Betraying Jesus – Part 1
Luke 21:37 – 22:13 (21:37 – 22:3)
October 11, 2020
This morning we transition into another new segment in Luke’s gospel.
Or you might say we transition back to a previous one.
Having finished His sermon on the end and the coming war,
Luke now returns to the flow of the story.
In a chronological sense,
The text actually backtracks all the way back to chapter 19.
At the end of Luke 19 we read:
Luke 19:47-48 “And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.”
In chapter 20 Luke began to chronicle that reality.
• We saw Jesus preaching the gospel in the temple.
• We saw attack after attack.
• And Jesus silenced every argument they had for Him.
• The chief priests tried to nail Him.
• The Pharisees tried to nail Him.
• The Sadducees tried to nail Him.
• No one was successful.
And then Luke related Jesus’ answer to the disciple’s question
Regarding the day He will destroy all their false religion.
But now Luke returns to the flow of events and you’ll notice that
The final verses of chapter 21 pick right back up where chapter 19 ended.
(21:37 – 22:2) “Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet. And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.”
That’s pretty much how he ended chapter 19.
• Jesus is preaching daily.
• The people are hanging on His every word.
• The chief priests want to kill Him.
• But they don’t know what to do.
So after two chapters of explanation as to what Jesus was preaching
Luke has returned to the flow.
YOU’LL REMEMBER THAT JESUS HAS COME TO JERUSALEM
TO SECURE A CRUCIFIXION.
We have also noted that He will lay down His life ON HIS OWN TERMS,
Not the terms of the religious elite.
We’ve talked about before how the Jews often times tried to kill Jesus,
But were UNSUCCESSFUL.
Luke 4:28-30 “And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way.”
John 5:18 “For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”
John 7:25 “So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?”
John 7:30 “So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.”
John 8:20 “These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.”
John 10:39 “Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.”
We have learned throughout history that really no man is untouchable.
• We’ve seen brazen terrorists who thought themselves invincible be taken out, men like Saddam Hussein or Osama Ben Laden
• American history teaches of assassinated presidents like Lincoln or Kennedy.
• Roman history teaches of the assassination of Julius Caesar.
• The Bible recognizes the untimely deaths of men like Belshazzar, Alexander the Great, and Herod
History has seen some of the greatest and most powerful men taken out by their opponents, BUT JESUS IS ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT.
He is too much for man to handle.
John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
The death of Jesus is according to the prerogative of the Father.
No man has the ability to take His life unless He lays it down.
When it happens, it will be according to HIS TIMING,
According to HIS PLAN, and for HIS PURPOSE.
So you understand the frustration of the religious leaders.
This Man has challenged them and offended them for 3 years.
• He has healed on the Sabbath
• He has exposed their hypocrisy
• He has claimed to be the Son of God
• He has now entered Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt claiming to be King
• He has cleared their temple
• He has commandeered it and is preaching His gospel in it daily
• He has escaped every death plot
• He has silenced every argument
• The people are enamored with Him
And there is nothing they can do about it.
John 11:47-48 “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
John 12:19 “So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”
They were stuck.
They were frustrated.
And that is the reality that Luke has now brought back to the forefront.
The religious elite want Him dead but they can’t kill Him.
Their biggest problem today is the crowd.
(2) “The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.”
If you’ll remember this was also why they couldn’t answer Jesus regarding their rejection of John the Baptist.
Luke 20:5-6 “They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ “But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
But it wasn’t just being killed by the crowd that concerned them.
As we read in John 11, they were afraid of starting a riot which would bring Rome into play, and they feared losing their power.
SO THEY WERE STUCK.
And they “were seeking how they might put Him to death;”
And quite honestly they didn’t know what to do.
But God had already determined how Jesus would be captured and killed.
And God’s predetermined and for-ordained plan was: BETRAYAL
TURN TO: ACTS 1:15-19
After the ascension of Jesus, Peter preached to the faithful and reminded them that “the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.”
Peter is either speaking about PSALMS 55, or PSALMS 41 or both.
Psalms 55 is a prophetic complaint by David.
• It was during the revolt of Absalom in which David had to flee.
• David’s former military strategist Ahithophel was now working for David’s son.
• Incidentally, Ahithophel would betray David and end up hanging himself
And David grieved not only the revolt, but the betrayal.
But more than just the story of David,
It was a prophetic announcement of the betrayal of Jesus.
Psalms 55:12-14 “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. 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.”
There was a prophetic picture of betrayal that was coming.
Psalms 41 was also a prophetic announcement of David.
Jesus Himself would reference this one during the Last Supper.
John 13:18 “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.’”
Jesus referenced a different Psalm of David, He referenced Psalms 41:9
Psalms 41:9 “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.”
THE POINT IS THAT IT WAS GOD’S PLAN ALL ALONG.
He announced in the Old Testament and fulfilled it in the New Testament.
• He must be betrayed by one who ate His bread.
• He must be betrayed by one who fellowshipped with Him.
• He must be betrayed by one who was called a friend.
Jesus must identify with unjust betrayal.
Jesus must identify with the undeserved suffering of David.
Certainly we see this as part of Jesus’ preparation to be a faithful and merciful high priest.
• He knows David’s pain in betrayal.
• He knows Job’s pain in betrayal.
Job 19:19 “All my associates abhor me, And those I love have turned against me.”
Jesus could identify with all who have been betrayed.
But it is EVEN MORE THAN Jesus sympathizing with us.
The betrayal of Judas symbolized the total rejection of Jesus
By those He came to save.
John 1:11 “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
There is another prophecy which spoke to the betrayal of Jesus.
TURN TO: ZECHARIAH 11:4-14
(4-6) is a Preincarnate conversation between the Father and the Son.
• The sheep are afflicted.
• Their false shepherds are the enemy
• Jesus is to go and deliver them
(7-8) shows the ultimate defeat of the false shepherds
• Jesus humiliated them
• Jesus exposed them
• Jesus defeated them
We see that frustration right now in Luke’s gospel.
But then the story turns dark.
(9-14) reveals that the sheep He came to save also turned on Him
• He was betrayed and the price was 30 pieces of silver.
• And upon that betrayal Israel would be broken
The betrayal of Judas was symbolic of the entire nation.
• He was one who heard the preaching and teaching of Jesus.
• He was one who witnessed the miracles of Jesus.
• He was one who benefited from the blessings of Jesus.
• He was one whom Jesus came to save.
But he, like the rest of Israel, would reject this sovereign Shepherd
And betray Him on behalf of the former evil shepherds.
(Judas today, the entire crowd tomorrow)
And so Jesus is captured and killed
Not because He was evil, or outsmarted, or overpowered, or snared.
IT IS BECAUSE HE WAS BETRAYED
AND THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT OCCURS IN THE NARRATIVE.
(3-6) “And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.”
WOW! What a turn of events!
The religious leaders must have been blown away.
This was just too good to be true.
• One of His own was actually willing to sell Him out.
• One of His own would set Him up.
• One of His own would help us capture Him when no one was around to cause a disturbance.
They must have felt like the providence of God
Was finally showing up on their behalf.
I imagine Judas walking out of the room and they all just look at each with their mouths open in disbelief that they were finally going to get what they wanted.
They would finally be able to kill Jesus.
A desire that had eluded them for 3 years.
What they no doubt had failed to realize was that
This was all a part of God’s sovereign plan.
Later in the chapter Jesus will actually say:
Luke 22:22 “For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
This betrayal “has been determined”
This is all part of God’s plan to bring Jesus to His atoning death.
He will be handed over and offered up as a sacrifice for sinners.
SO JUDAS BECOMES A REPRESENTATIVE PICTURE
OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL WHICH WOULD REJECT JESUS.
This makes understanding Judas very important.
• For in understanding him, we also understand Israel.
• In understanding him, we also understand the religious unredeemed today.
SO WE ARE LEFT WITH THE MYSTERY OF JUDAS.
Why would Judas betray Jesus?
And how do we handle such a character?
In the years immediately following the death of Christ,
• Judas received immense hatred in the historical record.
• He could not be spoken of with enough scorn for what he did.
• He was described as hideous looking and awful.
• He was painted as a man filled with maggots.
• He was seen as the ultimate of vile and detestable humanity.
His name became synonymous with treachery.
To call someone a Judas is to refer to them in undignified and treacherous terms.
In recent years, liberal theology has tried to sort of give Judas a pass.
Some of you have heard of the “Gospel of Judas”
Which the history channel tried to feature.
• It is a heretical and false gospel account,
• In it Judas is betrayed as the most beloved and faithful disciple.
• It is said that Jesus asked Judas to betray Him so that He could be killed and escape this earthly body and fulfill His role as Savior.
I read an article shared on Facebook the other day
• Where a modern day evangelical claimed to have been convicted by God for condemning Judas saying “Whom am I to say?” if he was saved or lost.
I saw another group of posts going around
• About a guy who got a tattoo on his arm that read “Judas ate too” indicating not only the compassion of Jesus, but also the acceptance of Judas.
Point being there has been a push to sort of minimize what Judas did.
And I understand why. By declaring Judas saved and accepted
Then really any and everyone is getting in.
The life of Judas has also been the subject of debate regarding the sovereignty of God.
For instance:
If God preordained that Jesus would be betrayed and if betrayal was necessary, can God really condemn Judas for simply doing what God foreordained him to do?
And it sparked a heretical debate.
It is a common debate regarding God’s sovereignty over salvation.
People today even see God’s sovereignty as unfair and would use it to blame lostness on God instead of sinners who reject Christ.
Since Judas is a picture of one fulfilling the foreordained purpose of God in betrayal he becomes and important discussion regarding where sovereignty fits with those who reject Christ.
SO YOU SEE WHY UNDERSTANDING JUDAS IS SO IMPORTANT.
• We have a man here who lived among the 12
• A man who preached the gospel and worked miracles
• A man who kept the money bags for the ministry
• A man who lived with Jesus for 3 years as an intimate follower
• A man totally unrecognized as a traitor by his contemporaries
And this man betrayed the Lord and though he felt obvious sorrow,
Never returned to the Lord and ultimately hanged himself.
There is an obvious thread of HYPOCRISY and DECEPTION
That must be addressed.
And I want us to do that this morning, and likely some more next week.
In verses 3-6 there are 4 points to be made about Judas as he fulfills the ghastly role as the one who will betray Jesus and bring His death into reality.
#1 THE CAUSE
Luke 22:3a
“And Satan entered Judas who was called Iscariot,”
Luke is very careful to make sure you and I
Are aware of the spiritual reality behind all of this.
• On one hand we certainly have a sovereign God who is fulfilling His word regarding the betrayal of Christ.
• But we also have the god of this world and his enmity working with all of his might to satisfy his hatred and desire to destroy Jesus.
Luke makes sure you see “Satan” here.
And here we read that “Satan entered into Judas”
It is the most terrifying demonic possession we have ever read about.
• This isn’t just a demon, it isn’t even a legion of demons.
• This is the prince of darkness.
• This is the god of this world.
Satan himself entered Judas.
Judas at this point becomes a puppet.
It brings to our mind a sobering reality that we should never forget.
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
NOW, WHAT I DON’T WANT YOU TO DO
Is to read this and all of a sudden give Judas a pass.
“Well, it wasn’t Judas’ fault, Satan entered him and did that”
Satan entering Judas was not an act against his will,
But rather in perfect harmony with his will.
Back up and see who Judas was BEFORE Satan entered him.
John 6:70 “Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”
Jesus had pegged Judas long before Satan ever entered him.
We read
John 12:1-6 “Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” 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.”
There we read that BEFORE Jesus and the twelve even arrived in Jerusalem Judas had ALREADY had the intention of betraying Jesus.
What you have to understand about Judas is that
He wasn’t just possessed by Satan at the end.
Judas was a child of Satan his entire life.
JUDAS WAS A SLAVE OF SATAN.
And listen, this may be hard to hear, but
EVERY LOST PERSON IN THE WORLD IS IN THAT SAME BOAT.
Those who are not redeemed (a term that means “bought back”)
Are born as children of Satan and are currently slaves of Satan.
(Don’t we remember the fall of Adam and how he sold himself to the enemy and now, in Adam we are all born in sin and death?)
All the unredeemed are children of the devil.
Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”
• You were born in Adam with a nature bent toward sin.
• And when you sinned, when you took the bait.
• You became a slave to sin.
• You became a prisoner of sin and of Satan.
Jesus came along and started offering to free men.
John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
And if you’ll remember, the crowd didn’t like the insinuation that they were slaves.
John 8:33 “They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
But Jesus was very clear.
John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”
And COINCIDING with your slavery to sin is the reality that you are of the devil.
John 8:38-47 “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
Jesus revealed it even to these Jews.
• They were certain that God was their father and Jesus said no.
• You are of your father the devil.
They were children of Satan.
• John the Baptist called them a “Brood of Vipers” literally “sons of snakes”.
You are not born a child of God.
You must be born again to become a child of God.
Remember:
John 1:11-13 “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Unredeemed man is not just neutral.
If you are not a redeemed child of God
Then you are still a child of the devil.
John’s epistle lays this distinction out further.
1 John 3:4-10 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”
John gives two camps.
• Those who are redeemed by Christ.
• And those who are still owned by Satan.
• There is no third category.
And some lost man might say, “Well I don’t believe in Jesus, but I’m not a child of the devil.”
The answer is that they are and don’t know it.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Very simply put, they are deceived.
Paul’s very ministry was to rescue those who were enslaved to Satan.
When Paul gives his testimony, he recounts:
Acts 26:15-18 “And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’”
Paul’s job was to turn men “from the dominion of Satan to God”
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
THIS IS CERTAINLY TRUE OF JUDAS,
And in reality it is true of all unbelievers.
It is not as though Judas was some devout follower of Jesus
Who just got unluckily chosen to be used by the Devil.
No, Judas always belonged to him, as do all unbelievers,
And as a slave of the evil one he became the chosen vessel
Through which Satan would work.
THE POINT IS THIS.
• No amount of fellowship with Jesus…
• No amount of listening to Jesus preach…
• No amount of witnessing Jesus’ miracles…
• No amount of being involved in the ministry of Jesus…
Could change what Judas was.
The only thing that could change Judas
Was if he would repent and place His faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Judas never did that.
Jesus called him a devil long ago.
Judas did what he did because he was a lost man.
(And all lost men serve Satan in one way or another, even religious lost men)
Did Judas love money?
• Yes, we read about him pilfering the money bag.
• We know he’ll betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
Was Judas a liar?
• Yes, he spent 3 years pretending to love Jesus, when he didn’t.
• He told people to believe a gospel that he had rejected.
Judas was a phony and a fraud.
And he was a slave of the evil one.
As to this notion of Judas being a victim?
No, he wanted to betray Jesus.
As to this notion of Judas being the favored disciple?
No, Jesus called him a devil.
As to this notion that Judas might have been saved?
No
John 17:12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”
Jesus called him “the son of perdition”
That is an idiom which means “one devoted to destruction”
Matthew 26:24 “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.”
John 19:11 “Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
Acts 1:24-25 “And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”
Judas was lost, and Judas went to hell.
If you’re looking for the reason why Judas did what he did,
It’s because even though he pretended to be a follower of Christ, he was actually a son of the devil.
There is much more to discuss regarding Judas,
But first let’s just make the obvious point that must be made.
Judas was the primary picture of Israel.
• He was exposed to truth and rejected it.
• He was religious but lost.
• He claimed to be a child of God, but was in fact a child of the devil.
And so Judas also becomes a picture
Of those who associate with the church today,
But who do not know the Lord.
AND THE WARNING IS CLEAR.
DO NOT ASSUME THAT RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATION WILL SAVE YOU.
If living with Jesus for 3 years didn’t save Judas
Then growing up in a Christian home won’t save you.
As a sinner you are slave to sin,
You are a child of the devil,
And he will use you for his own evil purposes.
The only freedom for you personally is to repent of your sin and place your faith in Christ that you might be set free and born again.
John 1:11-13 “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
