Illustration: A paraplegic man I saw, raising his twisted limbs to sing “Your Grace Is Enough.”
Whatever situations you may be facing in life, remember His Grace is enough for YOU today!
He’s saved you from your sins and saved you from the flames and darkness of forever punishment.
His Grace is enough, but you have to accept it to receive it. Some don’t believe enough to accept.
Judas is the unfortunate man for whom God’s Grace would have been enough, but for several reasons (most of which only Judas knows now) he denied that Grace and betrayed The Christ.
Grace wasn’t enough for Judas. Judas wanted more than Grace. He wanted glory. Judas wanted more than a Christ, He wanted a conquest. He was part of a group of disciples for what could be gained in this world and not in the next…
Now, some people sympathize with Judas because he showed remorse and yet was consigned to death forever, and the Gospel of Judas exploits that sympathy. But let it be known that Judas and Satan, and all the others like them were not just innocent bystanders, swept away by fate for the history of the world.
Deep within their hearts, they denied God’s Grace, betrayed the Lordship of Christ and exalted themselves. They willingly chose their path. They refused to believe and passionately opposed the plan of God for a plan of their own. That road always ends in destruction.
Acts 1:16-20, “…concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus-- he was one of our number and shared in this ministry." (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) "For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, "’May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, "’May another take his place of leadership.’”
Today, we’re going to look to the inspired Word of God for a clear picture of what really happened in Judas’ life. We’re going to examine this for the sake of knowing the truth in the face of a heresy: An ancient text called “The Gospel of Judas.”
The Bible clearly reveals the condition of Judas’ heart that led him down the road to a tree of his own. Not a cross of redemption, but a tree of shame in a field of his own blood. The picture of Judas’ death is an anti-picture of the cross of Christ, which redeems. It’s a picture of man trusting in himself, thinking of himself, loving himself and dying for himself - in stark contrast to the picture of Jesus, who trusted in The Father, considered His people more valuable than Himself and our needs greater than His own, who died in your place, to redeem your soul.
Today, when I say, “The Inspired Word of God” what I mean is the books we find in the Bible.
They are called the Bible Canon. These are the books, (most written within 50 years of the crucifixion) which were accepted by the early church to accurately and perfectly reflect the heart and spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they are written by the very authors of the eyewitness accounts and transcribed by scribes.
The Gospel of Judas is an ancient text from about AD 180 (150 years after the crucifixion). It is not an inspired text. It is called an apocrypha: Writings of questionable authorship or authenticity.
That simply means it is NOT considered not to be inspired by God, and the early church deemed it to be a heresy: untrue: unfit for the purpose of teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The letter is entitled the Gospel of Judas but we need to clarify what a Gospel really is…
1: Gospel: The proclamation of the redemption preached by Jesus and the Apostles, which is the central content of Christian revelation.
Nowhere in the text of “The Gospel of Judas” is there mention of the cross or the resurrection of JC.\ The book of Judas totally omits the crucifixion and resurrection account of Jesus Christ. How can you call that a Gospel?
2: Gospel: Something, such as an idea or principle, accepted as unquestionably true: My parents’ rules were gospel.
Most of the information found in the text of the Gospel of Judas is Gnostic theory and nowhere near widely accepted as unquestionably true…
The Gospel of Judas begins with a lie: it is no Gospel at all, and it isn’t written by Judas.
It’s written by the members of a cult religion called Gnosticism. Gnosticism is one of those “ISM” religions: full of heresy and untrue accounts, such as MormonISM.
Gnosticism was the Mormonism of the 2nd century. They believed that the knowledge of God would bring them to salvation, not so much the blood of a Christ.
They believed they could become like God by obtaining the knowledge of God. In the manuscripts, Judas is praised by the Gnostics because they claim he was “in the know” behind the scenes, and that Jesus secretly asked him to betray him before anyone else knew. Therefore, they made boasts, exalting Judas as the star of the stars, higher, brighter and greater than the rest of the disciples because of his secret knowledge.
They too, penned their own letters for insertion into or addition along side the inspired Word of God, but the true church would not all it and more than we would allow the writings of Joseph Smith to become part of the inspired text.
“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.” 1 Cor 8:1b-3
With that all said, let’s take a look at the inspired text for a glimpse into the heart and life of Judas Iscariot.
Luke 22:1-6, “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.
4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money.
He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.”
I: THE HEART OF JUDAS
This Bible passage gives us at least three very important clues as to Judas’ heart condition:
1: In verse 3, “Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.”
When you read this you really need to ask yourself, “Can a Christian be possessed by an evil spirit?”
Rom 8:8-9, “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”
1 Cor 3:16, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
The Bible tells us, NO WAY can a Christian be possessed, controlled, taken over by an evil spirit!
If The Spirit of The Living God is in me, who can be against me? What enemy can enter the Holy ground?
Yes, we are oppressed by the enemy, but we are told to RESIST the devil, not cast him out!
The enemy comes in only when THE HOUSE IS EMPTY and UNCLEAN.
2: In verse 4, “They were delighted and agreed to give him money.”
There seems to have been some sort of negotiation between Judas Iscariot and the chief priests…
Matthew 26:14-16, “Then one of the Twelve-- the one called Judas Iscariot-- went to the chief priests 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…”
The Bible reveals that Judas was in it for what he could gain here in the present world.
3: In verse 5, “He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them…”
Some think it was at the Passover dinner where Judas was offended that he made his decision to betray Jesus. The Bible tells us he premeditated it. It was such a passion within him that he went to the chief priests to plot a way to kill Jesus. What purpose would he have in all this? Did he imagine he could find status and power for himself amongst the religious leaders for getting rid of Jesus?
There’s a Judas Iscariot in every church. These are the backbiters, in it for what everyone else can do for them and they are the first people to ambush the pastor or a fellow Christian in order to make themselves look better.
II: THE MOTIVES OF JUDAS
John 12:1-6, “Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "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.
Judas’ motives revealed. He is selfish, greedy and focused on what he has to gain more than anything else. How convenient for him to volunteer as the treasurer when Matthew could have done it, having been a tax collector before.
How could Judas do all this?
III: THE MIND OF JUDAS
He did it because HE NEVER REALLY BELIEVED: HE WAS A PRETENDER.
There he was, blending in with the Christian crowd: watching, praying, counting the money… Going through the motions to look authentic, but deep inside he never really believed, and the Bible says Jesus knew it from the very beginning.
1: BELIEVERS AREN’T PRETENDERS.
They are the core disciples that get the work done & lay down their life for the sake of Christ.
There’s a Judas type in every church… People who hang out with the Disciples of Christ, people who pretend to be believers, but deep inside they cannot believe. It’s not because they aren’t given the ability to believe. It’s because they have chosen to be skeptics and critical bystanders rather than believers and people who are learning and growing in righteousness.
2: BELIEVERS AREN’T BETRAYERS.
The Gospel of Judas claims Judas knew Jesus would have to be crucified, so he did his part to make that happen. It praises Judas for betraying Christ and proclaims Judas’ star will always be brighter and higher than that of all the disciples because of his secret knowledge.
But the Bible paints a different picture.
Matthew 26:21-25, “And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?"
Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.
The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."
Judas was still pretending to be surprised when he asked, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Keeping up apropos to the very end when he had already premeditated the betrayal before that supper, and Jesus saw right through him. If Judas believed in Jesus and loved Him, he would never have betrayed Him and Jesus would never consign a believer to eternal death saying, “woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
What kind of admonition is that for someone you’ve asked to betray you?
3: BELIEVERS NEVER DENY THE CROSS.
Judas denies The Christ and the cross. Rather than humble himself as Peter did, to ask forgiveness, he hangs himself. He denies the blood and body of Jesus. This is what drove away many of Christ’s disciples. So you have to wonder, why did Judas stay when so many others left? (John 6:50) He maintained his position because it was beneficial to him financially, not spiritually.
His spirit was dry and empty.
His final betrayal of Christ is the legacy he left through the Gnostics…
The Gospel of Judas is the final kiss of death. Judas’ ministry was marked by that pivotal moment in which he kisses the face of Jesus to betray Him.
John 6:50-71, “But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
WHICH TREE WILL YOU HANG ON?
