#13~JUDAS ISCARIOT: pt.1 APOSTLES 3-1-14
Today we'll continue with our study of the APOSTLES, and we'll think on and talk for a few minutes about JUDAS ISCARIOT, there's a lot of information about Judas so our study to do with him may take a couple of broadcast.
~The name "JUDAS ISCARIOT" is found 9 times in the 4 gospels.
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"ISCARIOT" was not his last name; he was from a town of the tribe of Judah called "Kerioth." -- "Kerioth" was the name of two towns, one was in Moab.
>Amos 2:2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth. --
~ And the other is in Judah, on the south-east border, close to Edom in southern Judah.
>Joshua 15:20 & 25 -- 20This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families. -- 21And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were -- 25 And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, --
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~Judas was a native of the Kerioth that lay in Judah. -- Kerioth, the town from which Judas was from has passed out of existence.
~ It may be that the "Iscariot" was attached to Judas, to distinguish him from six others named Judas; it was a common name of the time. -- Most of the time that this Judas is mentioned in Scripture, we also find a notation about his being a traitor.
>John 12:4 -- Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, --
>John 12:6 he was a thief,
> Matt.10:4 -- and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
> Mark 3:19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him:
>Luke 6:16 and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
>John 6:70-71 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him,
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~All the other apostles came from the Northern Province called Galilee. -- some of them were brothers, friends, and working companions even before meeting Christ, but Judas being from the Southern Province of Judea was not known to them, he starts out an outsider, but none of the others every suspected Judas to be a traitor, he blended in so well.
~As a pure Jew from Judah, Judas found himself practically alone in the circle of the twelve, yet he seemed as zealous as the rest in supporting and furthering the cause of the Messiah.
~Judas' name appears in three of the lists of the disciples (Matt. 10:2--4; Mark 3:16--19; Luke 6:14--16), although his name always appears last. -- His name is missing from the list of the 11 apostles in Acts 1:13; by that time Judas had committed suicide, and had gone to his own place, "Acts 1:25" we'll talk about his own place at a later time if the Lord be willing.
--- Judas held an important position among the 12; he served as their treasurer. (John 12:6; 13:29).
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~He spent about three years with Jesus Christ, he was a disciple just as the others, they were first learners and followers of Christ, they all had to learn before they could become apostles, you and I today are Christ disciples, we're learners, but none of us will ever be an apostle.
-- Judas was familiar with everything Jesus taught, yet he remained in unbelief. Judas was as common as the rest, without earthly credentials and without any characteristics that made him stand out from the group. -- He began exactly like the others had begun. -- But he never laid hold of the truth by faith, so he was never transformed like the rest.
~ While the others were increasing in faith as they heard Jesus speak, (whatever Jesus said was the word of God, because He is God) and saw first hand the many miracles that Jesus did their faith grew, but Judas was never really interested in becoming a believer, his interest was to do with riches.
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~ The 11 didn't know a thing about him or his family; they knew nothing of his background, or his life before he became a disciple. -- So it was easy for him to masquerade as a believer, there is no evidence that he was ever excluded or looked down upon by the rest of the group, he may have thought of himself as an outsider, which to him, would have helped him justify his wickedness.
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-- The others put their trust in him, they never considered him to be a thief, but that is what he was.
>John 12:6 This he said, (Judas) not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
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~The love of money had been in his heart from the beginning, he took his sin with him into the service of Christ.
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Listen, Judas was not attracted to Christ on a spiritual level; he followed Jesus out of a desire for selfish gain, worldly ambition, and greed. --- He realized Jesus had great power, and he wanted power like that for himself. -- He was not interested in the kingdom for salvation's sake or for Christ's sake. -- He was interested only in what he could get out of it, wealth, power, and prestige were
his ambitions. -- Judas at the beginning may have thought that if Jesus did set up His Kingdom that he may have a powerful position as well.
~ So he continued following even when following became difficult, even when the Pharisees and scribes were determined to destroy Jesus, he continued in following, though it required him to be a more clever in covering up the reality of what he really was.
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~ Judas close to 3 years now had lived with the most perfect Man that's ever lived on earth, and yet he became increasingly more wicked with each passing day.
~Jesus said in --John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, --
~Judas had also been chosen by Jesus; His role of betrayal was ordained before the foundation of the world and even prophesied in the Old Testament.
> Psalm 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
* Jesus said that this prophecy would be fulfilled in His betrayal.
>John 13:18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.
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~Jesus chose Judas; He knew Judas was the one to fulfill the prophecies of betrayal. --- He knowingly chose him in order to accomplish Gods plan, Judas the traitor had come on the scene at the right time, just as God knew he would.
> Acts 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
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~ Listen, Judas was not directed to do what he did, neither did God intervene in Judas's life and cause him to betray Christ. -- He acted freely and without any external compulsion. -- Judas did what he did because his heart was evil, Judas had 3 years of opportunity to make things right with God, Jesus would have saved Judas if He had confessed his sins, and ask Jesus to forgive him, and I believe that Jesus would have saved Judas even as He hung on the cross just as He did the repentant thief that was crucified with Him.
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Listen; God ordained the events by which Christ would die, and yet Judas carried out his evil deed by his own choice.
Judas had the same potential as the others, the difference is that Judas was never drawn to the Person of Christ, he saw Jesus only as a means to an end. Judas's secret goal was personal prosperity--gain for himself. -- He never cared for Jesus' teaching by faith. -- He never had an ounce of true love for Christ.
~Judas never called Jesus Lord, always Master.
~His heart had never been changed, and therefore the light of truth only hardened him.
Listen, Judas heard every lesson Jesus taught during His ministry. -- Many of those lessons applied directly to him:
Luke16:1-13 the parable of the unjust steward. -- The message of the wedding garment in Matt. 22:11-14
~And Jesus' preaching against the love of money in Matt. 6:19-34 .
~Against greed in Luke 13:13-21 -- and against pride Matt. 23:1-12.
~Jesus even told the Twelve, "One of you is a devil" John 6:70
~ He cautioned them about the woe that would come to the person who betrayed him Matt. 26:24.
~Yet Judas listened to all of that unmoved, he never applied the lessons. -- He just kept up his deceit.
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~ We need to understand a very important truth to do with Judas, --- Jesus was and is omniscient, that is, He knows all things, He knew from the very beginning that Judas was never going to be saved, Judas could have been saved just like every one else, but he refused to do so, it's not the Lords fault, Jesus knows the heart of every man, Jesus knew Judas would be a tool of Satan. -- Judas was the means to the cross, Jesus had to be lifted up, His death on the cross was prophesied, (Isa.53:--Ps.22:) and we that are saved praise the Lords name for what He did for all that will believe.
>Ephesians 1:11 -- according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
~ God had foreordained that Jesus would be betrayed and that He would die for the sins of the world.
* Jesus said in
>Luke 22:22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!
> Mark 14: 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.
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~Judas was an apostle, and close acquaintance of Christ went to his own place of darkness.
> Ps.88:18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
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* Jesus said in His prayer as He prayed to His Father;
>John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
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~I want us to see a great truth right here; a person can be busy in Christ's service and not be born again.
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> Matt.10:1-8 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
~ Listen, Judas was among those that were sent, Judas helped preach the wonderful news of the kingdom of Christ, he most likely was instrumental in others being saved, and yet he himself was a hypocrite, Judas was never saved.
~Listen, there's pulpits all over the world that's filled with preachers that have never been saved, some of you may be saying, that a lost person can not lead people to Christ, listen, it not the person that's preaching that save, it the WORD of God that's preached, it's the WORD that brings conviction, when the WORD is preached the HOLY GHOST gets involved.
>Rom.10:17 faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the WORD of God.
>Isaiah 55: 10-11 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
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~ There are people that have been setting under the preached WORD for years, yet their still not saved, Judas is our prime example.
