A. Previously, we noticed the events during the week that led to arrest, trials, and crucifixion of Jesus.
B. In this lesson, we will consider a key figure in these final events – Judas, the betrayer of our Lord.
1. Judas Iscariot is the most notorious traitor in history for his betrayal of the Son of God.
2. Let us seek to understand who Judas was, what he did, and why he did it.
II. THE CHARACTER OF JUDAS
A. Judas Iscariot was chosen by Christ to be one of His apostles (Matt. 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16).
1. Jesus carefully made His choices after spending an entire night in prayer to the Father.
2. The Lord gave Judas and the apostles a mission of preaching and authority to cast out demons. They would be His constant companions and would witness many convincing proofs of His Deity.
B. Judas' character is revealed by his betrayal of Christ and the fact of his thievery.
1. We will notice the details of his betrayal below, which reveal an evil and selfish heart.
2. Regarding his thievery, notice John 12:3-6.
a. Judas pilfered from a money box that he carried for Christ and the apostles. This money was used for their provisions or for the poor (John 13:29).
b. Judas questioned Mary's kind act of anointing Jesus with costly perfume because he resented the missed opportunity to sell the perfume and steal from the proceeds.
C. Consider the role of Satan in the character of Judas.
1. Luke recorded that "Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot” before he went to negotiate with the Lord's enemies (Luke 22:3-6).
2. John's account reiterates this by saying that "the devil (had) put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray (Jesus)” (John 13:2) and that Satan entered into Judas before he went out to fetch the men who would arrest Jesus (John 13:27).
3. Thus, we see that Satan was present within the heart of Judas both in the planning and the executing of his betrayal. In other words, Judas' thinking was affected by the workings of Satan. (More about this below.)
III. THE BETRAYAL OF CHRIST
A. Judas took advantage of his relationship with the Lord Jesus for his own monetary gain.
1. Knowing that the chief priests and elders of the Jews were pursuing Jesus, Judas offered to deliver Christ for a price (Matt. 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:1-6). The price offered was a meager thirty pieces of silver, which was the price of a common slave.
2. The Lord's enemies wanted to find Him at a time when He was apart from the crowds (Luke 22:6), so they needed someone close to Him to help them.
B. Jesus foretold of Judas' betrayal (Matt. 26:20-25; Mark 17-21; Luke 22:14, 21-23; John 13:21-30).
1. On Thursday evening of that final week (the beginning of Friday as the Jews counted), Jesus and the apostles ate the Passover meal. Jesus said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me” (Matt. 26:23). That one was Judas Iscariot.
2. Jesus also said of His betrayer, "The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” (Matt. 26:24).
3. To this, Judas insincerely replied, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, "You have said it yourself” (Matt. 26:25).
C. Having made a corrupt deal with Christ's enemies, Judas carried out his wicked plan.
1. Judas left Jesus and the other apostles in the upper room to carry out his work of betrayal. While he went to inform the Lord's enemies, Christ and the apostles went to Gethsemane.
2. Through the darkness, Judas led a multitude armed with swords and clubs to arrest Jesus at the private garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:47-50; Mark 14:43-45; Luke 22:47-48; John 18:1-3).
3. With a kiss, which was typically an expression of friendship and affection, Judas identified the Lord and betrayed Him.
4. The mob then seized Jesus and led Him away to trial before the chief priests and elders, who counseled together to put the Lord to death (Matt. 26:51-68; 27:1-2; Mark 14:46-65; 15:1-2; Luke 6:54, 63-23:1; John 18:4-28).
D. Immediately, Judas regretted his terrible mistake.
1. Judas, realizing his own condemnation, attempted to return the money, but the chief priests and elders refused him. Judas threw the money into the sanctuary and hanged himself (Matt. 27:3-5).
2. The discarded blood money was taken by the chief priests and used to purchase a plot of land, known as Potter's Field, as a burial place for strangers, which gives a measure of how little the Lord's life had been worth to Judas (Matt. 27:6-10; Acts 1:18-19).
IV. QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BETRAYAL
A. Is this a case of "the devil made him do it” or is Judas to blame for his act of betrayal?
1. Certainly, Satan had a profound influence upon Judas, but nothing in the Scripture ever indicates that Judas was forced by Satan to act against his own will.
a. The fact that Satan entered the heart of Judas does not mean that he took possession of Judas to forcibly control him.
b. The chief priests did not go to Judas, but instead he chose to go to them. He willfully asked them for a bribe. He willfully accepted their money and crafted his own scheme.
2. The truth is that Judas prepared his heart to welcome Satan and willfully yielded to Satan when the opportunity presented itself.
a. It is evident that Judas was given to greed and lust for money, by the fact of his thievery.
b. Satan took advantage of Judas' weakness and found a heart that was fertile for sin. By planting a seed of temptation with Judas' lustful heart, Satan reaped a harvest of sinful betrayal from Judas that ruined Judas forever.
B. Why would the Lord choose an apostle whom He knew would betray Him?
1. Jesus seemed to ask this question Himself in John 6:7 – "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”
2. Jesus chose Judas because he facilitated God's plan for our salvation through Christ's death.
a. Jesus knew exactly what Judas would do, and He intentional did not prevent it because it was according to "the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23).
b. Jesus had many occasions to stop Judas, but He did not.
i. When Jesus foretold that Judas would be His betrayer, He said to Judas, "What you do, do quickly” (John 13:27).
ii. When Judas led the mob into the garden to arrest Jesus, the Lord said, "Friend, do what you have come for” (Matt. 26:50).
3. Jesus knew that the acts of Judas were foretold in the prophets.
a. The betrayal of Jesus by Judas proves that Jesus is the Christ promised in the Old Testament. Without the betrayer, Jesus would not have fulfilled the Scriptures.
b. Peter acknowledged this in Acts 1:16 – "Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.”
c. Notice the passages of Scripture fulfilled in Judas.
i. "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” (Psa. 41:9)
ii. "For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no one dwell in it'; and, ‘Let another man take his office.'” (Acts 1:20; ref. Psa. 69:25; 109:8)
iii. "I said to them, ‘If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!' So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.” (Zech. 11:12)
4. Jesus thought as God and not as men.
a. If we think as men, then we assume that Jesus would have avoided death at all costs, but if we think as God, then we understand that death is the purpose for which Jesus came.
b. This difference in thinking is demonstrated in Matthew 16:23. When Peter rebuked Jesus for predicting His own death, Jesus replied to Him, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.”
V. CONCLUSION
A. The story of Christ's betrayal is not only the story of Christ's willingness to die but also of Judas' willingness to sin (see 1Cor. 10:13). Let us not miss the lessons in this story for us.
B. In the next lesson, we will consider the mockery of justice in Christ's Jewish trials.
VI. POST-SCRIPT APPLICATION – "MASTER, IS IT I?”
A. Text: Matthew 26:20-25
B. Only a few hours before Judas carried out his act of betrayal, Jesus foretold Judas' evil deed. To this, Judas insincerely replied, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” (NASB), or "Master, is it I?” (KJV).
1. Of the thirteen people in the room, only two knew the answer to Judas' question.
a. Of course, Judas knew the answer. He was the architect of the Lord's betrayal.
b. Jesus also knew the answer and said so to Judas: "You have said it yourself.”
2. Of all the people on earth, only two could stop Judas from carrying out his evil scheme.
a. One of them was Jesus, who could have called on His Father to send twelve legions of angels (Matt. 26:53). He could have told Judas to stop, but instead He said, "What you do, do quickly” (John 13:27), and, "Friend, do what you have come for” (Matt. 26:50).
b. The other person was Judas, who could have stopped the process of his betrayal at any time, but instead he carried out his wicked plan to its bitter conclusion.
C. Consider the selflessness, submission to His Father, and love of Jesus as He endured these things. Imagine yourself in His shoes…
1. …as He foretold of His betrayal.
2. …as He washed the feet of Judas.
3. …as He handed Judas the morsel.
4. …as He prayed in Gethsemane.
5. …as He found the disciples sleeping.
6. …as He saw the multitude coming.
7. …as Judas kissed His cheek.
8. …as He called Judas "friend.”
9. …as He said, "I must drink this cup.”
10. …as He stood alone.
11. Who else would have endured?
D. We could also imagine ourselves in the shoes of Judas, but we are already there.
1. When we sin and fall away from the Lord, we crucify again the Son of God and put Him to an open shame (Heb. 6:6).
2. When we go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, we trample underfoot the Son of God (Heb. 10:29).
3. All the while as we sin, we pretend innocence and ask the Lord this bogus question, "Master, is it I?” We already know the answer.
E. We need to the question of Judas into a statement of confession. Instead of asking, "Master, is it I?”, let us confess, "Master, it is I.”
1. We do not make confession of our sins for the Lord's sake, for He already knows of our sin just as He knew of Judas' sin. We confess for our sake, for it is necessary to admit our guilt before we can repent.
2. Until we are willing to say, "Master, it is I – I am the guilty one,” we cannot obtain the Lord's forgiveness.
F. Let us not be like Judas, who carried his sins to his grave. We all have sins, but through obedient faith in Christ we can have them forgiven.
