Bad Boys: Judas Iscariot Series

Text: Matthew 26.14-16, 26.49-50

A kiss: a symbol of love and affection. A kiss on the cheek in these bible times was a symbol of friendship and affection. I want you to hold your kiss (hersheys kiss candy)till later for me, but what is that causes a man who has seen the intimate details of Jesus’ miracles to betray him with a kiss? What is that causes a person who knows truth to deny that truth and want to live a lie? What causes young person to snub their noses at God’s desire for their lives and continue to live on the edge of destruction? I think this little movie clip from “The Matrix” will offer some answers to these questions.

This person in the movie had a desire for what he knew wasn’t real, but it satisfied an unhealthy appetite. He would rather live in the matrix, live absent of truth, so that he could enjoy the pleasures of life. What is funny is that none of his “pleasures” are real. They are simply a figment of his imagination. Bad Boys are living on the edge because what appears to be juvenile fun and mischief is really dangerous plunge towards spiritual death. Judas was a bad boy who was slowly walking the edge. (READ TEXT) In our text was the moment at which he decided there was no return. The edge of destruction is where he wanted to live. It is easy to get to that place of living on the edge. Demas was there because he loved the world, Saul was there because he sought evil, Judas is there because he was living a life void of 3 needs. Judas was:

1. Void of maturity

2. Void of motivation

3. Void of repentance

You can either be “sold out” to God or a “sell out” to God. Judas chose to sell him out for the price of a slave. 30 small pieces of silver is all it took for Judas to take the plunge over the edge. I believe every person can live away from the edge by striving for these three needs. Let’s talk about:

Need for maturity: (John 6.64,70) (READ)

In John 12. 1-6, Jesus was anointed by a woman who broke a jar of perfume and put it on Jesus feet. Judas objected to this because the perfume was worth a years wages. His level of maturity is revealed in verse 6 when it says that he was a thief and helped himself to the offering bag for a little change. This text paints the picture of Judas’ maturity. He has heard the teachings like us today when reading the bible. He has experienced the miracles and power of God, maybe like many of us today. Yet he did not believe. Judas was void of maturity because he was void of faith. He did not, I believe, receive Christ as the son of God. He was looking out for his own. It’s amazing to me how over the course of 2000 years, humanity is still the same. What has happened to the young people of America when they no longer know about sacrifice, faith or maturity. We are raising a generation of spoiled teenagers and this character of have it now and have it all spills over into our spiritual journey with God. I reference James 1 (READ) on a regular basis, because it is a blueprint for our spiritual journey with God. Youth today do not have time to grow up with God, because they deem it not important. Our faith will face tests and trials because it must grow and mature. This maturity that we are discussing is not a natural maturity that progresses with our age, it a spiritual maturity which is not limited by age or gender. God is calling you to maturity. God is calling you to grow up in him. Growing up in God means growing up in his word, growing in worship, growing in loving others, growing in the ability to love those that hate, growing in the area of becoming a respectable part of our culture who can be trusted. God says to us today Grow UP! I know adults who would rather live on the edge because they are afraid of the responsibility of growing up. Adults in age, children at heart, are immature and dangerous. They live on the edge, going from one high to the next, one adrenaline rush to the next. Where are the warriors who are valiant enough to mature. It was Maximus who demonstrated maturity in the film Gladiator over the young Roman emperor Commodus. Maturity says to avoid the danger. Maturity says count the risk in comparison to the reward. The risk of being a bad boy for sake of rebellion and fun is not worth the reward of hell, or living a life of hell. Deep in the hearts of young people around this state, they are crying out for help from living on the edge. I wonder how many in this room tonight are wondering the same thing. Please help us get from the edge of destruction and show us a better way. Judas was a bad boy: living on the edge because he was void of the word, void of worship, void of hearts that truly connect with God through difficult times, void of keeping a good attitude in hard moments.