Lie #1: Judas Did Jesus A Favor – Part 2 of 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Some say Christians cannot be demon-possessed. Others say they can still be demonically influenced. In any case, a non-believer is fair game for Satan to use as he did Judas. Today, what really happened during the Last Supper so long ago.

Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, could Judas have decided not to betray Jesus? Well, Dave, one thing about you is you do not shy away from difficult questions, but you ask the kind of questions that other people oftentimes ask, and I'm sure that all of us in our minds have frequently wondered, could Judas have done otherwise? On the one hand, we have passages of scripture where Jesus talks about the scripture needing to be fulfilled regarding Judas. On the other hand, we also know that Judas has his personal responsibility. And again, we have to emphasize that if he had repented, that repentance would have been accepted. Now, the Bible does talk about the repentance of Judas, but it's only regret. It is not that he is coming back to Christ for forgiveness. A tragic story. Now, we could go on and ask the question whether or not it was possible for him to repent, but the point that always has to be emphasized is this, that Jesus is open to those who come to him in repentance and faith. Many years ago, Rebecca and I had the privilege of being in Germany, and we saw the Passion play. And at the end of that play, there was a soliloquy given by Judas about the kind of agony and emotional torment he was in because he had denied the Son of God.

Frightening. But at the same time, we have to remember that there are many people who deny Christ today, and ultimately they too shall suffer a horrible fate. So let's listen now, and let's always remember that we need to respond to Christ in repentance and faith, and let Judas be a reminder and a warning if we turn away from Christ. Judas here is to the left of Jesus.

You dip the morsel in the sauce, the mutton, and you gave it to the honored guest who was to your left. Judas is given the place of honor to the left of Jesus. So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Remember this, you can be entered by Satan without a formal invitation. There are people who have been entered by Satan who don't even believe in the devil. You'll notice in this text, I pointed it out earlier, chapter 13, verse two, during supper, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas to do this. So the idea was implanted by the devil, but the devil didn't actually enter until he received the morsel. And as soon as he received the morsel, Jesus said, verse 27, what you are going to do, do quickly. See, Satan isn't an honorable guest. He doesn't say, oh, I won't come in until you invite me.

No, no, no, no. All that you need to do is to be in his territory, to do his work, to do his bidding, and he'll take more and more and more and more of you without any permission. Now, the statement here of Jesus, what you're going to do, do quickly, has been a theological conundrum for many, many centuries. And this really lies at the heart of some of the books about Judas that say that he should be looked at as a hero, even apart from the spurious fictional Judas document that we mentioned at the beginning of this message. Because you see, it says, well, Jesus told him to go ahead with it and he became part of the grand scheme of redemption. He became part of that. And so he was helping Jesus to die and Jesus was supposed to die for the sins of the world. So why are we on his case? Jesus said, whatever you do, do quickly.

So I need to comment on that phrase. First of all, let us be clear in saying that Jesus shows that he was in complete control. He knew exactly what was being planned and he knew the hour at which he should die and that hour was not in the hands of the Sanhedrin.

It was not in the hands of Judas. Ultimately, what Jesus is saying to him is, whatever you are planning to do, do it quicker. Because Jesus knew that the timing here was critical.

But he knew exactly how the events were going to unfold. No man takes my life from me, he says. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. So everything was in the hands of Jesus, as it says in the opening part of the thirteenth chapter. Even Judas was in the hands of Jesus.

Whatever it is, you do quickly. Now, Jesus isn't telling him what to do. We've already learned that the idea had already been planted in his mind. He had already accepted the suggestion of the devil to do it. And so Jesus is simply saying, whatever it is that you plan to do, just do it faster.

Jesus wasn't giving him the suggestion. You say, yeah, but it was part of the scheme of things. It was part of the prophecy.

It was inevitable that it happened. Yes, that's true. Now we come to some deep theological waters, which I'm going to simply bring you into, like the waters of baptism, and then I shall also bring you out of those waters, OK? Remember this, that even evil people always do the hidden will of God. They don't do the revealed will of God, but they do do the hidden will of God. And so in the very same way, if we're going to honor Judas because he betrayed Jesus, we should honor those who nailed Jesus to the cross, because after all, they too were fulfilling prophecy, right? It says that Jesus was offered by the predetermined counsel of God. So let's honor them too.

No, you can't go there. Yes, it is true it was predetermined. Yes, it is true that the hidden will of God was accomplished. But at the end of the day, those wicked men are held accountable and Judas is held accountable too for what he did.

And that's the best we can do in the few moments that we have to discuss a very, very deep, difficult doctrine taught on virtually every page of scripture. So no, Judas was not a hero. No, Judas should not be thought of as doing Jesus a favor, particularly the Gnostic gospel says that he did him a favor because Jesus could die and then he didn't come back from the dead.

We've already covered that. So there you have Judas. And the Bible says that after Satan entered into him, he went immediately out, verse 30, and it was night. John loves the theme of light and darkness. What he's saying is, is that when Judas went into the darkness, the darkness itself outside was symbolic of the darkness within his heart.

Both were dark. Well, we've talked about his covetous spirit. We've talked about his heart of evil, and now he has a very determined will, determined will. And for this, we have to turn to the 26th chapter of Matthew.

If you would turn with me, please, and I'm going to give you time to turn to it so that we can look at the text together. If you still have not had any chills down your back so far, I think you will as we read this passage. Chapter 26 of Matthew, verse 49. And he, having agreed with the authorities that he would kiss the person whom they were looking for, says in verse 49, he came up to Jesus at once and said, greetings, rabbi, and he kissed him.

He made treachery look like loyalty. Jesus said to him, knowing everything, knowing that he had chosen a devil, as he said earlier, all things present to the son of God in an everlasting gesture of love and compassion. Jesus says, friend, friend, not enemy, but friend, do what you've come to do. Jesus against us.

Whatever is in your heart, do it. So they laid hands on Jesus and they seized him. Well, I told you about his determined will. He's got his money. He loved money, pilfered out of the common pot.

30 pieces of silver was nothing to sneeze at in the silver market of the day. So you think he'd be happy. You know, what's wrong with money? And when you've got it, you're happy, right?

Money equals happiness. Oh, really? Chapter 27 of Matthew, verse three. Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and to the elders saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. And they said, what's that to us?

See to it yourself. And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed and went out and hung himself. Well, Judas, enjoy your money. His conscience would not allow him to enjoy the money he had inquired. I wonder if I'm speaking to somebody today. You're a lover of money and you've got the money, but you can't enjoy it because of the way in which you acquired it.

Down deep inside, that nagging conscience keeps telling you, look at the way you've got this money. It's very interesting that in this text, when it says, Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, the Greek word indicates that he probably saw it physically. He saw Jesus being taken and bound and taken to Pilate. And he knew that after that it was a done deal that Jesus would be crucified. And maybe he didn't know that it was going to turn out that way. Maybe he thought, you know, I could have this silver on the side and not do Jesus too much damage.

But now suddenly things are out of his control. Jesus has been condemned. It says in my version, he changed his mind. I remember as a child reading the King James version, it says he repented.

Bad translation. It's not the normal word metanoia, repentance. It's a different word that means he regretted, he had remorse, he wished he hadn't have done it. He wishes he could have undo what he did, but he knows that that's too late. And he regrets it, but he never really comes to Jesus for forgiveness and cleansing.

No, no, no, no. He bears it all alone. Now, he couldn't live with that conscience. And so he did what 25 or 30,000 Americans do every year. He committed suicide. So he had a covetous heart, a deceitful mind, a very determined will, hypocrite through and through played the part.

By the way, young people, teenagers, you're listening to this. Notice it says that when he took the money, he threw it into the temple and the Greek word would indicate the inner shrine. He threw it where only the priests could retrieve it. So he throws the money there and they said, oh, you betrayed innocent blood. No skin off our nose. What is that to us?

Amazing. People will get you into sin and then they don't care if you're hooked. They don't care what the consequences are.

They'll introduce you to drugs and after you fry your mind or overdose on them, they'll say, well, you know, you win some, you lose some. You know, sure, they were our friends as long as they gave us money now, you know, let it go. Oh, yeah. Who cares? You betrayed innocent blood.

We got our man. What are the great lessons? First of all, no place of honor. No place of honor is a substitute for personal conversion. I have absolutely no doubt today that there are pastors in some of the pulpits of America who are unconverted, though they say wonderful things. No position of honor can ever substitute for personal conversion.

You can be honored in church as a Sunday school teacher, as a deacon, even as a pastor, as this, as that. And if you haven't been converted by God, you'll be lost forever. And we shouldn't be surprised at the wickedness of Judas's heart. You know, we stand and we say, well, how in the world could somebody living three years with Jesus right next to him?

How in the world, how hard can that heart get? Well, I've known people who have betrayed Jesus for less than that, actually. They've rejected Jesus because of family members or because of this pressure or because they didn't want to switch churches.

They, not that switching churches converts you, but they didn't want to hear the gospel because of some petty reason. It's a betrayal of Jesus. Second lesson, the gate to hell is right next to the gate to heaven. The gate to hell is right next to the gate to heaven. Imagine being in the presence of Jesus. That's what makes this so difficult.

This is what gives us the chills. We're not talking about somebody who listens to a sermon preached by someone like myself or someone else. I mean, we're talking about somebody who lived with Jesus sleeping out under the stars, listening to him teach, being there when he healed the sick, when he raised the dead and when he caused the waters of Galilee to cease.

I mean, the guy was there firsthand, the whole thing played the part with such precision, but had never been converted. What is Judas saying throughout all these centuries after his suicide? Remorse is guilt borne by us apart from Jesus Christ. It's that sense of saying that I'm bearing this and I'm not exposing it to Jesus for his forgiveness and his cleansing. I'm just living with the sense of self condemnation and the visions and the memories of what could have been. And that's what Judas has been seeing and thinking throughout all these centuries. In the year 2000, my wife and I and some friends were in Oberammergau to hear and to see the passion play, the famous passion play of Europe, which is held every 10 years.

In that passion play, the person playing the part of Judas gave this soliloquy, which I today give to you. Where can I go to hide my shame, to cast off all the agony? No place is dark enough.

No sea is deep enough. Earth open up and devour me. I can be no more. Where is another man on whom such guilt rests? I am a contemptible traitor. How kind he has been toward me. How gently he comforted me when dark dejection oppressed my soul. And now I'm a disciple no longer. I'm hated everywhere, despised everywhere with this blazing fire in my gut. Everyone curses me. Still there is one whose face I wish I could see again to whom I could cling. Woe to me for I am his murderer. Cursed hour in which my mother gave birth to me. Here I will bring an end to my accursed life.

Come you serpent, coil yourself around my throat and strangle this traitor. Throughout scripture there are many epitaphs that have been written. Jesus wrote the epitaph of Judas.

It would have been good for this man if he never been born. Wow. I want to contrast this with a very similar letter but different that was in my mailbox on Friday. I was here at the church and this is what arrived. I won't read it all to you, just a couple of lines. I'm literally at the end of my rope and don't know how to continue this way. I am in such despair and I'm afraid that I've condemned myself for all of eternity. And then she goes on and she talks about how she always was tempted to sell her soul to the devil. And once in a moment of despair when a light came through her window and she was terrified, she actually said, okay, now I will sell myself to the devil.

That's her story. My question is this, did I give myself, did I sell my soul to the devil? Does the devil have the power to take and keep my soul? I want so much to be a Christian and to be with God but I'm so afraid that it is too late for me. I know that you are a very busy and important minister but I need your help. Please respond to me. I don't know where else to turn. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be pushy.

I just don't know what else to do. Well, this morning I asked my administrative assistant to find her phone number and she did so I called this woman and we talked and prayed on the phone. She was desperate.

That's why as soon as we could we contacted her. Still struggling, still wondering whether or not God is going to accept her but desiring so much to be forgiven and to be cleansed. I did pray with her on the telephone to help her to understand that the arms of Jesus and the arms of God are open to her, that the devil is the father of lies trying to tell her, you belong to me. No my dear, if you come to Jesus Christ and you trust him as Savior, you belong to him and he supersedes all false, what shall I say, all false claims of the devil. Jesus supersedes all that. Yes my dear, you can come to Christ. You don't have to be a Judas. You can be somebody who comes with your need, with your doubt.

I quoted the words of a song to her, the very song we're going to sing because she said I have so many doubts and I quoted the second stanza I think of it as just as I am, just as I am though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings within and fears without. O Lamb of God, I come, I come, come as you are but come to the one who can forgive you and cleanse you and make you one of his children. Let's pray. Father, I don't know what else to say unless you speak to hearts, it's all for naught. For those listening to this who've never trusted Christ as Savior, even for those who think they have but haven't because they were brought up in a Christian home and lived the part. Today would you show them their need for the forgiveness that only Jesus can offer. Wherever you are right now, whether you're listening on the internet or by radio, whatever, or here in this sanctuary, would you pray right now?

Would you talk to God about what he's talked to you about? Father, by your Spirit, do a deep work in our hearts. Help us to ask around the table, pew to pew, chair to chair, is it I Lord?

Am I the one? Reveal, Father truth to our hearts, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Oh my dear friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. I appeal to you today. Are you going through a time of depression because you feel as if you've been rejected by God, rejected by others, a sense of hopelessness? Do you feel the weight of your sin, even the lines that Judas quoted in the play that we saw when he says, everyone curses me, still there is one, one whose face I wish I could see again, to whom I would cling. Would you come to that one? Would you come to Jesus Christ because he is the one who will receive you. He will forgive you. He would have forgiven Judas if Judas had only come. Take time now out to evaluate your own spiritual life.

If you've never savingly believed in repentance and faith, do that now. I want to thank the many of you who support the ministry of Running to Win. Perhaps you've heard me say this before, but we are now in 50 different countries in seven different languages.

How is this possible? It's because of people just like you who make investments in this ministry. Now, for a gift of any amount, we're going to be offering to you today a book I've written entitled Don't Be Deceived, Six Lies About Jesus.

We've been listening to one of those lies in the message that you have just heard. Here's what you do. Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com. Did I say that too quickly? RTWOffer.

Of course, that's all one word. RTWOffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. In a day of confusion regarding Christ, I believe that this book will be a great encouragement titled Don't Be Deceived, Six Lies About Jesus.

Go to RTWOffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60614. Many people place their faith in the teachings of modern prophets and gurus, often figures in the media. They are promised health, wealth, and friendly angels to help them. Little is said about sin and righteousness. Next time on Running to Win, more on slandering Jesus, exposing the lie that Jesus is just one of many ways to God. Thanks for listening. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.