Anatomy of Betrayal
CCCAG April 2, 2017
Scripture: John 13:21-30
One of the most famous betrayals in history was the betrayal of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was a general and politician in Rome during it’s years of being a Republic prior to becoming an empire. He is responsible for conquering parts of Germania and France and even had a few excursions into the British Iles.
After a great deal of drama and political strife, Caesar led his army into the city of Rome, and wrestled power away from the current leader, Pompey, and set himself up as the Dictator of Rome. This initially was not a normal dictatorship where a person rules for life, but one that was elected on a yearly basis.
Initially, this move was very popular with the people. He was a much loved figure, and for the most part his rule was fair.
Then Caesar got the Roman senate to declare him Dictator for life.
This was very concerning to many of the senators who valued the freedom that Rome represented being a democratically elected government. They formed a conspiracy that assassinated Caesar on March 15th, 44 BC. The Ides of March if you remember your high school reading.
These events were immortalized in William Shakespeare’s play that we all probably had to read in High School.
I read the account of this assignation from a historian that said Julius Caesar, being a soldier and general before he became a politician, fought back against his assassins ferociously, until he saw the face of his friend Brutus. Seeing the face of his most loved friend, and faced with this betrayal, it is said that Caesar cast his robe over his head allowing the knives to fall while uttering the famous Latin words, “Et Tu Brute?”
Even you Brutus? Caesar couldn’t face the betrayal of one of his closest friends, and let the knives fall.
I was reminded of this incident this week when I was reading about Judas Iscariot.
What immediately comes to your mind when you hear that name-
Revulsion
Traitor- traitors are always evil!
Benedict Arnold- served the British against Americans
Richard Ried- the shoe bomber
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg- sold the secrets of the nuclear bomb to the Soviets
Even considering all of these people,
Judas’ betrayal of Jesus dwarfs them. Judas betrayed God Himself for his own selfish gain.
Or was that the only reason?
Let’s read this morning from John’s account of the moment Judas decides to betray Jesus-
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
Prayer
Recently, I was told that the Trempealeau County Coroner is going to be contacting me about a very part time job. I would be assisting her and the Sheriff’s Department in doing death investigations and ordering forensic autopsy’s. Kind of like CSI Trempealeau County.
I like figuring things out- poking around and looking under the surface of things for what really happened.
I want to do that this morning with Judas, and go beyond the surface we all have heard about- that he was some kind of scum and sleazy guy that betrayed Jesus and see if we can discover the full anatomy of his betrayal.
We are going to be crime scene investigators this morning investigating what lead up to the most famous murder in history- We are going to study the betrayal of Jesus Christ, but looking at the man behind it.
Let’s look at some of the background information we have to consider about Judas before he left the upper room that night to meet with the Jewish authorities.
The first piece of background information is this- how did Judas get into the inner circle of disciples?
I. Judas was called
Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the calling of Judas to be one of the twelve disciples.
Think about that for a moment- from the first moment that Jesus laid eyes on Judas, He knew this was the man who was going to betray him.
In fact, from eternity past, Jesus in heaven knew exactly who was going to betray Him.
Yet He still let him be born. He still allowed him to grow up to meet Jesus one day.
And Jesus called him, knowing full well that Judas was going to betray Him and cause Him a great deal of pain.
That’s mind blowing when you consider that Jesus called Judas when you consider this-
You and I are just as called by Jesus to a life and mission that serves the Kingdom of God. God called you even knowing when you would fail, when you would treat this gift with contempt, and even when you would turn your back on it for a time.
But he still called you. Just as Jesus called Judas to the ministry.
There is no record that Judas was every treated differently than the other disciples.
It wasn’t like the 11 disciples sat around the campfire and Judas was skulking around in the outer darkness pulling the heads off small animals.
Judas wasn’t the creepy outcast. He was a vital part of the team.
IN fact-
II. Judas was one of the most trusted
He was the treasurer of the first Church of Jesus. There is nothing in the Gospels that indicate he was ever under any suspicion for bad money handling or stealing money until after his death.
In fact, when Judas leaves the upper room, it is assumed by the other disciple that Jesus entrusted him with a vital errand or to give money to the poor, and perhaps this was going to be part of a new religious ceremony called communion that the new church would practice. To them, it made perfect sense that Judas goes to do it as one of the most trusted of the disciples.
This is an important point- at several points before the crucifixion, Jesus says that someone would betray him, and it wasn’t like 11 heads turned to look at Judas. He was never the go to person for suspicion
In Fact, you also have to consider that-
III. Judas was served (communion/last supper)
I never really thought about this prior to studying for this sermon, but Jesus served the first communion to Judas as well as the other disciples.
In fact, Jesus served Judas twice- once with the group, and once right before Judas leaves to betray HIM.
The first time, Jesus served him the bread representing his body in communion, offering himself as the sacrifice for Judas’ sin.
The second time he dipped the bread into wine and handed it to Judas only, covering the symbol of his body with the red coloring of the wine- soaking it with that which symbolized the blood of Jesus- indicating the bloody death Judas’ actions were going to bring about.
Judas had a final chance to repent to Jesus right there, but Judas left anyway.
After being called, trusted, and served, why did Judas betray Jesus.
Why?
We see the man that did the betrayal, let’s look at what might have been his motives.
IV. Why did Judas betray Jesus
Obviously this was part of the plan of salvation for Judas to betray Jesus. That is the first and primary reason it happened.
But as crime scene investigators, motive is a key fact in proving the guilt of a suspect, so we need to uncover all of the details, so lets look a little deeper into Judas’ motivations
When I was in the military I attended a seminar on people who defect to the United States, and the intelligence officer who gave the briefing said that people betray their native country for 3 reasons-
Money, Ego, Conscience- and they have several subfactors, but we will just focus on these three factors.
Because, people also betray people for the same reasons, so lets apply that to Judas
A. Money or Greed
Judas did it for the money. 30 pieces of silver would be about 2-3 months common laborer’s wages in Jesus’ day, so it was a nice chunk of change, and we know from the Gospel of John that Judas was very greedy.
It was probably a small factor, but I don’t think that’s the real reason.
Judas was most likely one of the more educated and independently wealthy of the disciples, so 30 pieces of silver would be a fairly small sum for him, what most of us would carry in cash on our person’s today.
The ironic thing is that this price that was paid for Jesus was the exact cost to redeem a slave. If a slave wanted his or her freedom, either they or someone else could purchase it for 30 pieces of silver.
In essence, Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of silver to identify with humanity being a slave to sin so that He could give us freedom through his suffering, death, and resurrection.
So if it wasn’t only money or greed, then was it-
B. Ego or Jealousy
Was Judas jealous of Peter, James, and John’s relationship with Jesus.
If Judas was so trusted he handled the money and yet never got to be one of the inner circle, was that is motivation?
Remember within this same week, James and John got their mother to ask Jesus for a favor- that when HE came into His Kingdom they could sit on the right and left side of HIM in thrones of their own, and that request became public, and the bible says, “The other disciples were indignant”
Ya think? One of the biggest understatements of the bible
Do I think this was the motive for betrayal?
Partially, but it has it’s roots in the last possibility, and that is-
C. Conscience manifesting itself in Jewish Nationalism
Did Judas betray Jesus to save his country? Did Judas think he was doing Jesus a favor by pushing Him into seizing power in Jerusalem, which would eventually lead to Rome being driven out and Israel restored to it’s former glory.
Remember this was the 1st century Jewish expectation of who the Messiah was to be and was to do- a great military general and king every single disciple believed that when Jesus spoke of the Kingdom, he was referring to an earthly kingdom that HE would reign and rule over, and the disciples would be his viceroy’s and rule with Him.
Remember also that Jesus’ followers included at least one zealot- Simon.
The zealots were the freedom fighters within Israel- actively opposing Roman Rule, and they would use what we would consider terrorism to harass the Roman troops that were occupying Israel. Hit and run attacks, sneaking into barracks and quietly killing a single person and letting people wake up to a dead body in the same room as them. Waiting in the wilderness to attack a small Roman contingent and mutilating their bodies to leave by the road. Those are some of the tactics that the zealots used to try to cause Rome to want to leave Israel.
I think that militaristic mindset was central in the minds of several of Jesus’ disciples, including to a point Judas.
Judas might very well thought that his betrayal was not really a betrayal, but it was something that would force Jesus’ hand to rise up and take power so that Israel would be great again.
It would also explain the kiss of betrayal- it was a sign that Judas was doing this for Jesus’ own good.
It was saying, “Rabbi, I love you, and it’s time that you do what is best for you and for our country and bring in this kingdom you keep on promising us”
Was this the motive behind Judas’ actions that night?
I think every one of these considerations factored into Judas’ actions that night.
Now that we have considered some of the motives, what do we learn from Judas’ betrayal that affect us today?
We’ve established guilt, understand the motives, now lets see what you and I can learn from this betrayal
V. Lesson’s from Judas
What does this mean for us? If one of Jesus’ most trusted disciples could betray him, how do you and I ever trust anyone?
You can trust others, but never put your trust in others.
Some would think that is cynical and not very biblical, but it actually is-
In John 2:24, Jesus is being lauded as a great spiritual leader, but he didn’t’ let it go to his head.
“But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.”
What does this mean?
Jesus trusts people, but he never put his trust in them.
Let me share from my own life and experience something that God showed me several years ago-
Probably because of the mess that was my home life growing up and being very introverted, I was very socially awkward. I didn’t do well in crowds and didn’t make friends very easily.
In an effort to try and fit in, I became a people pleaser. I was terrified of having people disapprove of me, and did everything I could to put forward a representation of me that people would admire.
I worked at it all through high school and was relatively popular.
Then one day, that façade crumbled and all of my friends deserted me and I was left alone.
It was probably a driving force toward me joining the military- I would be a soldier and people would have to look up to me then.
But it didn’t satisfy that need in me to be admired
So I pursed a career as an EMT and paramedic. Everyone loves them
But it didn’t satisfy
Then I got a job as a supervisor in medical call center where I wanted to be the most popular supervisor.
It didn’t work, and I didn’t find satisfaction in that.
I pursued being firefighter- their tough and admired
Didn’t find happiness in that
This whole people pleasing attitude followed me into the ministry- I wanted to be the guy who was always there- even more than the full-time guys, always available, losing sleep, using vacation time for church activities…giving everything I had toward being someone people looked up to.
I still had that secret and inner need to be loved by people.
Then we had man with a confirmed prophetic ministry come to our church, and he sat down with me after everything was done, and looked at me and told me flat out- I had put my trust in man.
He said “Your satisfaction is found in the approval of others, and not found in the approval of Christ. You can’t be that way in the ministry, because it’s human nature to worship what gives you your satisfaction”
Talk about a punch in the gut…but faithful are the wounds of a friend, and it was a seminal moment in my life that changed a lot of my perspective and my motivation for doing things.
I tell this story because this is the trap I think Judas fell into- he wanted position, he wanted the wealth, he wanted the recognition.
And he would do anything to get it, including betraying his best friend.
The second thing Judas teaches us is this-
When we are betrayed, how do we react?
Every one of us has been betrayed by a friend at some point. Maybe someone is spreading gossip about you, and you come around a corner and hear the gossip being spread, and your friend laughing about it or adding to it.
It hurts…a lot.
Remember our three reasons for betrayal- Money Ego Conscience.
Most of the time people betray on a personal level it’s ego- they want to be loved and accepted by others. They want to be “one of the gang”, or a member of the cool clique, or beautiful people.
Sometimes when we are dealing with someone’s betrayal, if we are able in that moment of pain to take a step back and ask ourselves-
why they did it?
It could be very useful in helping us in dealing with the situation, and showing grace and forgiveness instead of bitterness and anger.
The final thing that Judas teaches us is this-
Judas had the
best teacher EVER
The finest example of leadership EVER
The best most loving pastor EVER
And he still blew it.
It reminds us of this fact- We are all personally accountable before God. You won’t be able to point to anyone else when you stand in judgment, you will be personally accountable before God.
We would do well to remember that.
Musicians
VI. (Final)-Judas had every opportunity to repent
I close this morning with one final point-
Judas could have returned. He could have repented. He could have cried out to God for mercy.
He couldn’t bear seeing Jesus arrested instead of ascending to the throne
He couldn’t bear seeing his own dreams of power and prestige crumble before him
Judas couldn’t bear the thought that he had betrayed his friend.
But his last action on earth showed who he truly worshipped- himself.
All of our actions show who we really worship- ourselves, others, or God.
Did you see any part of yourself in Judas today?
Because all of us have betrayed Jesus with a kiss at one time or another.
All of us have figuratively held the hammer that drove the nails into his hands and feet.
And at some point in our lives, we have all shown that the focus of our worship is really on ourselves, and not on God.
Let’s all rise, and ask the Holy Spirit to bring to light any dark places in our hearts where we are betraying Jesus in our thoughts, motivations, or actions.
Altar call.
