Judas the Betrayer

Introduction to Judas the Betrayer

0:04 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, February 26, 1989, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now, for those who may be visiting with us, I should say that for well over a year now, with some interruptions for other series of studies, we have been engaged in a verse-by-verse study of the gospel according to Mark, considering some four or five introductory messages before we actually started our study of chapter 1 and verse 1.

0:48 And over the course of these years, in our Sunday morning expositions, we have arrived at the 14th chapter of Mark's gospel. And in our expositions of chapter 14, we come this morning to verses 10 and 11. Will you follow in your Bibles as I read this brief account inspired by the Holy Spirit under the tutelage of Peter, who was the mentor of Mark as he describes the betrayer, Judas, and his activities. And Judas Iscariot, he that was one of the

1:32 twelve went away unto the chief priests that he might deliver him, that is, Jesus, unto them. And they, when they heard it, were glad and promised to give him money, literally silver. And he sought how he might conveniently deliver him unto them. Now, in our ongoing studies of the gospel of Mark, we are, we are getting closer and closer to the record of those details of how, according to his own prophetic word,

2:15 our dear Lord would be handed over to the Gentile powers, would be condemned, scourged, crucified, and on the third day would rise again from the dead. And in our text this morning, in the most brief and yet, most shocking way, we are informed as to who it was who became the human instrument to set in motion those events which would lead to his trial, to his scourging, to his crucifixion, death,

2:59 and resurrection. And in doing this, our text obviously focuses upon Judas, the betrayer. Upon Judas, name of infamy and shocking treachery. Judas, named to be despised, detested, and avoided.

3:27 Sitting in this place this morning, not a few of you bear the names of some of the other of the twelve apostles. We have our Peters among us this morning, it would be interesting, and I almost toyed with having a show of hands, but I felt it would be distracting. But you Peters know who you are. We have our Johns among us this morning, our Andrews and our Phillips.

3:53 But we have no Judas by name among us. The only ones who would, having any acquaintance with the Biblical material, ever name a son Judas, might be the perverse parents of Satan worshippers who would place such a name upon their offspring as a blatant declaration of their own treacherous hearts against Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And as we come to examine verses 10 and 11 of Mark 14,

4:37 two verses which focus upon this man, Judas, we are coming to one of the darkest, the most mysterious and ugly segments of the Biblical narrative to be found anywhere in the Old or the New Testaments. And while our emotions and our natural indisposition to look upon the grotesque and upon the ugly would cause us to pass over these verses with nothing more than a fleeting moment, we dare not do so. No, since Jesus said, quoting

5:21 from Deuteronomy, that man shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, let us come to what appears and smells like a dung heap of the most foul human deeds, convinced that in the midst of that dung heap, God has deposited wholesome food for our souls. And as we take up this passage that comes to us in the patently kind providence of God in the regular course of our expositions, we shall do so under three headings. First of all,

6:05 the identity of the betrayer. Secondly, the activity of the betrayer. And thirdly, the inquiry concerning the betrayer. So we have the identity, the activity, and the inquiry of the betrayer.

The Identity of the Betrayer: Name and Associations

6:25 First of all, the identity of the betrayer. And our text gives us two things about his identity. First of all, his name, and secondly, his associations. And Judas Iscariot, he that was one of the twelve. In

6:48 identifying the betrayer, Mark, with what we might call an almost verbal form of shorthand, or literary shorthand, tells us his name and his associations. His name was Judas Iscariot. Now the name Judas was at that time in Palestine a relatively popular and a very common name. In Acts 5.37 we are told

7:18 it was the name of a man who led an insurrection in Galilee. We are told in Matthew 13.55 it was the name of one of the half-brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke 6 and verse 16 we are told it was the name of one of the other apostles. And it

7:41 should not shock us that it was a common name, for it comes from the Hebrew word Yehudah, Judah, which means praised. So it was a very common name in Israel. And the word Iscariot is formed by taking the two Hebrew words Ish and Kiriath, which means a man of the place of Kiriath, and not by translation, but by what we call transliteration. Taking the English characters equivalent to the Hebrew characters, or taking Greek characters equivalent with the Hebrew, and then we do the same with the English,

8:25 much like baptism. Baptism is not a translation of a Greek word, it is a transliteration of the word baptismos. And it is then ba, ba, right down through. Well you have a transliteration then of the Greek transliteration of Ish Kiriath. And most

8:50 likely this place Kiriath was a town in the southern part of Judah. And this is very significant. For as far as we can discern this identifies Judas as the only one of the twelve who came from the southern part of Palestine. The rest of the apostles were gathered from the disciples who were attached to the Lord Jesus from the upper area of Palestine up in the Galilean area.

9:24 Remember on the day of Pentecost when they heard them speaking in tongues they said, behold, are not all these what? Galileans. Well Judas you see was out of the picture then. Are not all these Galileans? And they had their own

9:38 peculiar accent in the way they spoke the language of the day. This would mean that Judas grew up closer to Jerusalem. Closer to the cartel of the religious leaders and their constant articulation of their own blind and prejudicial Jewish messianic hopes. And it could well be that one of the clues to the subsequent behavior of Judas is that being a man of Kiriath he was a man who had a more intensified exposure to the distorted messianic hopes of the Jews

10:23 of that day. Well so much for his name under the head of his identity but notice what Mark tells us about his associations. In identifying him he identifies him as Judas Iscariot he that was one of the twelve. And you notice you have a 1901 edition of the American Standard Version that the margin reads the one of the twelve. Now the

10:54 ordinary phrase one of the twelve is used in all of the gospel writers to describe Judas. But this is the only place where the definite article is used the one of the twelve. And could it be that the Holy Spirit inspiring Mark to a kind of verbal shorthand backs into the use of that definite article worlds of emphasis. The one of the twelve who becomes notorious not for his faith not for his virtue but for his dastardly cowardly

11:38 deed of betraying the Son of God. But be that as it may whether that is the purpose of the definite article it is said he was one of the twelve. That is one of those specially chosen who were called apostles who were given unique privileges powers and opportunities directly by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now how did Judas become one of the twelve. Well turn

12:17 back please to Mark chapter three and allow the scriptures themselves to end and answer that question. Mark chapter three. Jesus is up in the northern part of Palestine the Galilean region and we read in Mark three seven and Jesus with his disciples withdrew to the sea and a great multitude from Galilee followed. Now notice and from Judea and from Jerusalem and either further south and from Idumea and then from the other side the eastern

13:01 side of Jordan and then northward about Tyre and Sidon a great multitude hearing what great things he did came unto him. So Jesus has been doing mighty works in the upper part of Palestine in the Galilean region but as the report of his mighty works spreads people come from all parts of the compass south and east couldn't come from west unless they were sea dwellers you had the Mediterranean Sea out here and from the north Tyre and Sidon the news spread like wildfire that this rabbi out of Nazareth was doing mighty deeds and multitudes

13:45 crowd about him to hang about his words and to receive the benefits of his healing power. Now then in verse 13 we read and he goes up into the mountain and calls unto him whom he himself would and they went unto him and he appointed that they might be with him and that he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to cast out demons and then in naming the twelve whom our Lord chose out of those vast multitudes the last one

14:29 named verse 19 and Judas Iscariot who also betrayed him. How did this man Judas a man with an ordinary common Palestinian name from the town of Kiriath in Judah how did he become one of the twelve? Well he became one of the twelve by first of all showing enthusiasm to make the journey from his natural dwelling place in the southern part of Palestine up into the Galilean region upon hearing the reports about Jesus

15:12 of Nazareth and must have appeared as one of the more enthusiastic and dedicated of those disciples who was most consistent in following and attending upon the ministry of Jesus so that when our Lord chooses twelve to be given these three unique privileges that they might be with him that they might speak for him and that they might accomplish mighty miraculous works on his behalf Judas is included among those who are thus chosen so then for

15:56 many months from this point onward relatively early in the public ministry of our Lord up until our text in Mark chapter fourteen which brings us just a few days within the horrible scenes of Gethsemane and Golgotha and the cruel death of the cross Judas was in that inner circle of the twelve who were ever with him who had the inestimable privilege of seeing and hearing things that the ordinary crowds that attended most diligently upon his ministry never had the

16:40 privilege of seeing never had the privilege of hearing it was Judas with the twelve who saw our Lord in those intimate scenes of bone weariness when in the ship he falls asleep and the storm comes and he's aroused by the disciples and speaks but a word the raging sea is calm and that turbulent sea becomes smooth as glass only the inner circle saw many of those unusual works of our Lord they saw him at his most vexed and weary points in his

17:25 ministry when his soul was torn by the transition of the Pharisees and the scribes he saw him in his most relaxed and playful moments when he might be the guest in a home tumbling on the floor with children or having a game of catch in the backyard with a teenage boy whom he was seeking to win to himself he saw the Lord Jesus in those intimate ways that only those few were privileged they might be with him and with him meant an entrance into an inner sanctum of unusual

18:10 intimacy of exposure it was this very thing you see that made him such an effective betrayer for John says that Judas knew exactly where to go with the soldiers and the others who would apprehend Jesus because it says he oft times resorted thither with his disciples he knew those special seasons of retreat where Jesus took the twelve aside and opened his heart to them as he did to none other he was there in the upper room for the beginnings of the upper room discourse he was there and had his feet washed

18:54 by the Lord Jesus Christ his associations or his mission he was one of the twelve and don't pass that over lightly for involved in it are all of these things I have mentioned and much more as Hendrickson the commentator has observed for many months Judas had been living in Christ's immediate presence had been eating drinking and traveling with him he had noticed the strength in the master's voice when he stilled the storm cursed the barren fig tree and rebuked those who devoured widows houses but Judas had also become aware of the

19:39 tenderness of that same voice when it pleaded with sinners including Judas to come to him and rest he had listened to the savers marvelous discourses and to the decisive and authoritative answers he had given to the many questions that had been hurled at him by his enemies with the intention of ensnaring him Judas had watched the great physician in the act of tenderly restoring the handicapped or bending down mercifully over the sick and even touching the lepers now this has great significance because you remember later on when his accusing conscience thunders with echoes of the day of judgment

20:24 and in an attempt to pacify his conscience he runs back into the temple precincts and his pieces of silver clung down upon the stone floor what does he say I have betrayed blood innocence from the standpoint of the most intimate exposure over the broadest spectrum of human interactions and relationships and his betrayer indicates his sins now that's the identity

The Activity of the Betrayer: Departure, Dealings, Determination

21:05 of his name his associations now we come in the second place to note in our text the activity of the betrayer and three strands of activity are clearly set forth in the text look at them in your own bibles if you will please notice them chapter 14 verse 10b Judas Iscariot he that was one of the twelve went away unto the chief priests in order that he might deliver him unto them and

21:49 they when they heard it were glad and promised to give him money and he sought or began and continued to seek how he might conveniently deliver him the unto them is in italics it is not there in the original so we may leave the translation and he was seeking how he might conveniently deliver or hand him over now notice then under this heading of the activity of the betrayer three strands of activity first of all his departure from the company

22:33 of Jesus and the eleven his departure then secondly his dealings with the religious leaders and thirdly his determination from this point on note then his departure from the company of Jesus and the eleven this Judas Iscariot went away he went away he leaves the company of Jesus and the eleven now notice to whom did he go in his departure it says he went away unto the chief priests

23:17 now why did he go to them well if you'll turn to John 11 in verse 57 I believe you'll have the answer in John 11 and verse 57 a very significant and helpful window into our text now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given commandment that if any man knew where he was he should show it that they might take him an edict had gone forth from the highest of the religious leaders out of the Sanhedrin among which group the chief priests were the liaison between the Roman government

24:01 and Israel as a nation and this group had already sent out news that Jesus was to be apprehended no doubt that news had reached the ears of Judas as well as the other disciples and so when the deed of betrayal was conceived in his heart he knew exactly and precisely to whom he should go so he goes to the chief priests and for what purpose in order that he might deliver or hand him over unto them he goes with one intention

24:46 and one intention alone that he may hand over the Lord Jesus Christ to their murderous designs and intentions so we see his departure from the company of Jesus to whom did he go the chief priests with what intention to hand Jesus over now notice his dealings with these religious leaders verse 11 and they when they heard it were glad and promised to give him money they were glad but a singular favorable

25:30 smiling providence in the light of chapter 14 verses 1 and 2 after two days was the feast of Passover and unleavened bread and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might take him with subtlety and kill him they are now officially and formally committed to apprehend Christ but do it in such a way that they cause no tumult among the multitudes who at this time are once again rallying behind Jesus they were there preceding and following him at his triumphal entry in his own self-promoted announcement of messianic identity

26:14 the multitudes were listening to him gladly in the temple when he exposed the sham of the Pharisees and the scribes in their specious reasoning and so they dare not disturb the multitude and their hearts are set upon murdering Christ but doing it in such a way that they protect themselves their persons and their positions and so when someone comes right out of the ranks of the twelve I wonder if they raised their hands and sang the doxology the holy Jehovah of the covenant is favorable to us one from the inner circle

26:58 who knows his every movement prepared in letting us get our hands and in their gladness it says they promised to give him silver with a monetary agreement and here there is a little light a little window from Matthew 26 that gives us the ability to see a little more of the detail turn there if you will please Matthew 26 verses 14 to 16 Matthew's gospel 26

27:42 then verse 14 one of the twelve who was called Judas Iscariot went unto the chief priest and said what are you willing to give me and I will deliver him unto you and they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver and from that time he sought opportunity to deliver him unto them so when we take the additional light of Matthew's account what do we see Judas makes his way to the place where the high priests are huddled together there their scheming minds and hearts plotting how they may apprehend Jesus but in such a way as to save their own image to save their

28:27 own positions cause no disruption that would turn the people against them or turn Rome against them for not keeping order among the people and suddenly a man with a look that only hell itself can exegete appears in their little anteroom he comes and says my name is Judas you are seeking Jesus of Nazareth I am one of those who has been with him for many many months I know his movements I know his

29:10 patterns there is no one alive in all of Palestine more quickly put him into your hands and to do so with stealth you see it would be like someone who is plotting to kill the president and one of the members of this cabinet comes to the would be assassin and says look I have free access to the oval room ten times a day I can see the president's daily calendar I know where he is every minute of the day I am ready to help his horrible murderous intentions rejoice that's what they did

29:54 but Judas says wait a minute now the price what will you give me if I hand him over to you and they say well thirty pieces of silver now why did they arrive at that well ultimately because God had decreed it because he had already prophesied it but I believe from the human side they weren't thinking well we must fulfill prophecy therefore no no no no you know what thirty pieces of silver was according to Old Testament law and these men knew it well if you had had a servant who was gored by your animal and killed and you lost a servant you know what you had to pay

30:39 for compensation according to Exodus 21 32 thirty pieces of silver so they said in essence to Judas now what price shall we place upon your master the price of replacing a gored slave Judas says seems fair enough to me Mary of Bethany who might have filled my bag to the point that it tipped my shoulder when I carried it she lavished all of that upon him I want to feel a little more weight in my bag thirty pieces of silver that will do

31:24 and so they came to terms our text says when they heard it they were glad and promised to give him money and Judas apparently said look fellows I want more than promises measure it out right now and Matthew says they measured out thirty pieces of silver and gave it to him only God who knows the heart can imagine what it must have been like and Judas walked away from that little ampule congratulating himself that his bag was a little heavy that there would be more silver from which to take for his

32:08 own ends for as John tells us he kept the bag and was a thief he departs from the twelve and when he does he goes to the priest he looked at his departure his dealings now notice his determination from this point on and he sought literally he began and continued to seek how he might conveniently deliver him unto them he began to seek how he might deliver Jesus literally in a fitting or

32:53 opportune way as one commentator has perceptively stated it that treachery was to be carried out treacherously he will deliver him in cold blood but with calculating cunningness he will do it in a fitting or opportune time so that his betrayal will perfectly dovetail the intention of the chief priest not in a way that stirs up a tumult for they feared now having looked at his identity

The Inquiry Concerning the Betrayer: How Could This Happen?

33:37 and his activity for that's what the text sets before us and I have no intentions of giving a complete biographical study of Judas this morning we will be done with Judas until we get bowed down into verses 20 and 21 and then we'll be done with him until we meet him again but now having looked at what the text tells us about his identity and his activity it forces upon us this third head the inquiry concerning the betrayer the inquiry concerning the betrayer if you have been listening to me this morning whether you're 5 or 20

34:20 or 50 or 80 years of age and if you have ever read the account of the treachery and the betrayal of Judas then there is an inquiry that forces itself upon your mind for none can be acquainted with the things we have seen this morning without feeling this burning question arising in his breast how did this happen what process took him from an enthusiastic follower from the southern town of Kerioth all the way up into the Galilee region

35:02 to change him from an enthusiastic follower marked out for the privileges of association with Christ and mighty service for Christ that he would finger 30 pieces of silver and count it a good bargain to give up this Christ I say that inquiry presses itself upon our minds as I have read many of the commentators who wrestle with that inquiry pressed upon their minds I have found in many instances

35:45 they attempt to answer that inquiry by taking the relatively meager data of scripture that refers directly to Judas they add to it the general teaching of scripture concerning such things as the deceitfulness of the human heart the blinding power of covetousness and other general Christian teaching and then they weave into it much speculation and they come up with a fabric that they set forth as an answer dear people I will not indulge in speculation this morning

36:29 but I will seek to answer the inquiry from what is explicitly told us in the word of God by Judas those of you who attend upon this ministry know that if I ever have an opinion that is not rooted in a responsible handling of the text I seek to make it clear this is my opinion you are free to accept it or reject it overturn it come up with a better one and I am not going to indulge in opinion rather we are going to look at the words which answer the inquiry how did Judas go from such heights

37:13 of thrift to such depths of horrible sin a short time after after hanging himself at his never dying soul wake up in everlasting hell when the bible says he went to his own place the threefold cord the veiling sin of his own heart the powerful influence of the devil and the providential circumstances of the hour ordered by God and when those three strands

37:57 came together number one the prevailing sin of Judas' heart does the bible anywhere tell us that among the many sins that every unconverted man commits for that matter among the many sins that the true children of God commit is there anything in scripture that singles out the prevailing or dominant sin of Judas I answer yes John 12 and verse 6

38:42 is explicit we might build a good case by deduction and circumstantial evidence concerning the prevailing sin of Judas' heart we don't need to do so God the Holy Ghost has given an infallible indictment based upon infallible knowledge and it is this now this he said John 12 6 not because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief and having the bag

39:26 took away what was put therein Judas may have sneaked away occasionally in a preaching tour and bedded down with a harlot for the night I don't know Judas may have on occasions took someone aside and poured lies into their ears he may have on occasion sneaked out a heathen idol that he had found somewhere and secretly bowed down as an idolater I don't know anything about those things but this I know God has infallibly declared that Judas as to his prevailing sin was a crook he was a thief

40:10 he was a man with an inordinate love of money a love of money that caused him to violate the divine sanctions of the right of private property and to betray the trust of public property the public property of the twelve if we may call it that or immigration property is perhaps a better term he took out of the bag that which he had no right to take out unilaterally while many times what was in the bag had provided meals for the twelve and therefore for him yes he had a part interest in what was in the bag in virtue of being part of the twelve

40:55 for whom the bag was kept but he had no unilateral right to take out of the bag and the scripture tells us that he was a thief he was a grasping grabbing unprincipled man whose lust for money and things was his prevailing sin now there's the first strand the prevailing sin lies unmortified in his heart the prevailing sin is there undetected by human eyes the prevailing sin is there upon the throne of his unregenerate heart now we add to it the second factor

41:39 strand two the powerful influence of the devil look carefully at three texts with me Luke chapter 22 the parallel text to Mark 14 is Luke chapter 22 and verse 3 Luke chapter 22 and verse 3 notice verse 2 and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put it to death they feared the people and satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot being of the number of the twelve and he went away

42:23 and communed with the chief priests and captains how he might deliver him unto them and they were glad and covenanted to give him money and he consented and sought opportunity here the focus on the direct and powerful activity of satan that spiritual non material being who is the embodiment of all evil and stands at the head of the rank of the host of darkness a creature yes a creature who is finite yes but a creature who among those that have repelled against the government of God stands

43:08 as champion of the world he is the omen for all that the lord gave to the earth and so he is the messenger from heaven and it was a woman the woman the mother the woman the son and the demon put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him.

43:51 Luke says Satan entered. John says that the devil, having put it into the heart of Simon, I'm sorry, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son. Now, verse 27 of the same chapter. And after the sop, then entered Satan into him.

44:24 Now, dear people, if my Bible teaches me anything, it not only teaches me and teaches you with me that the first strand which led to Judas' deed was the prevailing sin of his heart, thievery, covetousness, and unprincipled grasping, grabbing lust for money and things, but this powerful influence of the devil himself. Now, immediately we ask, does this mean he became demon-possessed? That's a question that I believe could be discussed for hours to no profit. This much is clear, that the devil's activity did not consist

45:08 in such an overpowering of Judas that he had no mind, no will, no consciousness in what he did. It says he put it into his heart. That is, in the seat of his being where there is consciousness, where affections and judgment and volition have their seat, Judas, as a rational human being, decided under the influence of the devil to betray the Son of God. The term Satan entered him probably refers not to some godly, kind of possession in which he became a passive instrument in the hands of the devil,

45:51 but that Satan entered in the same way the Holy Spirit fills believers. Came with unusual satanic energy and power and resolution upon all of his ordinary human faculties to augment them to the place where the deed would certainly be done. Just as the Holy Spirit possesses a man's ordinary faculties, does not take him out of himself into ecstasy, but so works upon the faculties of mind and judgment and affection and will that when filled with the Spirit he is still a man, thinking, willing, feeling as a man, but so carried along in an energy

46:35 not his own that it is to be attributed to the Holy Spirit that he thus lives, speaks and walks with God. John Calvin, as so often, the great pastor, exegete and preacher, I believe hit the nail on the head when he wrote on this passage, Judas burned with the desire to rob and by long use had become hard in wickedness. Now since no other prey comes to hand, he does not hesitate treacherously to hand over the Son of God and author of life to death, although pulled back by holy caution, he leaps ahead with violence.

47:20 Luke with good reason says expressly, Satan entered into him, not that the Spirit of God had guided him before, for he could not have practiced robbery and raiding had he not been Satan's slave already, but Luke means that he was altogether handed into Satan's possession and like a desperate man rushed to his own destruction. Though Satan pushes us into faults, day by day and reigns over us when he hurries us into a major course of sin, yet he is finally said to enter into the reprobate when all fear of God is overthrown, the light of reason is put out, shame dispelled,

48:05 and he lays hold upon our intelligence. Such extreme a degree of vengeance God does not bring upon any but those who are already vowed, to their own ruination. Let us learn to repent in good time in case as our hardness increases, the reign of Satan becomes established in us. Once we've begun to be tossed into his tyrannical power, there will be no limit to our frenzy.

48:37 Note especially that greed was the cause and the origin of Judas's terrible blindness. Obviously Paul was right to call it the root of all forms of evil. To go on and ask whether Satan took bodily possession of Judas is frivolous speculation. I say Amen, this Dean John Calvin.

The Three Strands Converge: Prevailing Sin, Satan, Providence

49:07 Strand number one. There was the prevailing sin of his heart. Strand number two, the powerful influence of the devil. Then the third strand came to complete the court.

49:22 The providential circumstances of the hour.

49:27 Word had gone out from the teachers, from the chief priests, that reaches Judas. That they ought to get someone to take a contract to make a hit on Christ. And forthwith the hitman comes. In providential circumstances so arranged.

49:51 That what was now in his heart by the added influence of the devil. Who had seized upon his prevailing sin of heart. Could find a very natural and convenient outlet in the betrayal of the Son of God. For Jesus is now in Jerusalem in the day.

50:16 Bethany by night just two and a half miles away. Judas knows his every movement. And every motion. And the providential circumstances are such.

50:29 That with the coming of the great multitudes into Jerusalem. There has been an augmentation of Roman guards and Roman soldiers. The providential circumstances are right. And into that situation.

50:45 With the prevailing sin of his heart driving him. The powerful influence of the devil possessing him. And providential circumstances. The circumstances opening the way.

51:00 Judas performs his deed of betrayal. In summary let me say. That somewhere along the line. We don't know where.

51:12 This young enthusiast Judas. Ish Kerioth.

51:18 Judas from the town of Kerioth. Somewhere along the line. With ordinary perverted Jewish messianic hopes. Begins to see in Jesus of Nazareth.

51:32 Not one who will come. Down from the upper regions of Palestine. Followed by an armed guard upon a royal charger. There to liberate Jerusalem from the Roman occupation.

51:48 No. He hears his famous words. Blessed are the poor in sin. Blessed are they who.

52:01 Blessed are they who hunger. Blessed are they who hunger. And thirst after. He begins to understand the words.

52:10 Blessed are you when men shall revile you. And persecute you. And say all manner of evil against you. Falsely for my sake.

52:19 And his initial messianic hopes. Begin to be shattered. And he moves gradually from enthusiasm.

52:28 To reservation. From reservation. To skepticism. From skepticism.

52:36 To the. Seeds of betrayal. And the seeds of betrayal. His visit.

52:43 To the empty room. Of the chief priest.

52:49 When we make the inquiry. How. How could one. Who had been with him.

52:59 From his hands. Had received authority. To cast out demons. Raise the dead.

53:05 Who had heard his words of grace. The words of him who spoke. As no man ever spoke. How could it be.

53:13 The answer. Who is. When the prevailing sin of his heart. Joined by the powerful influence of the devil.

53:21 Found providential circumstances right. The deed. Was done.

Word of Instruction: Spiritual Sight vs. External Experience

53:29 Now dear people. I've simply attempted to open up the text. Stick within the lids of my bible. And your bible.

53:37 Now in the time that remains. I have three very pointed. Words of affirmation. Number one.

53:45 First is a word of instruction. To everyone in this building. Oh what a word of instruction. This passage contains.

53:57 There are people who say. Well if only I could make a trip to the holy land. And walk where Jesus walked. And go out on the sea of Galilee.

54:06 Make my way down the Via Della Rosa. And try to conjure in my mind's eye. His crucifixion. If only I can go to some of those towns and cities.

54:15 And conjure up again in my mind's eye. His touching the lepers somehow there. Jesus might become real enough. For me to trust him and love him.

54:24 My friends that's nonsense. Judas was with him. Not in memory. But in the flesh.

54:34 He was there. Not on some rubble twenty feet above the ground Jesus actually walked on. But all the wars Jerusalem's been through. Much of the so called holy land tours is a bunch of nonsense.

54:47 This site and that site. All the wars they've been through. And the rebuilding. You may be standing.

54:55 Twenty feet above something within ten miles or ten meters of some holy place. My friend listen. Listen. Judas was with him.

55:06 Judas heard his words and his public utterances. When he who spoke with authority and astounded the multitude spoke. He saw the quieting of the sea. He was in the boat.

55:20 He saw the raising of the dead. He had been given power from Christ. To cleanse lepers. Raise the dead.

55:28 Heals. And yet he betrayed him. Why? Because he had never had a spirit wrought sight of his own heart.

55:40 Of his own sin. And of the glory of Jesus of Nazareth. Who do men say that I am? Some say this.

55:52 Some say another. Who do you say that I am? Thou art the Christ. Flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee.

56:01 But my Father. Who is in me. The word of instruction is this my dear people. We are told if we can make pilgrimages to the holy land.

56:12 If we can only have the resurrection of the sign gifts. And have men perform miracles. And have words of knowledge and tongues and prophecy. The world will then turn to Christ.

56:23 That is nonsense. In the face of Judas.

56:33 Until the Lord comes this congregation will never be turned aside. Wasting. Precious money. Taking fifty or a hundred people.

56:43 On a jumbo jet to the holy land. So you can somehow get to know Jesus better. You take the time of that trip model. Speak of the money.

56:55 And spend it on your knees in this book. Crying to God the Holy Ghost to show you Christ. And you will know more of Christ in a day. With an open Bible on your face before God.

57:07 Than you will know of Christ in a hundred trips to the holy land. Now as Pastor Martin say. Anyone who goes to holy hands sinning. I didn't think it.

57:22 That that's the way to get to know Jesus. Feel close to Jesus. It's nonsense. If the Holy Ghost by the spirit through the word doesn't make Christ precious.

57:40 You'll never know him to be precious. And when the Holy Ghost through the word makes him precious. You don't need to go to Palestine. He's more real in this place this morning.

57:52 And when the Holy Ghost through the word makes him precious. You don't need to go to Palestine. He's more real in this place this morning. Than he is to spirit unanointed.

57:57 Spirit devoid eyes. Who sit by his so-called open tomb. In Palestine. That's the word of instruction.

58:06 My friend what we need initially and continually. Is the operation of the spirit. By and with the word. To reveal Christ to us.

58:18 And even an apostle. Who saw him said this. Wherefore. Henceforth know we no man after the flesh.

58:27 Yea though we have known Christ after the flesh. Yet henceforth know we him no more. Wherefore. If any man be in Christ.

58:38 He is a new creation. To see him by the Holy Ghost through the word. Is to see enough of him. Who caused your heart to run out in trust and love and devotion.

58:51 And then you'll wait to see him. Not by the conjuring up of a mental image by the sea of Galilee. But when the voice of the archangel in the trump of God will see him face to face. But then there is not only a word of instruction from this account of the betrayer.

Word of Invitation and Entreaty: Dethrone Reigning Sin

59:13 But there's a word of invitation and entreaty to the unconverted. A word of invitation and entreaty to the unconverted.

59:25 Dear children.

59:27 Dear young people. Dear men and women in the flush and prime of youth. Older men and women slipping quickly to the grave. Hear me.

59:40 Do not stop short of a change of heart. That dethrone sin in sin.

59:54 Is satisfied with nothing less but an inward renewal. That makes Jesus Christ your most precious possession. Somewhere along the line. When Jesus who came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it.

60:11 And applied the law in its searching depth and breadth. Somewhere along the line. Judas's reigning sin of covetousness and thievery was challenged. And he had to do one of two things.

60:25 He had to say to Christ. Oh Jesus. I was an enthusiastic follower. And you chose me out of the mob.

60:34 Of multitudes to be with you. To speak for you. To work for you. But oh Lord Jesus.

60:40 My heart's never been chained. It's ready to shackle. Oh Jesus.

60:53 What I cannot do for myself. When Judas first became aware maybe as a little boy. That he had a peculiar penchant for steaming. Maybe it was just taking nickels and quarters from his daddy's dresser.

61:11 From his mama's pocketbook. Do you think he ever thought. Oh that's just a nickel and a quarter. Someday for the same stuff I'll betray the son of God.

61:21 You think he ever thought that kids? Never. But you listen to me children. Those lies you tell the mom and dad.

61:29 You know those lies.

61:33 That stealing of that nickel. That dime. That quarter. That jealousy.

61:39 That pride. Listen to me. That monster will grow up and one day. If Jesus doesn't take it off.

61:47 The throne of your heart. And replace it with himself. The devil will come along and stir up that monster. And in the right circumstances that thing that's become a monster.

62:02 And now the devil's true. You'll find the right circumstances. And you know what you'll do? You'll betray Jesus.

62:12 Some of you single men and women. You know what your besetting sin is? I've got to have a husband. I'll not go to heaven.

62:21 not go through life single, you've not settled with God, that God doesn't owe you a husband or a wife.

62:29 And that sin of coveting a mate is reigning in your heart. You know what's going to happen if it isn't killed? You know what's going to happen? There'll come a time when the devil will see that that monster's strong enough that if he will just energize it, it will move you to betray Christ.

62:49 And then the circumstances will be right. And along will come that nice-looking young man. Oh, he's not a Christian, but he's so sweet. And he's willing to talk about the gospel.

63:01 And surely the Lord wouldn't have brought him in my life. Providence, providence, providence. And you'll end up betraying Christ for a wedding bed down to hell.

63:24 Maybe it's things that your heart's set. Nice home, nice cars, nice clothes. One thing I won't be is borderline poor. Is that so?

63:36 God knows that may be the only way you can get safely to heaven.

63:43 It's your deciding sin. And the devil will see that one day that thing grows up to the place where he says, now if I just energize that monster on the throne of that heart, the circumstances will come. And you'll betray Jesus for the job that will help you to get the money to get the things that are your idols.

64:05 My friends, would to God the society of Judas began and end with Judas.

64:16 What a world. What a world. What a world. What a world.

64:16 And you'll never find a word of invitation and entreaty to the unconverted. Don't trust your heart if sin has not been dethroned and especially dethroned in terms of your own pecued dominant sin. Let no drunkard say he's been converted while he still reels in his drunkenness. Let no lecher say he's been converted while he still chases whores.

64:45 And let no proud metaphor. whose God is your face and your paint and your cars and your...

64:54 Don't you say you're converted until your heart is free of the love of your face and the love of your drapes and the love of your rugs and the rugs of your roof. Be damned as much for coveting things as for coveting another man's wife.

65:18 Oh, dear unconverted people, until you can say that Jesus Christ has dethroned sin and taken up his gracious reign in your heart, washed you in his blood and renewed you by his spirit, you're in danger of betraying Christ for 30 pieces of silver. And then my final word, having given you the word of instruction, the word of invitation and entreaty, it's a word of warning and admonition to the people, oh God, and it's this, don't tolerate knowingly any remaining sin in your heart.

Word of Warning and Admonition: Mortify Remaining Sin and Expect Apostasy

66:05 You see, remaining sin in principle acts just like reigning sin. Look at David, because he tolerated the remaining sin of an inordinate appetite for being what I would call a connoisseur of fine female flesh. He already had six, so he thought he'd taste the seventh body.

66:32 And because that sin had not been duly mortified, what happened? Satan seized upon that particular sin. And when the providential circumstances were right, a woman bathing herself at the end of her period of uncleanness, right at her most fertile time, David sees her, David sends for her, David lies with her. And then the horrible, horrible scenario unfolds.

67:03 And every time I read it, I say, oh God, why didn't 2 Samuel stop at chapter 10?

67:13 I can't read those!

67:19 And I'll tell you why. The man after God's own heart, who was a direct organ of revelation, a prophet and a mighty king, if he allows some sin unmortified in his heart to remain, if Satan can conquer, come in alongside that sin in a set of providential circumstances that make the way open, what hope is there for you or me if we're not loading gospel shot against every single remaining sin in our heart and pursuing what our Puritan forefathers called universal holiness? Oh, but you say I can trust myself.

68:03 So far, no. Listen to the word of God. Who so? Who trusteth in his own heart is a fool.

68:15 How can you read a passage like this? A man who was in the presence of Christ performed miracles for him as well as saw his miracles.

68:28 Don't be shaken, child of God. That's my final word of exhortation. Don't tolerate remaining sin. And my second and final exhortation is don't be shaken or surprised when a Judas shows up with his true colors after many years.

68:47 Right up until the night of Jesus' betrayal, Judas still had the mask and the script. So when Jesus said, One of you is an actor!

68:56 One of you will betray me! They didn't all turn around and say, Aha, it's the guy with the mask. I bet you the guy with the script in his hand. Is it Lord? Is it I?

69:07 And then when Jesus said, whispering to Judas, What you do?

69:13 It says the disciples thought that Jesus told them to go out and buy some food. They wore the mask so comfortably and repeated the script so convincingly that right up until the betrayal, no one suspected.

69:33 Dear people of God, don't be caused to stumble when after many years of appearing amongst us as one of us,

69:44 the mask is torn off and the script is thrown away and men show the true state of their hearts. Why should you be shocked? It happened to our children. It happened to our Lord.

69:58 And he said, The servant is not above his master, nor the disciple above his Lord. I close with these words of Bishop Ryle. Addressing that very issue, the old Anglican bishop said, We mark in this passage to what lengths a man may go in a false profession of religion. It's impossible to convince a more striking proof of this fact than the history of Judas Iscariot.

70:34 If ever there was a man who at one time looked like a true disciple and, excuse me, made fair to reach heaven, that man was Judas, chosen by the Lord to be an apostle, privileged to be a companion of the Messiah, eyewitness of the mighty works, associate of Peter, James, John, sent forth to preach all of the points I've made. And I made them not because I saw them in Ryle, but because I saw them in Ryle, but because I saw them in Ryle, but because I saw them in Ryle, but because I saw them in Ryle, but because I saw them in Ryle, but because I saw them in Ryle, I consulted Ryle after I had already done my preparation. And now he says this, how can this amazing conduct of Judas be accounted for? There's only one answer.

71:10 The love of money was the cause of this unhappy man's ruin. Let us learn from this melancholy history of Judas to be clothed with humility, to be content with nothing short of the grace of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, knowledge, gifts, profession, privileges, church membership, privileges, church membership, power in preaching, praying, talking about a religion, are useless things if our hearts are not converted. Oh, dear people of God, part of the tragedy of the church in its present state is that no matter how careful we may be in opening the front door of admission, it is a sad anomaly

71:54 that if a Judas is found among the ranks of Jesus 12, they will eventually declare themselves in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will not be found out until the day of judgment. Don't be caused to stumble, but rather fear and ask the question, Lord, could I be such a one?

72:17 May God take this account of the betrayer and make it meat and drink,

72:29 sweetness and honey and all the other things that the word of God can be. May God make it such to our hearts today. Let us pray.

72:46 Our Father, we thank you for your words as they wrote under the guidance of your Spirit. We confess as we've looked upon this man, Judas, we have been both shocked and horrified, and yet we've been brought to fear and to cry out, search me, O God, and know my heart. May none despise the overtures of your mercy. May none carelessly slough off the warnings, not me, never, never.

73:27 O God, be merciful, be gracious. May the great day reveal that this word is made instrumental in your hands to the salvation of some and part of the means of the preservation of many. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.