SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION:  Matthew 26-27
 
SERMON REVIEW:
Judas’ mission with Jesus.
Called
Responsibility-money bag
Discipled- Heard the greatest sermons from the greatest person. Commision -Witnessed: people getting healed, demons expelled

Judas' mindset before the Garden.
Greedy
Lust for power
 Manipulative
Liar

Judas' mission against Jesus.
Matt 26:6-10, Mark 14:4-11
Matt 26:14-16, 21-25, 47-56

Judas’ mindset after the Garden
Matt 27:3-10
Acts 1:16-19, 1:25


QUESTIONS:

• What did the message teach me about God/Jesus/Holy Spirit?
• What did the message teach me about the human condition?
• Is there anything I need to confess, repent, or be grateful for, because of this passage?
• How do I need help in believing and applying this scripture to my life?
• How can I encourage others with this passage?

DIGGING DEEPER:
Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

a.   Then one of the twelve: The sense from Matthew is that the matter with Mary was the final insult to Judas, even though it may have happened some days before. After that, he was determined to betray Jesus to the religious leaders who wanted to kill Him.

b.   What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you? Through the centuries, many suggestions have been offered regarding the motive of Judas in betraying Jesus.

i.   Matthew 10:4 calls him Judas Iscariot; it may be that he was from Kerioth, a city in southern Judea. This would make Judas the only Judean among the other disciples, who were all Galileans. Some wonder if Judas resented the leadership of the Galilean fishermen among the disciples, and finally had enough of it.

ii.   Perhaps Judas was disillusioned with the type of Messiah Jesus revealed Himself to be; wanting a more political, conquering Messiah.

iii.   Perhaps Judas watched the ongoing conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders and concluded that they were winning and Jesus was losing; therefore, he decided to cut his losses and join the winning side.

iv.   Perhaps he came to the conclusion that Jesus simply was not the Messiah or a true Prophet, even as Saul of Tarsus had believed.

v.   Some even suggest that Judas did this from a noble motive; that he was impatient for Jesus to reveal Himself as a powerful Messiah, and he thought that this would force Him to do this.

vi.   Whatever the specific reason, the Scriptures present no sense of reluctance in Judas, and only one motivation: greed. The words stand: “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?”

And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver: According to the Bible, there was no noble intention in Judas’ heart. His motive was simply money.

i.   The exact value of thirty pieces of silver is somewhat difficult to determine, but it was low estimation of the Messiah’s value. “It was a known set price for the basest slave, Exodus 21:31; Joel 3:3, 6. For so small a sum sold this traitor so sweet a Master.” (Trapp)

ii.   “Though therefore Judas was covetous enough to have asked more, and it is like the malice of these councilors would have edged them to have given more, yet it was thus ordered by the Divine council. Christ must be sold cheap, that he might be the more dear to the souls of the redeemed ones.” (Poole)

iii.   “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.” (Spurgeon)

21-25) Jesus gives Judas a last opportunity to repent.
Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes 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.” Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”

a.   Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me: In the midst of their Passover meal, Jesus made a startling announcement. He told His disciples that one of their own – these twelve who had lived and heard and learned from Jesus for three years – would betray Him.

i.   If we are familiar with this story it is easy not to appreciate its impact. It’s easy to lose appreciation for how terrible it was for one of Jesus’ own to betray Him. For good reason Dante’s great poem about heaven and hell places Judas in the lowest place of hell.

ii.   “This was a most unpleasant thought to bring to a feast, yet it was most appropriate to the Passover, for God’s commandment to Moses concerning the first paschal lamb was, ‘With bitter herbs they shall eat it.’” (Spurgeon)
 
b.   He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me: Jesus said this not to point out a specific disciple, because they all dipped with Him. Instead, Jesus identified the betrayer as a friend, someone who ate at the same table with Him.
 
i.   This idea is drawn from Psalm 41:9: Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. “My fellow-commoner, my familiar friend, Psalm 41:9. This greatly aggravateth the indignity of the matter.” (Trapp)

c.   Rabbi, is it I? It was noble for the 11 other disciples to ask this question (Lord, is it I?); it was terrible hypocrisy for Judas to ask it. For Judas to ask, “Rabbi, is it I?” while knowing he had already arranged the arrest of Jesus was the height of treachery.

i.   “It is a beautiful trait in the character of the disciples that they did not suspect one another, but every one of them inquired, almost incredulously, as the form of the question implies, ‘Lord, is it I?’ No one said, ‘Lord is it Judas?’” (Spurgeon)

d.   You have said it: Jesus did not say this to condemn Judas, but to call him to repentance. It is fair to assume that He said it with love in His eyes, and Jesus showed Judas that He loved him, even knowing his treachery.

iii.   “The treasury, perhaps the source from which the money had been paid to Judas, would be the natural place to deposit money left in the temple, but its use as blood money made it unclean. A burial ground (itself an unclean place) would be a suitable use for it.” (France)

c.   Went and hanged himself: In his unrepentant remorse and despair, Judas committed suicide. Being the son of perdition (John 17:12), we are assured he went to eternal punishment.

i.   Some hold that Matthew’s account of Judas’ death is at variance with Acts 1:18-19, which says that Judas fell headlong into a field, burst open in the middle, and all his entrails gushed out. Most reconcile this by suggesting that Judas hanged himself, and then his body was cast down on the ground, bursting open.

ii.“   If Judas hanged himself, no Jew would want to defile himself during the Feast of Unleavened Bread by burying the corpse; and a hot sun might have brought on rapid decomposition till the body fell to the ground and burst open.” (Carson)

d.   Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet: There has been much question about the quotation attributed to Jeremiah, because it is found in Zechariah 11:12-13. Matthew says the word was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, though we find it recorded in Zechariah.

i.   Some think it could be a copyist error. Perhaps Matthew wrote Zechariah, but an early copyist mistakenly put Jeremiah instead, and this rare mistake was repeated in subsequent copies.

ii.   Some think that Jeremiah spoke this prophecy and Zechariah recorded it - the word spoken by Jeremiah, but recorded by Zechariah.

iii.   Some think that Matthew refers to scroll of Jeremiah, which included the book of Zechariah.

Why was such a man chosen to be one of the twelve? --
1)   There was a need among the disciples, as in the Church now, a man of just such talents as Judas possessed, --the talent for managing business affairs.

2)   Though he probably followed Christ at first from mixed motives, as did the other disciples, he had the opportunity of becoming a good and useful man.

3)   It doubtless was included in God's plans that there should be thus a standing argument for the truth and honesty of the gospel; for if any wrong or trickery had been concealed, it would have been revealed by the traitor in self-defense.

4)   Perhaps to teach the Church that God can bless and the gospel can succeed even though some bad men may creep into the fold.

What was Judas' motive in betraying Christ? --
1)   Anger at the public rebuke given him by Christ at the supper in the house of Simon the leper. ( Matthew 26:6-14 )

2)   Avarice, covetousness, the thirty pieces of silver. ( John 12:6 )

3)   The reaction of feeling in a bad soul against the Holy One whose words and character were a continual rebuke, and who knew the traitors heart.

4)   A much larger covetousness, --an ambition to be the treasurer, not merely of a few poor disciples, but of a great and splendid temporal kingdom of the Messiah. He would hasten on the coming kingdom by compelling Jesus to defend himself.

5)   Perhaps disappointment because Christ insisted on foretelling his death instead of receiving his kingdom. He began to fear that there was to be no kingdom, after all.

6)   Perhaps, also, Judas "abandoned what seemed to him a failing cause, and hoped by his treachery to gain a position of honor and influence in the Pharisaic party."

7)   Whether Judas' intentions from the beginning were to betray Jesus, or it was a progressive outcome or a foreordained situation to fulfill scripture… We know only that is revealed in Scripture without really knowing everything…we can just examine our motives, our heart and surrender to God’s Mercy and grace a Contrite , repentful and believing heart.

The end of Judas. --
1)   Judas, when he saw the results of his betrayal, "repented himself." ( Matthew 27:3-10 ) He saw his sin in a new light, and "his conscience bounded into fury."

2)   He made ineffectual struggles to escape, by attempting to return the reward to the Pharisees, and when they would not receive it, he cast it down at their feet and left it. ( Matthew 27:5 ) But,3)   The money was used to buy a burial-field for poor strangers. ( Matthew 27:6-10 )

4)Judas himself, in his despair, went out and hanged himself, ( Matthew 27:5 ) at Aceldama, on the southern slope of the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, and in the act he fell down a precipice and was dashed into pieces. ( Acts 1:18 ) "And he went to his own place." ( Acts 1:25 ) "A guilty conscience must find either hell or pardon."

5)   Judas repentance may be compared to that of Esau. ( Genesis 27:32-38 ; Hebrews 12:16 Hebrews 12:17 ) It is contrasted with that of Peter. Judas proved his repentance to be false by immediately committing another sin, suicide. Peter proved his to be true by serving the Lord faithfully ever after. --ED.)

    DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
      1.  What are some ways people give themselves false assurance that they “Fine with God”?
      2.  What are some things people betray Jesus for? How can true believers watch themselves from falling into the same traps?
      3.  2 Corinthians 7:10 How goes worldy sorrow looked verses godly sorrow?
      4.  2 Corinthians 13:5 how can we encourage someone to examine themselves?
     

PRAYER: