#12 (The 12 Disciples
Series)
"JUDAS – THE MATERIALIST"
TEXT: John
12:1-8; 13:1-30; Matt. 26:14-16; 27:1-10
INTRO: How many
people named “Judas” do you know?
More than likely NOT ONE! This name is held with such contempt that
no one in their right mind would name their child “Judas” – unless of course
they are not familiar with the Bible!
People don’t even use this name for their pet dog or cat because of the
negative connotation to the name as a traitor! You’re not likely to find “Judas” listed
in suggested baby name books!
Probably the greatest personal tragedy
in history is the story of Judas.
How does a man go from being one of twelve chosen disciples, a man who could have had his name inscribed
on the foundation stones in heaven, to being one of the worse sinners of all
time – a man Jesus described as the "son of perdition!"? Note: The word "perdition" in Greek literally means: "waste!"
He was thus described by
Jesus here as the “son of waste.”
How can a man fall from such a height
to such a low place? Something
edged him toward this great loss.
The shock of this story is that it may
have been something as simple as materialism that was at the foundation of his
tragic fall!
PROP.
SENT: The greater our passion for earthly things the less our
passion for heavenly things!
As Jesus aptly pointed out in Matt. 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.” The
love of silver robbed a man named Judas of his salvation – and it can still do
this today! Jesus statement in
Mat 6:24 proved all too true in Judas’ case;
"No one can
serve two masters. Either he will
hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
I. CHARACTER OF A SINNER! Jn. 12:1-8; Matt. 26:14-16
A. Association vs. Transformation Jn.
12:1-8
1. Judas was a full partner in Jesus'
ministry!
a. He was sent out like the rest to
heal the sick, preach the good news, minister to the poor and to those in
prison! He laid hands on the sick
and saw them recover just as much as the other eleven!
b. He must have had the trust of all
the disciples since he was elected by them to be the group treasurer, something
never challenged until near the end.
c. There were absolutely no noticeable
signs that something was wrong with Judas, for at the last supper when Jesus
stated that one of the twelve would betray him not one of the disciples could
figure out who that might be!
d. It is thus fair to say that he
did all the right things, believed all the right things, acted in
all the right ways, had seen similar results in ministry
even!
2. Yet it seems however that Judas
never really was internally transformed, he merely maintained an association
with the group, there was still something else holding his love more than his
love for Christ!
a. Judas may have had the image, but
not the substance of a believer!
b. How many “Christians” might this describe
today?
c. The mere attendance to church,
going through the motions of worship without any significant change in values,
ethics, or lifestyle from the world is hardly the stuff of genuine
Christianity.
ILLUS: On the
French Riviera it is such an important status symbol to have a balcony on an
apartment that it is quite common to see balconies painted on the walls of
apartment houses. People even paint
wet laundry hanging on a clothesline just to give it a touch of
reality. – Source Unknown
3. This passage indicates the growing
reason why Judas fell, his love for silver never
changed!
a. He did join the
disciples.
b. He looked and acted like a disciple
– quite
successfully!
c. But something like materialism
gripped his heart, something that refused to be transformed, he was satisfied
with just being a part of the association!
4. Judas was probably mad here because
the large sum of money that they could have gotten from the sale of the perfume
would have made a nice little bonus for him! With his
eyes on silver he couldn't see
his need of a savior!
B. Abundance
vs. Treasure!
Matt. 26:14-16
1. While Judas was building up his earthly bank
account he was slipping into spiritual
bankruptcy!!
a. While he may have accumulated
wealth, he was losing his soul! (Sounds reminiscent of something Jesus said
about gaining the whole world but losing your
soul!)
b. The love of things can undercut
even the more consistent church attendee!
c. I wonder how Judas must have felt
when Jesus told some of the parables He told or some of His sayings:
(1. Such as this one: Matt. 6:24 "No one
can serve two masters. Either he
will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and
Money.”
(2. Or the Matt.
13:45-46 "Pearl of Great Price" story – selling
everything to purchase that one pearl of ultimate value – Jesus!
(3. Or Mark 8:36 “What good is it for a man to gain the
whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
d. How often had Jesus talked about
the dangers of loving things?
(1. There is a huge difference between
“abundance” and “true treasures.”
(2. Too many people seek just “abundance” and
never find “true treasure.”
2. Judas' occasional dipping must have
grown greater and greater until here at the end all he could see was his own
needs, silver had won out over the Savior!
3. How had Judas felt when he had
witnessed men like Zacchaeus come to Jesus, repent and give up their wealth and
pay back all the money they had taken from people through their corrupt
ways?
a. Even among the twelve Matthew had
once been a tax collector and had given up his corrupt finances to join the
group – how did Judas feel around a man like Matthew while he dipped himself
into the funds?
b. Judas had seen the rich young ruler
walk away sad because he love money too much to change, a loser in the eternal
hope of salvation – did this not make any impact on his soul when he witnessed
these other examples, both the positive and negative
ones?
c. How could he fail to see himself
and the problem of wealth that was corrupting his own soul?
ILLUS: A despondent rich man one day went to
visit a Rabbi to find out how to find happiness. The Rabbi took the man by the hand and
took him to a nearby window and asked him what he saw. The rich man looked out through the
window and said, "I see children playing
in the streets and families together outside." Again the Rabbi took the man by the hand
and this time led him to a mirror.
"Now what do you see?" the
Rabbi asked him. The rich man
answered, "I see only myself." The Rabbi then explained what he was
showing this rich man. "Behold, in the
window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass. But the glass in the mirror is covered
with silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, now
you see only yourself." A little silver can change what a man sees, no
longer others, now only self! It
doesn’t even take a lot, just a little. – Source Unknown
4. It wasn't the amount of silver that
corrupted Judas, there was not likely a lot in their account at any one
time.
a. This is still often true in the
church today!
b. It was Judas' love for silver that was the
problem.
5. Judas' corruption enabled him to
sell Jesus for a paltry 30 pieces of silver! (This was about 4 month’s wages for a
common laborer!)
a. How many Christians have sold out
their salvation or ministry for silver?
b. How many Christians have gradually
grown more and more silver conscious and no longer sacrifice like they once were
willing to do?
c. The more we coat things with silver
the more we see only a reflection of ourselves!
II. CRIME OF A SAINT! Jn.
13:1-30
A. Advantages Trashed! Jn.
13:1-21
1. Judas had lost sight of eternity
and focused his main attention on the temporal.
a. This spiritual shortsightedness
will be extraordinarily costly for him eternally – eternal damnation in exchange
for about 3 years worth of stealing some silver as a disciple, and at the end of
his career selling God out for 4 months wages for a common worker – money he
never got to use anyway since he committed suicide!
b. When we invest only in the now our
pension will be little to nothing!
2. Only a dozen men have had the
special advantages of walking with Jesus, eating with Him, having fellowship
with Him every day for years ... Judas threw away some of the greatest
advantages that only a few men in history have ever had the privilege to
have!
3. If an apostle could do this what
could happen to someone like us!??
4. It was bad enough that Judas had
the “character of a sinner,” this was
however a terrible “crime of a
saint!” He was one of the
apostles!
a. Perhaps he tired of the constant
struggle and was looking for “easy street!”
b. Those who think they have found
easy street however discover a big surprise.
ILLUS: There
really is a street labeled "EASY STREET" — it is found in Honolulu, Hawaii. Take the Pali Highway northbound going
about a 1/3 of the way to the Pali pass and turn right on Park street. Go one block and there it is “EASY
STREET” – the problem comes when you drive down "easy street" because you will reach a
point with a sign that clearly reads; “DEAD END!” The real “EASY STREET” in Hawaii is a
dead end street – and so it is in life too! – Source Unknown
5. Judas had Jesus washing his feet,
taking care of him for years, loving him; yet in spite of all this Jesus knew he
was going to betray Him!
a. Yet all this attention and love was
spurned by Judas!
b. Even when Jesus pointed out that
one of them was a betrayer Judas ignores this opportunity to break down and
confess his sins!
c. The reason Jesus on several
occasions brought this subject up was to hopefully convict Judas' heart, there
was opportunity for repentance!
6. Each attempt however fails as Judas
simply keeps his mind on silver!
7. He throws away all the advantages
of walking with Jesus for a common laborer’s mere 4 months salary at the end,
how many have done this for even less?
a. "I don't have
time for God; I have to make a living you
know?"
b. "When I get
caught up, I'll do lots for the Lord, can't now, got to get more money
first."
c. "My expenses are
just so much I can't tithe now," etc!
B. Adherence
Terminated! Jn.
13:22-30
1. Judas' growing love for silver was
about to break his adherence to the group also, though he had remained connected
to the group even that was about to go!
2. Weighed down by a craving for more
of this world he leaves the group and commits the greatest sin of mankind, to
walk away from Jesus!
a. The greatest sin is not something
we do, but something we fail to do, the failure to accept Christ is the greatest
sin and results in eternal loss!
b. He will “sink” to a new
low!
c. Too much gold can make anyone sink
if they grasp it too much and allow it to weigh them
down!
ILLUS: Long ago a
great ship struck a reef and began to sink. It was obvious to the people on board
that they had only a few minutes to escape, so most abandoned all their
possessions in favor of a life jacket and rowboat. However, one man on the ship ran and
filled his pockets with gold from different staterooms and the ship's safe ...
this took just long enough that all the rowboats were full when he finally
emerged to go for safety. Finding
however a lifejacket the man laughing put on the jacket and jumped overboard,
delighted with his cunning to get all this gold and still find a jacket to
escape! But, to his surprise, and
to the watchful eyes of his friends the man quickly sank through the water to
his death, the tremendous weight of the gold was no match for the life jacket’s
buoyancy! Are you busy filling your
pockets and hoping the lifejacket of salvation will hold you up when the storms
come!? -- Source
Unknown
3. It is interesting to note that when
Jesus made very clear that one of the twelve was going to betray Him they
couldn't figure out which one of them it was?
a. Judas had been a master actor all
this time.
b. It is also interesting to note in
this passage that while John was leaning on Jesus on one side that it is quite
possible that it was Judas leaning on Jesus on the other
side!
c. On one side therefore, was the
disciple whom loved Jesus greatly, and likely
on the other was a disciple whom loved jewels
greatly!
4. Even when Judas leaves the other
guys only think he is going out to help the poor or get provisions for them
all!
5. No more horrific statement can be
found in the Bible than verse 27 "as soon as Judas
took the bread, Satan entered into him."
a. How many believers eat the bread
during communion but have sold their spiritual inheritance for more of this
world's goods?
b. Can we be so hard on Judas when his
sin is so common and temptation so commonplace?
6. He “left in the
dark,” how true in both senses!!! Jn.
13:30
III. CASUALTY OF
SILVER! Matt.
27:1-10
A. Accountability Time! Matt.
27:1-5
1. Judas managed to get by for a very
long time undetected, but there always comes the time for making everything
known!
a. No matter how long we get away with
something, sooner or later it is revealed!
b. How hard it is for humans, even
Christians to realize this!
ILLUS: In
addition to being one of the most successful baseball managers of his day, John
McGraw may have also been responsible for creating the need for a 3rd base
umpire. Long before he became
famous as a manager for the New York Giants, he had played 3rd base as a young
man with the Baltimore Orioles. As
a 3rd baseman he would get away time and time again with getting men on 3rd out
as they ran to home by delaying them, by hooking his finger on their belts. When they tried to run, this would slow
them down enough to get the ball into home plate to get an out ... but he never
could get caught, until one runner demonstrated absolute proof. The runner had loosened his belt without
McGraw noticing and so when he took off running McGraw was left holding by a
finger his belt in his hand! This
led to putting a 3rd base umpire in the game! – Source Unknown
2. Judas' love of silver had now come
to an end, he got what he thought he wanted only to be seized upon by guilt, but
not the kind of guilt that led to seeking out Jesus' forgiveness, instead it was
guilt that led to his demise.
a. This was not true repentance; true
repentance would have turned him around.
b. This was just sorrow, sorrow means
only being sorry for what happened, but not necessarily doing anything to change
it.
3. Judas had lost both relationships
and riches, the two biggest reasons for suicides
still!
a. What would have happened if he had
run to Jesus instead of men who were just as unscrupulous as he
was?
b. It was too late to get rid of the
silver, but was it too late to find the Savior?
c. Instead of seeking life he
tragically sought death!
4. Everything done in secret is now
brought to light, as it always is!
5. His final error was
suicide! He could have chosen a
different way. This ended for him
any hope of recovery since he failed to repent! IT WAS ACCOUNTABILITY TIME, as it will
be one day for us all!
a. How will your account look one
day?
b. How does it look
now?
B. Awful
Trade! Matt.
27:6-10
1. What he traded was life for
death!
a. He
wanted to really live it up; instead he traded in life for
death!
b. He wanted happiness through things;
instead he ended up with nothing and misery!
c. He wanted things his own way;
instead no one did what he wanted!
d. He traded one of the most
privileged positions of mankind, being one of the twelve apostles for the
deepest levels of Hell!
e. He abandoned Jesus, now to be
abandoned in Hell by Jesus!
2. Was the trade worth it? If he could talk now, BOY WOULD
HE!
3. A little thing like the LOVE OF
SILVER took a man from the highest privilege to the worse
punishment!
a. What can it do to any of
us?
b. Do you find yourself saying right
now, “There goes another preacher harping
about money?” If so, where's
your heart!?
4. There is a "PEARL OF GREAT PRICE"
that is greater than anything this world has to offer, His name is
Jesus!
5. Don’t trade your soul for temporary
things, keep your heart on Jesus, not on jewels! Matt. 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
both God and Money.”
CONCLUSION:
Judas is one of the most tragic stories in the Bible, how did it happen?
Believe it or not it all started
and ended with a love for silver and gold.
It is not money that corrupts; it is the love of money! Judas kept his eye on silver and
never saw the savior! What are
you looking for to bring you happiness?
Better to find Jesus than
jewels!