Kenneth Copeland - Who Was Judas?
Kenneth Copeland: Hello everybody, I'm Kenneth Copeland. This is the Believer's Voice of Victory broadcast. And yesterday, when we just ran out of time, we were about to, we found out some things about Judas. Now, his name was Judah. And, but I'm not going to take another second. I want to get the professor back in here because that, Hey, he's opening our eyes on things, glory to God, those of you that are just now getting in here, go back and get all the last week and all of this and just, just, just watch them all. Praise God, because we've gotten into things that, that are very, very, very, very, very uncommon things that are just not taught anywhere. Every one of them just verse after verse.
Greg Stephens: Jesus says I didn't come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. Everything he does is fulfillment.
Kenneth Copeland: Every word.
Greg Stephens: Because it has to be fulfilled. And we were talking about how he had just washed the disciples feet. He's doing exactly what Moses did for Aaron. He is setting in a new priesthood of a new covenant apostles of the lamb is what he's doing. And after that, Jesus will say, verse 18, I speak of John chapter 13 verse 18. I speak not of all of you. I know whom I've chosen, but then...
Kenneth Copeland: For those just joining we're talking about, we're zeroing in on Judas.
Greg Stephens: Yes. Because Judas sir, has always been a problem for me. How could he see the things he saw? How could he see Peter walk on water with him? How could he see the dead come to life? How could he see all these things and lose his salvation? That's what I was taught that, well, you better be behave or you could end up like Judas. I was, I was in fear I would end up like Judas.
Kenneth Copeland: Well, as you pointed out last week, he never was a believer in the start.
Greg Stephens: Never was a believer. I'll show it to you. Jesus will say it. I speak not of all of you I know, verse 18. I speak not all of you I know whom I've chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. So now when I see that I'm always looking okay, where is it being fulfilled? What's being fulfilled? He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Well, it's over here in Psalm 41 verse 9, my own familiar friend in whom I've trusted. David is writing, which did eat of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. Now, who is that guy? He's a counselor of David for the throne. Ahitophel is the way I say his name. And he turned on David and went to Absalom, his son did, and Absalom's rebellion. He's going to end up hanging himself.
Kenneth Copeland: And that's what Judas did.
Greg Stephens: It's exactly what Judas did. So this is what Jesus is saying when he says that it may be fulfilled, he's going to fulfill it exactly to the letter. Alright. Now I tell you, before it come to pass verse 19, that when it comes to pass, you may believe that I am. And he is in italicized there. He's giving them the word, showing them I'm in control of this. What's about to happen I'm in control. You can trust me. I am, whatever's going to happen it's going to be a contradiction to me being the Messiah, but it's not a contradiction. I'm in control. So he goes on down here, when Jesus had thus said he was troubled in spirit, it says in verse 21, and testified. He's troubled in spirit because this thing had just hit him. Oh, that whole thing with David's about to come to pass. Verily, verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples look, wonder another doubting of whom he's saying. Well, who's he talking about? And they're looking around the room. Now. There was one leaning on Jesus' bosom. One of his disciples whom Jesus loved. This is John. Simon Peter, therefore beckoned to him. Simon's somewhere else on the table over there. Hey, Hey, asking who it is that he, that he wants to know who it is. Cause I really believe he would've popped him.
Kenneth Copeland: Oh yeah.
Greg Stephens: You didn't mess with Peter at all. He's wanting to know who this is. He said then lying on Jesus' bosom said, so he didn't say this out loud where everybody heard it. Who is it? Jesus answered he wouldn't have had to say it loud either cause he's right here. He is to whom I shall give this up when I have dipped it. And he gave , and when he had dipped, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now what are we dipping? We're dipping the bitter herbs. We're dipping that broken piece with the, with the lettuce in it. And it's the second dipping. And it stands for the suffering and it stands for slavery. Yes. He partook of the suffering of Jesus. He's the only one that Jesus allowed to do that with him.
Kenneth Copeland: So he still had a piece of the unleavened bread.
Greg Stephens: This is what we're going to do, we're going to eat that found peace. And we're going to break it and we're going to dip it again. This is a second time we've done this. And he will, at that point, dip into his suffering with it. He'll covenant into the suffering. Now Jesus already said to them where I'm going, you can't go, well, this guy decided I'm going there. So when you look at this, let's see Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now that's an interesting thing. And it says verse 27. And after the SOP, Satan entered into him, then said, Jesus unto him, thou that thou doest do it quickly. And no man at the table knew for one intent he spoke this unto him, for some of them thought because Judas had the bag that Jesus said to him buy things that are needed or that he should go give to the poor. He's done this before. He then having received the sob went immediately out and it was night. John makes a point. He went out into the darkness. Remember the first, very first Passover. Once you're in, you're in for the night, you don't go out.
Kenneth Copeland: Yeah, that's right.
Greg Stephens: Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, now the whole scene will change. Once he's out of the building. Now is the son of man glorified and his God is glorified in him. So now let's get back up here real quickly to this. He says Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, Judas son of Simon is his name. Iscariot is not a name. It's more of a place. It's a place Keriof, which is South of Jerusalem from the tribe of Judah, from the South, every other disciples from the North. He's the only one theologians believe that was from the South. Why does that matter? Well, that area is where Esau descendants lived. What's the deal with Esau? Well we go back over here to this verse, the heel, the whole heel verse, remember when Jacob and Esau were born, Jacob had a hold of his heel. And so here we have David. Now we have Jacob. Now we have Genesis. So I've got three different verses that this act is fulfilling. That versus not in there by any accident for it to be there. Cause he's fulfilling everything that happens with Judas. So Judah, member Judas sold Joseph into slavery into, well it was Judah and his brothers, but they sold him. He ends up in...
Kenneth Copeland: Judah was the, he was the top guy.
Greg Stephens: Yes, he was.
Kenneth Copeland: He made the decisions.
Greg Stephens: And Joseph ends up, now here's the, here's the beauty of this. Joseph ends up and we know he sold to Potiphar. We know he was sold for 20 pieces of silver, Jesus will be sold for 30 pieces of silver. Joseph is a favorite son of his father, right? Jesus is the only begotten son of his father. I mean, the typology is all over the place for Joseph and Jesus. Joseph will become the prime minister of Egypt. He'll provide prosperity, so his brother's...
Kenneth Copeland: At 30 years old.
Greg Stephens: At 30 years old falsely accused. And they will come down into Egypt and there's Judah standing in front of him. Doesn't recognize him. He's dressed like an Egyptian. So his brothers see him, but don't recognize him. Now we just saw that in that other verse, their eyes are blinded. They can't see him for who he is. They just, they see this prime minister, this Egyptian. He has two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Now they are half Jewish because of Joseph, their father, they're going to end up with a full portion. They haven't been part of Israel yet, but they're going to be grafted in. Matter of fact, when they go in Ephraim and Manasseh will go in, and you're already ahead of me, they're going to go in his son, he's married to a Gentile bride. Joseph.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes. Thank God.
Greg Stephens: I know. And so these sons of his will be of a group that they don't know of. They don't know Joseph has another group there that's going to be grafted in with them. And to this day, they'll always pray may you be like to their children, Ephraim and Manasseh. Why? There was never any strife recorded between those two tribes. Not one time was it named among them. So he will tell them where's Benjamin? Or do you have a younger brother? Is there another brother? Yeah. Benjamin our younger brother. Now Benjamin is the whole brother of Joseph from the same mother. So they bring Benjamin back down, Jesus ministries in Benjamin, in the territory of Benjamin. They bring Benjamin back down here to him, remember the whole story of how that all happened. And they end up, he's going to ask for his bones to not be left in Egypt when they go into the promised land some 400 years later. Joshua will take the bones of Joseph into the promised land. Now what's the big deal about that? Well, Joshua's name is Yeshua.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes, it is.
Greg Stephens: Yeshua.
Kenneth Copeland: And the King James in the book of Hebrews it's translated Jesus and people really get, huh? But that's the reason why.
Greg Stephens: So Yeshua will take Joseph by covenant. He promises covenant promise. 400 years later, Yeshua will take Joseph burial into the promised land. Now when Yeshua in a few hours from this will die, a Joseph will take his body, Joseph and Mary, all of this stuff.
Kenneth Copeland: That's what is so absolutely uncanny. That's the reason this is an a supernatural book because it is so exact. And I don't care how long you study it, you just can't trip it up.
Greg Stephens: No.
Kenneth Copeland: It's just amazing to me.
Greg Stephens: It's written by God.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes it is.
Greg Stephens: And when you make all the connections and that's what I pray every morning, Lord reveal yourself to me today. Let me see you. And he shows me, how does he show, does he show up in your room? He shows up. Yeah. In his word. I start making connections. Now, Judas chose that night to dip that when Jesus offered it to him, Jesus knew from the very beginning it was him and he covered him. He covered him. Let me show you in John chapter 6. Now, before you say Jesus chose Judas and then rejected him. No, he did not. He did not reject him. He never broke covenant.
Kenneth Copeland: He never did, he called him friend right at the very last second. And you know, and people that don't understand that in covenant language, back in the day, if you were in blood covenant with somebody Sergio, you were capital F friend and in the King James version of the Bible, James that's the oldest book in the New Testament. The half brother of Jesus said that Abraham was God's Friend. And in the King James version, it's capitalized. Friend, the friend of God. And when the, at the very last moment Jesus called Judas friend. And he made a point of that in that covenant meal, I no longer call you servants.
Greg Stephens: I call you friends. And that's exactly what happened. Let me just show you this over here hat he knew. And I believe with the kisses, the disciples didn't know till the kiss happened and they arrested him. Now, Peter tried to cut off Malchus' head not his ear. Had he known this why he's asking John, if he'd have known right then he had taken Judas out. That's not gonna happen, because Peter's boasted of that. And he'll even boast it and he said, you will deny me before the rooster crows three times.
Kenneth Copeland: Greg, it had already been spoken in the first covenant that this man would hang himself, there is no way Peter could have killed him, no possible way.
Greg Stephens: But he would try.
Kenneth Copeland: Well, yeah, because Peter wasn't that much of a scholar. He believed the book, but he wasn't a scholar. He's a fishermen. But it had already been said that he's going to be hung. No way he could have been killed any other way.
Greg Stephens: That's right. That's exactly right. So I believe this Judas was never a believer. And here's where I get it from John chapter 6. This is earlier on. You can read the whole story about what's happening here in verse 35. I am the bread of life, He that comes to me shall never hunger. He believes on me shall never thirst. Jesus is teaching all of this and he gets over here and he starts teaching about that I am the bread that comes down from heaven. You get to verse 53, except you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you. Whosoever eat my flesh. And now this, this is in Capernaum. He starts teaching this and they're all looking at each other. What is he talking about? We don't drink blood. We're commanded not to drink blood. Down here, as the living father has sent me, I live by the father. So he that eateth me shall lived by me. This is the bread, which came down from heaven, not as your father's did eat manna and are dead, for he that eeat of this bread shall live forever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Now, many of his disciples, when he'd heard this, this is a hard saying who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that the disciples murmured at this, he said unto them, does this offend you? And if you shall see the son of man ascend up where he was before in the spirit that quickeneth the flesh living prophet and nothing in the spirit, they are alive. You go on down here and look at verse 64. But there are some of you that believe not. Now right behind it, so we're trying to figure out well, who is that? Right behind it tells you for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believe not, and who would betray.
Kenneth Copeland: There it is right there. That's plain enough, man.
Greg Stephens: He's not a believer.
Kenneth Copeland: He's not a believer. He hadn't believed this whole time.
Greg Stephens: And it goes back to what you started with at the beginning of this week. When we talk about believing on Christ or that name and confessing him. I read to you where the Pharisees many believed on him, but they would never confess him. Look right over here, we'll go over here to verse verse 70, John 6:70, Jesus answered them, have not I chosen you 12, and one of you is a devil. Look at this. He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him being one of the 12. He was never a believer. He had never confessed. Peter did it. Peter said, you are the son of the living God, you are the...
Kenneth Copeland: You're the Christ.
Greg Stephens: You're the Christ. But Judas apparently had never done that. He was, he was exposed for what he was. Well we know this, he was a thief. He stole from the money bag all the time. And he just never, he never had made him Lord of his life. When we say Jesus is Lord, that's not just words, that's not just words. And so...
Kenneth Copeland: And I might add to that right there there's a lot of people, now I'm talking about good people, but we're talking about power here. There's a lot of people, for instance, Jesus is my savior, but he's not Lord. Well, I mean, what do you mean Brother Copeland? Well, you know, I take my Bible to church with me every Sunday and he's Lord and a man, I love amazing grace, and I'm born again, and I'm filled with the Spirit of God. I don't pick that book up maybe twice a month. He's not Lord. Cause you don't have any idea what he's saying, you're too busy doing stuff. In the book of Hebrews is called dull of hearing.
Greg Stephens: You remember when an end of day that said, we cast out devils in your name and he said, but I never knew you. This is a picture of it.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes it is.
Greg Stephens: Because Jesus sent him out with the 70. Even the devils are subject to us in your name, but I never knew you. You never confessed me as your Lord. You never made that. It was all, Brother Hagin called it metal ascent.
Kenneth Copeland: Mental ascent. Yeah. It's mental faith. Now Thomas had that.
Greg Stephens: But he switched over.
Kenneth Copeland: He switched over.
Greg Stephens: Yes he did. Yes, absolutely right. So Judas is not a picture of a believer that lost his salvation or his relationship. He is a picture of a mental ascent person or an unbeliever that was exposed. That's what he is. Now after this, you can look at it back here... I'm sorry. Let me get back here. I know we're short on time, but you get back here. Now things change after he's left the room.
Kenneth Copeland: This is in John 13.
Greg Stephens: John13, after he's left the room, they will begin the praise at the end of that Passover Seder.
Kenneth Copeland: Now what verse are we in?
Greg Stephens: When he now, as the son of God is the son of man glorified and God is glorified in him. And he'll talk then into chapter 14, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. You know what they start doing? Here's what they always do at the end of Passover. So when Judas leaves the room, they go to Psalm 136.
Kenneth Copeland: His mercy endures forever.
Greg Stephens: They will read it and they start singing it for the Lord is good.
Kenneth Copeland: And his chesed endures forever.
Greg Stephens: And they start doing that. And when they do that, the glory enters the room because he begins to preach then about the glory of God. And he's going to preach chapter 14, 15 and 16. Psalm 136. Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for his mercy endures forever. And they'll say it with him. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods for his mercy endureth forever. Oh give thanks to the Lord of Lords for his mercy endureth forever. To him alone, who does great wonders for his mercy endureth forever. What they're doing is they're getting their eyes, and they do this at the end of Passover, Psalm 136. This is exactly, when Judas leaves the room, this is what they start doing. And they start glorifying God. And they start talking about your chesed endures forever. And this is what's strengthening him for what's about to happen in the garden. And they all began to worship.
Kenneth Copeland: And that word chesed, a covenant word that Gentile just don't understand at all. And mercy says it, but when you know what i means, and you study that out. When Jehoshaphat and the choir singers up in front of the army began to sing that they began to sing chesed, chesed, his mercy, chesed, they're saying the same thing. His mercy endures forever. His chesed, his chesed, it's covenant armor of almighty God. The great one of the covenant against the enemies of this little guys, and Jehoshaphat and them didn't have a chance, man. But the guy prophesied, Hey, stand still. You gotta go up there, but the battle is the Lord's and the victory is yours. And when they began to sing chesed that moment when they said mercy, or when they said chesed, chesed, chesed at the moment they said that is when God calls the ambush and they fought against themselves.
Greg Stephens: And that's going to play out. Here's why they read it. If you look at Psalm 136 to him that smote Egypt and their firstborn for his mercy endures forever and brought out Israel from among them, for his mercy endureth forever. See the first born of the Godhead is about to get...
Kenneth Copeland: Oh dear Lord.
Greg Stephens: And so he's crying out. He knows what's happening. His mercy endures with a strong hand, where they stretched out for his mercy endures forever. That strong hand that, he's he's knowing that that hand is going to pull him up out of the pit.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes, sir. Chesed is the force that, you can put it the chesed of blessing pulled him up out of hell after three days and three nights of the most horrible punishment any human being has ever suffered. And we're out of time.