EASTER: BEHOLD! HE STINKETH
TEXT: Acts 1:15-21
INTRODUCTION: (Explain Wed. Crucifixion again) Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, proceeded the Lord in death. His death was by his own hand. Judas’ name is always accompanied in Scripture by such identifying descriptions as “who betrayed the Lord, was a thief, traitor,” ect.
This identity has carried through to today. It is a name of reproach. Webster’s defines Judas as: a treacherous person; one who betrays under the semblance of friendship. A more despicable act than Judas’ betrayal of Christ has never been perpetrated in all of history.
We know very little about him before his call as a disciple. From the name Iscariot, it may be that he was from the town of Kerioth, located in southern Judah which was probably the land originally given to Simeon. (Joshua 15:25).
We looked at Judas last Sunday evening and discussed many reasons why he might have betrayed the Lord, so we will not cover that here. There is plenty more we can learn from Judas.
Judas had been sent with the other eleven to the Jewish people proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven was nigh. Evidently he was active with the others in preaching, healing, and casting our demons.
Which shows us that the acts we see today which people call miracles, could indeed be counterfeit. Done in the power of Satan. In fact that is exactly what Matthew 7:21-23 21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
You better believe Judas had the same powers as the rest or else he would have surely looked out of place and very suspect. Not everything that claims to be power from God, is.
As the twelve became an organized body, regularly traveling and preaching, there were gifts of money and other offerings given to them. And of course this would mean that a treasurer was needed. And Judas was selected for this office.
John 13:29 29For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
With this responsibility and in control of large sums of money, Judas began to steal from the treasury. Covetousness and greed began to grow in his heart. John 12:6 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
We clearly see in Judas why coveting is one of the Ten Commandments and so evil. Ex. 20:17 17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
My purpose this morning isn’t to speculate on the motives that may have influenced Judas’ betrayal. I covered that also last Sunday evening. If you are interested ask for a copy of the sermon.
But my purpose this morning is to show (among other things) that Judas was a suicide by hanging – that his death was not discovered until the three Sabbaths had begun, which made it impossible to remove his body and bury it because of the Sabbath restrictions.
At the same time it strengthens an already inflexible argument that there were indeed three Sabbaths end to end.
I. HOPE OF GAIN WAS NOT HELD BY JUDAS ALONE
In fairness to the facts we must admit that a hope of personal gain was not only held by Judas alone. James and John had coveted seats on the right and left in Jesus’ kingdom. Mark 10:37 37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
Peter had asked what they would receive because they had left everything to follow Jesus. Matthew 19:27 27Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
There seems to have been a continual competitiveness of the disciples on this issue of power and honor. If this hadn’t been characteristic of the disciples in general, they no doubt would have readily spotted this flaw in Judas.
Look at Matthew 18:1-4. The argument of who was the greatest was again brought up to the Lord. Jesus sat a small child in they’re midst to demonstrate who would be the greatest in His kingdom.
Now look at Matthew 16:13-19. Here was an earlier incident relating to position and power which has been largely misunderstood.
In this passage Jesus tells Simon Peter that the foundation of His church is Peter’s confession, verse 16.
The foundation is not Peter. The name Peter is taken from the Greek word petros which literally means a piece of rock; a little rock.
The second word for rock in this verse taken from the Greek is Petra which means the Rock itself. Jesus is not promising to build the church upon Peter, but upon Himself, as Peter is careful to tell us in
1 Peter 2:4-8 4To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
Now back to Matthew 16:19a. Jesus further commits to His people (not Simon Peter alone) the “keys” – the Word of God.
If the “rock” had been Peter and if Jesus had indeed committed the “keys” to only Peter, the scene in Matthew 18:1-4 would be needless.
The disciples would have all understood that Peter was the leader and thereby have negated the question concerning who would be the greatest.
It is also safe to assume that Judas did his duties as treasurer and fellow disciple faithfully as far as public service was concerned. At the betrayal when Jesus dipped the sop and gave it to Judas, the eleven thought the Lord had simply sent him on an errand.
John 13:29 29For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
Now think about this, as you may have overlooked this. It is commendable that the others thought that Judas was just going to do an errand. They didn’t suspect a thing with Judas.
Throughout His ministry the Lord had emphasized self-judgement, rather than the judging of another. This lesson of self-judgement was well learned by the disciples.
II. THE GROWTH OF JUDAS’ THIEVERY
We must speculate somewhat on the growth of Judas’ thievery. It most likely began without any conscious intent to actually steal. Just “borrow” a little, intending to pay it back, but neglecting to do so.
Most stealing begins in a small way as do other sins. But they do not remain small. Growth of evil is inevitable. Its hold increases on its victims.
With practice any thief will become bolder and more daring in action. There is a hardness which develops slowly and steadily until it grips the human heart.
The hardening effect of any sin is that it justifies the evil so that it ceases to be sin in the conscience of the offender.
III. FACTS OF THE STORY
Now lets move on to the facts of Judas’ story. In the first place Judas had already bought property with money which he had stolen from the Lord’s treasury before he betrayed Him into the hands of the Pharisees.
Look at Acts 1:15-20. Notice that Judas purchased the field with the “reward of iniquity” (v.18). Here is the first of our problems. Many have thought that this reward of iniquity was the thirty pieces of silver received for betraying the Lord. They look at the prophecy in:
Zech 11:12-13 12And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Judas, though, did not keep the thirty pieces of silver gained from the betrayal. He threw those down on the temple floor. Look at Matthew 27:3-10.
The chief priest did indeed use the money to purchase a “field of blood” that is, a graveyard, but it was another field which they purchased – not the one on which Judas died.
(Because of the Sabbath restriction on buying and selling, it wasn’t possible for them to use this money for buying a burial place until the three Sabbaths had ended).
We may be certain that the field that Judas himself had purchased had been purchased secretly. None of the disciples knew of his secret purchase or ownership.
If his ownership of property had been known, they no doubt would have suspected something wasn’t right, where would he get that kind of money.
In his duties as treasurer, there was plenty of time and opportunity apart from the others to transact the business of purchasing property secretly.
There was also time for Judas to consult with the chief priest and make all of the necessary arrangements undetected for the betrayal of Christ.
IV. JUDAS SENT OUT WITH THE OTHERS
Judas was one of the messengers, the twelve and seventy, sent out by the Lord to preach and heal. (Matthew 10:1-40; Luke 10:1-24).
When they returned from their mission, seventy of these eighty-two preachers turned back from following the Lord. His power had sustained them; they had healed the sick and cast out demons.
Why then would they “walk no more with Him” (John 6:66) if not for the reason that there was little to gain in earthly wealth?
Maybe at this point Judas (with the seventy) also would have gone away except for the treasury he controlled. From the treasury he had been able to steal enough money to purchase the property, and there seemed no reason to doubt that he could continue to steal even more.
His heart was not in the work of Christ. So if he were planning to leave the Lord, why not prepare for the departure by providing a livelihood for himself?
Like the unjust steward who Jesus told of – the one who used his master’s resources to befriend his debtors (Luke 16:1-9) – Judas was preparing to be received by the Lord’s enemies.
This is a deduction yet it is a reasonable one: the property Judas had purchased was situated in an area far from Jerusalem some distance and probably in a sparsely inhabited area.
It isn’t very likely that Judas would purchase property where he would easily be seen by the eleven when he visited it. Secrecy was very important in the design of his plans. He was, therefore, sure to keep secret its location from the others.
V. JUDAS WAS LEAVING JERUSALEM WHILE OTHERS WERE COMING
The countryside was coming into the city on the day of Judas’ suicide. Jesus Christ, who had been the major topic of conversation for the past three years, whose miracles and teachings were told and retold, was to be crucified.
Beside this, there was also the preparation for the festive celebration of Passover and with three Sabbaths together, business would be booming.
For the next three days it would be unlawful to buy or sell. Farmers who had food for the market would be there to greet the ready buyers who must have a three-day supply in by nightfall.
Wouldn’t Judas be missed by the other eleven during this time? The disciples, beginning in the Garden when a young man (possibly Mark) “left the linen cloth and fled from them naked” (Mark 14:51-52), were scared to death.
Their main concern was to save their own skins, not where those who were absent from their own company might be.
None of this was hidden from Jesus Christ. He knew “from the beginning…who should betray Him” (John 6:64). He knew the Scriptures which prophesied His betrayal.
He knew where Judas would lead the soldiers to bring them to Him before the multitude even came. But now the “hour is come” for the offering up of the all sufficient sacrifice, and Jesus no longer avoids being taken.
Instead of avoiding arrest, Jesus went to the very place where He knew that Judas would lead the soldiers. On other occasions, He had evaded His enemies by melting into the crowd or hiding Himself because His hour had not yet come.
John 8:59 59Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
John 12:36 These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
VI. THE DEPTH JUDAS TO WHICH JUDAS HAD SUNK
The supper scene at Bethany, following the raising of Lazarus, gives a penetrating view of the depth to which Judas had sunk.
Look at John 12:1-7.
As Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with the ointment of spikenard, she was showing great love in the lavish use of this expensive token: however, her act met no favorable response from Judas.
There was no love in Judas with which to respond, but only murmurings of criticism and malcontent. Verse 5. He didn’t care for the poor. He cared only for the material gain he might have if the ointment were to be handled as he had suggested.
Really, his words suggest hatred. Slander against the wisdom of Jesus was subtly suggested. It was from the chagrin of this encounter that the smoldering discontent of Judas Iscariot was fanned to flaming hatred and open treason.
Jesus had praised Mary’s action and said that what she had done would “be told for a memorial of her” (Mat. 26:13).
Judas went and covenanted with the chief priest to betray Him into their hands right after this incident with Mary (Mat. 26:14-15). From this time on Judas sought opportunity to betray the Lord.
There are those who have tried to defend the action of Judas, picturing his action as an attempt to force the Lord into the kingdom.
There is no ground for such an opinion as Judas was clearly acting under the control of Satan. Luke 22:3
3Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
Jesus also said in John 6:70-71 70Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
When the supper was ended the night before the crucifixion, Jesus girded Himself with a towel and began to wash the disciples’ feet. When He had finished he said, …Ye are clean but not all” (John 13:10-11).
I wonder if there was any remorse in the heart of the betrayer whose feet had just been washed by the Son of God? Then Jesus uttered the solemn words, “One of you shall betray Me.” Next, the disciples (including Judas) asked, “Is it I?”
Jesus affirmed that it was indeed Judas and in token of it gave a sop to him. Immediately Judas left. It was already dark (John 13:25-30), showing the lateness of the hour.
Judas went from the supper to the chief priests and received a “band of men and officers” (John 18:3).
A little while later Judas came with them to Gethsemane. This “band” is a detachment of Roman soldiers.
The Greek word signifies it to be the tenth part of a legion, about four or five hundred men. While some have questioned this, the number is strongly confirmed by the words of Matthew 26:47, “A great multitude with him.”
Judas identified Jesus with a kiss. This is amazing when you stop to think about it. Of all the public appearances that the Lord made, these who were so bent on doing away with Jesus did not know Him by sight.
VII. JUDAS FLEES
Where Judas went following the arrest of Jesus, we do not know. That he was in the crowd watching some of the trial of Jesus, we can be certain.
Jesus was taken before the high priest, the Sanhedrin Court, before Pilot, to Herod, and back again to Pilot. As a result, Jesus was condemned, scourged and delivered to be crucified.
Jesus was arrested about 9:00P.M. It was about nine hours later when the outcome of Jesus’ trials became apparent.
When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned (this is how we know that he had been watching the proceedings) he repented himself. Matthew 27:3-4 3Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
What a paradox! Here is the testimony of the devil himself that Jesus had no sin! Pilot pronounced Him innocent, then issued the edict calling for His death! Judas betrayed Him into death and then proclaimed Him innocent!
Matthew 27:5 5And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
The streets of Jerusalem were crowded with people from everywhere. Though it was still early, the busy day of business was already under way.
Judas went through the streets and out to his property gotten with the money stolen from the treasury – the price of iniquity. Others were coming to Jerusalem from every direction. Only Judas was leaving.
The people coming into Jerusalem were filled with excitement and anticipation of the profitable day of business. Products would bring a good price today and the pockets would be laden with money when the day was over.
The lone figure moving so deliberately away from the city did not merit a second glance. Nor did Judas note the steady stream of carts and backpacks as he continued toward his own place.
Self-reproach, despair, pride – he could not face the other disciples – combined to strengthen his purpose of suicide.
Excitement reigned in Jerusalem. There was no quiet corner in the busy city. The stunned crowd who had followed Jesus to His crucifixion were consumed in troubled thoughts.
In the busy market places merchants sold their wears, using this occasion to its greatest advantage as the buyers hunted for bargains.
It was quiet, though, on Judas’ ill-gotten property. Long before the back of the Lord Jesus felt the stinging lash of the scourge, Judas’ body hung dead from the tree limb.
Before darkness smothered the sun at noontime he had entered into eternal darkness. He did not feel the earthquake, though his dead body trembled under its force, then returned to stillness to wait the passing of three Sabbath days.
Human eyes did not see Judas’ body hanging there that day. As the Sabbath steadily approached, the Jerusalem visitors returned to their homes intent on the chores they had to do before the Sabbath began when all work must stop.
So the body of the Lord’s betrayer would hang unseen through the long night while Jerusalem was astir with strange stories of open graves.
When at length the body of Judas was discovered, Sabbath restrictions prohibited its removal. We find proof of this in John 19:31 31The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
The reason for the request of the chief priest is easy to understand. If the bodies of Jesus and the other two malefactors were not removed from the cross before the Sabbath began at 6:00P.M. they would have to remain on the crosses until it was over.
There being three Sabbaths together would cause a lot of problems. Before the three Sabbaths had ended the bodies would begin to decompose and the sky would have been filled with vultures.
It was this inability to remove a body during the Sabbath (here, three Sabbaths together) that tells us why Judas’ body was not taken down and buried.
It may have been the telltale circling of vultures which initially led to the discovery of his body. Or it could have been discovered by the odor of his decaying flesh.
When Jesus ordered the stone removed from the tomb of Lazarus, Martha said, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. (John 11:39).
If the flesh became putrid in the relative coolness of a tomb while covered with embalming ointment in four days, how much quicker would putrefaction occur in the hot atmosphere of the outside?
Several theories have been given attempting to explain why Judas’ “bowels gushed out” (Acts 1:18).
One is that he hanged himself over a high cliff. When he fell cascading down its rocky steep, his stomach was ripped open by a jagged protrusion.
Another thought is that in attempting to hang himself, he bungled the job, falling to the rocky ground and tearing his stomach open.
But here is what really took place. At the end of three Sabbaths, Judas would have been hanging dead for three and one-half days.
With the Sabbath being over at 6:00P.M. and the coming darkness which quickly descended, it was most likely that the removal and burial of Judas was not attempted until the following day.
This would seem logical since the task of burying a putrefied body would hardly be undertaken without enough light to see the job completely through.
His body, exposed to the sun and weather, bloated and maggot infested, would be ready to burst of its own accord by this time.
When the rope or sash suspending his body was severed, he fell to the ground and his bloated stomach would burst open – and “his bowels gushed out.”
What a thought provoking scene the holy city had become. Near the hill of Calvary one grave could not be opened, because it was sealed and guarded by soldiers of Rome.
Surrounding this lone grave were hundreds of other graves that could not be closed. In the shadow of these unusual circumstances, a body was hanging in death which men were powerless to bury.
What a tragic end for Judas.
What would you be willing to do for $10 million? From survey results found in The Day America Told the Truth, 1 of 4 respondents would abandon their entire family, 23 percent said they would become a prostitute for a week, 16 percent noted they would leave their spouse, and 3 percent confided they would put their children up for adoption.
Sergio Hernandez, 28, was arrested and charged with stealing television sets and other electronics during the 1992 rioting in Los Angeles. This appears rather strange for a man who won $3 million in the 1989 California lottery.
Kathleen Pizzi was a restaurant hostess when she won a $3.2 million jackpot in the 1985 Connecticut lottery. In 1992, Miss Pizzi wound up facing attorneys in a Palm Beach, Florida bankruptcy court. Many folks seem to think money is the cure-all to their problems.
More correctly, Paul said, 1 Timothy 6:10 10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money.
The love of money cost Judas his life and his eternal soul. We need to be careful what value we put on money.
