Today, we're going to take a look at one of the sad parts of
the Bible. Today, we're going to take a look at Judas. And though it is sad,
there are helpful things to learn here. Our text is John 13.21-30. Please
listen as I read.
I think that it would be good if we start by reviewing Judas'
story. He was someone who followed Jesus early on. He must have distinguished
himself in some way because Jesus chose him to be one of His twelve apostles
along with Peter, James, John and the others. Because of this he was blessed. He
heard Jesus' private teaching. He did miracles, casting out demons and healing
the sick. He preached the Gospel to the crowds. Along with these blessings,
though, Judas had a secret sin. He was a thief. He had been entrusted with the
money that Jesus and His men had received. And Judas helped himself to some of
it at times, though not too much to be noticed. In all of this, as far as
anyone could tell, he was like any of the other apostles. We know this because
when Jesus told the twelve that one of them was going to betray Him they didn't
know who Jesus was talking about. No one guessed that it was Judas. That’s when
Judas left the upper room intending to betray Jesus - for a price. And he did
that, with a kiss. After Jesus was arrested Judas regretted what he had done.
He returned the money and in despair he committed suicide. And now he's paying
the price of his sin in hell. That's Judas' story. There is, no doubt, more to
his life. He obviously had a mother and father. He grew up like all the other
boys. He probably had a wife and children. But the things that we know are all
that we need. A life lived. Choices made. Consequences experienced for good and
for bad - just like the rest of us.
Now, for a question. Why is this here? Why do we have Judas'
betrayal? And 'Why?' questions being what they are, there are lots of different
ways to answer it. So, we have this record of what happened because – well,
because it happened. John wrote to tell us what happened. Judas happened; Judas
and his betrayal. Any Gospel account without it would be lacking something very
important.
But let's ask that 'Why?' in a different way. Why did this
betrayal even happen? Jesus knew what Judas would do from early on. John told
us that back in chapter 6. Wouldn't it have been so much better if He had
gotten rid of Judas and replaced him so that all twelve of the apostles would
remain faithful? Why did Jesus do it this way? Again, there are lots of good
answers to this 'Why?' question. Here's one of them. It’s a lesson. Jesus did
it this way as to teach us about reality. We live in a broken world. Evil
things happen in our broken world. People who seem to be doing so well end up
not doing well at all. Judas was included in Jesus' story as a warning to all
who would read about it in the centuries that followed. Don’t become like
Judas.
I want to mention two responses to this warning. The first
is something like panic. 'Even though life is going okay right now, I could end
up not doing well. I could end up like Judas. Oh my goodness! What am I going
to do?' Panic. The other response is quite the opposite. It is to ignore it all.
'That won’t happen to me.' Jesus intended neither of those responses. What He
intended was for you to take the warning to heart so that you would be able to
see reality and thus be kept safe.
That’s why it’s important to see that what we have in our
text is a contrast between two ways of life. There is Judas and his choices.
But there is also Jesus and His choices. And while this text sounds a clear
warning about the dangers around you – dangers Judas didn’t take seriously
enough – it also sounds a clear note of hope. There is a way to deal with those
dangers and avoid the evil that conquered Judas. And that way is revealed in
Jesus’ own life.
I want to remind you about the last three sermons - all from
this part of John. First, there was the sermon titled 'Knowing'. I told you
that John uses the word 'to know' quite a bit. He tells us that Jesus knew
several things here. Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this
world. Jesus also knew that He had come from God and was going back to God. And
Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands. Then I told you
that Jesus was an example to you in this. You can know like Jesus knew. And if
you remember, I put a label on all of this knowing. I called it wisdom. Jesus
knew about God, about Himself and about life. Because He knew, Jesus was wise.
And though it may sound odd, the reason that Jesus didn't end up like Judas was
because He had become wise. There were lots of places where He could have
chosen foolishly like Judas did. Think about His temptation in the desert or
how He told the Father in Gethsemane that He really didn't want to die on that
Cross. He had choices to make. And He made them wisely. That was His
protection. And that is your protection. Becoming wise. Judas was not wise. He
became foolish, and his life showed that at the end.
The second sermon was titled, 'Knowing, Doing, Blessed'.
There I told you about how it is that God blesses. There are things that you
are to know. And the indication that you really know them is that you act on
what you know. You 'do'. And when God sees you knowing and doing He blesses.
Though I didn't make the connection in that sermon, this principle was also revealed
in Jesus’ life. Jesus also knew, did and was therefore blessed. Remember that
Luke tells us that Jesus grew in favor with God. That's just another way
of saying that the Father was blessing His Son. Jesus knew, did and was
blessed. Judas didn't know and do. And as a result he was cursed. Again, Jesus
is your example of how not to end up like Judas.
Then, last week's sermon was titled, 'Culture'. There I told
you that Jesus evaluated His culture, keeping what was good and right, and
rejecting what was evil and wrong. That's why He could see through the
temptations of Satan and the schemes of the Pharisees. He was living according
to that new culture, the culture of the Kingdom of God. And again, Judas failed
in this. He was caught up in his culture. He chose its ways instead of God's
ways. And he ended up destroyed.
Jesus was wise. He was blessed. He critiqued His culture.
And all of that showed in the results of His life. He now rules from heaven. Judas
was foolish. He was cursed. He did not critique his culture. And it showed the
in results of his life. He now is suffering in hell. Two different men. Two
different ways of living. Two different results.
Let me pose another question. Why did Judas betray Jesus? It’s
clear that he did it for the money, the thirty pieces of silver. Don’t stop
there. What were the sins of the heart behind all of that? For one thing, there
was lust. Judas desired – demanded – money. That's lust, to demand what is not
yours. Why did he lust after it? It was an idol. He thought that the money
could do things for him, things that nothing else could do. Lust and idolatry –
these are why Judas betrayed Jesus.
Where did he get these notions from? The soul twisted up by
sin was his fault. But the way that twisted soul expressed its sin was from the
culture around him. And in all of this Judas had help. Satan was at him. And Satan
kept at him until, as John tells us, he entered Judas. As a result of all of
this – his own sinfulness, his cultures ideas about how life works and Satan’s
attacks – Judas chose to betray Jesus.
So, once again, your protection in this is imitating Jesus.
He knew and so became wise. He knew and did and thus was blessed. He evaluated
His culture, keeping the good and right, and rejecting what was evil and wrong.
And though Satan was at Him too, even though Satan kept at Him, he never gained
a foothold on Jesus' soul. Jesus was protected because He was wise, blessed,
and discerned and rejected what was evil. Imitate Him and be protected.
This is where I'm supposed to tell you what to do so that
you can imitate Jesus. This is where I'm supposed to give you a list of things
to do, things like read your Bible, say your prayers and come to church. If I
were to do that you would think, 'Okay, good. I’ll do those things.' But will doing
those things protect you? Bear in mind that Judas did those sorts of things too
and they didn't help him any. So, I'm not going to give you a list of things to
do. That won't help. Instead, I'm going to tell you something that will feel more
vague but which will be much more helpful. Develop a sense of reality like
Jesus did.
There are all the things that you can see. Then, there is
all that you can't see. You can see a mother caring for her child, some guy
shooting innocent people, a coach encouraging his team, politicians passing
laws and others breaking them. But that is not all of reality. It's only part
of the picture. You need the rest of the picture to really grasp reality. Jesus
also saw how knowing becomes wisdom, why God blesses some and not others, where
His culture got it right and where it got it wrong. Those are also parts of
reality, but parts that you can't see with your eyes. You need to see the whole
picture if you're going to grasp reality. Jesus could see reality, all of
reality. That was His protection. You need to follow His lead. You need to see
all of reality. That is your protection.
So, how do you do that? Well, to be sure, there are things
to do. There is a list. But there are issues that are more important than doing
the things on the list. There's the whole matter of how you do those things and
why you do them. But, unfortunately, we've been taught to focus on what we do
to the neglect of the how and the why. This is something we’ve learned from our
culture.
So, way back when, the teacher asked you, 'Did you do those
math problems I assigned for homework?' And what did you say? 'Yes, here they
are, all done.' But what if, instead, she had asked, 'Did you learn the point
of the homework I gave you?' We were taught to focus on the 'what', on completing
those ten math problems, not on the purpose of doing them, not on the how and
the why. And as a result, for example, when the topic of daily Bible reading
and prayer comes up today, the focus is on how many times in the last week we
did those things - or didn't. That's about the what. It’s not about the how or
the why. That's about quantity and not quality. And that is so wrong. It's a
wrong from our culture that we need to reject. Less done well is better than
much done even just adequately, let alone poorly. Quality is more important
than quantity. And why is that? Quality in following Jesus results in a sense
of reality. You begin to see those things that you can’t see with your eyes. Mere
quantity can’t do that.
So, you need to see reality. You need to become like Jesus. That
is your protection. But how do you do that? What do you do? Here’s where I give
you that list. Read your Bible, say your prayers and come to church. But as you
do those things don't focus so much on the what. Spend more time considering
how to do those things and why you are to do them. The goal is to have a sense
of reality like Jesus had and thus be protected from what happened to Judas.
And as you develop in these ways, as you become like Jesus, there will be a
word that will fit your way of life. Piety. There are so many Christians who do
all the right things and yet they do not really get reality. They are not
pious. And it shows. Too much stress on quantity and not enough on quality.
Last question. Why is this important? I could go back to
Judas and talk about the danger of ending up like he did. And there certainly is
something to that. But that isn't the greatest reason why this is important. Actually,
if that’s the main reason for working at being protected, then you’re being
selfish. You’re only thinking about yourself. Where is the love of God and love
of neighbor in that? What's at stake here are the honor of Jesus, the glory of
the Father and the reputation of the Church. Those are the greatest reasons to
work at becoming like Jesus and not being like Judas.
Some of you are doing well at becoming like Jesus. You are
becoming wise, being blessed, critiquing the culture. Good. Continue your
efforts, and see more growth. But some of you aren’t doing so well at these things.
What are you going to do about that? If you’re not sure maybe we should talk.