Introduction:
As I began to look at the scripture, I couldn’t help but think about the secret agent called James Bond, 007. I remember the movie called, “Die Another Day” featuring Hallie Berry. An Asian agent in the movie had betrayed James Bond and he went through all types of torture and he was out to get revenge. Hallie Berry also played a secret agent that was out looking for the same agent that 007 was looking for.
But to make a long story short, they both were very dishonest and deceitful. Using each other with whatever they had to get what they wanted. With deceitfulness and dishonesty come lies. My mother use to say, “If you play in the mud you can expect to get dirty. Playing on the devil’s playground carries some devastating consequences and that brings me to my first of two points.
Development:
Point Number One: I’ve Got My Mind On My Money and My Money On My Mind
In today’s society, people are struggling to try to make it in the corporate world. People are doing whatever, to whomever to reach their goals. They don’t care about you or myself and feel that the world owes them something. Well I hate to burst their little bubble because “the world don’t owe them anything and it isn’t going to give them anything.” They have the attitude of I’ve got to get mine and I’ll do anything to get it.
These types of people have to reach the top and will step on you to get there. You know I’m right. These are deceitful people, lying people, people that will attempt to suck the future and happiness from those who are trying to play by the rules just like a vampire sucking the blood from it’s victim.
When I look at this situation I can’t help but think about Judas of Iscariot. Judas had the same problem. Let me give a little background on this man.
Judas of Iscariot was the son of Simon. The name Iscariot implies that Judas was a native of Judean village of Kerioth. Matthew 10:4 says that Judas was chosen by Christ to be an apostle; therefore, we know he was sincere in the beginning.
There was something within Judas that attracted Christ. Christ saw something in Judas that could mean a lot to the Kingdom of God.
Judas was a man gifted in financial affairs, apparently even more so than Matthew, the wealthy tax collector, and the businessmen among the apostles such as Peter, James, and John.
Among all of the other disciples, Judas was placed in charge of the money. Judas was responsible for purchasing whatever was needed by Jesus and the disciples. He was probably appointed to this position because of his unusual spiritual qualities as well as his unusual abilities in financial management.
Now a lot people wonder why did Judas, an apostle of Jesus the Christ, a person who walked with Christ, a person who watched Christ do miracles, a person who was taught by Christ, a person who walked with a man that knew more than any man, a person who saw Jesus Christ raise people from the dead, a person who saw Jesus the Christ walk on water, and a person who was chosen by Christ himself, who had power and authority over life and death. Why would Judas want to betray the Son of Man?
Now Judas started out with good intentions, but what happened?
Now various commentators give different reasons why Judas betrayed Christ, but the Scripture clearly says that the reason was greed:
Matthew 26:15 clearly says: What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?
Let’s look at what the dictionary definition of greed says:
Greed is noun a strong desire for more, an overwhelming desire to have more of something such as money than is actually needed.
Judas was into the money thing. He had a strong desire for money. In other words he had a love for money.
The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:10, is that money is not what is sinful, it is the love of money. Money is a thing; it is inanimate, lifeless. It has no feelings, no desires, and no will to act. Man is the culprit. Man is the one who lusts for more and more; so therefore, man is the one who sins, not a piece of paper or metal.
Greed is a growing sin. It has to be fed to grow. Desire for things is normal and natural. But when the normal desire of our heart becomes obsessive, we are walking on the road of sin.
We become caught up in our own selfishness and that is when we feed the desire time and again, indulging and hoarding more and more, that our desire becomes sin and grows and grows, and festers.
Greed is very dangerous and is one of the most dangerous sins.
The reason why greed is one of the most dangerous sins is because:
1. Greed quickly enslaves you. Starts small, and gradually imprisons you on such things as gambling at Atlantic City, gambling at the race track, playing the State Lottery, rolling them bones, overeating, etc.
2. Greed can lead to all other sins. In James 4 verses 1 – 6, it talks about how greed and covetousness starts from the inside. It eats away at you like cancer. To also show how the Old and New Testament are in agreement, the Tenth Commandment in Exodus 20:17 says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
3. Greed can make a person sell his country, body, or friends—anything and anyone—all for greed.
There are people on jobs that would sell their own mother just to move up the corporate ladder. People kicking booths with one another on the job for favors. What about this thing called integrity? Has integrity become obsolete?
Have people forgotten about having high standards for themselves? Or are people just ignoring what the book of Galatians 5:19 speaks on immoral behavior? That’s a sermon for another Sunday.
Point Number Two: Watch Out For Deceitfulness
Judas carried out a deceitful intrigue against Christ. The Scripture Matthew 26:16 says, “From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.” Judas was on the prowl, searching, seeking, and looking here and there for the right moment.
For as quiet as it’s kept, our children can be little Judas’ and Judasettes. What are you talking about preacher?
When you tell your children to go and clean their room and they go up stairs with no intentions of cleaning that room but give you the impression that it is being done, that’s deceitfulness. You can dress it up, pretty it up all you want. Deceitfulness is deceitfulness. Let’s call a spade a spade. Because what it is, is what it is!
When your children will wait until Sunday morning to get sick. They stay home. You think they’re in bed recuperating, but the T.V. is on, the stereo is blasting, their friends are over. Lets party hardy for two hours.
Judas’ heart was set, full of intrigue, plotting evil and planning his strategy to deceive the master. He did not believe Jesus was the Son of God, but he did not stop at unbelief.
He willed to do evil against Christ, to hurt Him and to destroy Him, and he sought opportunity to do so. To show you how deceitful Judas was, 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. How dirty and low down can one go?
You better careful who you let eat your dinner table. You better be ever so careful whom you allow into your space because everybody that grins in your face is not your friend. I know I’m on somebody’s street because some of those co-workers that’s laughing with you are sometimes the same co-workers that’s laughing at you.
Just like the song says, Smiling faces tell lies. The same people that you let sit at your dinner table and eat you chitterlings and collard greens, can sometimes be the same ones digging a trap for you on your job or church. If you are in Christ, and somebody digs a ditch for you, there’s really two ditches.
Conclusion:
Now before I take my seat, there’s just one point I want to touch on. That point is forgiveness. Even though Judas was out to get Jesus, Jesus gave him opportunity after opportunity to get it right with him.
But before Judas took his own life Matthew 27:3 says that he repented himself. Judas repented to the wrong person. Judas repented. However, he repented to the priests, not to God. Note the words, "Judas...repented himself...to the chief priests and elders." There is no mention of God at all. This was his mistake. Repentance means to change and to turn away from sin to God . In your leasure, read Acts 17:29-30, it speaks of repentance. Judas needed to change, to turn from his terrible sin. But he needed to turn to God, not to other men.
I am so glad that Jesus allows u-turns. I’m so glad that he came 40 and 2 generations to save me and to save you. I so glad that he took that walk down Golgotha to that place called the Skull (Cavalry).
They drove 12.5-inch nails in both his hands and his feet. He did all this just for you and me.
But on the third day, He got up with all power in his hands.
He got up with all power in his hands so that double agents can have a chance to eternal life.
