A sermon on Judas Iscariot

 

1)      Someone once told a story about a minister and the IRS.

2)      According to the tale, the preacher wore a “clerical collar” (these are little white religious collars).

3)      The minister had included this item as a deduction on his taxes.

4)      The IRS did not think the item was odd, but they did think the amount was somewhat high.

5)      The minister said the collar was worth $450.00; that seemed excessive to the IRS.

6)      After engaging in an audit with the minister, the taxpayer said he had made a mistake.

7)      Instead of $450.00, it should have been “$4.50.”

8)      The IRS let him change the deduction, pay the tax, plus a small penalty.

9)      There is a difference in “making a mistake/miscalculating” and being dishonest.

10)  The preacher was dishonest with the IRS. 

11)  When the IRS continued to look at his records, they found more and more errors.

12)  Another who had some integrity problems was Judas Iscariot.

13)  I took some time this past week to look over all the New Testament references involving Judas.

a)      Judas lived a life that leaves us with some important lessons.

b)      Tonight we want to consider some of those points.

 

14)  We begin with a reference in the Old Testament.

15)  What Judas did (his betrayal) was actually the subject of Old Testament prophecy (Ps. 41:9).

16)  We heard this text read for our scripture reading.

17)  Originally this passage dealt with a situation involving David (2 Sam. 15:34).

18)  Ultimately, however, it looked forward to Jesus and Judas.

19)  By putting this passage in the Old Testament, we see that Judas was not a surprise to the Lord.

20)  Jesus knew what this man was going to do.

21)  Judas had the ability to choose whatever wanted to do, but God knew what choice he would make.

22)  In fact, Lk. 6:16 says Judas “became a traitor.”

a)      Here is the first lesson in the life of Judas.

b)      Our lives are basically a blank slate; we can make them whatever we want to be.

c)      Where we live may place some limitations on us.  Certain cultures restrict their citizens in various ways.

d)     In the United States, we have about as much freedom as any person could possibly have.

e)      For us, our lives are literally a “blank book” waiting to be written.

 

23)  This is an important fact for our young people.  If they live for many years, they will fill a lot of pages.

24)  They and those who are older can write a book filled with pages of bad choices.

25)  God gives us the freedom to select some or all the things that are horribly wrong.

26)  If deity gave Judas the ability to choose betrayal, we can choose whatever we want.

a)      Some have taken a course similar to that of Judas.

b)      There are those who have dedicated their lives to being on God’s wrong side.

c)      Some have embraced atheism; they think and think how they can deny God’s existence.

d)     Great effort is put into trying to show the Bible to be a lie and full of contradictions.

 

27)  Others choose a life that is more “mainstream” – they go their own way and do their own thing.

28)  Making this type of choice means paying little attention to God.

29)  Scripture refers it to it as the “eat, drink and be merry lifestyle.”

30)  A third choice is seeking God.

31)  In the early years a person can make a commitment to God.

32)  Very early in life they can fill up their life’s book with spiritual things.

33)  They seek to do good, know the will of God, follow it, and teach others.

34)  For about the first 18 years of my life, virtually all the entries in my life’s book had zero about God.

35)  There were some fun things done in Scouts; I had a lot “freedom.”

36)  A time came when I really wished that some of those pages would have been written a little differently.

37)  I have had to work a good bit harder than many others to get the information I missed.

38)  It is possible later in life to start filling up our book with things involving God.

39)  All of us still have a book that has at least a little blank space left.

40)  God says to us it is time to fill up our book with spiritual things.

41)  Eph. 5:16 says to us:  “redeem the time.”

42)  In other words, we are to make the most of the opportunities that we have.

43)  Rather than wait till tomorrow to put good things in our book, fill some of the space up today.

44)  Part of what is in our book involves the way we respond to the Lord.

a)      Mt. 10:4 says Judas “betrayed Jesus.”

b)      That was a major entry in the book Judas constructed about his life.

c)      This one act overshadows all the other things about him.

d)     In Judas’ life we could say he had become an apostle and this would be true.

e)      He was with Jesus for approximately three years.

f)       He got to know the Lord better than most other people.

g)      Judas could have built on all these things, but in the middle of his book we find a big dark b lot:

h)      Traitor – turncoat – defector – conspirator – conniver – betrayer.

i)        It was just one choice (one activity) but it literally ruined this man’s life.

 

45)  When a person makes this type of choice, they have made a true mess of their life.

46)  In Mt. 16:21 Jesus said the “chief priests” would be involved in His death.

47)  Who did Judas go see to betray Jesus?  The answer is found in Mt. 26:14.

a)      We will read that verse in just a moment.

b)      Verse 15 of Mt. 26:15 has Judas saying, “What will you give me if I deliver up Jesus?”

c)      These men did not wait; they actually “weighed out the money” for Judas.

d)     Then Judas looked for an opportunity to betray the Lord (verse 16).

e)      If you have found Mt. 26 let’s look at verse 14 – READ

 

48)  Judas was not a dumb man; he surely remembered how Jesus had spoken of the “chief priests.”

49)  Jesus said He was going to suffer terribly because of these men.

50)  Judas went to the very people Jesus said would help put Him to death.  How interesting.

51)  Here is a second lesson from Judas.

a)      We can have people give us some advice from time to time, and much of that advice may be good.

b)      All too often good advice is rejected.

c)      When we discard good information, negative consequences often follow.

d)       Judas should have heard what the Lord said about the chief priests and said, “I need to stay away from them.”

e)      Instead of doing this he went right to these fellows; he sought them out.

 

52)  When a person refuses to take good advice, there are often typical consequences.

53)  Among these common consequences are lying and deception.

a)      This is what happened to Judas.

b)      Because of the path Judas was one, his choices caused him to try and deceive Jesus.

54)  If you turned to Mt. 26, let’s move down to verse 20-24 – READ

55)  Parents may speak to their children about many things as young people are in the home.

56)  Children may be asked: “Have you done this,” “Are you going there?,” or “Is this a problem?”

57)  If a child is writing the wrong type of book, it is no surprise to find them answering with lies.

58)  This is precisely what Judas did.

59)  Verse 25 – READ

60)  Jesus was giving Judas a chance to choose a different path.  Judas had set his course.

61)  Since he was making his choices, he was not robbed of his free-will.

62)  God allows us to write the type of book (life) we choose.

63)  Mt. 26:25 tells us something about making a choice contrary to what God wants.

a)      We may trick our friends as we write our book – they may think we are good when we are not.

b)      We may deceive our enemies – they may not really know what we are like.

c)      We may be able to con our parents, our employer, and just about everyone around us.

d)     Jesus is not deceived.  He sees what is in our hearts and He knows every choice we make.

e)      If we are tempted to deceive someone or try to pull a fast one, remember that someone is watching.

f)       The Lord is not like a policeman.

 

64)  A few nights ago I passed by the intersection of CR 17 and CR 18.

65)  A car was off on the side of the road with its lights off; I came up behind it and saw it was a police car.

66)  After I made it through the intersection, he turned his headlights on, and pulled out behind me.

67)  The fellow in front of me was the one who had caught the policeman’s interest and he got pulled over.

68)  The man who was likely cited for something did not know he was being watched.

69)  Others who passed by the traffic stop knew the officer was too busy to watch them.

70)  Jesus is not like that police officer.  He is in all places and present at all times.

71)  When a person begins to slip into sin, they often move beyond lying and deceit.

72)  With the passing of time they become hardened by sin.

73)  Verse 47 of Mt. 26 – READ

74)  It would have been one thing for Jesus to have said to the chief priests, “Jesus can be found here.”

75)  This man had become so hardened he led a big group of people to where the Lord was.

76)  He was also with a very unfriendly bunch of folks – they had swords and clubs.

a)      Imagine being with the Lord for 3 years and then bringing a mob with clubs to meet Him.

b)      Imagine that after 36 amazing months you lead a group people wielding swords against Jesus.

c)      Heb. 3:8 says sin can “harden” a person’s heart.

 

77)  After a person becomes deeply engrossed in sin, they sometimes get confused.

78)  How do they return?  How can they leave behind a life of sin?  How can Christ again be found?

79)   There is always the possibility of return, but some get so turned around they can’t seem to find the way out.

80)  Several years ago I had a lady tell her that she and her husband went to Las Vegas.

a)      They entered into a casino and looked around for a while.

b)      When it was time to go, they literally could not find the door.

c)      They were not drunk; in this casino the door was carefully concealed.

d)     It was a subtle technique to keep people in that casino until they really had to leave.

 

81)  Sin is just like a concealed door.  It can be a difficult thing to escape from.

82)  Let’s look into the next chapter – Mt. 27:3 – READ

83)  Judas did not “repent” in the way we typically use that word.

84)  The idea here is “regret.”  Regret means someone is sorry for what they did.

85)  Regret can help people find their way back to God, but if that is all there is, it is not enough.

86)  Judas had remorse, but not the repentance that restores a fallen child of God.

87)  Satan had entered into this man (Lk. 22:3).

88)  When the devil gets a hold on a person, he does not want to let go.

89)  Satan will try to keep them until the end of their life.

90)  The story about Judas finally ends with Acts 1:25.

91)  Luke sums things up in a short, simple and said way.

92)  Judas “fell away from the apostleship” and went “to his own place.”

93)  Judas wrote his own life story through the choices he made.

94)  Every single day we are writing one more page in the book about our life.

95)  What does our book saw as of today?  What if another page were never written?

96)  What would be ashamed with what is in it or would we feel content?

97)  God prepared a place for the people who make the wrong choices in life.

98)  Sadly, most will spend eternity with Judas.

99)  God wants us to make the other choice – He wants us to choose heaven as our home.

100)          If we have not chosen have, and we are not living a life that will lead us there, we have one more chance to change.