WHAT JUDAS MISSED(discarded/threw away)-XII—John 14:1-11(John 13:18--17:26)
OR--‘WHILE YOU WERE OUT/AWAY’
Attention:
Grief?
Little Benny & his Daddy were standing in front of the lion's cage at the zoo.
Benny's father was explaining how ferocious & strong lions are, & Benny was taking it all in with a wide eyed serious expression.
Benny said finally, “Daddy, if the lion got out of his cage & ate you up...”
“Yes, son?” Benny's father said expectantly.
Benny continued, “If a lion was to eat you, What bus should I take home?”
Little Benny missed the full import of his Daddy’s potential absence, because he was consumed with his own self-limiting understanding(as any child is).
Likewise Judas was similarly consumed with self, so that he missed vital conversation with the Teacher, Savior, & Lord.
Judas showed by his decisions, that he was not a fan of Jesus...
Judas Iscariot was not a fan of God’s design, as it involved a personal momentous decision-based relationship with Christ Jesus as Savior & Lord.
Judas Missed vital life lessons because of his unbelieving heart attitude AND as a result, Judas Missed his life’s focus due to his physical absence from Jesus...
Judas missed the entirety of Jesus’ example & teaching which took place from the time of his prematurely leaving their gathering in the upper room(13:30; Mk. 14:15) until he arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane, with a detachment of soldiers, chief priests & Pharisees to arrest Jesus!(18:3; Mat. 27:27)—[Roman cohort(speira—the tenth part of a legion=600 soldiers)]
Need:
God’s People Practice...
*Gathering with the Church!
*Allowing God to use them despite their faults!
*Following God’s plain direction for them!
*Being an encouragement to others!
*Fulfilling their God-appointments!
...In doing so, they will never miss out on something vital & life-changing for themselves, their spouses, their children, & others!
L
JUDAS MISSED(discarded/threw away)...
13:18-27—
•The PRIVILEGE Of BEING CHOSEN.
•EVIDENCE Of MESSIANIC FULFILLMENT.
•His ANCIENT WARNING.
•A MEMORABLE MISSION.
•His REPRESENTATIVE CALLING.
•The TRUE GOD.
•The WARNING Of BEING A HINDERANCE TO GOD.
•The WARNING Of DENYING PERSONAL SIN.
•The EASE & BLESSING Of SEEKING The LORD’s WISDOM.
•The CONFIDENCE Of ALTHOUGH LIMITED Yet TRUE KNOWLEDGE.
•The WARNING Of BEING OUT For YOURSELF.
•The WARNING Of GAINING ‘PERMISSION’ RATHER THAN FOLLOWING GOD’s ‘DIRECTION.’
13:28-30—
•The WARNING ABOUT The DAMNING VOICE Of AVARICE
•The WARNING That SIN TAKES SELFISH ADVANTAGE Of OTHER PEOPLE’s STRUGGLES
•The DANGER of PREYING Upon OTHERS
•The WARNING That SIN PROMOTES The DIFFICULTIES Of OTHERS In ORDER To PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY For SELF
•The WARNING SIGNS Of HIS OWN RUSE(Cf.-:22)
•The WARNING Of The INSATIABLE LUST/DESIRE Of The FLESH
•The WARNING Of the CONSTANT COMPULSION Of FLESH
•The PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION(Darkness) Of HIS SPIRITUAL REALITY
•The WARNING In DARKNESS
13:31-32—
•His PERVERSE ROLE In GLORIFYING GOD
•The FACT That GOD’s GLORY IS IN JESUS & VICE-VERSA.
13:33—
•A FOUNDATIONAL LEARNING CURVE
•.JESUS’ FINAL WORDS.
•The IMPORTANCE Of GOD’s TIMING.
•The IMPORTANCE Of PERSONAL PATIENCE.
•The IMPORTANCE Of JESUS’ PHYSICAL ABSENCE.
•The IMPORTANCE Of PREPAREDNESS BASED On PRESENT KNOWLEDGE.
JUDAS also MISSED(discarded/threw away)...
13:34-35—
•A ‘NEW’ COMMANDMENT Of GOD.
•LOVE For The FAMILY OF GOD....
•The TELLING EXAMPLE & APPLICATION Of GOD’S LOVE.
•his OPPORTUNITY For LIFESTYLE WITNESS.
•The WITNESSING POWER Of LIVING OUT GOD’s LOVE.
13:36-37—
•TRUST In JESUS’ WORDS.
•CONTENTMENT With JESUS’ WORDS.
•The SATISFACTION In JESUS’ PROMISE.
•The WARNING Of SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE.
•The WARNING Of PIOUS PRIDE.
13:38—
•The WARNING Of MISINFORMED Or POORLY THOUGHT-OUT INTENTIONS.
•The WARNING Of DENYING/MISJUDGING ONE’s PERSONAL POTENTIAL For FAILURE.
14:1—
•REAL FREEDOM From ANXIETY.
•JESUS/Christ/Messiah CENTERED BELIEF
14:2
•ETERNALLY GRACIOUS HOUSING(14:2a_1)
•his SOURCE For TRUTH/Reality(14:2a_2)
We encourage you today to put the godly knowledge you receive into practice for the sake of yourself, your family, your community, your country, & for the sake of & betterment of the world.
14:2b_1—Judas missed(discarded/threw away)...
The NECESSITY For JESUS’ PREPARATION
14:2b_1—““In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.””
“I go...”
Jesus chose to go to the Cross from before the foundation of the very world that was created thru Him.
Jn. 1:3—“All things were made through Him, & without Him nothing was made that was made.”
1Pet. 1:18-21—“knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish & without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead & gave Him glory, so that your faith & hope are in God.”
Rev. 13:8—Jesus is—“...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Jesus had to leave(“go”) in order to “prepare a place” for His disciples. Without His “going”, there could be no proper & acceptable “preparation” by God. Jesus’ “going” seals, secures, & guarantees a “place” for His believing disciples.
Jesus’ going also ensured the arrival of the Holy Spirit!—Jn. 16:7-8—“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, & of righteousness, and of judgment:”
“Go”—poreuomai—Present middle/passive-Deponent Indicative 1st Sing.—1) To lead over, carry over, transfer—1a) To pursue the journey on which one has entered, to continue on one's journey, 1b) To depart from life, 1c) To follow one, that is: become his adherent—1c1) To lead or order one's life. Poreuomai expresses motion in general, often confined within certain limits, or giving prominence to the bearing; hence the regular word for the march of an army. Strong—To traverse, i.e. Travel (literally or figuratively; especially to remove [figuratively, die], live, etc.). “...To prepare a place...”
Jesus is going to “prepare a place.”
It will be specifically “for” those who follow Him.
Jesus is both the Author & Finisher of our faith(Heb. 12:2), though He is NOT some sort of ‘heavenly construction worker’!
Heb. 12:1-2—“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, & the sin which so easily ensnares us, & let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author & finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, & has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
But what kind of preparation is needed? OR-- How will He prepare it?...
The “preparation” itself is not specified here.
However, it can be concluded that the culmination of the Cross-work of Christ—including Jesus’ birth, teaching, death, resurrection, & ascension— everything Jesus would accomplish during His earthly ministry, would secure His disciple’s “place” for eternity! His “preparing” is secured in the “I” of “I go.”
Our “place” can only be “prepared” by God’s sinless Son! Otherwise the “place” that anyone else secures is NOT heaven!
Jn. 1:12-13—“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
“Prepare”—etoimazw—1Aorist Active Infinitive 1st Sing.—1) To make ready, prepare—1a) To make the necessary preparations, get everything ready; 2) metaph.—2a) drawn from the oriental custom of sending on before kings on their journeys—Persons to level the roads & make them passable, 2b) To prepare the minds of men to give the Messiah a fit reception & secure his blessings. Strong—To prepare.
“Place”—topov—Noun Accusative Sing. Masc.—1) Place, Any portion or space marked off, as it were from surrounding space; 2) metaph.—2a) The condition or station held by one in any company or assembly, 2b) Opportunity, power, occasion for acting. “Place”, indefinite; a portion of space viewed in reference to its occupancy, or as appropriated to itself. Strong—apparently a primary word; A spot(general in space, but limited by occupancy; whereas cwra is a large but participle locality), i.e. Location(as a position, home, tract, etc.); figuratively--Condition, opportunity; specifically--A scabbard.
Argumentation:
Lk. 14:26-27—“If anyone comes to Me & does not hate his father & mother, wife & children, brothers & sisters, yes, & his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross & come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
Heb. 9:22-26—“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, & without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another-- He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
Heb. 11:8-10—“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac & Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder & maker is God.”
Heb. 9:6-12—“Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself & for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts & sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience-- concerned only with foods & drinks, various washings, & fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater & more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats & calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Heb. 1:1-4—“God, who at various times & in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory & the express image of His person, & upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
Illustration:
My career as a marine biologist/As a young man fresh out of college, I loved the prospect of marine biology, but I had a simple Bachelor’s degree in Biology/And I would have never considered that I could actually be in marine biology/I was living in inland North Carolina & working Quality Control in a factory—seemingly a thousand miles from the ocean or anything related to it!/At that time Scott was my Quality Control manager, who worked under Dan, who headed up the entire lab/At work Scott(being my manager) & I spent a lot of time together/We would naturally talk, & I let him know that I was really interested in marine biology/He knew a friend of his who worked at a place called the ‘Skidaway Institute of Oceanography’ on Skidaway Island just outside of Savannah, GA/Scott called his friend(TEB) & told him about me, & I called Scott’s friend(TEB), who talked with his boss the scientist(GUS), which eventually led to my 8-year stint in marine biology!/Without Scott’s preparation & TEB’s preparation & Gus’s preparation I would not have been where I was!/The preparation by each of them was different than the others/NECESSITY For JESUS’ PREPARATION
Application:
?Like Judas, have you Missed The NECESSITY For JESUS’ PREPARATION ?
14:2b_2—Judas missed(discarded/threw away)...
his/HIS PLACE
Explanation:(14:2b)
14:2b_2—““In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.””
“For you”
•Plural--‘Y’all’/‘You folks’/‘You-uns’/‘You guys’, etc...the eleven disciples(minus Judas).
•The “place” Jesus is going to prepare, is specifically “for” those who follow Him.
These closest of disciples would have “a place” “prepared” for them all.
BUT they were NOT the ONLY ones for whom “preparations” were to be made.
Jn. 10:14-17—“I am the good shepherd; & I know My sheep, & am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; & I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, & they will hear My voice; & there will be one flock & one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.”
Heb. 11:39-40—“And all these[the past faithful], having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”
It will be & is “a place” “for” His disciples—His people—His followers!...A “place” that would be(& now is) set apart just for them!...
...Those of His disciples who would trust in Christ Jesus, would also have their “place” prepared by Jesus!
In Jesus’ preparation of a “place” for His original disciples, Jesus likewise went to prepare ‘YOUR’ “place” & ‘MY’ “place”!...A “place” set apart just for “YOU” who are faithful to Him!
Per the timeframe of our text, thru Jesus’ imminent sacrifice on the Cross & His subsequent resurrection from being dead, & due to His ascension into heaven, “YOUR” “place” has been readied!
God is waiting for you to arrive in the perfect paradise He has prepared for YOU!
1Cor. 1:4-8—“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance & all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Php. 2:12-16—“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear & trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will & to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining & disputing, that you may become blameless & harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked & perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life,...”
1Thess. 3:12-13—“And may the Lord make you increase & abound in love to one another & to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God & Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”
“For”—Implied. Added for English clarity.
“You”—umin—Pronoun Dative 2nd Person Plural—1) You. Strong—irregular dative case of umeiv[irregular plural of su; you(as subjective of verb)]; To(with or by) you.
Argumentation:
Jn. 14:15-18—[Jesus to His disciples]—““If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, & He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you & will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Heb. 13:8-16—“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, & forever. Do not be carried about with various & strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good & to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
2Cor. 4:11-18—“For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed & therefore I spoke,” we also believe & therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, & will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding & eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
*Php. 3:17-4:1—“Brethren, join in following my example, & note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, & now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, & whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Therefore, my beloved & longed-for brethren, my joy & crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.”
Again—Heb. 9:22-26—“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, & without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another-- He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
Suppose you’re on your deathbed, & you’re moaning & groaning because you wanted to do this, or that, or the other thing, but you are not focusing on looking forward to your eternity in heaven. There is something very wrong & misguided with such an approach to Jesus.
Illustration:
My office/Prior to my arrival here, there was a single rectangular desk on which I had to work/Thankfully, prior to my getting settled in, 1st Baptist acquired an ‘L’-shaped desk with plenty of room for me to work!/By the way, the chair is phenomenal as well!/It works perfectly ‘For Me’!/Judas missed(& threw away)...his PLACE
Many are absolutely offended & shocked & when I tell them that neither Carrabelle, nor my home town, nor anywhere else on this earth is my home...I DO NOT have a home here!/That does not mean that I don’t love the place where God has called me/That does not mean that I will be miserable in the Place where God has called me/My true Place is in Christ...& therefore my true Place is in heaven...And my true place prior to my being at home in heaven, is wherever Christ is using me to do His will!/Find your Place by finding God’s will for you WHEREVER!/Judas missed(& threw away)...his PLACE
In some home restoration TV shows/A couple is usually highlighted/They commit their hard-earned money to some professional home restoration folks/These put forth their best effort to give the couple or individual a home plan which they & the contractor have collaborated to produce/Sometimes circumstances change the plan slightly or even greatly, but thru further discussions the home becomes ‘their place’/Judas missed(& threw away)...his PLACE
Many get to the end of their days knowing that they have ‘missed the boat’ of life!...That their lives have counted for nothing other than personal fulfillment...That they have spent the better part of their lives working for the wrong reasons...That they have wasted their lives supposing money, & family, & survival was the necessary end of all things/Likewise, Judas also missed(& threw away)...his PLACE!
Application:
?Like Judas, have you Missed ‘YOUR’ PLACE ?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Little Benny missed the import of his Daddy’s potential absence, because he was consumed with his own self-limiting understanding.
Action:
Judas was not a fan of God’s design...
Therefore, JUDAS MISSED(discarded/threw away)...
•The NECESSITY For JESUS’ PREPARATION(14:2b_1)
•his/HIS PLACE(14:2b_2)
!You must not miss what Judas missed!
Jn. 14:2b_1--14:2b_2 Presented 09/15/2019am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SW(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
