Rev. David Holwick ZG Encountering Jesus in John
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 11, 2015
John 13:20-30
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I. Your reputation can change.
A. The monument in Saratoga.
North of Albany is the site of the first significant American
victory in the Revolutionary War, the battle of Saratoga.
The field that was once covered with British and American blood
now has a 155-foot monument.
Around the base of this monument are four deep niches, one for
each of the American generals in the battle.
The first holds a statue of Horatio Gates, the overall leader.
Next is Philip Schuyler, whose statue faces the location of his
house that the British burned.
On the west is Daniel Morgan, whose marksmen blocked the British
from that direction.
Facing south toward the battlefield is an empty niche.
No statue, no inscription.
He was actually the greatest hero of that battle and was
severely wounded.
He was a general who once commanded West Point.
He had a distinguished career up until one decisive moment in
his life -- the moment he decided to betray his country.
His name? Benedict Arnold.
In the mind of every American the name of Benedict Arnold now
stands for betrayal.
Even in his birthplace at Norwich, Connecticut, the hand-written
town record puts the phrase "was the traitor" after his name.
But there is a traitor in human history who is more famous
than Benedict Arnold.
He did not betray a country, nor an army, nor even a town.
He did something far worse - he betrayed his Savior.
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B. Who are YOU, really?
1) Benedict Arnold looked like a hero, he thought of himself
as a hero, but he wasn't.
a) Is the image we present to the world honest?
b) Are we lying even to ourselves?
2) How much are you like Judas?
II. Who was Judas?
A. Jesus sincerely called him to be a disciple.
1) It is the only way to do justice to Jesus' character.
2) Judas must have started out good, then got corrupted.
a) Even then, Jesus makes repeated appeals to him.
1> At the meal, Judas was put in the place of honor
on the left side of Jesus.
2> Judas was also honored when Jesus gave him the
special morsel of bread, much like a toast today.
3> Jesus honored Judas, but Judas never loved him back.
b) Judas was not forced to be a traitor, but freely
chose his actions.
B. There are different ideas about what motivated him.
1) Some say he had a positive goal of forcing Jesus to set up
his new kingdom.
a) He may have had a Zealot background, based on his name
"Iscariot" but it more likely refers to his hometown.
b) "The Gospel of Judas" controversy.
National Geographic hyped the discovery of an ancient
document that put Judas in a good light.
"The Gospel of Judas" claims that Jesus asked Judas
to betray him and like a good disciple he obeyed.
It turns the whole story of Judas on its head.
Ancient Christians attributed the document to a group
that made heroes out of all the bad guys in the
Bible, including Judas.
They condemned it, of course.
The content is purely heretical gnosticism.
Few scholars give it any historical credibility.
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2) He may have been disillusioned by Jesus.
a) Judas wanted Jesus to set up his kingdom but it was
going the other way.
b) Jesus was offending the Jewish leadership, being fought
by the Pharisees and talking too much about a cross.
c) Judas may have just given up on him.
3) He was undermined by greed.
a) Judas was dipping into the group funds. John 12:6
1> It is ironic that he was trusted enough to be the
group's treasurer. John 13:29
2> Do we trust the people that handle our church's
money?...
b) At the same time, he criticized the extravagant cost of
perfume a woman poured on Jesus. John 12:4
1> He used concern for the poor to cloak his greed.
c) He sold out Jesus cheap -- 30 silver coins was the cost
of a slave in Old Testament. Exod 21:32
III. Did Judas ever really belong to Jesus?
A. Judas had something in common with the other disciples.
1) All the disciples thought they were better than they were.
a) Even at the Last Supper they argued about which of
them was the greatest.
b) All said they would stand by Jesus, even die for
him. Mark 14:31
c) None of them did in his hour of need, not a single one.
2) We tend to think we are better than we really are.
a) We have excuses for any inconsistencies.
b) We tend to compare ourselves (favorably) with others.
B. Something was missing from the beginning.
1) Judas fell from apostleship but never had a genuine
relationship with Jesus.
2) He called Jesus "rabbi" but never "Lord."
3) Early on, Jesus knew Judas belonged to the devil. John 6:70
4) Even the rest of the apostles understood that Judas'
betrayal indicated he had never been one of them.
Acts 1:25
IV. Are there hints of Judas' tendencies in you?
A. There are always hints.
1) Judas revealed his character when he dipped in the money bag.
2) Our weaknesses can reveal a lot about us.
B. Signs of a divided soul.
1) Simple things like foul language we use in certain groups.
2) How we react when we are under stress.
3) How we treat people who can't do anything for us.
a) Pay more attention to those who make you look good?
4) Different behavior in different settings.
a) Work, school, home, church...
b) What we do when we are in a city where no one knows us.
C. Moral choices we make can be the starkest indicators.
1) When everything hinges on a moral decision, which way do
you go? [Consider big moral decisions you made in past]
a) Not how you react in your dreams, but in reality.
b) Do you react consistently, or waver back and forth?
2) What secret sins do you harbor right now?
a) Just about everyone has their secrets...
V. Out of two, one.
A. Divided people are not happy.
1) The pieces find out about each other and don't like it.
a) God doesn't like it, either.
2) Judas' inner division led him to a desperate act.
a) He felt sorry for what he had done to Jesus.
1> He even tried to return the money.
b) He was sorry, but in a self-centered way.
1> And so he took his own life.
B. There can come a point of no return.
1) Judas had so hardened his heart, verse 27 says Satan
entered into him.
2) There is nothing more for Jesus to do than to bid Judas
to complete his task.
3) Judas took the morsel from Jesus and left.
a) John adds, "and it was night."
b) It is a terrible thing to go forever into darkness.
1> It begins with a divided heart which steadily
hardens under the influence of sin.
2> Don't let it harden to the point that Satan enters.
C. God wants us to be whole, and wholly devoted to him.
1) Are you being honest with God?
2) Yesterday I came across an article on confession that
was titled "An Embarrassing Prayer."
The Embarrassing Prayer was Psalm 139:23-24, which he
says Christians should include in their daily prayer:
"Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."
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3) Humble yourself before God and people.
a) Personal honesty and humility will touch peoples'
hearts.
4) Turn to him, before it is too late....
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#11061 “The Vacant Niche,” adapted by David Holwick from an illustration
in Rev. King Duncan’s sermon “Judas,” Kerux Sermon #23799.
The detail on the Norwich, Connecticut, record entry is from
“Beloved Hero and Despised Traitor,” Virginia Groark, The New
York Times, April 21, 2002;
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/21/nyregion/beloved-hero-and-despised-traitor.html>.
#30861 “From Traitor to Hero? Responding to ‘The Gospel of Judas’,”
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., President of Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary, March 7, 2006; <http://www.albertmohler.com>.
#64954 “An Embarrassing Prayer,” Huck Kelley, Baptist Press,
October 8, 2015; <http://www.baptistpress.org>.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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