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Chapter 78 Lessons From the Betrayer ÒThen one of
the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto
them, What will
ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for
thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray
him. Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto
him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he
said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My
time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And
the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the
passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as
they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray
me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say
unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same
shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto
that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if
he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said,
Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.Ó (Matthew 26:14-25) Commenting on this passage, C. H. Spurgeon wroteÉ ÒWhat a
contrast to the incident we have just been considering! The anointing of
Jesus is to be the theme of admiration wherever the gospel is preached, but
his betrayal by Judas will be a subject for execration to all eternity. It
was one of the twelve, who went unto the chief priests, to bargain for the
price of his Lord s betrayal. He did not even mention ChristÕs name in his
infamous question, ÔWhat will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?Õ
The amount agreed upon, thirty pieces of silver, was the price of a slave,
and showed how little value the chief priests set upon Jesus, and also
revealed the greed of Judas in selling his master for so small a sum. Yet
many have sold Jesus for a less price than Judas received, a smile or a sneer
has been sufficient to induce them to betray their Lord. Let us, who
have been redeemed with ChristÕs precious blood, set high store by him, think
much of him, and praise him much. As we remember, with shame and sorrow,
these thirty pieces of silver, let us never undervalue him, or forget the
priceless preciousness of him who was reckoned as worth no more than a slave.Ó Matthew 26:14-25 is the divinely
inspired record of one of the blackest events in the history of the world.
There is no greater evidence of the wickedness that is in man than that which
is revealed in the character and conduct of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of
our Lord. These verses speak of things we would all prefer not to consider;
but they are written here for our instruction. And if God the Holy Spirit
will be our Teacher, we will find much in them that will bring joy to our
hearts. I want to show you five lessons to be learned from them. The Word of God First, these verses clearly establish the fact that the Bible
is the inspired Word of God. You might ask, ÒWhere is that taught in this passage?Ó The inspiration of
Scripture is established by the precise fulfillment of the prophecies of
Scripture. Here we once more see Old Testament prophecy fulfilled to the
letter, not by one who was attempting to bring honor to the Word of God, but
by one who was inspired by the devil himself. The Scriptures clearly predicted that our Savior would be
betrayed by one of his most intimate companions, one who ate bread with him. —
ÒYea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my
bread, hath lifted up his heel against meÓ (Ps. 41:9). The Old Testament specifically
prophesied that the Lord Jesus would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver,
which would then be cast down in the temple, and that the money would be used
to buy a place in the potterÕs field (Zech. 11:11-13). Ever reverence the Bible as the
inspired Word of God. This Book alone is GodÕs Word. This Book alone is
authoritative in the church and kingdom of God. This Book alone is our rule
of faith and practice. This Book alone is able to make us wise unto
salvation. Treasure this Book. Seek to know this Book. Believe this Book.
Obey this Book. Religious, but Lost
Second, we learn by the example of Judas
Iscariot that a person may enjoy great religious privileges and make an
impressive show of religion and yet be an unregenerate reprobate. Judas
Iscariot was religious, but lost. He had the highest possible attainments and
privileges of outward religion. He was a chosen apostle and companion of
Christ. He was an eyewitness of the LordÕs miracles. He heard the gospel from
the lips of the incarnate God, ate at the same table with him, and dipped his
bread in the bowl from which the Master himself ate. Judas saw things that
neither Abraham nor Moses could see. He heard things that neither David nor
Isaiah ever heard. This man lived in the society of the Lord Jesus and his
apostles. He preached with Peter, James, and John. Yet, Judas was a lost man. He
was, it appears, a man of highest reputation and esteem among men. He appears
to have been a man who was, in outward appearance, quiet and unassuming. We
read of very little that he ever said or did; but he was trusted by all to be
the treasurer of the early church. When the Master said, ÒOne of you shall
betray me,Ó no
one suspected Judas. Yet, Judas was a hypocrite. Like
LotÕs wife, Judas Iscariot is held before us as a beacon. Think of this base,
vile man often. Do not ever imagine that he was outwardly wicked. He was not.
Outwardly, he was an example of what men call Òpurity,Ó Òholiness,Ó and Ògodliness.Ó
But Judas was a devil. Whenever we think of Judas, we ought to pray, ÒSearch
me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there
be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlastingÓ (Ps. 139:23-24). Do
not be content with mere outward religion. Do not be satisfied with the
approval of men. Make certain that your religion is a matter of the heart, a
union of your very soul with the Son of God, by faith. Spurgeon warned, ÒA
man may get very near to Christ, ay, may dip his hand in the same dish with
the Savior, and yet betray him. We may be high in office, and may apparently
be very useful, as Judas was, yet we may betray Christ.Ó The Root of All Evil
Third, the Holy Spirit shows us here a
vivid picture of the fact that Òthe love of money is the root of all evil.Ó I cannot conceive of a clearer
proof of this fact than Judas Iscariot. The wretched question, ÒWhat will
ye give me?Ó
betrayed the evil that ruled his heart. Judas had given up much to follow
Christ. Outward sacrifices he was prepared to make. But he could not and
would not give up his covetousness. Money was his god. Money ruled his heart.
His every thought was about money. His every word was about money. We
have many illustrations of the corrupting influence of the love of money. It
is not the lack of money or the possession of money that is the root of all
evil, but the love of money. It was for money that Joseph was sold into
Egypt, Samson was betrayed by Delilah, Gehazi deceived Naaman and lied to
Elisha, Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit, and Judas betrayed the
Son of God. Be warned, the love of money will
destroy your soul. If ever it gets control of you, it will harden, paralyze,
freeze, and sear your heart and conscience. It destroyed Judas; and it will
destroy you and me, if ever it gets hold of our hearts. ÒWhat shall it
profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?Ó Be wise and pray daily, ÒGive
me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.Ó They that will be rich in this
world often find in the end, like Esau and Judas, that the bargain they made
was the worst of bargains. Having
said all that, it must be recognized that many have betrayed the Son of God
at a far lower price than the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas
bargained. Many, especially those who claim to be preachers, have sold him
for no more than the smile and approval men! Our Sovereign God Fourth, these verses give us a very clear revelation of the fact
that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, is the sovereign God of the universe.
Notice the language our Savior used to speak of JudasÕ betrayal of him. He
speaks not as one who was alarmed, or even slightly disturbed by the things
he knew were about to transpire, but as One who is in total control of the
circumstances and people around him. This Man who was about to be betrayed
was and is the eternal God who made, and ruled, and disposed of his betrayer. His divine omniscience is evident
in the fact that our Master knew what his disciples would do, what the
certain man in the city would do, what Judas had done and what he would do.
He knew it all because he predestinated it all and controlled it all. His
divine dominion is seen in the fact that the man whose house he would use for
the observance of the passover would readily obey his will. We read in verses
18 and 19, ÒAnd he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him,
The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house
with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and
they made ready the passover.Ó His divine purpose is clearly stated in his
assertions, ÒMy time is at hand,Ó and ÒThe Son of man goeth as it is written of him.Ó Everything and everyone in this
world is moving according to precise schedule to a predestined end.
Everything and everyone, even the actions of wicked men, the very demons of
hell, and the devil himself do nothing to thwart, hinder, or even disturb GodÕs
purpose. They are only his servants, used by him to accomplish his purpose
(Ps. 76:10; Rom. 8:28-30; 11:36). Even Judas was an instrument in the hands
of our God for the accomplishment of his gracious purposes of redemption and
grace for his elect. Nowhere is the fact of our LordÕs absolute and total
sovereignty seen more clearly than in the events surrounding his betrayal and
crucifixion (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; 13:28-29). Better Not To Have Been Born Fifth, our Lord Jesus here teaches us that it would be better
never to live at all than to live and die without Christ. Our Savior said, ÒThe
Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the
Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been bornÓ
(v. 24). Judas
stands before us in the Word of God as a glaring warning. He would this day
give anything simply never to have been born. Judas is in hell! He lived and
died without Christ as an unbeliever and an enemy of God. Now he suffers the
wrath of God in hell. So, too, shall you if, like Judas, you live and die
without Christ. Be warned. If you are yet without Christ, you are just like
Judas. Your heart is exactly the same as Judas IscariotÕs (Matt. 15:19). You
may be taken captive by Satan at his will, and led by him to do things you
never dreamed you were capable of doing (2 Tim. 2:26). Unless you repent,
unless you look to Christ by faith, you shall be with Judas forever in hell,
suffering the terrible wrath of almighty God. Let
us never forget what we are by nature, where we were and where we were headed
when God saved us by his matchless, free, and sovereign grace (Isa. 50:1-2).
Let us ever give thanks to our God for his sovereign dominion of all things,
and for his infinite mercy toward us. If we believe, it is because God the
Father loved us with an everlasting love and chose us to be his own, God the
Son loved us and gave himself for us, and God the Holy Spirit loved us and
gave us life and faith in Christ. |
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