SERIES: The Gospel of John
The Man Whose Name Lives in Infamy
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
Introduction: Our study of the Gospel of John brings us today to the 18th chapter. We have completed the heavily theological section of the book and come now to the narrative portion, which covers the events of the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life on earth, including His arrest, His trial, and His crucifixion, as well as His resurrection and His brief post-resurrection ministry. I have decided to preach chapter 18 by means of four character sketches, rather than verse-by-verse. We will consider Judas Iscariot today, then Annas and Caiaphas, then Peter, and finally Pontius Pilate. This will take us up to the death of Jesus on Palm Sunday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Three more messages concerning Jesus’ appearances after the resurrection will bring us to the conclusion of this marvelous Gospel treatise on the last Sunday of April, Lord willing.
I would like for us to read just the first five verses of John 18:
When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.)
Centuries ago in Italy, an artist set out to paint a mural of the life of Christ in one of the great cathedrals. When he got to the scene of Jesus as a young boy debating the teachers of the Law in the Temple, he searched for just the right person to serve as his model. He found a fine, innocent looking young man and sketched his face as the 12-year-old Jesus. Years later as the artist approached the final scenes of Jesus’ life, he faced the task of painting the face of Judas. He searched through the criminal quarters of the city and among the baser elements of the population.
At length in one of the jails he found a desperate, wicked man sentenced to death for his crimes against mankind. He chose this evil, sinister face as his model for Judas Iscariot. Day after day he went down to the prison and sketched the face of this criminal. Working on the painting in his studio one day, he saw something about the face that made him wonder. Day after day he puzzled over the matter, and at last the truth flashed upon him—it was the same face he had painted long ago as the young Jesus. The handsome young man had grown up to be a despicable criminal.
This story gives us some remarkable insight into the spiritual sojourn of Judas Iscariot. Never did a person have a more auspicious beginning, or greater potential, or so many opportunities for great achievement. He had a privilege shared by only eleven others in history—he was personally taught and trained by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Yet no one has ever fallen so far or to such depths of wickedness. Of this Apostle, this chosen one, Jesus said the most grievous thing that could be said of any man: “It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” (Matt. 26:24). I want us to examine Judas in respect to his character, his conduct, and the consequences that befell him.
The character of Judas
After a careful consideration of every passage in the NT that speaks of Judas, I have discovered that he had both character assets and liabilities.
His assets
1. He was a Judaean. When Judas is first introduced in the New Testament, and often thereafter, he is identified as Judas Iscariot to distinguish him from another Judas among the Twelve, who is also called Thaddeus. Iscariot means “a man of Kerioth,” a Judaean town not far from Jerusalem. This means Judas was a Judaean—the only one of the Twelve who was not a Galilean. Judaeans looked down upon Galileans as being uncouth and uneducated, which, in general, they were. Though we cannot be certain, it is likely that Judas was the most cultured and educated of the Apostles.
2. He was a disciple of Jesus. A disciple is a learner and a follower, at least outwardly. We do not know the circumstances under which Judas became a disciple, but perhaps he was one of those who responded positively to the preaching of John the Baptist. We like to think that at this stage Judas was not a conscious and deliberate fraud, but it is fairly obvious that he had political ambition and a love of money and power. It was, perhaps, the prospect of becoming someone important in the coming Kingdom which induced him to follow the King.
3. He was an Apostle. There were many disciples who did not become Apostles. The Apostolate was a select group of Twelve who became Christ’s special envoys to spread the news of the Gospel and to uphold and maintain pure doctrine in the early church. Listen to the original call of the Twelve Apostles as recorded in Matt. 10:1: “He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.”
It seems to me we are forced to the conclusion that Judas not only was one of their number, but also that he shared the apostolic gifts, training, and ministry with the likes of Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip and Matthew. In fact, in Acts 1:17, when the early church leaders met in Jerusalem following the death of Jesus (and of Judas) to choose someone to take Judas’ place as the Twelfth Apostle, Peter said of Judas, undoubtedly with deep regret in his voice, “he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”
Now why would someone like Judas ever be allowed to join such a sacred group as the Twelve Apostles? Interestingly, the New Testament makes the point several times that it was no accident—that Jesus Himself chose those He wanted to be His Apostles. If that is true, why did He choose Judas? Was He fooled? Certainly not. In fact, John 6:64 explicitly states, “For Jesus had known from the beginning who would betray him.” Could it be that Jesus chose Judas to be an actor in a morality play, a mere puppet? This, by the way, is the message of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the immensely popular musical of several decades ago, which turns Judas into a kind of tragic hero. It has Judas saying,
“Christ, I know you can’t hear me. But I only did what you wanted me to. My mind is darkness now. My God, I am sick, I’ve been used, and you knew all the time. God, I’ll never ever know why you chose me for your crime, for your foul bloody crime. You have murdered me! You have murdered me!”
And with one stroke of the playwright’s pen, the sovereignty-free will controversy is solved by exonerating Judas and making God the murderer!
Well, why did Jesus choose Judas? I think at least three reasons can be enumerated. First, He chose Judas to warn us that salvation is not by osmosis. Association with the godly, even with Christ Himself, does not guarantee spiritual regeneration or vitality. Second, He chose him to provide a lesson for time immemorial of the awful destructiveness of the love of money and power, for both of these sinister temptations seized Judas. And third, Jesus chose Judas to complete His qualifications as our High Priest.
Hebrews 2 describes the priesthood of Jesus in these terms: “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” And in chapter 4 we read, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” You see, many of us, perhaps all of us, will at some time suffer betrayal by someone close to us. Jesus understands that because one whom He chose and discipled betrayed Him.
4. He was the Treasurer of the Twelve Apostles. In John 13:29 we read that “Judas had charge of the money,” and John 12:6 adds that “he was keeper of the money bag.” This is especially surprising because Matthew, the tax collector, was also one of the Twelve. Wouldn’t you think that a former IRS agent (a truly converted one, that is) might be the most logical choice to be Treasurer of the Twelve? But no, Judas won the job, probably because of a fifth character asset:
5. His reputation was impeccable. At the Last Supper Jesus told His disciples the unvarnished truth: “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.” (John 13:21) Then we are told, “His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them … asked him, ’Lord, who is it?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas…. ‘What you are about to do, do quickly’” Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.”
Is that amazing? Jesus clearly identifies Judas as the betrayer, but his reputation is so squeaky clean that the other disciples can’t accept that Jesus meant what He said. The text goes on to say that “Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.” Furthermore, we learn from the other Gospels that the disciples began to ask Jesus, “Surely not I?” (Mark 14:19) Imagine that! Each of the Apostles suspected himself before any of them suspected Judas, even after Jesus specifically identified him. His reputation was impeccable.
We have seen some of Judas’ significant assets. What about his character liabilities?
His liabilities:
1. He was a man of greed. In fact, he was a thief. Just before the Last Super, Jesus and His apostles at Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, along with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, recently raised from the dead. The disciples also were there. Mary took a vial of costly perfume, made from pure nard, an aromatic herb grown in the high pastures of the Himalayas. She broke the vial, poured its content over Jesus’ head and feet, and then wiped His feet with her hair. Judas immediately objected. These are the first recorded words of Judas in the NT: “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”
You see, Judas wanted this money to go into the Treasury, not because he was frugal and really believed the money could have been better spent, but because he was pilfering from the Treasury, and he saw this as a lucrative new source to satisfy his personal greed. Here’s now verse 6 puts it: “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” What is sad is that the other Apostles joined with Judas in expressing disapproval of Mary, as recorded in Mark 14:5, at least until Jesus vindicated her.
2. He was a devil. John 6:70 is the only time in Scripture when a human being is called a devil. It is especially surprising when we consider that there is only one devil, though there are many demons. Some insight can be gained as we take not of the progression of Satanic influence in Judas’ life. In verse 2 of John 13it says, “the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.” And in verse 27 of the same chapter we read that “as soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.” One whom Satan indwells can appropriately be called “a Devil.”
We shouldn’t be surprised when Satan manifest himself in a person like Judas. After discussing the problem of false teachers in the church Paul concludes in 2 Cor. 11:13-14,
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
This passage teaches us that Satan does not come to us as a red dude with horns and pitchfork, nor does he always try to turn men into degraded, drunken bums. Rather than making bad men worse, Satan normally tries to make good men better, but without Christ. So, to find Satan’s influence we need not look at Skid Row; we may be more likely to find it among the “angels of light”—deacons, elders, clergy, even apostles.
3. He was the Son of Perdition. This term is used of Judas in John 17:12 (KJV) and elsewhere only of Anti-Christ, that violent usurper of spiritual authority who wears down the people of God and tries to stamp out all vestiges of Christian faith during the Great Tribulation, which is still future, though perhaps not too distant. Judas is a picture of that arch-deceiver. The spirit that indwelt and motivated Judas is the same spirit that will indwell and motivate the Anti-Christ, namely the spirit of Satan.
Having considered the character of Judas, it is time to give attention to his conduct. What did he do that earned him the disdain of good people everywhere?
The conduct of Judas
The first thing we note is that he was amply warned in advance of his dastardly deed of betrayal.
He was forewarned. There is an old saying that to be forewarned is to be forearmed. If so, Judas had the least excuse of any man, for if anyone ever had sufficient warning to prevent him from committing an awful sin, it was he. In fact, he was warned several times of the awful path he was on.
1. He was warned when he was called. In Matt. 10 Jesus sends out the Twelve on their first mission. I want us to read some of the things He told them, beginning in the middle of verse 8: “Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.” As you read on through the chapter you find Jesus warning not only about greed, but also about rejection of God’s revelation in Christ (v. 15), about wolves among the sheep (16), about brother delivering brother to death (21, 35), about the disciple not being above his master (24), about secrets being exposed (26), about One who is able to destroy (28), about the consequences of denial (33), and about failure to take up one’s cross and follow Jesus (37). All of these warnings should have put Judas on guard.
2. He was warned at the Last Supper. In John 13 Jesus told the twelve that not all of them were clean (10-11), that one would raise up his heel against Him (18), that one would betray Him (21), and that the one who received the morsel He was offering would betray Him (26).
3. He was warned in Gethsemane (Luke 22:48). Though John does not record this incident, Luke does. When Judas approached Jesus with the soldiers and religious leaders, He asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Judas’ conduct in betraying Christ was despicable, not only because he was warned, but also because …
His crime was premeditated. His was not a sin of passion or insanity. He coolly calculated for the convenient time to do his dastardly deed. In Luke 22:6 we read, “Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.” He was afraid of what the common people who heard Jesus gladly might do to him when his dark deed was discovered. Even sadder, he chose the sacred paths of Gethsemane as the place. John 18:2 says, “Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.”
The final evidence that Judas’ deed was premeditated is that he waited until night. John 13:30 reads, “As soon as Judas had taken the bread (from the hand of Jesus), he went out. And it was night.” He chose the night for safety, but it was night in a far more serious sense for him.
He carried out the betrayal of Jesus in the most sinister fashion. Judas came to the grove of olive trees in Gethsemane, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. It had been prearranged that Judas would identify Jesus by kissing Him, since it was late at night and the soldiers might have trouble distinguishing Jesus from the rest of His disciples. A kiss has always been a token of love and friendship, but Judas chose it as his method of betrayal. And it was so unnecessary, for according to John 18:5-8, Jesus identified Himself three times as the one whom they were seeking.
Perhaps Jesus was trying to spare Judas the last aggravation of sin, namely offering the traitor’s kiss, but he would not be spared. He not only kissed Him, but, according to Matthew, said, “Greetings, Rabbi.” But Jesus refused to revile him and responded lovingly by calling Judas, “Friend.” (Matt. 26:50).
There is a passage in Psalm 55 that speaks eloquently of the pain Jesus must have experienced when this one who was so close to Him chose the traitor’s route.
“For it is not an enemy who approaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
But it is you, a man my equal,
My companion and my familiar friend
We who had sweet fellowship together
Walked in the house of God in the throng.”
For a paltry sum of 30 pieces of silver, the price of a suit of clothes, the price one had to pay a man if one’s ox gored the man’s slave to death (Ex. 21:32), Judas betrayed Christ and watched as they hauled Him off to a kangaroo court. It was a kiss of death: for Jesus only temporarily; for Judas, eternally.
The consequences for Judas
He gained a tortured conscience. (Matt. 27:3) Matt 27:3 in the KJV tells us that Judas “repented.” However, the NIV correctly translates the Greek word as “seized with remorse.” He was sorry for the consequences of his deed, but he never really repented, he never made an about-face, and he never agreed with God as to the nature of his awful deed.
Due to his tortured conscience Judas did attempt to make restitution. The blood money burned in his pocket. He discovered that the pleasures of sin are a mere mirage on the desert of life. And when he returned to those with whom he had conspired against Jesus, the chief priests and elders taunted him by saying of his remorse, “What is that to us? That’s your responsibility.” They twisted the knife that was stabbing his heart, and he felt compelled to throw the money into the sanctuary. The world has no place for a traitor once it has used him.
He experienced a tragic death. Judas was bad enough to do the deed and good enough to be unable to bear the burden of his guilt. He hanged himself, he fell headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines spilled out. That’s the description offered in Acts 1:18, but if he thought that suicide would end the misery of his conscience, he made a terrible mistake. For the unbeliever, death by one’s own hand only speeds up the finality of spiritual death for all of eternity. Dante, in his Vision of Hell, placed Judas in the lowest circle of the damned, as the sole sharer with Satan himself of the very worst punishment. I think he was probably right.
He earned a tarnished name. (John 18:2). Whenever Judas is mentioned in Scripture, it is always with the qualifying phrase, “who also betrayed him.” The name Judas will live forever in infamy as the one who sold his friend and Lord for thirty pieces of silver. His name has become a byword for betrayal and treachery. Some names have been terribly sullied by the despicable behavior of one who bore that name. I think of Jezebel or Brutus or Benedict or Adolph. But there is one name which has not only been sullied—it has been ruined. No mother would ever give her child the name Judas. In fact, no one would even call his dog by that name.
Lessons to learn and live:
1. Self-confidence leads to spiritual complacency. I have a strong suspicion that if we could read Judas’ mind prior to Passion Week, we would find a man confident that he was in control of his own destiny. As a follower of Jesus, he was in the middle of the action. The crowds were getting larger, and he had seen enough miracles from the hands of Jesus to believe He might actually pull off a coup against Rome. If so, Judas was in the right place to capitalize on Jesus’ popularity.
Judas was satisfied that he had an acquaintance with Jesus but seemed unconcerned that his motives and level of commitment were so different from the other Apostles. After all, they weren’t spiritual giants either. In fact, if an objective observer were to rate him against buffoons like Peter, James, and John, he would come out smelling like an olive blossom.
A verse in 1 Cor. 10 has Judas’ name written all over it: “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” There are many today who have an acquaintance with Jesus, more or less. They may even like to associate with other Christians, because they recognize that spiritually that’s where the action is. If they play their cards right, they expect they’ll end up on the winning side. But there’s no point getting too serious about this religion thing—there’s a lot of life to live. Maybe later. Self-confidence, friends, leads invariably to spiritual complacency.
2. Self-pity leads to spiritual catastrophe. I would define self-pity as remorse without repentance. Judas felt terrible about the cards life had dealt him, but he was unwilling to take responsibility for his behavior and unwilling to acknowledge his sin before God. I believe that even at this late date, true repentance by Judas would have brought forgiveness from the Savior, but he chose instead the route of self-pity.
There’s only one proper action to take when one has sinned—repent. Remorse, on the other hand, often comes too little, too late. In Hebrews 12:15-17 we read these poignant words:
“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.”
Self-pity, by the way, is not only a spiritual catastrophe for the unbeliever; it can also be a debilitating factor in the true believer’s life. One of the saddest things I see as a pastor is an occasional parishioner who gets caught up in a whirlpool of self-pity. Perhaps their feelings got hurt somewhere along the line; perhaps they experienced some severe trials in their personal life and didn’t receive the support they felt they deserved; perhaps they’re just angry at God for what He has allowed in their lives. But instead of dealing with the source of their anger, they allow a root of bitterness to grow up, and self-pity is the common result. They begin to withdraw from fellowship; when you see them, they look like they’ve lost their best friend; and if you ask them how they’re doing, they may well answer, “Fine,” in a most unconvincing tone of voice. The fact is their life is a walking spiritual catastrophe. Here, too, the only answer is forgiveness. It may not be a case of asking God for forgiveness; instead, it might be a willingness to forgive others, or even to forgive God Himself.
3. Self-examination leads to spiritual vitality. While we shrink in horror from the treacheries of Judas, perhaps what we should be doing is what the other Apostles did at the Last Supper, and that is to ask, “Lord, is it I? Lord, is it I?” I am not suggesting that a Christian must always wonder about the genuineness of his relationship with the Lord, never able to gain assurance that he is right with God. I don’t believe that. At the same time, it is healthy for us from time to time to examine ourselves to make sure we are not playing games. In fact, in 2 Cor. 13:5 we read, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.”
Conclusion: At the end of Jesus Christ Superstar, after the betrayal, Judas looks back on his association with Jesus and says,
“I don’t know how to love him,
I don’t know why he moves me.
He’s a man—he’s just a man.
He’s not a king—he’s just the same as anyone I know.
He scares me so.
When he’s cold and dead will he let me be?
Does he love me too? Does he care for me?”
The Scripture never records any such attitude on the part of Judas, but perhaps there is someone here who has been asking the same questions, “Does He love me too? Does He care for me?” The answer to both questions is “Yes. Absolutely!” Though this story has no beautiful ending for Judas, it could have one for you. For the Betrayed One died in our place and rose again for our justification. He offers satisfaction instead of suicide, reward instead of remorse.
DATE: February 20, 1994
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Judas
Greed
Son of Perdition
Betrayal
Self-confidence
Self-pity