Category: Judas

What's up with Judas?

5/14/2021

Text: Mark 3:13-19 NASB 13 And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons. 16 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17 and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder"); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

Questions to Consider:

1. Have you ever struggled with depression? Have you been able to trace back to the source of that depression?

2. What are some things you are looking at today that are leading to darkness in your life? What steps can you take to remove that darkness today?

3. Read Hebrews 6:4-6. Do you believe this text applies to Judas and people like Judas?

14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons.
19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

Jesus spends a whole night in prayer (Luke 6:12-13) and then comes to His disciples the next day and chooses 12 of them to be His apostles. One of those people was Judas. Now, Jesus being all knowing knew what was in the heart of Judas and He also knew what Judas would end up doing in about two years time. Yet, Jesus chooses Judas to be one of the twelve apostles. Judas is later called the "son of perdition (destruction)" by Jesus in John 17:12. Judas is a fulfillment of Messianic prophecy found in Psalm 41:9 that Jesus quotes which reads: Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me
But a question to ask is what happened to Judas? Have you ever looked at the life of Judas to glean some spiritual truths? Understanding that Judas was a fulfillment of prophecy and he was an instrument in the providence of God is key. But, that does not remove Judas as being a real human being. Judas was a real person with real emotions and with real desires. He was chosen by Jesus to be one of the twelve apostles to go out and preach. He walked closely with Jesus and was the "treasurer" in charge of the money bag. Yet, Judas reaches a point where he betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and ends up committing suicide in Matthew 27:5. Outside of the preordained will of God, how did Judas, a real person reach this point? How did he come to the point where he betrays Jesus, becomes remorseful and depressed, and then eventually kill himself by hanging? There are some key takeaways that we can derive from the life of Judas.
In Matthew 6:22-23 Jesus says:
22“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! In these verses Jesus is providing us with an answer to how Judas, and many others, end up in a place of walking away from Christ, betraying and blaspheming Christ, depression and sometimes even suicide. In verse 23b Jesus says: If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Judas knew the truth, he heard it every day for 3 years. He saw the miracles, he heard the sermons, he saw and heard the prayers of Jesus. The problem that Judas had was he had allowed darkness to enter into his heart and mingle with the light that of the gospel. His eye was not single, it was double minded. It would look on the things of God and the things of this world; specifically the love of money (see John 12:6). Judas had a collision and a war going on inside of his spirit every day for 3 years that he walked with Jesus. On one side, The light of the gospel convicting him and speaking to him, and on the other, the darkness of this world tempting and leading him.
I have often wondered, and even more so as of late, why it is that Christians struggle with depression, suicidal thoughts, sadness and all sorts of other negative emotions that come from the enemy. The really concerning thing to me is how Christians can often struggle with these emotions to an even greater extent then some non-believers. How and why? What is it that leads Christians to those points in life? I believe Jesus's teaching at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:23 provides us with a definitive answer: If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! I am personally someone that struggles with depression from time to time and when I do in almost every case, Matthew 6:22-23 is exactly the reason why.
If we have the light of the gospel in us but we allow darkness to creep in based upon what we are looking at or coveting (eye is the lamp of the body), it will not only lead to darkness, but a greater darkness. Jesus says that the source of this 'greater darkness' is an eye that is not single minded but allows other things to creep in touching the heart and mind. This pertains to people who have the light of the gospel in them, but have allowed things of darkness (even if they come as angels of light) into their life. You see this on a large scale with believers (especially men) who struggle with pornography. Intense depression amongst Christian men can often (not always) be traced back to some sort of sexual sin. After they have viewed pornography, Christian men will enter into days or months of intense depression. Why? Because the darkness that they have allowed into their life is coming into conflict with the light of the gospel and the Holy Spirit that is within them, and it is tearing their soul in two. Non-believers will also struggle with depression, but not to the same extent as believers. The Holy Spirit will not share His bed with darkness, and darkness wants to have full reign in your life as it once did before Christ.
Judas is no exception to this spiritual principle. Judas loved money, stole money, coveted more money and betrayed those closest to him for money. He knew the truth; the light of the gospel had opened his eyes to the truth; but he never came to the point of loving the truth more than loving the darkness. Judas thought he could serve two masters. Jesus makes it abundantly clear immediately in the next verse that it is impossible, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Matthew 6:24
As sad as the life of Judas was, it provides us with warnings of what can happen to disciples who allow darkness to come in. It provides us with a revelation of how the enemy uses our eyes to try and lead us down the path of destruction. Why would we look for fame when we have been promised glory? Why would we look for riches when we have been given the wealth of heaven? Let us be vigilant, self-controlled and honest on our journey towards sanctification and make sure we: "give no opportunity to the devil" Eph 4:27

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The Arrest

3/30/2021

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John 18:1-11 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” “I told you that I am he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

I cannot fault Peter on this action. He actually followed through with what he said he would do. He proved that he was ready to fight for Jesus; in fact, had Jesus not intervened, there is a real chance that Peter would have been arrested along with Jesus and maybe even killed during the arrest. Peter's failure of denying Jesus would occur later that night. Shaken out of the stupor of sleep, Peter, James and John were awakened by the torchlights and noise created by the soldiers and officials that came to arrest Jesus. It must have been heartbreaking to see their "friend" and fellow disciple leading the way at the front of the mob.

None of what happened that night caught Jesus by surprise. He prophesied that the events would happen. He sent Judas out from the Last Supper to do the work of the Devil. He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to prepare His heart for the difficult task that lay before Him. How did He manage to fulfil the Father's will? Hebrews 12:1-2 declares: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus endured for the JOY set before Him!

Questions to Consider:

What do you think were some of the "things" that composed the "Joy" set before Christ?
Jesus went peacefully with those who came to arrest Him. What do you think "we" could learn and apply from His example?
Why do you think the mob drew back and even fell when Jesus revealed Himself?

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What's up with Judas?

The Arrest

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