Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus is examined, highlighting his privileged position and the tragic end of his life as a cautionary tale. The sermon contrasts Judas's actions with the disciples' genuine faith, emphasizing that Judas was never truly saved but was an unbeliever possessed by Satan. The passage underscores Jesus's immense patience and foreknowledge, revealing that Judas's choice led to eternal damnation, serving as a stark warning against rejecting Christ.
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when Jesus had not said he was troubled and sad, and testified and said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus with him, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him that he should ask, who it should be, or whom he speaks. He then lying on Jesus' breast said unto him, said unto him, Lord, who is it?
Jesus answered, it is he. He it is, to whom I shall give a thop when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the thop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Silas. And after the thought, Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had had a bag, that Jesus had said unto him, By those things that we have need of against the feet, for that he should give something to the poor.
He then, having received a thought, went immediately out, and it was night. What a tragic situation we have before us in this character, Judas. A darker deed never shamed the hands of a human being than what Judas was carrying did. And you stop to think of what this man was, and the privileges he had. And yet how he ended up is a tragic, melancholy story. A man guilty of the most horrible, diabolical times in the history of the universe, Judas Iscariot.
He was the devil's undercover agent. The devil had a front seat to look at the personality and performance of the Lord Jesus Christ. People generally want the front seat, but there's going to be a big performance or act. They want a close look at all the personalities on the scene. And the devil had a front seat in Judas Iscariot, watching and observing the Lord Jesus Christ and everything he did. And he found nothing in the Son of God, and yet he denied him.
He betrayed him. How sad and how sad. Think of the stabbing page, what it must have meant to the Lord Jesus when one he knew so well was going to betray him. Three times in your Bible the Lord Jesus was troubled in spirit. trouble in the soul. There was a stabbing pain when one of his loved ones died, and that was Lazarus, for he loved Lazarus. When Lazarus died and the Lord went to the tomb, he said he groaned and said it, he was sad.
A painful stab when a loved one was dead. He also was troubled as he thought of the cloth. There he was to be stabbed again, in the brow by the thorns, in the hands and feet by the nails, and in his side by the spear. Stabbing pain, but he was stabbed here. He's troubled. Did we not read that? The Lord was troubled. They taught, and it was right after supper, after it had the last Passover, and he introduced The Lord's Supper, the Lord Jesus then, after the Passover, after the Lord's Supper, he was troubled.
What stab? A stab of pain. One of you is going to betray me. One of you is going to give me up to my enemy. That was a sad thing, Lord. Then the searching perception we have in verse eleven, says in verse eleven, for he knew who should betray him, therefore said he are not all three. He knew, he perceived, he knew among the twelve there was one who was going to betray him.
One could go into evidence in the Old Testament, we will before we're through, showing you how the Old Testament scriptures predicted what Judas was going to do. And the Lord Jesus knew the Old Testament, said, not to see the Lord Jesus and his searching for acceptance. The others didn't perceive anything about Judas. There he had gone with them for three and a half years. And not one of the other disciples detected anything. Judas was from Judea. All the other disciples were Galileans. And Judas was selected to be the secretary.
And none of the other disciples, none of them affected Judas. But the Lord perceived something in Judas that was not true. What a searching perception. But then what a serious problem. How was the Lord? And you have that in verse twenty-six. Jesus answered, Ye it is to whom I shall give a throb when I dipped it. And when he had dipped the throb, he gave it to Judas the chariot, the son of Simon. Now the throb was a gesture of friendship. He dipped a piece of bread into the wine, and he gave it to Judas.
a symbol of friendship. And yet, the others didn't even know then, or realize, or believe, or perceive that Jesus was a cook. The Lord had a serious problem. Can I expose him when none of the others dissonant? How am I going to do this? After three and a half years, unveiled, that in our midst has been a devil. Of course the Lord had a problem. But he solved that problem, as Jesus did.
Would you stop to think of how when he said one of you should betray me, and may all, even to John who leaned on Jesus wouldn't he? said, is it me? No one suspected Judas. No one pointed the finger at Judas. What an undercover man he walked. How closely he must have watched every move and every word. Not one word, not one deed. And you remember they were sent out two by two. We don't know the one that Judas went along with. But even the one that he went with, didn't perceive anything wrong with you.
So the Lord had a promise to reveal who it was that was going to portray. Then you have the sad party in verse thirty. It says in verse thirty, he then having received the thought went immediately out, and it was night. Now what a sad, sad night that was. It was a night without a dawn when Judas went out. It was night. Judas had turned his back on the light, and now it was night, eternal life.
But Judas and Jesus will meet again. For what we have here is not the end of the story. Not the end of the story. Was Judas a Christian? Some people will try and tell it, yes. He was a Christian. No, he never was. A prejudice mine will ignore all the evidence in the Bible that Judas was never a Christian. I remember when I first came south up in North Carolina, Winston Sheldon, I met a preacher. He was a very nice fellow and a good preacher, and there were only four in that Jews worldwide denomination that held the office that he had.
The others beside himself, and I went to hear him preach. And he said, a man could be saved and lost again. And his argument was, Judas Iscariot. that Judas was once a Christian and he lost his salvation. That was one of his arguments. The other was his own experience as a preacher. So many people had professed under this preaching and were so bright and then went back. And these were the two points that he labored to try and prove his argument that people could be paid a lot. Well, as to the first one, we can dissipate that.
And I told him he was wrong. Jesus was never a Christian. Never. But on the other point, he had had lots of experiences about people who made a profession who went back. How did he know that they were saved? All preachers were evangelists. who do a lot of evangelistic work and others who do even personal work have seen people make pretty good professions and not stand up. I can tell you of dozens of them. At the time I thought they were genuine, but they were in fact, they turned out to be false because they were false all along.
They turned out to be hypocrites because they were hypocrites all along. Now some real Christians drew backslide. There's no question. And the Lord in his grace will restore them if they want to come back. But a whole lot of make-professions were never born again to begin with. And yet this man used that argument that so many people had professed in his meeting, and he said, I know they were saved. And he said they lost this every. So he used Jesus and his experiences to try and back up his point. Well, his point can be proven false, his whole doctrine flopped.
And the argument of Judas is very clear. Judas was never a born-again child of God. And as to the other that he knew that those who professed it as being for Christians, no preacher can say that. The Lord knows them that are his. And I read in my Bible some go so far as to say, Lord, Lord, we prophesied in thy name. In thy name we've done many wonderful works. We've cast out devils. He says, depart from you. I never leave. A lot of people make professions. and they're not genuine.
I haven't seen the books up in heaven, so when a person professes to be saved, I can be two dogmatic, unless years prove. But a lot of those this brother referred to, they had faded out like a firecracker only a few weeks after they made it. There's a big difference between a star and a firecracker. A star is permanent. Firecracker flares up, fades out, falls back down. Man made a firecracker. God makes a star.
And the stars he seeks of his own as a star. It's a star that will shine forever and ever. All man-made converts were going to come back down. Clear enough. Say it again. Call back. They never had the life of God in them to begin with. This is a serious solemn thing. When you start to think of Judas, just look at Judas. What the scriptures have to say about this betrayer. of the Lord Jesus. He was an unbeliever. All you have to do is read John six and sixty-four.
I'll read it for you. But there are some of you that believe not, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were, that believed not, and who should betray him. Christ knew from the very beginning that Judas was an unbeliever, that he had never been saved. That's what your Bible says. And I'll prove later on what the Old Testament has to say about that. Yes, here we find the Lord declaring from the beginning, Judas, believe not. And also Christ said, he's not a devil. In John six and seventy, Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil.
He saitheth of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. And that was a year before Judas betrayed the Lord. And the Lord says, he was a devil. He's not an angel. He's not an angel. Judas was never called a saint. He was unregentable. We have in verse ten we spoke on that last week, the two vases referred to in Greek washing. They that are big, born again, they need not say to wash the whole body a second time.
They have converted once, but he suggests to keep their heat free, a clean wash, a clean wash. But here's Judas. He never was vain. The Lord said that. He was never born again. And this was a year before he came out and betrayed the Lord. Unregenerated, he said, you are clean, but not all. Judas was an unclean man. Through the morning was a thief. The Lord said that. Not that he cared for the poor. But that he was a thief when he had the bag, and he said, What was put there?
He couldn't say the enemy. Other eleven were thieves. And Judas called worship, wait! No child of God would do that. Only the devil would do a thing like that, and that's exactly what he did. And also Judas was possessed by the devil. Verse twenty-seven of our chapter tells you that, and after the thought, Satan enters into him. That's a sad thing, isn't it? But over in Luke twenty-two, three, says this, Then entered Satan into Judas, her name Descartes, being the number of the flesh.
You know, this is the theory of this. Satan enters into him. There was a time when he had a demon, but there was a time when Satan took over. When a Christian is born again, when a child of God accepts Christ, it simply means this, that Christ enters into that Christian. And Christ stays in that Christian. That Christian has eternal life. Then Christ enters a human heart when that person by faith receives the Savior. It's Christ in that person.
The hope of glory. When the devil takes over, and when the devil enters a person, examination. He's an apostate. There's no further hope. He's a child of the devil. And for him there is no one. That's an apostle. In other words, Judas sold out to the desert. Up till now the door was left open. Up till now he had a chance. If I see anything in this study, it's the patience of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For three and a half years, Judas was under the surveillance of the Son of God. And as Christ was under the surveillance of Judas at the end, Judas would say, I betrayed the innocent blood. For Christ said of Judas, you're a devil, you're a thief, you're an artist. All the patience of the Lord Jesus Christ what patience he with to the last. He gave Judas every opportunity to confess what he wants, and to receive Christ as his Savior.
You know, he's called in your Bible the Son of Prodition. That means after destruction, the Son of eternal damnation. Christ is in John seventeen. All that my father has given me, I have kept, and none of them is lost. Say, the son of perdition, shall the scriptures my people give, and he refers to the king, or to Judas. You know, only once you find that expression, it's over in second Thessalonians, and it refers to the man of king, the son of perdition.
And it refers to Judas! Some try and tell us that Jesus is going to be raised up and will be the coming man of sin. I don't believe it for the minute. It means that Jesus was taken over by the dead. Just like that coming man of sin, Satan, the dragon, will give all his power under that coming beast. He's going to be taken over by Satan. And that's what happened here relative to Jesus. There was a goal. Judas, you had your chance. I left the door open. Finally you made your choice, and that's it.
And it says he went to his own place. In Acts one thirty-five, he went to his own place. He was out of place among the disciples, especially when you come to the account in Acts one after the Spirit of God came and the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. Judas was certainly out of place there. Out of place among the disciples. Out of place in heaven. Friend, if you were to go to heaven, or if you could, you're not going to unless you're born again. But isn't it possible for you to go to heaven without the new birth you'd be out of place? You wouldn't be happy in heaven.
You've got to have a neighbor to sit through for heaven. That's why Christians will be at home in heaven. Can I prove that? Yes. You don't like a good spiritual atmosphere very much. You're a little uncomfortable, aren't you? That's a good way. Real Christians like a spiritual atmosphere. They like to hear the Bible. Sinners, they know. Just so much. You know, it's very significant. We noticed last week how the disciples were quarreling among themselves. Who should be the greatest they wanted position? But John leaned on Jesus' bosom on this occasion.
I don't find them striving for that position that John held on Jesus' bosom. Oh, yes. That intimacy with Christ. I don't think John had much competition. And friends, there's not much competition today for someone who wants to be as close to the Lord as he can get. Oh, you're struggling for place and prominence among men. But how many are seeking to be as close to the Lord as possible to men? Like John! Just like John, who reigned on Jesus as is.
Judas, who fell, from office and didn't fall from grace. He was never in grace and grace was never in him. Think of what he saw. He saw the Lord perform miracles. He saw a lot of things in his life. He heard the Lord preach the gospel. And he himself undoubtedly preached John's gospel, the gospel of the coming day. The Bible says that. You say, how could the Lord use an unsaved man like evidently Judas? What about Balaam's ass?
The Lord used it to speak. What about the ravens that brought food to a life? God can use even animals and birds if he wants to. And undoubtedly Jesus said some of the things he other disciples did in the way of further. that he wasn't a child of God. Yet we have committed many things in my life, done many wonderful works, past a jail, I never knew. It's not that I knew you once, but I don't know you now. Think of the privileges of people, unparalleled opportunities, mixing with the favorite Jews around disciples, My was in a select circle, wasn't it?
Some people mixed with Neolithic, a favorite Jew. God told us, or those were really born again. Think about it. Jesus did that. And I think, too, that Judas was called by Christ as the Father. He witnessed the power of Christ. He saw the Lord perform miracles. He heard the invitations of Christ and the warnings of Christ. My, what a warning he got on this occasion in Matthew, twenty-six, twenty-four.
And truly the Son of Man go, that is, as it is determined. But woe unto that man by whom the Son is betrayed. Good were it for that man if he had never been born. And Judas was listening, go beyond to that man who is going to betray me. It's been better had he never been born. And he heard that a year before he betrayed the Lord. He got a severe warmth. But I became of age, and I knew I was old enough to be saved. I had been under-convicted. I knew what the gospel was.
I laid awake at night wishing that I'd never been born. I wished I'd never been born, or died as a child. Now I'm old enough to understand I'm responsible. I'm faced with Jesus Christ. And I've got to do something with it. I've got to accept them or reject them. I can't use the fact I'm young. I had many times wished I'd never been born, because I'm faced with something now. I've got to hate it. I get it up to say, yes or no, my eternal destiny rests on me.
Many a time I wished I'd never been born, or whatever, the kind of child. Now I'm responsible. Friends, you're responsible too, to make a decision in this all-important matter. Think of his bargain. What did he get? Thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave, according to the Old Testament. He got the name of a traitor, the dying justification of all men, undying justification of all men. A traitor. What undying, contempt, do that's been held by the human race that we betrayed this Lord?
years ago when I was up in Chicago having meetings, it was over forty years ago. I was taken to this huge stockyard in Chicago, one of the Christians. He said, I want to show you something. Why they killed thousands of sheep there every day as well as cattle and other things. He took to me where they took the sheep in, and about a hundred sheep were driven into this yard. And there was one goat. And when they got the quota of sheep, that goat went through a door, a gate to the door. And all the sheep followed that one goat.
And up he went, and up he went. When he got up next to where they were going to slaughter the sheep, he ducked through a door and it slammed behind him, and the sheep couldn't follow. And then they were slaughtered. And he went back on down, and later on took up another door. You know what they call that goat Jew? He betrayed those sheep to death. They even call a goat Jew. That's the reputation of the man who betrayed Lord Jesus.
He has lost the respect for the man. and he's gonna get hell and it's hard that's what he's gonna get didn't say did it poor judas he made an awful decision that's what he lost he lost the lord jesus christ that's what he got and now what he lost he lost the lord jesus christ he lost salvation from sin He lost peace with God. He lost everlasting life. He was going to lose heaven and glory. He didn't get much.
He threw the thirty pieces of silver away when he saw what he had done. Whatever you're taking today, the devil's offering you instead of Jesus Christ. Time will come when you'll throw it away. It don't satisfy you. a apple with Judah, and listen to the name they got. What he lost? Oh, yes, he lost the Lord Jesus. He lost these wonderful things he preached about salvation, peace with God, everlasting life. But the awful deeds in the upper room, the betrayal. The Lord had been in Gethsemane's God, and now he's going for the cause.
A band meets them, headed by Judas. Judas had given them a sigh, when I kissed that man, that's him. Unlikely, it was a nice squad. He didn't want to make a mistake. He didn't want the crowd to apprehend the wrong person. They got back in those days. They meant that's very much the right. Judas says, whosoever I shall kiss, that's him. get it. And Judas walked up to the Lord Jesus, and he kissed him. Just before he reached Christ, he said, Judas, friend, betray us thou, the Son, and man, with a kiss, whatever heaven and hell go close together, Jesus, the son of God, is Judas.
He kissed the very door to him, not with the hand. He kissed the Lord Jesus. How is that? That one about his remorse. Yes, he saw what he had done, and it was truly... Did he think somehow the Lord Jesus was going to wiggle out of this situation, he'd get the money and Christ by one of his miraculous escapes, like on previous occasions when they tried to kill him and he escaped out of the hand? Was Jesus hoping that he'd pull one of those again and he'd have the money and Christ wouldn't die? But now he finds out that he lives.
And he takes the money and throws it down and he ran out and committed to it. What was his confession? I'm going to read you some verses in the New Testament over in Act I. No, no, this is. In Act I, sixteen men and brethren, this scripture must need have been fulfilled with the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David. This is one thousand years before Christ. The Holy Ghost spake by the mouth of David, David, before concerning Judah, which was died to them that took thee. For he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry.
Now this man purchased a field with a reward of iniquity, thirty pieces of silver, and falling headlong he burst a thunder in the midst, and all his bowels got out. And it was known unto all the dwellers of Jerusalem, in so much as that field is crawled in their proper tongue, as seldom are. that is to say, the field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein, and his bishopric or office let another see. One thousand years before Judas, that I, the Lord, the Bible recorded it.
Isn't that something? And exactly came to pass. just the way the Bible says. Jesus was prophesied and so is yours. Judas is going to be entailed because of what he did, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why so likely millions have gone to hell since Judas, because they rejected Jesus Christ. You may not go to God and do what Judas did. But you've got a subtle heart. The same voice that said to Judas the thread.
That's right. That's what we read in our day. Satan said unto you, Now the time. The same voice, Satan's voice, is saying unto you, Don't you accept Christ. Put it off. Post-pon. Post-pon. And you're okay with that. My Bible says, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that hath not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God of Midas on him. As the Old Testament scriptures prophesied this concerning, due to his very death and how he committed suicide, evidently the rope broke over the hill, and down he went and split his body open.
Yes, the same big book that predicted Judas' death one thousand years before is predicting your end as you reject Jesus Christ. Take them hand on foot. Try them, take them away, and cast them in an outer stock that has reached a jail and cast them at sea. That says about all who die without Christ. I know we've all been acquainted with the crash of that big plane recently out of Chicago. I've often thought of reading this incident this past week.
What a relief it was to the other eleven when Judas was exposed. For at the table there were suspense. When the Lord says, one of you will betray him. Triples all began searching their hearts. Is it me? Is it me? And they said, Lord, is it me? He's the one to ask. Don't go to your preacher and ask him if you're saved. Don't go to any relative and ask them if you're saved. These disciples said, Lord, is it me? Am I wrong? Ask the Lord, he'll let you know.
Simply this. He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me past everlasting life shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death. On to life. He let you know. And what was condemnation that Judas was? Salvation to the others, in the sense that their doubt fled to one and the least. When the crook was discovered, the other wasn't it? This brings me to what I want to see. What a relief it is that I want to see. Now, some of you remember this DC accident.
You likely, because you saw this on the Albany paper. The last words of the pilot on that table flight. The last word was Dan. I don't think that pilot was a Christian. He never would have used that word. A Christian would have said, Lord. But here's where man at the controls of a flame loaded with human beings and he's dead. And he walked. It's something happened, said Instantly, me, and I cut another breather. Wonder, caught him in her trickery.
What's to have gone on that flight? Because she'd been doing it for years, who wrote to see some of her relatives out in California. She'd gone on that same flight Friday night. But her family agent called her up and said, Listen, it'd be a lot better for your relatives out there if you'd take the next flight, early Saturday morning. You're saying we'd get in there, and they don't have to work on Saturday, and they'd give any. Sir, the more... You'll save eleven dollars. And she said, I talked to my travel agent. And I didn't have any idea.
But I changed my mind. This is all of a sudden. I did. There she sat with her blankets already. An hour and a half later the news flashed. The plane crashed and everybody killed. There's the picture of her sitting there with all her luggage packed in the table to look and her face. What did she do? She went to the phone, or rather when she heard the news, she says, Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I thought I was saving eleven dollars.
I saved my life. Now, that is it. She called her travel agent, and this is what she said. She said, I am so glad I listened to you. She said, I am so glad I listened to you. If she hadn't listened to her travel agent, she'd have been with all those other charred thoughts. Friend, you're on a flight. a more serious flat. On the devil's earth, Frank. And you are trying to go to heaven by your good work, your good life, church members.
Let me tell you one thing. That travel agent didn't know that plane was going to crash. She liked to get it out of good business. Not that she loved that person. She didn't. But I'll assure you one thing, your plane's going to crash. And he could crash any day with a little old trickle-stop. And the devil's going to fight. And he's hoping you'll stay on board until you do crash. And you'll be with the devil and it ain't. What I say this morning has no connection with this. I'm saying to you out of love.
You better cancel the flight you're on and take another. With Jesus Christ the pilot. I'm saying it out of love. The Christ was going to die. I wouldn't preach as I do if I didn't love your soul. And I would regard that some of you would come up after the meeting and say, Brother Wilson, I'm glad I took your advice. Never mind saving eleven dollars. I'm my soul saved. Will you take my advice?
Will you get on this plane of going to glory with Jesus Christ the pilot? There'll be no crashes when you have images pilot. If you take my advice, my advice is based on the Bible. I trust you'll be like that lady in Chicago. Oh, the release that'll come over your heart. And you know your city. Those disciples were disturbed for a few moments until Judas was exposed and then they were relieved. Is it exposure of your hypocrisy? that you're going to face in the crash, or are you going to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior?
And all the relief, my sins of the day, I have peace with God. I have everlasting life. This is my whole heart of advice to you this morning. Out of pure love, I would say nothing more and nothing less if you were able to give me a million dollars. I'm not into it. I want to see you saved and placed on the way to heaven before I hear of your cry. Will you accept Christ? Will you receive him now? He's got a heart just as treacherous as you.
Don't let it deceive you. Come to Christ. He loved you. He died for you. Accept him now. Shall we pray? Our Father in heaven, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come before thee. We ask thy blessing on thy precious Holy Word. May heart the day the tree of the tree. How the devil... makes himself known in meetings like this, and he whispers, you went through the human heart, lightly whispered to Judas, to betray the Lord. That same subtle, sinister voice is here today telling men and women to put it up.
Don't do it now, hoping that crash will come, and they are unsafe. Oh, that thy holy spirit hoist may be heard. hearts will yield to Christ. They'll have that divine release out of Jerusalem. I'm saved. I'm on the way to