The Man Who Should Never Have Been Born

Reading: John chapter 17 verses 12:

Ill:

• On this day in 1605:

• Thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

• Among them was Britain's most notorious traitor,

• A man called Guy Fawkes.

• They rented a house next to Parliament;, dug a tunnel;

• And into the tunnel they placed 36 barrels (1.5 tonnes of gunpowder).

• One of the group members a man called Francis Tresham;

• Became a traitor to his companions;

• He sent an anonymous letter warning his brother-in-law, Lord Monteagle;

• Telling him not to attend Parliament on November 5th.

• As a result;

• Guy Fawkes and some of his companions were captured and the plot foiled;

• They were imprisoned and tortured;

• And on January 31st 1606 Guy Fawkes and seven others were hanged.

On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605,

• Bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King.

• Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night.

• The event is commemorated every year with fireworks;

• And burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire

Now tonight I want us to look at another traitor – the greatest of all!

Ill:

I often do a talk (schools, lots of children etc) called: ‘What’s in a name?’

• And the answer is - quite a lot!

• Think of these 2 names which are rarely used, if ever.

• Jesus (Rescuer) - Out of respect.

• Judas (Praise) - Out of association.

• Ill: The dictionary tells us that a "Judas kiss";

• Is a false expression of affection.

• Ill: And that a "Judas hole";

• Is a hidden slit in the wall through which guards spy on prisoners.

• Because of one mans act of treachery;

• The name Judas is always negative, and nobody wants the name "Judas" attached to themselves.

Ill:

I don’t know if you have ever noticed:

• That in the New Testament when the twelve disciples are listed.

• Peter is always listed first and Judas Iscariot always last.

• Surprisingly the New Testament tells us more about these two men;

• Than all the other ten disciples combined.

At the time Jesus walked on planet earth:

• The manes Simon and Judas were popular;

• Similar to Jack and Emily are today.

Ill

• This is partly due to the period of time between the Old and the New Testaments.

• Two brothers called Simon and Judas Maccabaeus, became popular Jewish heroes.

• Their popularity helped bring these two names back into common usage once again.

• And in the New Testament, there are nine Simons found and six Judases.

• Simon & Judas may have been men with very common and popular names;

• But their futures could not have been more contrasting.

Judas Iscariot would turn out to be the man who should never had been born:

• Most scholars believe, that the name "Iscariot";

• Comes from "Man of Kerioth,"

• Ill: Modern equivalents;

• Surname of a city or area e.g. Queen – Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor.

• The name "Iscariot";

• Comes from "Man of Kerioth,"

• The city of Kerioth belonged to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:25).

• And was in the South. (Cariot) was a city in Judea 12 miles south of Hebron

• This would mean Judas was probably the only disciple who was not a Galilean;

• The others were all northerners, but Judas was a southerner!

(1). The disciple.

• Jesus did not choose his twelve disciples hap-hazardly:

• Flick back to Luke chapter 6 verses 12-16;

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles”.

• Obviously the disciples were not chosen hap hazardly;

• They were chosen after a night of prayer.

• He made his choice, he did not make a mistake;

• He chose twelve men to become His disciples and Judas Iscariot was among them.

Ill:

• From: Jordan Management Consultants

• Dear Sir:

• Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men;

• You have picked for managerial positions in your new organization.

• All of them have now taken our battery of tests;

• And we have not only run the results through our computer,

• But also arranged personal interviews for each of them;

• With our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

• The profiles of all tests are included,

• And you will want to study each of them carefully.

• As part of our service, we make some general comments for your guidance,