The Acts of the Apostles 3

Subtitle: The Tragedy of Judas

Acts 1:15-26.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on May 15, 2022.

Today, we deal with the sad subject of a person who has ministered with Jesus, and yet, has not really believed in him.  Judas represents those who have had very high positions within the Church of Jesus, but in the end, serve to betray Christ himself.  Of course, this same dynamic existed from the very beginning of Creation.  Judas will forever be known as the betrayer of Jesus.

We can be tempted to read about the destruction of Judas, or others like him, with an attitude that says, “Good riddance!”  However, our attitude should be one of sorrow saying, “We’ve lost another one!”

Let’s look at our passage.

The end of Judas

The tragedy of Judas is inserted by Luke as an aside to the narrative.  It functions like a parenthetical statement to bring readers like the earlier mentioned Theophilus up to speed on why the apostles were doing what this part of the narrative describes.  Judas had betrayed Christ and then committed suicide.

I am going to deal with verses 18 and 19 first, and then circle back to verse 15 and following due to this parenthetical nature.  It will help the narrative flow better for our purposes.

There are several points of contention that some people try to make out to be contradictions.  The first has to do with the statement that Judas had “purchased a field with the wages of iniquity” (30 pieces of silver).  There is no doubt that the phrase in verse 18, “Now this man…” is referring back to Judas.  Some believe that this statement is in contradiction to Matthew 27:3-8.

In Matthew, Judas is remorseful because he did not expect Jesus to be condemned to death (vs. 3).  It is not disclosed what Judas hoped to achieve other than enriching himself with the imprisonment of Jesus.  Judas wants to return the money, but the priests refuse to accept it.  Judas then tosses the coins at them, leaves, and then hangs himself.

The priests are unable to accept the money into the treasury because it was blood money.  Thus, they solve the dilemma by purchasing the potter’s field where foreigners who die in the region can be buried.  So, who bought the field, Judas or the priests?  The key is in understanding that the money cannot be officially accepted by the temple.  The money still belongs to Judas and the field is essentially bought in his name.  A cemetery is all that Judas obtained with the wages of his sin.

The second “contradiction” regards the manner of death.  Did Judas hang himself as Matthew says, or did he fall headlong and split open with his guts pouring out?  Again, there is no real contradiction.  Judas did hang himself as Matthew states.  However, Luke never says that this is the way Judas died, nor is the text actually saying he was walking along, tripped headfirst onto something (rocks?) and was mortally wounded by it.  In fact, it is extremely unlikely that a stumbling person could injure themselves so badly that their entrails all gush out.  Even the word “falling” is an attempt to smooth over the translation.  It literally says that Judas came to be headfirst.  Of course, a common way of understanding that is a fall.  Luke is more focused on showing the gruesome end of Judas than establishing exactly how he died.  It is just as likely that Judas hung in there with his body decaying until the branch broke or the rope broke.  He could have then fallen headfirst and broke open due to the decay of the skin.  Luke is showing the aloneness and indignity of the place that Judas ended up.

As humans, we might gain some satisfaction over the death of a betrayer.  However, I don’t see this in Jesus.  He knew who and what Judas was from the beginning.  In John 6:70, right after everyone was tempted to leave him, Jesus challenged the Twelve.  “Do you also want to go away?”  Peter answered for the group, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus then states, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”  Peter’s answer is an answer of faith that is based on Jesus.  Judas had no such faith.  I don’t believe Jesus is saying that Judas wasn’t human, but was a devil masquerading as one.  Rather, I believe he is stating that Judas has given himself over to spiritual forces, devils, that were using him, and he was doing their bidding.

We should also notice some other passages.  Ezekiel 18:23 tells us that God doesn’t take pleasure in the death of the wicked.  He would rather they turned in repentance.  This is the same thing that Peter states in 2 Peter 3:9. “The Lord…is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  Whether Judas ever believed, Jesus clearly loved him and gave him a clear choice.  The end of Judas was the result of a series of selfish and wicked choices.

The field purchased by the priests in the name of Judas is also where Judas died.  Its name became Akel Dama, “Field of Blood.”  It would have been seen as a cursed place to avoid.  There is a sinister shade to the idea that the fruit of his betrayal was suicide in what would then become a cemetery for foreigners.

Judas is not the only betrayer of Jesus.  Jesus warned that many would betray him.  On the day that the Kingdom of Heaven is brought down to earth, Jesus describes the scene in Matthew 7:23. “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”  In John 6, Jesus made it clear that the problem for Judas was that he didn’t believe in Jesus.  There are many today who are betraying the cause and purpose of Jesus the Christ.  They do so all the while wearing a cloak of righteousness, but in the end, they are pursuing lawlessness. 

Do not focus on other to the detriment of your own soul.  If we believe in Jesus, then we will do what he commands.  Jesus held out a hand of redemption to judas to the bitter end, and so should we.

The position of Judas is filled by Matthias

In verse 15, the disciples are in Jerusalem waiting and praying for the Holy Spirit to be poured out, but someone needs to fill the position left vacant by Judas.  We are told that there are about 120 of them.  This could be broken down into The Eleven, The Seventy, and 39 others plus.

Peter broaches the subject of the vacant position by pointing to Scripture.  The Scriptures are quoted in verse 20 and they come from Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8. Both of these Psalms are written by David.  He is complaining in prayer to God that he has been hated by those close to him without a cause.  In fact, Psalm 109:5 states, “They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.”

If you read these Psalms of David in their entirety, you can see David calling out to God for vindication.  David, who has been reproached like a cursed man, must endure those who have hated him seemingly being blessed.  They are entrenched in their inheritance in Israel all the while he is being pushed out of the inheritance that God has given him.  David asks God to give judgment and reverse the positions.

This idea of a portion, a lot, and an inheritance connects the story of David and his betrayers with that of Jesus and his.  It also connects back to the inheritance of the tribes of Israel.

In verse 17, it states that Judas had “obtained a part in this ministry.”  The word for “part” is connected to the Hebrew word for a Lot, A Portion, an Inheritance.  More on this later.

Scripture tells us that David was a prophet, and Peter declares that the Holy Spirit spoke by the mouth of David.  Though he was focused on his situation, the Spirit of God spoke through him regarding the ultimate Son of David who would also be betrayed.  Those with whom God made covenants all lived lives that became prophetic enactments of future events connected to Messiah.  David’s initial rejection and betrayal was prophetic of the rejection and betrayal that the Messiah Son of David would experience.  Thus, Peter sees David prophesying that another should take the place of his betrayer.

A final point of how Peter saw this connection necessitating a person to replace Judas has to do with the number 12.  Why did Jesus pick twelve disciples to become his apostles?  We intuitively know it is connected to the 12 tribes of Israel.  I’ve already stated that the concept of a portion, or lot, grammatically ties these together.  However, Jesus promised the 12 that they would sit on 12 thrones ruling over the 12 tribes of Israel in his kingdom (Matthew 29:28; Luke 22:30).  Just as the tribes of Israel became the foundation of the nation of Israel and drew their inheritance by Lot, so the 12 Apostles would inherit the 12 tribes.  They are not each from the different tribes.  This points to a new order that Messiah would set up that was not simply based on natural blood lines.

Peter mentions some prerequisites to whomever would be picked.  They had to have accompanied the 11 throughout the time of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John up to his ascension into heaven.  They thus would be witnesses of his ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension.  Just as the tribes of Israel had witnessed the glorious deliverance from Egypt brought about by the Lord, so these were witnesses of the glory of Messiah.  Along with Jesus, these 12 would become the foundation and lay the foundation of the Called-Out-Ones who belonged to Jesus. They are to be his Church.  They would also be a foundational witness to the earth and to the heavens of the power and love of God shown to the sons of Adam through Jesus. 

You might recall the image of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven having 12 foundations, each one named for the 12 disciples.  One of them would have been named Judas, but he lost that glory.

Through this we can see the importance of having a 12^th apostle after Judas was lost.

Two men are chosen from among them, no doubt chosen from out of the 70. They are Joseph Barsabas and Matthias.  There is no electioneering here, and neither should there be.  Several men qualify, but only one can fill the post.  There were most likely others who qualified.  Serving God is not about the exact role or position that we receive.  It is not about the scope and number of people that it impacts.  It is simply about being faithful to whatever God gives you to do.  They would all go forth witnessing to the world of Jesus and the Resurrection, of the Gospel.

Matthias is the one who is chosen.  Two things stick out to me about the making of this decision.  First, the disciples prayed for God to reveal which of the two that He has chosen.  Two often, we can end up controlling who gets positions rather than letting God choose.  Prayer is essential in knowing the will of God.

Second, they cast lots to determine God’s will.  Historically, it was a common thing to cast lots in order to deal with decisions.  It served two purposes.  It was a way to satisfy strong, opinionated men.  They could all see how the lot fell and had a predetermined understanding of what its particular settlings would mean.  Though modern man would say that it is a random thing, the ancients often pointed to God controlling the lots.  We see this throughout the Old Testament, and as stated earlier, particularly with the inheritance of the 12 tribes of Israel.  There choice of casting lots is not by accident.  We never see them doing this again to make a decision (see Acts 15). 

Let us note that just as God had a portion for the 12 disciples, He also has a portion for you and me.  This lot in life involves our place in God’s Church, but also our place in the Age to Come.  Judas lost his place that day because he didn’t believe God.   Someone else ended up with a portion that could have been his.  Yes, this world can be a wilderness, but those who trust in Jesus will be blessed both now and in the Kingdom.  May we all serve in faithfulness in whatever post our Lord should give.

Tragedy of Judas audio

Betrayed!

Luke 22:47-53.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on March 6, 2016.

There are many stories of betrayal throughout history:  Satan and God, Absalom and David, Brutus and Julius Caesar, and of course our topic of today, Judas and Jesus.  What is unique about the betrayal of Jesus is that he knew it was going to happen and allowed it to happen anyway.  We should never think that this means it didn’t bother Jesus.  Rather, we see Jesus as a man who feels deeply and yet submits those feelings to a specific plan. 

Such betrayals can paralyze even the best of people.   It can be hard to keep focused and continue forward in life, or to even have the “want to.”  Today the most common betrayal is that which happens in the marriage relationship.  Every year in America hundreds of thousands of marriages end in divorce.  Whether that comes from full blown betrayal through adultery or a softer betrayal in which one simply quits working on the relationship, betrayal is something that we can all relate to.   In our times of pain, sorrow, and paralysis, we must recognize that Jesus knows what it means to be betrayed and he offers us a way through it.

Jesus Is Betrayed And Arrested

By definition, betrayal comes from people who are close enough to us to do so.  In the life of Jesus, there were twelve men that he drew into his daily life.  Yes, multitudes were disciples of Jesus, but only the twelve lived with him and received special instruction.  Judas was hand-picked by Jesus to be one of these twelve.  Another aspect of this closeness is that Judas was given the further responsibility of taking care of the group’s money.  Though Jesus knew Judas would betray him, he still offered him a place that was close to his heart and critical to the operation of his ministry.

Sometimes we can act like it was easier for Jesus since he was God.  However, it would actually make it worse.  Jesus demonstrated nothing but love for Judas and yet he would be stabbed in the back.  We might think of this further in regard to the human race.  We often focus on our own pain and suffering and judge God for allowing it to happen.  And yet, we rarely think about the pain and suffering we have caused Him.  He has loved us and given us a critical place in His plan for all of creation.  Yet, we have continually rebelled and gone after other “lovers.”  If you understand anything about God, understand this: God loves mankind even though we have betrayed Him and He will continue to demonstrate His love towards us to the very end.  In fact, this is true for you as an individual as well.  God loves you and will not stop loving you until the day you release your final breath.

To add insult to injury, Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss.  Now for Judas this is a simple and practical way to signal the soldiers who to arrest.  In the darkness of the garden it would be easy for Jesus to escape.  Yet, there is an immense irony to his choice of signal.  The kiss of Judas represents the insincere kisses of those who care only for themselves.  They say they love you, but in truth they are only interested in pleasing themselves.  Jesus sincerely offers Judas a different way, and yet the insincerity of Judas leads him to destruction. 

When we throw in league with the Devil, things that ought to be sacred are sacrificed to the ambitions that one serves.  Spouses, children, parents, and others are all used and abused in order to obtain what we want.  Even though such things should not be done, the betrayer doesn’t seem to care.

In the midst of the arrest Peter takes out his sword and, in trying to defend Jesus, cuts an ear off of one of the men there.  Jesus quickly lets Peter know that this is the wrong way.  God is not going to redeem mankind by raising up an army of believers who will slay the enemy.  In fact, our spiritual enemies cannot be touched by such weapons.  Mankind would not be redeemed by the sword, but by the love of God.  Jesus says, “Permit even this.”  There is a part of all of us that balks at following Jesus.  Peter had been challenged to accept certain things in order to continue with Jesus.  Yet, now things were out of hand.  Peter cannot understand the insistence of Jesus on being betrayed and put to death.  Is there a limit to the things that we will accept and endure in order to follow Jesus?  Be sure that this life will test you severely in this matter.  Peter needs to stand down because he is trying to thwart the very plan of God.  This is typical when we do what our flesh wants.  We might be trying to do a good thing, like standing for Jesus, but God is not always headed in the direction we want.  Surrendering to this is sometimes too much for people.  Perhaps Judas himself believed at the beginning.  But somewhere Jesus had crossed a line in which Judas could not permit himself to follow anymore.

It is amazing to see the grace of Jesus displayed to a man who is there to arrest him.  Jesus heals the ear of the man.  Thus he demonstrates that he truly is the Son of God in that his goodness was received by good and bad alike.  Remember the words of Matthew 5:45, “[God] makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”  Is it possible to follow such a way?  Can I refuse to pay back wrong for wrong and instead love people even to the point of death?  We should not call it the way of love.  For no man ever loved like this.  It is the way of Jesus and of the love of God.

Jesus Rebukes His Captors

In verses 52 and 53 we see that Jesus makes some statements to his captors.  First he points out that he had not presented himself in such a way that warranted an armed arrest.  There was no reason to believe that Jesus and his group would be violent.  Jesus was famous for his teachings that promoted turning the other cheek and not paying back wrong for wrong.  The show of force is ridiculous.  Why seize him while wielding swords and clubs?  This kind of militaristic over-kill is becoming of those who have thrown their lot in with the Devil and not with God.  They could have taken him at any time and yet they choose the middle of the night and violent means.

Jesus points out that this was their time and the time of the power of darkness.  The phrase “the power of darkness” is a clear reference to Satan.  Some examples of this can be found in Acts 26:18, “I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.”  Here Jesus explains to Paul that the world was stuck in the darkness of the power of Satan.  Also, in Colossians 1:13, Paul explains to believers, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”  The power of darkness is clearly the spiritual opposite of the Kingdom of Jesus.

Satan loves to operate through force, hiding, betrayal, and vulnerability.  Up to now, God has allowed him to have a certain time of power.  But it will not end well for Satan and those who join in league with him.  They will have their inheritance in the lake of fire, otherwise known as the second death.  Today we are choosing which side we are going to be on.  You are either putting your trust in God by faith in the way of Jesus, or you are siding with the power of darkness.  There is no other way.  Even if you find yourself having fallen away for a time, like Judas did, repent of your fear and doubt and turn back to Jesus.  The Devil loves to tempt you to fall into sin and then use that failure to cause you to despair all hope.  Even now, Jesus holds out his arms to you saying, “I have paid the price of your sin and will set you free from your guilt if you will only turn to me and believe.”  Let’s put our faith fully upon the one who not only knows what it is like to be betrayed, but also forgives us for our betrayals of him.

Betrayed Audio

The Betrayal of Jesus

Luke 22:1-13.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on January 24, 2016.

Today we are going to return to our study through Luke of the True Jesus.  We left off at the beginning of Luke 22 and the last week of Jesus before his crucifixion.  Here we have a passage that begins to set up the betrayal of Jesus.

The Leaders Betrayed the Messiah

Although it is important to recognize the involvement of the Romans in the death of Jesus, it is the religious and political leaders of Israel that betrayed him.  Thus Jesus was betrayed by his own people.  This is not a statement against the Israeli people, but recognition of a horrible act.  Both Israelis and Gentiles are pronounced as sinners in need of salvation by the Law of Moses.  Just as the nations of the world had betrayed God by casting off the truth and embracing deceptions, so we see the nation of Israel officially betraying the messiah for whom they were waiting.  It should be no surprise to us today that these things are still true.  All nations insist that God bless their plans, but none have leadership that are totally submitted to God.

In verse 2 we are shown part of the source to their betrayal.  The leaders “feared the people.”  These leaders were playing politics.  They wanted to kill Jesus and yet his popularity made such a proposition particularly sensitive.  They wanted to figure out how they could get what they want and still have the people on their side.  This is at the heart of all wicked politics.  It is a manipulation that diminishes the people to being only a means to an end.  This is why ethics and morality are so important in our leaders.  If those who seek to be our leaders have betrayed people in their lives that they were supposed to love or were close to, then how much more will they betray the rest of the nation?  John 12:42 tells us that “even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.”  This fear of people exists not just towards the populace, but also within the group of leaders itself.  When we treat our decisions as a type of scientific endeavor to get what I want without upsetting the applecart, we set ourselves and our nation up for disaster.  It was fear of one another that kept many good men from speaking up.  Instead they went along with a horrible travesty of justice as the Lord Jesus was crucified.

They also feared losing the power and authority that they held over the people.  We see this in John 11:48, “If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”  You should take notice which comes first, “our place,” and then “nation.”  When we operate out of a fear of people we allow ourselves to become a tool of Satan.  However, the answer is not simply to refrain from fearing people.  If we only quit fearing people then we can become a tyrant who does not care for them.  Rather, we are to fear God in our dealings with those under our leadership.  We operate for their good, but not at their whim.  It is the fear of God’s judgment of our leadership that is a guardrail to a leader.  Even better than that is to love God’s ways.  When a leader loves the ways of God, they will lay themselves and their designs down in order to better serve the people.

Now the leaders of Israel are a warning to us and a picture of what we are like.  This is not about an us versus them, Gentile versus Jew, issue.  All humans have the same sinful nature.  No matter how much knowledge of God we have or how little, we are still corruptible.  Yet, the good news is that we are also still redeemable.  Picture if Jesus were to come to America today as the savior of America and the world.  Would our leaders really lay down their positions at his feet and invite him to rule?  Hardly!  He would be attacked in the press and legal system until he was removed from the situation.  Christ is the supreme challenge from heaven to all men and all nations.  He is also the sublime offer of grace to them as well.

Judas Betrayed Jesus

Within the larger betrayal of the nation’s leaders, is the individual betrayal of one of the close disciples of Jesus.  Judas is one of the top 12 disciples and was clearly picked by Jesus.  Yet, we see in verse 3 that Satan was involved in what Judas did.  Judas was not the real enemy of Jesus.  It was Satan all along.  Satan was working through the mind and heart of Judas.  Judas had somehow become a puppet under the manipulation of a spiritual enemy.  How had this happened?

It says that Satan entered Judas.  This isn’t the normal language of demonic possession.  However, Judas had left the door open for Satan to enter his mind and heart.  It is questionable whether Judas ever had a moment of repentance and true desire to be a disciple of the way of Jesus.  Most likely he saw Jesus as a means of getting into a powerful position.  Much like investing in a new company brings the ability to strike it rich, so he most likely saw Jesus as an investment.  If I get in early then I will have a powerful position later.  We are also told that Judas was put in charge of the money bag and that he would often steal money from it.  Clearly this was told to them by Jesus later.  Giving in to such fleshly appetites as power and money will open the door for spiritual forces to manipulate us.  Ephesians 4:26-27 warns, “Be angry, and do not sin.  Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.”  Notice that anger and our giving in to sin can “give place” or open the door to the devil.  Some versions translate it as giving a foothold to the devil.  When we reject the way of Jesus and instead think and act in ways to satisfy what our flesh wants, we will end up becoming a tool of Satan.  Don’t give him any space or a foothold in your life.

It was Matthew Henry, a Presbyterian minister of the late 1600’s who said that “it is hard to say whether more mischief is done by the power and policy of open enemies, or by the treachery and self-seeking of pretended friends.”  Here we see both, open enemies and a pretended friend, colluding together in order to take down Jesus the messiah, all along professing a desire for the messiah to come.  This is critical to see.  We often crucify the real Jesus while professing to want Jesus.  That is because the Jesus we want is false, a figment of our imagination.  These same dynamics continue today.  There are those who parade themselves as disciples of Christ, but they are enemies of the cross.  They only serve an idol of their own making and slap a “Jesus” label on it.  It is only those who stick with the true Jesus who will come out the other side of such betrayals.

The Betrayed Jesus Is Still in Control

In the midst of all this betrayal Jesus is still in control.  Verses 7-13 show us that Jesus has a plan that is not afraid of such betrayals.  He lays out exact details for his disciples to follow in order to prepare for his last supper with them.  Notice the phrase that they found it “just as he had said to them.”  Everything was just as Jesus had told them.  Jesus didn’t give them instructions on snuffing out Judas, or going public about the collusion of the leaders.  Rather, Jesus has an agenda for His disciples that has nothing to do with these betrayers.  This is a real challenge for us today.

We should not be surprised that things are just as our Lord told us they would be.  Chapter 21 of Luke involved the prophecies of our Lord regarding what the Church would experience in the first century, the centuries since, and at His Second Coming.  He told us that we would be hated by ALL nations for His sake.  He told us that all of mankind would betray the Lord.  The leaders of the world are following the script of Psalm 2 as they betray the one to whom all leadership belongs.  All the while, many professing Christians have betrayed the Lord.  This is not a question.  What is a question is what will you do?  Will you join the betrayal?  Or, will you be doing what Jesus has told you to do?  The world today is under the influence of Satan.  He has manipulated leaders by fear of people and fear of one another.  Christians are under great stresses that are intended to open doors for the devil in our hearts and mind.  We can only stand against such attacks and keep from giving entrance to Satan by trusting our Lord and keeping focused on what He has told us to do.  Let us proclaim the good news of the Kingdom.  And, let us grow in learning to love one another with the true love that is submitted to the ways of Jesus, as opposed to the false love that is submitted to the ways of the world.  Take heart.  The Lord Jesus is in control.  Those who betray Him will end up with nothing and those who remain faithful to Him will be brought through the fire that lies ahead.

Betrayal of Jesus Audio