April 8, 2001 John 13:18-30
“The Kiss of Betrayal”
INTRODUCTION
What do you think of when I say the word “kiss”? Now, I’m not talking about the rock group by that name, and I’m not using it as an acronym (Keep It Simple Stupid). I’m talking about that thing that two people who are in love with each other do to express that love. Hopefully when I say that word, the first thing that comes into your mind is your husband or your wife. If you’re a parent, it’s ok if your kids are the first thing that pops into your mind. If you’re a teenager, you probably think about that young man or young girl that you’ve been dreaming about and hoping that they will go on a date with you. It was kind of nice when Victoria was younger. She covered her face whenever Tammy and I would kiss. She thought it was gross. But now, she stares at us. I think that maybe she is thinking about the day when she will have someone that she can kiss. Most of you know what a kiss is for.
What do you think of when I say the word “betrayal”? For a child who likes Pokemon, you might think of Charazar who will never do what his master, Ashe, wants him to do even though they are in the heat of battle. Maybe you think of the “Survivor” series where the only way to survive is to depend on your teammates until it comes time to vote one of them off of the show. Betrayal is when you get in the car to go to work, and the car won’t start. Betrayal is when you’re on the cell phone in the middle of the most important call of your life, and the battery goes dead, or you go out of signal range. Betrayal is when you go to turn on the light in your California home or the air conditioning in the 95-degree heat, and neither will turn on because there is no electricity. These are all things that we can handle. We will get over them rather quickly. We may kick the car for not starting. We might throw the cell phone out the window. But as mad as we are, and as much as we want to take our aggression out on the cause of our problem, we know that that thing that betrayed us did not mean to. So we will get over it.
But it is when people betray us that we don’t get over it quite so easily. People have control over their actions. They make the decision to abandon us or to turn us over to the enemy. It doesn’t just happen.
Some names have become synonymous with betrayal. Benedict Arnold, who betrayed George Washington. Robert Hannsen, who spent 15 years spying for the Soviet gov’t while working for the FBI. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the greatest friend he ever had with a kiss.
Everyone in this room has had to deal with betrayal. Either you have been betrayed, or you have betrayed someone else. Probably, you have been in both situations. Maybe you were told something by a friend who asked you to keep it in confidence, and soon, it was over the whole school. Maybe you had an idea about how things could be done better at work, but the friend that you told it to used your idea to get the promotion that you deserved. Or maybe the vow of complete faithfulness that you made to your spouse when you got married has not kept you from straying into territory where you did not belong. What does it feel like to be betrayed – to be abandoned? What does it feel like to have someone that you trusted suddenly turn on you? When we find out that someone has betrayed us, it makes us angry. It makes us feel vulnerable. Jesus knows what it feels like. It happened to Him. (Mt 26:47-50)
1. Betrayal comes at the most crucial times of our lives.
2. Betrayal comes at the hands of those who are the closest to us. (Jn 13:18 cf Ps 41:9, 55:12-14)
Judas Iscariot ate bread with Jesus that night, but that was not the 1st time. Judas had eaten bread with Jesus at Lazarus’ house and at Zachaeous’ house. They had enjoyed fish grilled over the fire on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. To eat bread – a meal – with someone was to indicate your closeness to that person. It showed your agreement with one another in lifestyle and beliefs. That’s why Jesus was criticized for eating with tax collectors and sinners and why Jews were forbidden to eat with Gentiles.
Judas was a highly trusted member of the group. That’s why he was allowed to carry the money bag.
An enemy can’t betray you. You expect an enemy to work against you. But you expect a friend to defend you, love you, and support you. When your expectations for these things are not met, then you are betrayed.
Jesus was aware of who the betrayer was. Why didn’t Jesus just single Judas out and tell exactly what his plan was? The rest of the disciples would have pounced on him and never allowed the sequence of events to happen.
What would happen if Jesus singled us out as betrayers? “I saw that look you gave that other woman.” “I heard what you said about your friend.”
3. Betrayal is in the heart of every person – yours and mine. (Jn. 13:22) “Is it I?” (Mk. 14:14) to Judas: “Yes, it is you.” (Mt. 26:25)
“The heart is desperately wicked. Who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9)
4. Betrayal is not limited to those who have not experienced God’s presence. (Jn. 13:23-26)
Judas I. had experienced everything that the other disciples had experienced. He had been there to pass out food to the 5000 people that Jesus fed with a few fish and some bread. He had seen Lazarus raised back to life. He had seen Jesus heal the blind and the lame and the deaf. He had been a part of all that. And on the night of his betrayal, Jesus had washed his feet. He had shared the Passover meal with Jesus. Jesus had placed him in the most favored spot at the table – right next to Jesus. Judas had been a part of all the blessings that came along with being with Jesus. That night would have been a spiritual high point for anyone who was present there. And yet, Judas still chose to walk away into the night of his own sin.
You can come to church, sing the songs, teach Sunday School, put money in the offering plate, help with crafts in Vacation Bible School and still close the door behind you and head into the night.
5. Betrayal enables our enemies. (Jn. 13:27)
It lets them go where they could not go on their own.
It lets them do what they could not do on their own.
It lets them hurt deeper than they could ever hurt on their own.
6. Betrayal doesn’t just happen. (Jn. 13:29)
For Judas, the cause was money. At Zachaeus’ house, he may have seen a missed opportunity. At the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, we know how he reacted when perfume that could have been sold for a year’s wages was “wasted” on the feet of Jesus. He was a thief. Money was more important to him than any relationship that he had.
Judas had established a pattern of betrayal. He had been using money that was supposed to go to feeding the group, and providing for the poor for his own personal benefit. This was just one more link in a long chain.
For Peter, the cause for betrayal was survival.
When you betray your wife, it doesn’t just happen. There are causes. There are things that led up to it.
A since of invincibility or your own ability is one of the greatest causes. (Lk 22:23,24) In one verse, they are wondering about who could be the betrayer, and in the very next verse, they are arguing about who is the greatest!
7. Betrayal will be the darkest time of your life. (Jn. 13:30)
For Judas, “it was night”. The darkness of his heart and the darkness of the act he was about to commit were mirrored by the darkness of the night sky.
A few hours later, in the early morning, Judas realized what he had done and what his actions had caused. He could not bear the weight.
It could have been a dark time for Jesus too, but He recognized that His Father was in control. (vs. 31 – “glory” and light are congruous terms) That’s how you can deal with betrayal too. Remember that God is in control and that He can take the darkest moments of your life and turn them into something redeeming. The darkness of Judas’ act brought about the light of God’s forgiveness through the death of His Son.
8. Betrayal does not need to be the end of the relationship.
since he was not able to bear the weight of what he had done, Judas went out and killed himself. (Mt. 27:50) Judas is in hell today, not because he killed himself, but because he never sought forgiveness for his sin.
Could Judas have been forgiven? YES!! The same blood that can cleanse me from the guilt of my acts of treason against the Son could have forgiven Judas as well.
Peter too, betrayed Jesus. When he realized what he had done, he went out and wept bitterly. But instead of killing himself, three days later when Jesus rose from the dead, he sought and received forgiveness from Jesus. He was restored, and God used Him as the catalyst for the beginning of the church and the leading of 1000’s of souls to salvation.
Every time that Judas’ name is mentioned in the Bible, either the passage is dealing with the events surrounding his betrayal, or the phrase, “who betrayed him” is attached to his name. Judas Iscariot – the one who betrayed Jesus. We know nothing good about this man. But the other disciples, who ran away from Jesus when He needed them most, their betrayal is never mentioned again beyond the record of the actual event. Why? Because they received forgiveness and restoration. The past, as dark as it was, was wiped away.
CONLUSION
Betrayed
Jesus knows what it feels like.
Jesus will never betray you. “I will never leave you or forsake you.” What was done to Him, He will never do to you.
You, like Jesus must forgive.
Betrayers
Admit your sin.
Come to the cross and seek forgiveness.
Turn over control of your life to Jesus.
And for those of you who think that you will never betray Jesus or the special people in your lives, I have only one word: “BEWARE!”
