DON’T BE A JUDAS
Text: Mark 14:12 – 26
Over the past 21 years, I have had the privilege of teaching over a thousand students. I have lost count of how many Joshes I have taught. Jordan is a popular name too, and as a matter of fact, I have two of them in my classes this year. I’ve taught Dereks and Billys and Trents. I have even taught an Elvis, a Sunshine, and a Stardust. In addition to this, I know the names of thousands of other people, people that I have worked with, gone to school or church with, or been neighbors with. But in my 43 years of knowing all these people I have never known one person named Judas. Think about it for a moment. How many Judases do you know?
We don’t know a lot about the man named Judas in this scripture. His father’s name was Simon, and he was thought to be from the southern part of Judah. He was the treasurer of the disciples and he helped himself to their money. The Bible says that he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and that he later returned the money and went out and killed himself. He is always listed last among the disciples, and is frequently identified as the traitor among them. It is because of his actions that you probably know no one with the name Judas today. He is remembered as the man who betrayed Christ, and no one wants their child to be identified with that.
Mark tells us that it was time to celebrate the Passover. Thousands of Jews had come to Jerusalem for that reason. Jewish custom was that if you had extra space available in your home that you would lend it out to anyone who had come to celebrate Passover. Jesus had apparently made arrangements to use a large upper room in Jerusalem. Many think that this house belonged to Mark’s family, and that the man that Jesus told John and Peter to look for was actually Mark’s father. Jesus knew that the officials would come looking for Him soon, so he purposely kept the location of the feast secret until the last minute.
Peter and John were identified as the two disciples that Jesus sent by Luke. They leave Bethany, which is where Jesus had been staying, and go to Jerusalem to look for a man carrying a water pot. Carrying water was women’s work, so a man carrying a water pot would certainly be something that the disciples would notice. They find the man and tell him that Jesus had sent them to prepare for the Passover.
Passover actually started at sundown, and Jesus brings His disciples to the upper room. They celebrate the Passover together, but Jesus gives a new meaning to the meal. He tells them that the bread that they are eating symbolizes His body which will soon be broken and battered for them. The wine in the cup represents His blood that is about to be poured out for the sins of the world.
Then Jesus does something that completely takes the disciples off guard. He tells them that one of them will betray Him. They take turns asking, “Is it me?” and Jesus tells them it is one of the twelve. One of the other Gospels records that when Judas asks the question, Jesus responds by saying, “You have said it.” He dismisses Judas to go and do his dastardly deed. The Bible records that the other disciples have no idea where Judas was going or about what he was about to do. According to John, Satan entered into Judas as he left.
I believe that there are several things that we can learn from Judas’ betrayal. As I said before, Judas has become known as the world’s worst traitor. Webster’s Dictionary says that a traitor is one that betrays another’s trust or is false to an obligation or duty. What is your duty? Ecclesiastes 12:13 says “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” I stand before you as a traitor today. In the past week, I have failed to keep several of God’s commandments. I was made aware of this as I studied for this message, and I had to stop what I was doing and ask God to forgive me.
That leads me to my first point: none of us is beyond betraying our Lord. Each one of the disciples asked Jesus “Is it me?” because each one realized that he was capable of doing it. I have heard of people that believed that after they were saved they never committed another sin, and I have known of several people that certainly acted that way. But listen to what the apostle Paul wrote to the Romans: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:18, 19) The apostle Paul, maybe the best Christian that ever lived, struggled with sin. That means that you will too. Years later, the apostle John was writing to a group of Christians and said, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8 – 10) Just like Paul and the Christians that John was writing to, you are capable of breaking God’s commandments and betraying him.
John continues, however. He says, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1, 2) When you sin, and you will, you need to go to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness and cleansing. You may be thinking, but I never do anything wrong. What do I need to be forgiven for? Sometimes you sin when you do something wrong. Other times you sin when you don’t do what is right. The Bible says it is sin to know to do good but don’t do it. (James 4:17) You crossed paths with dozens of unsaved people last week. How many of them did you tell about Jesus? How many times did you have the opportunity to spend time with the Lord last week but you chose to watch tv or go to the mall instead? Do you see what I mean? We are all guilty, and we are all capable of betraying our Lord.
Secondly, we should learn that just hanging out with the Lord’s people is no guarantee that you are really saved. Judas went everywhere that Jesus went for three years. He heard every message he preached, listened to every lesson he taught, and watched every miracle that he performed. He ate with Jesus, slept with Jesus, and worked with Jesus. He was identified as one of the twelve. But in the end, he was not saved. How do I know that he wasn’t saved? John tells us that satan entered into Judas as he left to betray Jesus.
I used to go to church with a man that was more faithful to church than most Christians are. There was never a time when the doors of the church were open that he wasn’t there. He had gone to church for decades and heard message after message, but every time an altar call was given, he would raise his hand to show that he was unsaved. He knew that he was unsaved. And one day, he died that way. He was so close. He spent all that time with God’s people in God’s house, but he never took that first step and asked God to forgive him.
I hope that you won’t have the same story. It is great to come to church and to read the Bible and to pray, but if you have never asked the Lord to forgive you and started a relationship with him, you are just as lost as Judas was, and you are headed for eternal punishment in Hell one day. I beg you to kneel down and ask for forgiveness right now before it is too late. If you want to pray right now, I will stop what I am doing and pray with you. It is that important.
Finally, Judas had the free will to decide what he was going to do. Matthew tells us that when Judas asked Jesus, “Is it me?” that Jesus identified him as the traitor. Look at what Jesus said in verse 21: “The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.” Jesus is saying that it is God’s plan for him to die for the sins of the world, and that was not going to change. But he was also saying that Judas didn’t have to be the one that betrayed him. Even though Jesus knew what Judas was about to do, he gave him one last chance to change his mind, but, of course, Judas decided for himself that he would turn Jesus over to the officials. Listen, if and when you decided to betray your Lord by breaking his commandments, you need to realize that you have made the decision to do that. Satan may tempt you and put the idea in your head, but you are the one that decides to act upon it. I am not saying that we can live above sin, but I am saying that, as Christians, we sin because we choose to. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” You may say, “I just can’t keep from giving in to that temptation, but the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” When you are tempted, don’t rely upon your own strength and willpower to overcome it – allow the strength of the Holy Spirit to flow through you and help you resist it.
Just like Judas, I have betrayed my Lord. But unlike Judas, I have asked Him to forgive me and cleanse me. I have failed Him over and over, but He always forgives and forgets when I ask Him to. He will forgive you too. Have you broken his commandments this past week? Have you had the opportunity to do good, but passed on it to do something else? Are you blaming someone or something else for your decision to sin? Ask for forgiveness and the strength to resist. If you truly mean it, God will answer that prayer.
Don’t continue to hang out with God’s people in hopes that it will be enough to get you to Heaven some day. It won’t. You’ll stand in judgment and say, “But I went to church and sang in the choir and even read my Bible!” And Jesus will say, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:23) Take the opportunity that you have right now to make things right with him. Ask for his forgiveness and live your life for him. Judas had one last chance and decided to walk away. What will you do?
