ONE OF YOU SHALL BETRAY ME
by Pastor James May
Matthew 26:20-23, "Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me."
The setting for this scripture is very well known to anyone who has read the account of Jesus’ final hours upon this earth prior to his crucifixion. He is in the upper room, seated at the table with all of the disciples. They are celebrating the Passover meal together for the last time.
There were all the disciples that Jesus loved and had spent so many long hours with, trying to teach them the ways of God and praying that these men would stand the tests to come. There was Simon Peter, the big fisherman and the strong man of the group, and his brother, Andrew. There were James and John, the sons of Zebedee; Philip and Bartholomew; Simon, Thomas, Matthew, the converted tax collector, James, the son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus and then there was one more whose name we would rather forget, Judas Iscariot.
They all sat there, just have a good time of fellowship and looking forward to the victory that was ahead. They were convinced that the kingdom would be soon forged from the hands of the Romans and Israel would once again become a great nation.
I’ve never known fisherman who didn’t like to tell fish stories and so I wonder if the fishermen at this table were any different or if they were still trying to outdo one another with their fishing tales? There were a few of them who had a really hard time adjusting to being a part of this type of crowd. One of those was Matthew who had given up a “good job” as a tax collector for the Romans. He was one of those people who the Jews loved to hate.
This setting kind of reminds me of the church. Here we sit, with Jesus in our midst. All too often we forget about the fact that Jesus is here with us. He has promised us that where two or three are gathered, he will be there too. Just like those disciples at the Last Supper, we tend to take him so much for granted. It’s easy to get comfortable around Jesus, after all he is the Prince of Peace, the great God of mercy and grace, and his love knows no bounds. Who couldn’t feel comfortable around him and who couldn’t enjoy his presence?
But as we examine this setting with the disciples I am also reminded that we, the church, are like those disciples at the Last Supper in other ways too. Yes Jesus was there, the disciples were there; but someone else was there too. Who else was there? It was the devil himself and he was working overtime.
How many of you believe that the devil often walks into the midst of church? I can tell you that he comes in all the time. He comes walking on two legs wearing pants or a skirt, because he comes in with those whose minds, hearts and attitudes are not right with God.
He comes for three purposes – to steal your victory, to kill the moving of the Holy Spirit, and to destroy the work of the Kingdom that goes on in this church. “Old Slew Foot” is right there, every time we come together because it’s his job to hinder the work of the kingdom of God in any way that he can.
As I look at the those 12 disciples sitting around that table, with Jesus talking to them I cannot but notice that there is one disciple who is rather quiet and nervous. He isn’t joining in with the others. It’s as though his mind is preoccupied with something outside of the room. Could it be that his mind was filled with the things of this world?
There he was, sitting in the very presence of Jesus, hearing the audible voice of the Son of God, sitting in the middle of some of the greatest men of faith that have ever walked the earth, and yet his thoughts were not on Jesus or on the work that he had been called to do. He was only thinking of what he would buy, where he could go, what a good time he would have, once he had completed the task that he had to finish later this same night.
Judas had made a contract with the devil. He looked like a disciple. He acted like a disciple. He knew all the right moves, the right words, the right way to smile, the right way to pray, the right way to dress – in short, he had all the appearances on the outside of being a great man of faith, but his heart was as black as coal and he was yet dead in his sin, and before this night was over, he would be forever imprisoned in the Lake of Fire.
What a great tragedy! What a terrible thought to realize that Judas Iscariot was so close to eternal life and yet missed it by such a great distance. He could be walking those streets of gold right now, but because he kept his eyes on the things of this world, he is burning forever instead!
Judas had hidden his dark secret for a long time. He had not left the desires of this world behind like all the other disciples. Sure, none of them were perfect either. Every one of them made some bad mistakes, but their heart was changed and their lives were dedicated to following Jesus. Judas’ heart was unchanged! He only followed Jesus for what he could get out of it.
Judas was the keeper of the treasury for the disciples. That job fit him perfectly because he had such a love for money and the things that it could buy. That love of money became the root of evil in his life and that root sprang forth into a life that was filled with bitterness and sin.
As he sat there, eating and acting like one of the disciples, he was shocked into reality when Jesus spoke those words, “One of you shall betray me.” He immediately knew exactly whom Jesus was speaking about!
Judas was exposed! His little secret was out now! How could Jesus know? He hadn’t told anyone! He had not revealed his plans. This was something that only he and the council knew about and no one else. Jesus couldn’t know what Judas was planning, how could he?
But Jesus did know. You see, Judas made the same mistake that so many of us make right now. He forgot that Jesus is God and that God knows all things, even the very thoughts of your mind and the intent of your heart. He knows your motive for doing whatever you do. He knows your selfishness. He knows your fears. He knows your doubts. He knows what you love and what you hate. He knows what decisions you are going to make this very night, even before the decision is called for.
We sit here in this auditorium tonight and we forget that God knows everything about us. We might be able to fool our brother and sister in the church. We might be able to fool the preacher. The preacher may be able to fool the congregation. The Teacher may fool the students and the students might fool the teacher. But no one can fool God!
-We can come to church and put on a good front – but God knows the back too!
-We can come to church and act our part to the letter – but God knows the actor behind the act!
-We can come to church and appear to be what we are not – but God knows what we really are!
I believe that in a gathering of people just like we are right now, people who have come together to worship the Lord and to serve the Lord, there is always someone who is just like Judas Iscariot. The Holy Spirit moves in and out of the pew and the Lord Jesus Christ himself walks through the midst of the church and I can hear him saying, “One of you, sitting right here with me, right now, in this very church, is going to betray me!”
As I watch your faces while these words are being spoken, I can almost see the same reactions in you that were in the disciples in that Upper Room so long ago. Suddenly the atmosphere changes from a feeling of merriment and rejoicing, having a good time, and enjoying the fellowship with one another and with Jesus, to an atmosphere that is charged with doubts, fears and anxiety over the words of the Lord!
Is it I? Who are you speaking to Jesus? Will I be the one to betray you Lord? Oh I hope it’s not me! I want to be found faithful and true all of my days. I never want to leave you or betray you. Oh please tell me that it’s not me who will betray you Jesus!
Is that the way you feel right now? I promise you that one of you will betray Jesus very soon.
Who will it be?
Who will be the one who follows in the footsteps of Judas Iscariot?
Who will be the one who brings condemnation upon his own life because he chooses to betray Christ?
Which of us is it?
Look around the room.
Look at those of this church who you consider to be brothers and sisters in the Lord and choose who you might think it will be!
Which of us is the betrayer?
I guarantee you – I promise you, that as surely as I am standing here, ministering the Word of God to you right now, I have been inspired by God to tell you that one of you will betray Christ, maybe not tonight, maybe it will be tonight; maybe it will be tomorrow, I don’t know the time or the circumstances that will cause you to betray Jesus. But I am convinced that most definitely before this week is over, someone will fall right into the devil’s hands, make a deal with the devil, and betray Christ.
Who will it be? How can it be? No one here wants to be the one but one of us will!
Who will it be?
It will be someone who allows the devil to put thoughts into your mind that shouldn’t be there. It will be someone who gives in to the temptation to embrace the things of this world instead of the things of God. It will be someone whose vision of Christ as the very Son of God is dimmed because the things of this world have become so much brighter. It will be someone who has allowed their guard against the temptations of sin to drop and they will be drawn away of their own desires and lust for the things of the world that Satan will surely offer. It will be someone who has let their prayer life waver and falter. It will be someone who has not opened the Bible to feed their soul with the Words of Life within its pages. It will be someone whose commitment to Christ is failing and whose eyes are not on things above.
Who will it be? Who will be the betrayer?
Who is it that will allow the devil to convince them, and say in their own mind that no one will ever know what I am doing?
Who is it that will attempt to fool God and think that they can get by with sin?
Who is it that will pretend to love Jesus and yet have a heart after the world?
My friends, when Jesus says that one of you shall betray me – he could be talking to any one of us, or all of us, for none of us are perfect. We are all subject to fail at any time. The power of temptation and the willingness of the flesh are so powerful that any of us, at any time, could be the betrayer of Christ.
How do we betray him? We deny him before the world and we sell out to sin, even for a moment.
How do we deny him? We deny him by not lifting him up and showing the world that we truly love him and that our only desire is to be in his presence.
Judas tried to repent of his betrayal of Christ. He wanted to give the 30 pieces of silver back to the Sanhedrin Council and buy back the relationship that he once had with Jesus but there was no turning back for him. Judas died in that state of betrayal!
What about you, and I? We must ever be on guard so that when that day comes, when that time comes, that we find ourselves like Judas, denying Jesus and embracing the world, that we will turn back to Jesus in repentance before it’s too late.
How many times have I sinned against God? How many times has each of you sinned against God? How many times have we grieved the Holy Ghost? How many times have we faked our love for Jesus and then turned away from him to go and do our own thing?
How many times have we betrayed him?
Yes, someone will betray Jesus this week. I have no doubt that one of you, or maybe more, will betray Jesus before we come together again. I wonder how many will fail? I wonder how many will sin against God by having a bad attitude, by speaking words that should not be spoken, by allowing their commitment to Jesus and to his work to take a back seat to what they think is more important, or by not doing what they know to do is right?
Let us not continue to betray Jesus, but if we do, let’s be quick to turn back to him in repentance for our sin. He is our advocate with the Father in Heaven. He is ever making intercession for us before the throne. He will wash us, cleanse us and lift us out of that miry pit of sin, and put us back on the right path once again.
Don’t be the one who betrays Christ! It’s so easy to do! It’s so easy to fail in our obedience to Him! But thank God, if we turn back to Jesus in true repentance, he will forgive us.
