WOULD YOU NAME YOUR SON, JUDAS?
John 13:1-2, 21-30
John 13:1-2
1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.
(NIV)
John 13:21-30
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.
23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved,
was reclining next to him.
24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means."
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him,
"Lord, who is it?"
26 Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.
27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him,
28 but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.
29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.
30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out.
And it was night.
(NIV)
What difference does your NAME make?
"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
- William Shakespeare
Take a moment to absorb what Shakespeare penned, it is an interesting proposition which Juliet would pose on Romeo. There is much turmoil that occurs between the Capulet and Montague families, but Juliet has fallen in love with Romeo. One minor problem, he happens to be a Montague. Juliet however, would offer her love to Romeo if he would only give up his name.
Does being called a particular name really make any difference? Ask the daughter of Texas Governor James Hogg, who was the first native born governor of Texas, serving just before the turn of the 20th century. He and wife Sarah didn’t really think much about the name they chose for their daughter. They were simply trying to honor Jim’s brother Thomas, by naming her after the heroine of the Civil War poem he had written. So when their second born discovered America on July 10, 1882, they named their bouncing baby girl, “Ima”.
Miss Hogg later recounted: "My grandfather Stinson lived 15 miles from Mineola and news traveled slowly. When he learned of his granddaughter’s name he came trotting to town as fast as he could to protest but it was too late. The christening had taken place, and Ima I was to remain." Ima Hogg. What a name! Can you imagine introducing yourself? “What is your name?” “Ima Hogg.”
Yet Ima proved herself not to be the least bit “hoggish”. Here are some of the ways Ima Hogg gave of herself and lived down her name:
• She helped found the Houston Symphony Orchestra and served without pay as its president;
• She established the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health;
• As a member of the Houston School Board, she worked to establish symphony concerts for school children and equal pay for teachers regardless of sex or race;
• She restored three former residences and gave the homes away;
• She served on several national committees, one of which planned the building of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
Ima Hogg may have started with a bad name, but she made it good!
Proverbs 22:1
1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
(NIV)
If you don’t think that a name makes a difference, just tell your employer to someone else name on your check!
What comes to your mind when you hear the name, “JUDAS”?
Psalm 41:9
9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted,
he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
(NIV)
Jesus called Judas a DEVIL!
John 6:70-71
70 Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!"
71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
(NIV)
Judas was a THIEF!
John 12:4-6
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,
5 "Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages."
6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
(NIV)
Matthew 26:14-16
14 Then one of the Twelve-- the one called Judas Iscariot-- went to the chief priests
15 and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.
16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
(NIV)
Let’s take a look at the Upper Room the last night of Jesus’s and Judas’s lives.
Three things we learn from Judas Iscariot:
1) You can act like a DISCIPLE and not really be one!
It is never recorded in the Gospels that Judas called Jesus, “Lord”. He called Him,”Teacher”, but never “Lord”! In John 12, he doesn’t even respect Jesus enough to complain directly to him! He just complains in general (and probably to everyone but Jesus)!
Judas refused to ACCEPT Jesus for Who He was!
Instead, he tried to make Jesus into what he wanted Jesus to be! Judas did not recognize that Jesus is the potter, and we are to be the clay! Jesus worked hard to win Judas, but Judas wanted his own way! And Jesus loves him to the end! That’s the way love is! Love works to entice us to love back! John 13: 28 states that even though Jesus had told John that the betrayer was “the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish" and they all saw Jesus hand the bread to Judas, “no one at the meal understood why Jesus said to him, What you are about to do, do quickly!” Either the disciples weren’t really paying attention or Jesus said it in such a way so as not to embarrass Judas. One thing is clear: if the disciples had known what Judas was about to do, he would never have left that room alive! No, Jesus loved Judas so much that he gave him every opportunity to repent. If you had been there in the Upper Room that night, Jesus, the host for this Passover meal told each dinner guest where he was to be at the table. The Jews did not sit at table; they reclined. It was a u-shaped table, low to the ground. the host’s place was at the center so that he could see the entire table but only the back of each head while eating. Each guest’s head was at the chest of the person on his left. When Judas entered the room that night, Jesus must have said to him, “Judas, come and sit beside me tonight. I want to talk with you.” Judas must have been led to the place on the left of the Host, the place of the honored guest, the most intimate friend of the host.
Notice verses 23-26: “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.” John is on Jesus’ right. “Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means." Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus tells John that it is the one who will receive this piece of bread. He doesn’t throw the bread across the room! Jesus takes the bread in his right hand, Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. John might be using Jesus’ chest as a pillow, but Jesus is resting his head on Judas. Jesus made sure Judas is close by so He can love him back to Himself.
Also, in the East, it was the custom when guests were present for the host if he wanted to especially honor one of them to fold a piece of bread spoonlike, dip it into the dish, and maybe picking up a morsel of meat from the au jus, hands it to the honored guest as a special favor. The honored guest must then receive the bread dipped in the sop as a gift of love from the host by eating it. Can you imagine what is going through Judas’s mind as he receives Jesus’s gift? The still small voice of love is drowned out as Satan entered into him.
Jesus’ last attempt is that whisper of love, "What you are about to do, do quickly". As Jesus leans back against Judas, He must have looked into his eyes and quietly mouthed the words. It is as if to say, “Judas, you don’t have to do this, but if you feel you must, do it quickly!”
Judas chose to follow the screams of the evil one rather that the still, small voice of God. Verse 30: As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. It is always night when a man turns his back on Jesus!
You may act like a disciple but not really be one!
2) You can fool SOME of the people ALL of the time and
ALL of the people SOME of the time.
You can even fool YOURSELF, but you can’t fool GOD!
Behavior can be rationalized. Maybe Judas assumed he could force Jesus to his way of thinking.
3) You can ASSOCIATE with the people of God all your life and still not DECIDE to follow Jesus!
Even though Judas was close to Jesus, he would not choose to be a disciple.
What will you do? Stay close to the church, thinking that will get you to heaven. All the while saying one thing and doing another. What is that but betraying the Lord!
