53:53

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Judas, disciples, Jesus, betray, Christ, Judas Iscariot, money, heart, people, man, tells, silver, verse, God, close, Matthew, church, chief priests, calls, religious

Table of Contents

Introduction.. - 1 -

1. His External Disguise. - 3 -

His Name. - 3 -

His Occupation. - 3 -

His Duty. - 4 -

His Relationships. - 5 -

2. His Internal Disposition. - 7 -

His Heart was Greedy. - 7 -

He seemed like a righteous man, but he was only religious. - 8 -

He seemed repentant but he was only remorseful. - 9 -

Warning. - 11 -

Prayer. - 11 -

Introduction

Throughout the ages, we have seen some pretty evil men. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Mussolini, Osama bin Laden and many others. But none compare to Judas Iscariot. He didn't kill millions of people like the others did. He didn't starve his own people with famine. He didn't murder his own family like some of these evil men did. But he did one act that has been known throughout history as the worst of any kind.

What did he do? He betrayed his savior. He betrayed the Savior. And I believe that we see this one act of betrayal as the worst of all, because he was so close to holiness. He was face to face with God in the flesh. Adolf Hitler was raised as a Catholic. He was never fond of Christianity, though. And according to one source, Hitler speaks of Christianity as absurdity and humbug, founded on lies with which he could never come personally to terms.

But that wasn't Judas' attitude. He was accepting of Christ. He lived with Christ. He walked with Christ, he talked with Christ, he ate with Christ. But in the end, when 30 pieces of silver were placed in front of him, he betrayed this Man with whom he was so close with. And I think that is why Judas is seen as the most wretched and vile man in all of history. He was so close to God, and yet he was so far away. And what is perplexed many people throughout the ages, is wondering how this man, chosen by Jesus Himself to be a disciple, was not found out sooner. Why was he even chosen as a disciple? Did Jesus not know? Was he born to do this deed and used as a robot by God to fulfill this plan? Maybe Judas was a pawn in God's hand and had zero chance of ever escaping what he did. Maybe Judas wasn't responsible for what he did, since it was prophesied about him that he would reject Jesus. How could someone so close to Jesus do this to Him? All of these questions have been asked by many throughout the centuries.

I remember serving with a man in ministry, whose life was a complete lie. A total lie. He was married with two kids. He told me that he had a job as a local sheriff. He would even tell me stories about his job and the things that he would do as a sheriff. He carried a large Bible around with him. He spoke the Christian language; he used the words blessed, and amen, and brother it is so good to see you. He was even put in a leadership position within the church. But we would eventually found find out that his whole life was a lie. In fact, it got so bad that we even had to go to the feds to see if his name was actually his name. We were shocked. Horrified. How can someone get to that level within the church of Christ and yet turned out to be a fake? It was shocking when we found out that his whole life was a lie.

But he's not the only one that's done something like that. There was one who is even closer to Christ, who turned out to be a fake, a phony, a hypocrite who was living a lie. And I want to talk about him this morning. And I want to do it this morning because as we continue to work our way through the rest of Mark, and through this passion week, we're going to see Judas come up again. So I hope this morning, just to set some things straight about this man so that as we continue to see him come up time and time again, you won't have all of these questions about him, but we'll understand who this man was, what he did, and why he did it.

So let me read our passage for us here this morning in Mark chapter 14, verses 10 and 11. Mark 14, look at verse 10. "Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. 11 They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time." (Mark 14:10-11)

The last time that we were in Mark, we saw this contrast between Mary's act of true worship (there in verses 3-9) vs Judas' false worship. Mary was a true worshipper of Jesus. Judas was a false worshiper. And as we pause right here this morning, and we talk about this man, Judas Iscariot, I want to give us two simple points here this morning. Two simple points.

1. First, we're going to see his external disguise, his external disguise.
2. And then second, we're going to see his internal disposition.

1.     His External Disguise

His Name.

So, let's begin with our first point here this morning his external disguise. Look at what it says there at the beginning of verse 10. "Then Judas Iscariot", let's look first of all at his name, the name of Judas Iscariot. The name Judas is a Greek transliteration of a Hebrew name Judah, Judah. And here is what it means. Judas means "praise Yahweh". Praise Yahweh. Obviously, as a baby, when Judas was a little baby boy, his mother and his father, father's name is Simon. They had high hopes for this little guy. High hopes for this little boy. As devout Jews they named him "praise Yahweh." Judas. This was a common name for boys back then, because it was one of the names of the twelve patriarchs, the son of Jacob, Judah, and so many people named their sons, Judas. It was a very popular name amongst boys that it would be essentially like us naming our boys "Christian" today. Obviously, parents have some desire for their son when they name him, Christian. And that was Judas' parents. They had high hopes for him. They named him Judas, praise Yahweh, popular name.

It was also a popular name because of Judas Maccabeus, who was a hero to the Jews and led a revolt against Syria and gave the Jews their independence eventually, in 153 BC. And so this was a common Jewish name. In fact, one of the other twelve disciples was even named Judas. Jesus had a brother named Judas. Very common name. But Judas Iscariot as a Jewish little boy, his parents had high hopes for him. As they named him "praise Yahweh."

Now we know him as Judas Iscariot, Iscariot not being his last name. But Iscariot meaning man of Kerioth. Man of curiosity was from Kerioth, which was the town that he was from this town was south of Jerusalem in Judea, which made Judas the only disciple who was from Judea. The only one. All of the other ones were from Galilee. They were all Galileans, except for Judas. And so even from the outset, it is as if Judas doesn't fit in, he doesn't fit in. All the other disciples being from Galilee, most likely had some familiarity with one another. Families would have known each other, they would have done business together with each other, as they were all from that region of Galilee. But Judas was an outcast, from down south, in Judea, in the town of Kerioth. So that's his name.

His Occupation.

Let's look next at his occupation, his occupation. Although he was one of the twelve disciples, he had a special occupation amongst the disciples that the other disciples didn't have. In fact, turned over with me to John chapter 12. John chapter 12. John gives us a lot of details about Judas Iscariot, and all that was going on with him. And in John chapter 12, and verse 4, it says this. "But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.” (John 12:4-6)

You notice right there in verse 6, he had the money box. He was the man who was the treasurer for this group of 13 men. That was his occupation, he had a special duty amongst all of the disciples, with Jesus leading all of them. He was the treasurer for this group. People would often give them money. And as they gave them money for Jesus to do His ministry, and these men to do their ministry, it all went to Judas. And he kept it in the money box. Typically, that was a bag that hung on their side, and he would keep it tucked all in there, in this money bag. Luke, chapter 8 and verse 3 tells us that there were people who supported Jesus and the disciples out of their private means. So, they would support these guys, and all of that money would go to Judas. Judas was in charge of it all. John tells us, the Judas used to take a little bit out of that money box for himself, he would pilfer what was put into it.

John didn't know it at the time, obviously, that he was walking around with Judas. He didn't know that Judas was doing this. But by the time that John writes his gospel, he now is looking back and knows the heart of Judas, and knows all the things that Judas was doing. He now knows the truth of this man. And he tells us that Judas would pilfer what was put into it. But while Judas was walking around with Jesus, and these other 11 disciples, he was known as the trusted treasurer. They trusted him with it all. It's all yours, Judas, you take care of it. On the outside, he had a disguise. And he disguised himself as the one who could be trusted. You give me the money, and I'll handle it. I'll take care of all of it for you, you can trust me. He disguised himself that way. And the other 11 saw him as a trusted friend, a man who was responsible. He was responsible with all the funds, responsible enough to take care of the money for them. He was their treasurer. And that was his occupation that he had, as he traveled around with this group of guys.

His Duty.

So that's his name and his occupation. Let's look next at his duty, his duty. While his occupation was that of a treasurer, his duty was that of a disciple. He was to be a disciple. What does the word disciple mean? It simply means a learner. He was a learner. As a disciple, his duty was to follow Christ and then learn from Him. Look again at John chapter 12 and verse 4, look at what it says there. "But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who is intending to betray him." (John 12:4)

Notice John tells us there that Judas Iscariot was one of His disciples, he was a follower of Jesus, he was a learner of Jesus. Now, disciples in those days, we need to understand the context and what's going on. In those days, disciples, in those days they would follow around a particular teacher, or a religion, a specific religion, or philosophical school. That's what they would do, they would learn. And the duty of that disciple then was to learn, to study, and then to pass along all of the sayings and the teachings that their master taught them. That was what Judas was responsible to do. That was his duty as one who was called to be a disciple of Jesus.

In Rabbinic Judaism, the disciple was one who was committed to the interpretations of the Scriptures, and the religious traditions that were passed down to him by the Rabbi, or the master whom they followed. And these guys, their task was then to learn from Jesus, and then to go out and to preach that same message that Jesus had preached. That was their duty. That's what they were called to do. In fact, in Mark chapter 3 and verse 13, we read this, "And He went up on the mountain, and summon those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him, and He appointed twelve..." (listen to this) "so that they would be with Him, and that He could send them out to preach." (Mark 3:13-14)

That's what He called them to do. That was the duty of a disciple, to be with Him, to learn -- to learn all these things that their master was teaching, and then to go out and proclaim to other people, and tell other people, all these things that they learned from their master. Jesus appointed twelve. Jesus had many other disciples, many other followers who wanted to be around Him, but He specifically chose out of all of these disciples, 12 of them, to be close with Him, to learn the things that He was teaching, so that they could be prepared to go out and to preach the gospel. Jesus appointed these twelve, including Judas, to go out and preach the gospel.

In fact, these twelve are even called apostles, we see them called apostles in Scripture. That is, they are "sent out" ones that's what Apostle means, one who is sent out. And they were apostles, men who were sent out by Christ, by Christ Himself.

And in the list that we see in Matthew and Mark and Luke, Judas is listed there as one of the twelve apostles, he's there with them. His duty was to be a disciple, a learner of Christ, and then as an apostle, to go out and to preach the gospel of Christ to the lost. And yet, he was no disciple at all. All he wanted was money, and power. That's what he was after. Judas knew the power that Jesus had. And he thought that Jesus -- as the Messiah was going to come and conquer Rome, and set up His earthly kingdom. And Judas wanted a high spot in that kingdom. He wanted the prominent spot in that kingdom. He knew there's the Messiah, He's coming to establish the kingdom. And I want a part of that. And I want to be up there with Him. So, if I can get close with Him, then I'll be in. And we'll have a prominent spot. He wanted to gain power and prestige for himself. He was no learner of Jesus. He only wanted to use Jesus to get what his sinful heart desired.

To the watching world, he disguised himself as a disciple of Jesus. They would have looked at him and they would have seen him as a true disciple, as a true apostle, being sent out by Jesus Himself. So that's his name, and his occupation and his duty.

His Relationships.

Let's look next at his relationships, his relationships. It's interesting when you look at the lists that are given in Matthew, and Mark and Luke, that Judas is always listed last. He's always listed last in those lists of the apostles. The lists start off with Peter, James, John and Andrew, those four guys. They're always listed first. And we know that there was the inner three, right? The three that were closest to Jesus, three disciples that Jesus was closest with -- Peter, James, and John. Those three guys, they were the three guys who were on the Mount of Transfiguration with Christ. They saw Him glorified. They saw the Transfiguration of Christ there, these inner three, were really close with Jesus. These three were also taken by Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane, to go and pray with Him. These three were the closest disciples of Jesus.

But the furthest disciple from Jesus was Judas. He is always listed last in the list of the twelve. What's interesting as well, is Judas' relationship to Jesus. And all of the interactions that we have between Judas and Jesus. Judas never calls Jesus "Lord". He never calls him Lord. In fact, turn over to Matthew 26. In Matthew 26, Matthew gives us this account of the Last Supper when they're all reclining around the table. Jesus there with the twelve disciples. Matthew 26 in verse 20, it says this,

Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. 21 As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” 22 Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him,” (notice this)  “Surely not I, Lord?” 23 And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man is to go, 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.” 25 And Judas, who was betraying Him, said,” (notice this) “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.” (Matt 26:20-25)

Notice he never calls Jesus, Lord. He always calls him Rabbi. Even when he comes to betray Him, and he kisses Him on the cheek, he calls Him "Rabbi", teacher. That's all He was to him. That was his relationship with Him. And I believe he calls Him Rabbi, and he never calls Him Lord, because Jesus was never lord of his life. He couldn't even bring himself to call Jesus Lord, because Jesus was nothing more than a Rabbi to him. He was nothing more than a teacher. The other 11, they called them Lord. But Judas couldn't call Him Lord, because although he followed Jesus and heard Jesus preach and watched Jesus performed miracles, he didn't have that relationship with Jesus as Lord of his life. On the outside, he made everyone think that Jesus was his Lord. But he was a hypocrite, a false disciple.

And Judas was so good at what he did that even had all of the other 11 disciples fooled. He fooled all of those guys whom he walked around with day after day, he had those guys fooled. In fact, look at what it says Matthew 26, in verse 21. "As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” (Matt 26:21-22)

Someone here in this group is going to betray Jesus, who is it? Notice they didn't say, oh, yeah...Judas, he's it...he's the guy. What do they do? They all begin looking at themselves and saying, not me, Lord. Not me. May not be me, Lord, I don't want to betray You. They had no clue that it was Judas. Why? Because Judas had an external disguise of looking like a true disciple. And yet his heart was far from Christ.

Listen, there are many people who are disguised as Christians today. They call themselves Christians. They do the Christian thing. They go to church. They occasionally read their Bible. They offer up a few prayers. But they're not a true disciple of Jesus. And they're not following Christ.

Just like Judas didn't follow Christ. Jesus knew his heart. And He knew that Judas was going to betray Him. But to the rest, they couldn't tell because Judas was so good at hiding his true heart. And so that's his external disguise.

2.     His Internal Disposition.

Let's move on to our second point, point number two. His Internal Disposition. His Internal Disposition. And what I want to do here is I want to show you the heart of Judas. I want to show you what people would have thought about his heart, but what he actually really was. If you remember from our passage last week in Mark 14, Judas seemed to be concerned about the poor. He was upset with Mary, because Mary had wasted her perfume on Jesus. Judas had thought and said, we could have sold that for a year's wages. And we could have given all of that money to the poor. And Judas, along with some of the other disciples, they became indignant toward Mary, because of what she had done. But John tells us that Judas was the one who was leading the charge on this. And if you were there that day, sitting amongst them and seeing Mary anoint Jesus, pouring out her perfume. And if you were there, and you would have heard the disciples become indignant toward her, and get angry with her and hear these words, "we could have sold that and given all that money to the poor." You might have thought to Judas, wow, what a great guy. Look at this man, he cares for the poor. Look at his heart. He cares for the low of society. What a great heart this guy has into the watching world. He seemed like he was giving.

His Heart was Greedy.

But listen, his heart was actually greedy. John tells us in John 12:6. He says this. "Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. And as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it." (John 12:6) That was his heart. He was a man who was full of greed, he loved money, and money was his God.

Jesus said, "You cannot serve two masters." (Matt 6:24) You will love one and hate the other. And he says you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money.

You will either love one and hate the other. And if you love money, then you hate God. That was the heart of Judas. He was greedy. And he loved money. And he loved money so much that when the chief priests offered him 30 pieces of silver, he takes it. How much is 30 pieces of silver worth? We don't know exactly. But one commentator says that these silver coins could be 30 shekels, which would be equivalent to 120 denarii. Now remember what did they say about the perfume could be sold for how much 300 denarii. 30 pieces of silver = 120 denarii.  Judas was willing to betray Jesus for 1/3 the price of that, of that perfume that Mary poured out We do know from Exodus 21:32, that 30 pieces of silver was the price of a slave. The price of a slave. And in Acts chapter 1, it was enough to buy a potters field. And Judas was willing to betray the King of kings for a measly 30 pieces of silver.

If fact, look at Matthew 26 in verse 14, look at what it says there. "Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. 16 From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. (Matt 26:14-16) Notice what happened here, notice this and look and see what happens in Matthew 26. Here, the chief priests did not seek out Judas. But Judas sought them out. And he comes to them, and he says, how much?  I love money, how much?  I'll make a deal with you. 30 pieces of silver? Done. I'll take it. He sought them out. He went to them. And he bargained with them because he was greedy for money. Then they weighed out the 30 pieces of silver, they gave it to Judas. And then he went out and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

When Judas was there at the Last Supper with Jesus, do you know what was there in his money box? That 30 pieces of silver. It was a done deal for him. He was so greedy, that he was willing to put that 30 pieces of silver into his money bag, and then go and have a meal with Jesus. It was a done deal for him. He betrayed his own Master, the one who spent three years of His life pouring into Judas and teaching him truth after truth, after truth. But because his heart was full of greed, he was willing to betray Jesus. To the watching world, he was a giving man. But his heart was full of greed.

He seemed like a righteous man, but he was only religious.

So not only was he greedy, but second, to the watching world. He seemed like a righteous man. But he was only religious. He seemed like a righteous man, but he was only religious. When all of the guys had gathered there for the last supper to celebrate the Passover. Judas was there. When Jesus sat on the mountain and taught the people, Judas was there. When the disciples were sent out to preach the gospel, Judas went with them. When in John chapter 6 in verse 66, any of the disciples of Jesus turned their back and walked away from Jesus. Judas stayed. (John 6:66-71) He was, by all accounts, a devout Jewish boy who was following his Rabbi.

And remember, he was from Judea. He was Jewish, a Jewish boy, his parents were most likely devout Jews, which is why they named him praise Yahweh. But his religion that he had, the religion that he practiced, did nothing for him. It was an empty religion. He had some kind of external religion that people could see. But he had zero devotion to Christ and the things of God. And the amazing thing is that he looked no different than the other 11.

In fact, Peter said of Judas, and Acts 1:17, "for he was counted among us and received a share in this ministry."  He was out doing the things that we were doing, he was there with us. He was a part of this ministry. No one saw the disciples and thought, you know, you 11 guys are righteous, but that one right there, he's a devil. No one did. They saw him and they would have thought wow, look at that man, his heart is devoted to God. Very religious man, very devout man. And he was very religious. But his religion was worthless, because it didn't come from a heart that was fully devoted to Christ. He only wanted to use Jesus for his own personal gain.

James tells us about religion, and what true religion is. James 1:27, "pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world." (James 1:27) Judas wanted nothing to do with orphans and widows. He wanted nothing to do with the poor of society. And yet he conveyed that to people. Sell the perfume, and we'll give it to the poor. But really, he wanted nothing to do with the poor. He wanted the world. "Pure and undefiled religion is to keep oneself unstained by the world." Judas loved the world, and he wanted the world and he wanted everything in the world for himself. And to the people, he looked religious. But his heart was far from being right with God. He may have looked righteous, but he was only religious. A religious man and his religion did nothing for him.

He seemed repentant but he was only remorseful.

And so not only was he greedy, and religious, but third, he was also unrepentant. He was unrepentant to the watching world. He seemed repentant, but he was only remorseful. He seemed repentant, but he was only remorseful. Turn over to Matthew 27. Matthew 27. And look at verse 3 and what it says there. Matthew 27 verse 3, we see Judas' remorse here. Verse 3. Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; (Matt 27:3-5)

And if we stopped right there, we might think, Wow, what a repentant man. Right? We read this, look at what he says, I have sinned. He confesses his sin, that he has betrayed Jesus. He goes and returns the money, gives it back to them. Doesn't that mean he's repentant? Doesn't that mean he really wants to have a relationship with Christ? No, it doesn't. How do we know? Look at what he did next. The end of verse 5. Look what it says there. "And he went away and hanged himself." (Matthew 27:5) He hanged himself. He hung himself because he couldn't live with the guilt that he was going to carry around with himself the rest of his life. He couldn't live with it. This man didn't seek true repentance.

In fact, Matthew tells us that he only felt remorse, not repentance. The Greek word for remorse is the word metamelēmai. And it means to have regrets about something in the sense that one wishes it could be undone. But it's not true repentance. Repentance in the Greek is the word metanoeó. And it means to feel remorse, repent or be converted. But Judas felt metamelēmai, not metanoeó -- he felt remorse, not repentance. And that is why he went and hung himself because he was only remorseful. He wasn't repentant. And he was remorseful because of how it made him feel. Because life was all about Judas. It was all about him. I don't want to feel this way anymore. Here I'll give him the money back. But there was no repentance. And instead of repenting and turning to Christ and trusting in Christ and begging Christ for forgiveness. What did he do? He went, and he killed himself. He couldn't live with the regrets, and he was unwilling to repent. And so he took his own life.

Now, let me just be clear here about Judas. Everything that Judas did, he acted out of his own will. Everything. He acted out of his own heart. Some people might look at the account of Judas and think that God did this to him. Or that Judas was acting as some kind of robot because it was prophesied that He would do this. Right? Back to in Psalm 41, verse 9, it says this,

Even my close friend in whom I trusted,

Who ate my bread,

Has lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9) 

Psalm 55, verse 12,

For it is not an enemy who reproaches 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.

13 But it is you, a man my equal,

My companion and my familiar friend; (Psalm 55:12)

Who's that talking about? Judas. We even seen Zechariah 11:12 and 13 tells us how Jesus will betrayed, be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Zechariah 11:12. “I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD. (Zech 11:12-13) Exactly what Judas did.

Matthew even quotes these verses here in relation to Judas. We might look at this and we might think, well, Judas was just a robot. Judas isn't responsible for this. But he was. Judas was held accountable for his actions. Judas did everything according to his own heart. His heart was greedy, and he wanted money. His heart was religious, but he didn't want to right relationship with Christ. His heart was remorseful but not repentant. And he acted out of his own heart. And yet, at the same time, the amazing thing in all of this is that he was being used by God to fulfill God's divine plan. But he was responsible for every action that he took. He was responsible for hardening his heart toward Christ and trading them in for 30 pieces of silver.

Yes, and Judas was even filled with the devil -- controlled by Satan himself. Judas wasn't demon-possessed. Listen, Judas was Satan-possessed. Luke 22 and John 13 tells us that Satan entered into him. Why did this happen? Because Judas opened up his heart to be used by Satan in this capacity. And he was responsible for making the choice to be used by Satan, and to betray Christ.

Now when did he do this? When did Judas do this? When did this happen in Judas life? When did Judas finally harden his heart toward Christ? Well, I believe it was happening all along. But I believe it was on that Palm Monday -- as Jesus came into Jerusalem to go and die. All throughout that week, Jesus is telling His disciples that He is going to die. Remember that even before that point of Him going into Jerusalem, He's been telling them guys we're going to Jerusalem because I got to go and die. But on that week on that Palm Monday, as Jesus enters in on that donkey, he finally gets it. Judas realizes, Oh no, He is going to die. And I think that when Judas heard this, and finally realize this, he didn't want Jesus anymore. He didn't want a dead Messiah. He wanted to use a conquering Messiah who would overthrow Rome and set up the kingdom so that Judas could get his own power and riches. That's what he was after. And the moment that he realizes and recognizes this Messiah is going to die ---He said I don't want Him anymore.

One commentator says, Judas Iscariot came to the conclusion that there was nothing left in this Jesus business. Nothing left. And so he betrayed Him. He'd hardened his heart toward Christ, and he betrayed Him. And he willingly did everything that he did. Although it was all a part of the sovereign plan of God. But he willingly rejected Christ as his Savior.

I want to close with something that all of you are familiar with, because we studied it not too long ago. If you remember back in Mark chapter 12. In fact, turn over to Mark chapter 12. I want us to see this again. Mark, chapter 12. Jesus is asked a question by a scribe. He comes up and asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment? Remember this? And Jesus answered with "…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbors yourself…" (Mark 12:29-31) He gave him the two greatest commandments. And the scribe then tells Jesus that He had answered correctly. And look at what it says in Mark 12, verse 34, “When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34)

We talked about how that scribe was so close and yet so far, and yet here is the amazing thing... Judas was even closer. He was even closer than that scribe less. He walked with Jesus. He talked with Jesus, he heard everything that Jesus said, He ate with Him. He recognized and realized that He is the Messiah. As the disciples confessed, You are the Messiah. He was in the circle. He was friends with Christ's followers. He would have been the guy who would have sat in at every Bible study, and he would have showed up to every church service. When the church doors were open, Judas was there. He listened to the greatest sermons that were ever preached, and he saw the greatest miracles that were ever performed. He spoke the language of a disciple, and he walked among true disciples, but his heart was hard, and he turned out to be a false disciple.

Warning

Listen, there are many Judas 's who sit in the pews of our churches today. They're not afraid to identify with Jesus. They even like to call themselves Christians. They take on the label, they go through the religious motions. As one preacher said, it is possible to be in the Church of God and yet not be a disciple in heart. Are you a true disciple of Christ? Listen, this message this morning is a warning. It's a warning. Don't come to church and listen to the truth and continuously harden your heart toward Christ. Don't do it.

In fact, it is better that you don't show up here anymore. Because you will be held accountable for every thing that is preached from this pulpit. You will be held accountable for this. It's better that you don't even show up.  But my prayer for you is that you would not harden your heart. But that you would show up to church with a love and a devotion for Christ. My prayer is that your heart would become more and more soft to the things of Christ. My prayer is that you wouldn't leave this church, but that you would repent of your sin and run to the Savior and beg for mercy and call out to Him as Lord and place your trust in Him. And listen, if you do that, He will save you, because He's a saving God. My prayer is that you would do this and become a true disciple of Christ. So that you would not be found out to be a false one like Judas.

Prayer

Father, we thank You for this warning. Father, we know what Your Word tells us. That we are to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Father I pray for anyone who is here this morning, who is not in the faith, who is not a true born-again believer. Father, I pray that You would draw them to Yourself, that You would grant them the gift of repentance and faith. That they would fall on their knees before You, realizing and recognizing that they have sinned against You -- a holy and righteous God. And I pray that they would place their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Father I pray for anyone who is here who is religious, who is going through the motions. Father, I pray that You would convict their heart  -- that You would help them to be a true worshipper of You. That they would repent of that sin of being religious, that they would be right with You. Father, I pray that no one in this place would ever harden their heart toward You. That no one would be found out to be a Judas. That everyone here would be a true disciple of You. Other help us to take these truths that we have learned this morning to examine our own lives. And each day as we walk with You, and listen to Your truth, that we would humble ourselves before You -- a holy and righteous God -- and that we would live in obedience to Your Word. Father I pray for anyone who is here who is struggling with greed. Father, I pray that You would grant them repentance from that. That they would love You and You alone. That they would serve You and You alone, that You would be the master of their life. Father, we thank You for this warning that we have been given here this morning. May we continue to examine our hearts and to live in obedience to You, for Your glory alone we pray in Christ's name. Amen.