Text: Matthew 26.14-16, 26.49-50
A kiss: a symbol of love and affection. A kiss on the cheek in these bible times was a symbol of friendship and affection. I want you to hold your kiss (hersheys kiss candy)till later for me, but what is that causes a man who has seen the intimate details of Jesus’ miracles to betray him with a kiss? What is that causes a person who knows truth to deny that truth and want to live a lie? What causes young person to snub their noses at God’s desire for their lives and continue to live on the edge of destruction? I think this little movie clip from “The Matrix” will offer some answers to these questions.
This person in the movie had a desire for what he knew wasn’t real, but it satisfied an unhealthy appetite. He would rather live in the matrix, live absent of truth, so that he could enjoy the pleasures of life. What is funny is that none of his “pleasures” are real. They are simply a figment of his imagination. Bad Boys are living on the edge because what appears to be juvenile fun and mischief is really dangerous plunge towards spiritual death. Judas was a bad boy who was slowly walking the edge. (READ TEXT) In our text was the moment at which he decided there was no return. The edge of destruction is where he wanted to live. It is easy to get to that place of living on the edge. Demas was there because he loved the world, Saul was there because he sought evil, Judas is there because he was living a life void of 3 needs. Judas was:
1. Void of maturity
2. Void of motivation
3. Void of repentance
You can either be “sold out” to God or a “sell out” to God. Judas chose to sell him out for the price of a slave. 30 small pieces of silver is all it took for Judas to take the plunge over the edge. I believe every person can live away from the edge by striving for these three needs. Let’s talk about:
Need for maturity: (John 6.64,70) (READ)
In John 12. 1-6, Jesus was anointed by a woman who broke a jar of perfume and put it on Jesus feet. Judas objected to this because the perfume was worth a years wages. His level of maturity is revealed in verse 6 when it says that he was a thief and helped himself to the offering bag for a little change. This text paints the picture of Judas’ maturity. He has heard the teachings like us today when reading the bible. He has experienced the miracles and power of God, maybe like many of us today. Yet he did not believe. Judas was void of maturity because he was void of faith. He did not, I believe, receive Christ as the son of God. He was looking out for his own. It’s amazing to me how over the course of 2000 years, humanity is still the same. What has happened to the young people of America when they no longer know about sacrifice, faith or maturity. We are raising a generation of spoiled teenagers and this character of have it now and have it all spills over into our spiritual journey with God. I reference James 1 (READ) on a regular basis, because it is a blueprint for our spiritual journey with God. Youth today do not have time to grow up with God, because they deem it not important. Our faith will face tests and trials because it must grow and mature. This maturity that we are discussing is not a natural maturity that progresses with our age, it a spiritual maturity which is not limited by age or gender. God is calling you to maturity. God is calling you to grow up in him. Growing up in God means growing up in his word, growing in worship, growing in loving others, growing in the ability to love those that hate, growing in the area of becoming a respectable part of our culture who can be trusted. God says to us today Grow UP! I know adults who would rather live on the edge because they are afraid of the responsibility of growing up. Adults in age, children at heart, are immature and dangerous. They live on the edge, going from one high to the next, one adrenaline rush to the next. Where are the warriors who are valiant enough to mature. It was Maximus who demonstrated maturity in the film Gladiator over the young Roman emperor Commodus. Maturity says to avoid the danger. Maturity says count the risk in comparison to the reward. The risk of being a bad boy for sake of rebellion and fun is not worth the reward of hell, or living a life of hell. Deep in the hearts of young people around this state, they are crying out for help from living on the edge. I wonder how many in this room tonight are wondering the same thing. Please help us get from the edge of destruction and show us a better way. Judas was a bad boy: living on the edge because he was void of the word, void of worship, void of hearts that truly connect with God through difficult times, void of keeping a good attitude in hard moments.
Need for proper motivation: (Mt. 26.6-13, Mark 14.3-9)
This story of the woman anointing Jesus feet not only indicts Judas of being immature, but it also convicts of him of his motivation. Judas motivation is the reason for his immaturity. He was selfish.
"I’m so depressed and I can’t get any dates," the 300-pound man told his minister. "I’ve tried everything to lose weight." "I think I can help," said the minister. "Be dressed and ready to go tomorrow at 8 a.m."
Next morning, a beautiful woman in a skintight exercise suit knocked on the man’s door. "If you can catch me, you can have me," she said, as she took off. He huffed and puffed after her. This routine went on every day for the next five months. The man lost 115 pounds.
You have got to find the proper motivation for serving God. You serve him because you love him. If you do not love him, it is because you do not know him. What is your motivation for serving God? If God is nothing more than fire insurance from hell, then you are missing the point. Jesus has called you to abundant life. He has come so that when the overcoming power of the world and peer pressure is at your door, you can say no to that and continue to serve God in the midst of difficult situations. In our opening text Judas asked the chief priests this question, “what are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” I hear the same question today from young people, what can I get if I don’t serve God. A kiss in the jewish culture of this day was a symbol of love for one another. They would greet each other with a “kiss” on the cheek. This symbol of intimate love and affection for one another is the symbol of betrayal in our story. I ask you what does your kiss say to God? Are you giving him the kiss of death and betrayal and saying to God that you would rather walk the edge of death and destruction or are you embracing God and all that he is and what he wants to do in your life. In this holy kiss there was to be an absence of discrimination, prejudice and hypocrisy. Everything that was to be absent is everything that was evident in Judas. His motivation for living on the edge, is what could he get out of the deal. The people in the days of Jesus would rather have the treats of the ministry (healing, hope, etc.) but not deal with the trials. Their motivation was revealed. Everyone likes a hero. Everyone wants to be around the popular kids or those that are getting the spotlight. We all want to have a good time. But when God begins to crash in on the party of life and call for commitment to follow him and abandon our own selfish ways then we have a choice to make. Our motivation will be revealed to us. Am I following God because I don’t want to go to hell, just live like it, or am I following God because I have a genuine passion and desire to love him and know his presence in my life. I am going to ask you again in a minute to do something with that hershey’s kiss, if you want to submit yourself to God and say to God that I am embracing you as my lord and savior and I am committing my life to you afresh and new.
Why did Judas live on the edge and develop the bad boy reputation?
Need of repentance: (Matthew 27.3-4)
Once Judas conscience was seared he had a choice to make. His act of betrayal finally got the best of him. Let me stop here for a moment and say you can only play the game of being a bad boy for so long. God will chase you down and speak to you about the decisions you are making. At some point the opportunity to ask God to forgive you will come. The Holy Spirit will draw the cross that Jesus dies upon. The time for repentance will come. That time came for Judas in Matthew 27. It says that Judas returned the money and was remorseful. In the original translation it means that he repented. It wasn’t the type of repentance that God calls for today. To make it plain for me to understand it that Judas felt nothing more than guilty for what he had done but he did not have a heart change. To prove that he was nothing more than guilty and couldn’t live with it he committed suicide. The ultimate end of living on the edge. Suicide. Realizing that the fanfare and glitter of what this world offers is nothing more that cotton candy. It’s sweet, bad for you and it’s made of nothing. The type of repentance that God is looking for is heart change. In Acts 2.38, Peter preaches to the people that day and tells them to repent. This form of repentance is identified by heart change. When God begins to change the heart he begins to change our motivation for living. When our motivation for living changes then a new level of maturity is afforded the opportunity to grow.
What will you do today with the kiss that you have? Is it going to be a kiss of betrayal and say to God that you want to continue to live on the edge. At some point you may fall over the edge. Or are you willing today to lay down your life and give it to Jesus. Embrace him with a holy kiss, a kiss that is void of hypocrisy, prejudice and discrimination.
