Note: this message is structured as a "textual" message, in that the texts are structured to show the progression and true agenda of Judas Iscariot.
Introduction: Can you think of anyone who is a worse influence than a traitor? A traitor, by definition, is one who pretends to be loyal to one group or person but has an agenda to cause problems or destroy that same person or group. Over the years, traitors have arisen (example: Quisling, in Norway, during World War II) but ultimately failed.
The Bible has stories of traitors, too, with perhaps the worst of the worst being Judas Iscariot. He was one of the Disciples but wound up betraying the Lord Jesus Christ for a relatively small sum of money. Could this happen to you, or to me?
I He was part of the ministry of the Twelve Disciples
[Mat 10:4-5 NASB] 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans;
Judas Iscariot. We don’t know anything about his parents, except his father’s name was Simon (John 6:71, 13:2, 13:26). We’re told nothing about his mother or any brothers or sisters, if there were any in his family. We aren’t even told where his hometown was located.
But we do know something for certain, that he was chosen—by Jesus Himself, no less—to be part of the Twelve Disciples. Besides being mentioned in Mark and Luke, Judas was one who heard every sermon Jesus preached, saw every miracle He performed, and even went out on a preaching tour to announce “the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand (Matthew 10:7)”. He even assisted when Jesus fed the Five Thousand and, later, the Four Thousand!
Sadly, as impressive as these deeds might have been, those deeds, in and of themselves, did not and could not save Judas’s soul. He would have had to believe in Jesus Christ, and there is no record he ever did so. Judas probably heard the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5-7, especially the part where Jesus warned the listeners would say they had done any number of things, only to hear Jesus say “Depart from Me! I never knew you!”
II He wanted the money, not the ministry
How long Judas was able to hide his lack of belief, and hide his true motives, is anybody’s guess. The other disciples apparently trusted him, Judas, to be the group’s treasurer, ironically leaving out, or even snubbing, Matthew, who had been a tax collector and probably forgot more about money than many folks would ever know!
Eventually, the truth came out and Judas showed his true motive. Ironically, these are the first recorded words of Judas himself. [John 12:4-6] 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it
This was at the dinner for Jesus, just six days before He went to Calvary. He was at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—digressing for just a moment, I would like to think our Lord would feel comfortable at my house, if He ever came to visit. He sure did feel at home with those three.
During the dinner, Mary took some precious, maybe close to priceless ointment, and anointed the feet of Jesus. She did this to anoint the Lord’s body—Mary of Bethany is never mentioned as one who went to the garden tomb—before He died. This was one of the most selfless, genuine, acts of love anyone has ever done. I don’t think Mary would have wanted anyone to even know about this, but the Holy Spirit saw fit to include this story with the Story of Jesus. This was her motive—she knew what was going to happen, and did what she could before it happened.
And now we see Judas’ motive. John stated in the text that he, Judas, didn’t care about the poor, even though he claimed the ointment was worth “three hundred denarii (note, a denarius was a coin equal to one day’s wage)”. Judas may have wanted to sell the ointment, all right, but what was he going to do with the money? John said Judas was a thief (!) and “used to pilfer (help himself to)” the money!
Jesus put a stop to any further discussion about the ointment, the money, or anything else when He said, in so many words, “leave her alone, you’ll always have the poor, but I won’t always be here (John 12:7-8, paraphrased)”. This didn’t stop Judas’ attitude from spreading: a few days later, at another dinner, it seems all the disciples complained about another woman anointing the Lord’s body with “very precious ointment (Matt. 26:7, KJV)”! They asked why the ointment wasn’t sold and the proceeds given to the poor.
Ah, Judas: you wanted the money more than you wanted the ministry.
III He made the contract to betray Jesus
I don’t know about you, but the idea of betraying someone, especially someone who has done nothing wrong, is unsettling at best. I mean, what one, single, event would be the “straw that broke the camel’s back” and made Person A betray Person B? Chances are, that idea or mindset had been brewing for some time.
That sure seems to be the case with Judas. After Jesus had twice rebuked the disciples about the worth of the anointing of His body, compared to the profit they might make by selling the ointment, this may have been the “last straw” for Judas. Look at these verses, in Matthew’s gospel: Matt. 26:14-16, 14 Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. 16 From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.
Thirty pieces of silver. The exact worth is not known but estimating the coin to be roughly equal to the Roman denarius (“penny” or “pence”, KJV), 30 of these silver coins would be about a month’s wages. This is beyond terrible, when a follower sells out for a month’s pay. Besides, what could or would Judas do with the money after he got it?
IV He tried to remove doubt from himself [Mat 26:25 NASB] 25 And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself."
Judas may have tried to hide his deeds but nothing did, and nothing does, get past the eyes of Jesus. He knew. He knows. And yet He never publicly said of Judas, “thou art the man who will betray Me”. Even in the Upper Room, when Jesus was troubled in spirit (John 13:21), He never openly accused Judas—or anyone else—of anything wrong. He simply said, “One of you shall betray Me (Matt. 26:21)” and allowed the words to sink in.
Every one of the disciples, except Judas, replied, “Lord, is it I? And yet, Jesus did not answer verbally, except to say, “The one who dips his hand in the dish with Me will betray Me”. Then Jesus gave Judas a morsel (“sop”, John 13:26, KJV). Sometime during this time, Judas had replied. “It surely isn’t I, is it, Rabbi?”—note, he never called Jesus “Lord” during this time. He may never have called Jesus “Lord” at any time he was a disciple of the Lord Jesus. If the other disciples noticed the difference between what they had said, and what Judas said, we have no record in the text/
So, Judas tried to deflect or remove doubt from himself, but Jesus didn’t let him get by with it. Jesus won’t let us get by with anything like that, either. I hope we never forget this.
V The last words and deeds of Judas Iscariot
[Mat 27:3-5] 3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!" 5And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.
John’s gospel, chapter 13, tells us that Jesus gave Judas a morsel or piece of bread, most likely. Once Judas took it and ate it, Satan entered into him (John 13:26-27). This, to me is one of the most chilling verses in the Bible.
Unsaved friend, if you don’t have Jesus in your heart as Lord and Savior, you risk having Satan enter into you, too, and he may never leave you until you die. Don’t take the risk! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved—today!
Judas then left the disciples, went to the chief priests, and received a group of soldiers (whether Jewish or Roman matters not) to arrest Jesus. They found Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (compare Matthew 26:36 and Mark 14:32 with John 18:1-11) and arrested him. The next to last recorded words of Judas were “Hail, Master! (Matt. 26:49),” as he led these soldiers directly to Jesus before he kissed the Lord as a sign of recognition.
Then, at a time after the soldiers led Jesus away, Judas had a pang of remorse, as some say. Maybe the awful nature of what he had done finally caught up with him. Could it be, that Satan departed from him, as quickly as he had entered Judas just hours before? And, maybe for the first time ever, good solid guilt took its place instead of the giddiness, perhaps, of receiving free money? We may never know what exactly happened but one thing is for sure: he knew he had sinned, but he did the wrong things before the wrong people.
Judas went back to the chief priests—the ones who had given him the money in the first place—and told them “I have sinned!” But Judas did not try to find Jesus, nor did he appeal to God or confess to God. He only acknowledged he had sinned but that wasn’t enough. There was no sign of repentance or feeling truly sorry for his sins. He only was sorry that either he was caught or that things didn’t work out the way he had perhaps planned or hoped? Again, we may never know all the mind of Judas, but we have the record.
And that speaks for itself. Somewhere I remember a poem that went something like this:
Judas, sorry for his sins was not.
‘Twas only sorry he was caught!
Conclusion: These verses from the Gospels tell us everything we need to know about Judas. Not every preacher is a genuine believer and not every teacher or miracle worker is a true follower of the Lord. The emphasis on money—and being trusted with the group’s moneybag—should have spoken volumes about Judas but there is, sadly, no record this ever happened.
Judas could have done so much good, but he gave it up when he became a traitor. But if I don’t stand up for Jesus when I have the chance, I’m as much a traitor as Judas was.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. http://www.lockman.org
