone naming their child Judas…
When Jesus came along – that is, when He began His public ministry – Jesus called … 12 specific men:
Mark 3:16-17
16 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17 and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”);
He called Peter, James, John,
Mark 3:18-19
18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
He called Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas the son of James… and me…
Frankly, we were all … rather ordinary men. None of us came out of the leadership of Israel… In fact, outside of our … mutual interest in Christ, there were only a few in this group who had much in common!
Let me tell you a little about these men… Peter, James, John, and Andrew were all fishermen. They were lifelong fishermen… Jesus comes along and calls them to become “fishers of men”...
And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
And I have to admit… These guys became sold out to Jesus’ call upon their lives…
Then there was Matthew…
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.
Matthew was one of the most hated people in my day, because he was … a tax collector! He was a fellow Jew, who worked for the Roman government to … collect taxes! Everyone knew that these guys collected more than what was “required” by Roman! They were getting rich off of the back of their own countrymen!... If I’m to be honest with you, that is a … vocation I think I would have been good at…
Simon the Zealot …
Mark 3:18
and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot;
… was – well, that’s obvious! Simon was a member of the Zealots!... The Zealots were the “Jewish nationalists” in my day! They, along with many of us, hated the Romans – only these guys would … act upon that hatred! Some would even call them … terrorists! If they had the opportunity, and could see that they could get away with it – a Zealot would … kill a Roman soldier whenever he had the chance!... Jesus called Simon out of that crowd…
You won’t read this in the Bible,
Mark 3:18
and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot;
but history has recorded that Thomas was a carpenter. That’s the same craft Jesus grew up in, so … they had that in common…
Well, I don’t have time to tell you about the others, but I do want to speak about … my contribution to this group!... I had the unique “skill-set” that suited me for becoming the treasurer of the group!...
For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”; or else, that he should give something to the poor.
You see, I know money! In fact, money … holds a special place in my heart!... I’ll talk about that more in a bit, but first… let me tell you about why I followed Christ in the first place…
When Jesus came along preaching about the Kingdom of God, His words resonated with me! There was certainly something in what Jesus said – the way Jesus said it – and certainly … the profound effect He had on people, that … captivated me!
This pains me now to admit – but frankly… I don’t have anything to lose, so I might as well be honest with you people…
There is a term in your language that I don’t hear used much. It is the term avarice… Avarice means “insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth”. That describes me! And frankly, that describes many in your world today who claim to be followers of Christ! This whole modern-day “prosperity gospel” mess I see today, is just that! Avarice!... Another word for extreme greed is the word cupidity… I can now tell you … cupidity is … stupidity!
Frankly, one of my major issues … is the love of money… It is the love of money that contributed to my downfall… One of the issues I had … growing within me, over those few years of following Jesus, is that I could not understand why Jesus, or the other disciples, weren’t as … concerned about money, as I was…
Not long before … the worst decision of my life … we were invited to share a meal in the home of a man whom the Lord had healed of his leprosy… His name was Simon… Lazarus, Martha, and Mary were there… Keep in mind that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, four days … four days after he had died!... That was a miracle that should have settled it in my heart!... If Jesus has authority over life and death, He should certainly have authority … over our stuff!...
Mary, Lazarus’ sister had a better understanding of what is truly valuable – a much greater understanding than I ever had…
While we were dining, and listening to Jesus…
John 12:3
Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Frankly, that … infuriated me!... I immediately established that the perfume was worth about 300 denarii! A denarius was about a day’s wage, so that perfume was almost a year’s salary and Mary … just wasted it!
John 12:5
“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?”
That certainly would have made more sense!... to me anyway… I just couldn’t understand why Mary was so … extravagant … so … wasteful… My attitude at the time, wasn’t mine alone… I guess at that time, I had a little more influence upon the other disciples than I realized…
Matthew 26:8
But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste?
… because I wasn’t the only one raising this question…
The truth is… To do something like that would have never crossed my mind!... Mary had been … forgiven much, so it was appropriate for her to … worship much… I, deep down, didn’t have any such … value of Jesus…
In fact, John …
John 12:6
Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.
… had me nailed… He wrote in his report that I didn’t complain about what Mary did, because of any concern on my part for the poor… The truth is, I was used to … pilfering… I was used to stealing from the money box, and I could have done so much with that kind of money… I could have done so much … for me!
Sometime after I was long gone… another man came along who had a truly life-changing encounter with Jesus. His name was Saul, who became another apostle of Christ… The apostle Paul later wrote –
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
I can’t help but wonder if he had me in mind when he wrote that… You see, the greatest evil I ever committed came on the evening of the last Passover we shared with Jesus…
We were all crowded in the Upper Room…
John 13:1
Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
There was an obvious sense that this was the last time we were going to share the Passover together… There was a lot of talk among the disciples about the coming Kingdom… We all thought that Jesus would … step up, and … drive the Romans out!... We all wanted to then be assigned … high-ranking positions in His Kingdom!... But, Jesus said nothing … nothing that validated our … expectations.
As the evening wore on … the more … I did not want to be there… Something inside …
John 13:2
During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him,
… began to burn… Nothing was going the way I’ve been … expecting it to go!... I’ve been following the man, believing Him to be the right … rabbi … listening to His teaching, getting excited about His power… and anticipating that … finally – finally here is the One Who will change everything!... But, on this night … something on the inside … was dying.
Frankly, I’ve been doubting for some time now… Jesus is … simply NOT the Messiah Who I thought He was… I’ve been wanting a military commander, and early on, I thought that perhaps Jesus was going to be that Leader! When Jesus made a wipe…
And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
… and tore through the Temple driving everyone out, overturning tables and scattering the changers money – I thought that … perhaps Jesus is in fact the leader Who would restore Israel to her previous place of power!...
I’ve been expecting a King, but … Jesus is turning out to be more of a … servant… And then … here, on that last night…
John 13:3
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,
Jesus was proving that He has … no intention of being the kind of leader I was expecting… It was as though He was pursuing a totally opposite agenda than what I was expecting…
In fact, Jesus did something that … none of us … expected. He –
John 13:4-5
4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to … wash … [our] the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
There was an interesting… exchange between Jesus and Peter… When Jesus –
John 13:6-11
6 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” [John recorded in his report that Jesus] 11 For Heknew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
Somehow … I knew He was talking about … me…
After explaining that He washed our feet, to serve as an example of service… Jesus went on and –
John 13:21
… said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.”
What Jesus said bothered the others also… They –
John 13:22
The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking… Deep down, I just knew that was going to be me! I really don’t want to have anything to do with a “kingdom” that is all about … others! I want my life to be … all about ME!
Peter got John …
John 13:23-25
23 There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” 25 He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
… to lean over and ask Jesus just who it was that was going to betray Him… I thought for a moment that Jesus would just blurt out my name right there!... But… there was no desire on His part to turn the others against me… It was obvious that Jesus … had a heavy heart when He simply said –
John 13:26
Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
What you may not understand, is that in the culture of my day, such a gesture, by the host of a dinner … was a sign of … giving honor… Jesus must have known that I was the one who was about to turn my back on Him, and all the rest… but He still … showed me … honor.
Just as these thoughts were swirling in my head – Jesus said something that I wish I had thought more carefully about…
Mark 14:21
For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
It was as if He knew all that was about to take place, and that … somehow it was … (a word you are familiar with) … preordained!... But, Jesus then said something I really wish I had stopped to think about… He said; “woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
I can’t fully explain it…
John 13:27
After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
… but after Jesus … gave me that morsel, something inside me … died… and my … pretending was over!... I became even more determined that I was done with Jesus, His message, His mission, and even His men! I’ve made up my mind! My emotion became hot! MY mission was settled!... I’m going to turn Jesus over to those who want Him … gone!...
I knew that Jesus could see right through me, because He immediately said; “What you do, do quickly!”
… with those words … I was gone!
Mark 14:10-11
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. 11 They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.
I knew exactly what I was doing! I knew where to go. I knew who to see… The Caiaphas, and the other chief priests were all-too-glad to see me coming to them … to plot a way that they could … capture Jesus…
I asked them –
14 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. 16 From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.
… and that … suited me just fine – so I was determined to find the best way for this to happen!
I won’t go into the details, but within just a few hours, I was able to get a large number of Roman soldiers, and a few officers “from the temple security force” to come with me… I knew exactly where we were going to find Jesus… He had often gone to the Garden of Gethsemane, and I just knew that had to be where He would be that night…
I had worked out a plan with them …
Mark 14:44
Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard.”
… it was dark, there would be others around, and we needed a … quick way to … get Him… So I told them I would approach Jesus and … give Him a kiss, and that would be their signal.
Things didn’t go as quickly, or easily as I thought they would… We came to the Garden with lanterns, and weapons, and I thought, that with the authorities, and this large group of soldiers, that … we were in charge of what was about to happen… But, is was as if …
John 18:4-11
4 So Jesus, [knew everything] knowing all the things that [was] were coming upon Him, [He walked right up] went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I AM He.” [I was right there!] And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. 6 So when [Jesus] He said to them, “I AM He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Therefore [So Jesus] Heagain asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” [John records in his record, that in order] 9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” 10 Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; [that was] and the slave’s name wasMalchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”
Those words went far beyond me!... At that point, I didn’t even care!
The rest of the night … seemed to get longer and longer… The officers rushed Jesus off, and the disciples scattered… Like I said; it was a long, long night… They took Jesus to Annas first (John 18:13). He was the true power behind his son-in-law, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year… When Jesus began to give His defense, the first … blow was struck by an officer (John 18:19-23)... Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas with “witnesses” to the charges against Him (John 18:24)… Caiaphas pronounced Jesus guilty (Matt. 26:57-68, Mark 14:53-68, Luke 22:63-65), and then … the beatings really began…
A little later, I could hear Peter denying that he even knew Jesus – he denied it three times (Matt. 26:69–75; Mark 14:66–72; Luke 22:55–62; John 18:15–18, 25–27)... Jesus was hauled off to stand before the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:66–71), and then … to Pontius Pilate himself, and before it was over… Jesus was … condemned to die! (Matt. 27:1–2)...
It was at this point … I just couldn’t take it any more!...
Matthew 27:3
Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
… What have I done?!... Jesus was no more worthy of what they were doing to Him than … Jesus was not guilty. I WAS!... I tried to … undo what I had done!... I tried to take the money back! That money bag just became too heavy for me to carry any more! I thought 30 silver coins could be enough to buy just about anything I would ever want… But they have become a … burden too great for me to bear!... They were the … millstonehung around my neck… I tried to return the money, and told the chief priests and elders …
Matthew 27:4
saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”
“See to that myself!”?... These so-called “spiritual leaders” had no words of hope for me?!... There was no path to relief!... So I …
Matthew 27:5
And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and [left!... and then I went to a remote place and … took my own life] departed; and he went away and hanged himself.
__________________________________________________________
Now I’m speaking to you now as your pastor… The life of Judas was such a tragedy… Even after his death, those who conspired with him, would not want to have anything to do with him… Listen to what happened next:
Matthew 27:6-10
6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” 7 And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. 8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; 10 and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.”
There is so much more about Judas than we can cover in our time together. Lord willing, when we return to our series, we will look at more details about him then…
Judas was so blind to the truth, that he could not see the truth we have come to know… That is not a statement made in arrogance, as it is one made in … gratitude… We know what we know, because the God of truth has revealed these things to us… God’s Word reveals the truth about all of us!
Judas was a man, close to the truth, but in reality was one who would never come to the truth!... Jesus is the Light of truth, and He selected Judas out of all the other … followers to become one of the select 12… But, like for all those who refuse to believe, they …
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
… love the darkness, rather than the light… Do not get the impression that Judas had no choice in all he did… He was not a robot – just like you… God holds us all accountable for the … willful decisions we make. Judas was a man who … made his choices…
What we need to understand, is that God accomplished His plan, His purpose, in the redemption of His people … even by using what a person chooses in their rebellion against Him – to accomplish His will!
All of history is unfolding like that. We’ve been taught this throughout the Bible… Just like Joseph in the OT, summarized a large segment of history in these words he spoke to his brothers who had made the decision to sell him into slavery … Do you remember what he told them?
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
The fact is, that is exactly what was accomplished in Judas betraying Jesus, evil men condemning Him to the cross, and Jesus … suffering as He did!
Let me read a portion from Peter’s sermon, after Jesus’ resurrection – after the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the church:
Acts 2:22-24, 32, 36
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power…
32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses…
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
So, what’s the point that you and I should take from Judas’ life?... Let me offer two:
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Questions to Consider in Community Group:
