Skip Heitzig - The Long-Expected Traitor
Would you please turn in your bibles to the Gospel of John chapter 13 as we are continuing a series we call, "Against All Odds." John's gospel chapter 13, I want to bring a message called "The Long-Expected Traitor." This is John chapter 13. "After Jesus washed His disciples' feet," and in verse 17, he said to them, "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the scripture may be fulfilled, he who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you, before it comes to pass, so that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He."
Every minute of every day, people all around the world are trying to predict the future. They're doing so in a number of ways. Some are inside of casinos, placing their bets, trying to figure out what their chances are of winning. Other people are at the stock market, trying to predict which stocks are going to rise, which ones are going to fall. Still others are in doctors' offices trying to give an estimated time of how long a patient has to live if they go through an operation or take this medication. And still others are in news agencies, studying meteorological charts, trying to discern what the weather will be like in the next few days, or a week or two.
We have been looking at the God who knows the future. And we have a hard time. In fact, it's impossible for us to know the future. God, however, does know the future because He controls the future. And so in the Bible, we have noticed that He makes predictions that have an enormous amount of detail built into them, so we can examine them objectively. And prophecies lend themselves to statistical analysis. It's one thing to make a general prediction. It's another thing to make a detailed one. If I were to say to a young lady, you're going to meet somebody tall, dark and handsome, that's not a big stretch. It's probably going to happen. If I say, tomorrow, it's going to rain somewhere, you're not going to be impressed. But if I add details to a prediction, you would be impressed.
For example, if somebody were to predict the next president of the United States will be a Republican female age 51 from Rhode Island with the first name Zora who married a man named Blake who was born in Woodstown, New Jersey, that she was born in the town of Big Bear Lake, California, with a foot-wide birth mark on her back, stands five foot two inches tall, weighs 111 pounds, has 11 letters in her last name, her father is from Grenada, her mother is from Panama, she has blue eyes, Oh, and one more thing. If the prophecy predicts the exact fingerprint pattern of the new president, you would be impressed. The chances of that happening would be one chance in 1.6 times 10 to the 45th power. Now we have been looking at several predictions over the last several weeks, and we have told you the odds of one person in history fulfilling them, and we've gone through a litany of that on several occasions.
The more details you add to a prediction, you decrease the odds of the fulfillment of those predictions exponentially. It's one thing to make one prediction. It could be some kind of coincidence that it comes to pass. But when you start stacking the details, it's different. So much so, we have made a note that for one person to fulfill all of those predictions that Jesus fulfilled is a statistic impossibility. Now it's a statistic impossibility from man's perspective. Without God, it's impossible. With God, all things are possible.
We also need to add the fact that Jesus Himself made the announcement in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, "I did not come to destroy the law in the prophets. I came to fulfill them." The word "fulfill" means to complete, or to accomplish, or to verify by a prediction. I have come to verify those predictions that were made in the law in the prophets. And one of the prophetic scriptures, one of the announcements that would happen, one of the predictions is that Jesus, or the Messiah, the coming one, would be betrayed. And there are a few scriptures that spoke of that betrayal.
According to Josh McDowell, he noted that there are 29 prophecies that fit a special category, 29. Those 29 predict Jesus' betrayal, Jesus' death, and Jesus' burial. Those 29 predictions were made at various times over a 500-year time span, five centuries. Between 1000 BC and 500 BC, those 29 predictions were made. But all 29 were fulfilled in a single 24-hour period. And the odds or the chances of those coming true would be about the same as a person winning 16 lotteries in a row, so this is "Against All Odds." And today, we're examining the betrayer, Judas Iscariot. You know his name. You've read about him. Most everyone has heard his name. He is the most infamous traitor in all of history.
In John chapter 13, I want to make just three notable characteristics about him. First of all he, was among the followers. He was in their midst. Jesus chose him to be part of the team. Would you go back to verse two of John 13 and just make a note of that? It says, "Supper being ended," this is the Last Supper, "the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him." Sitting at that table, along with Peter, and James, and John, was Judas Iscariot, and he had been with them for three years.
If you were to look up in a thesaurus, a word finder, if you were to look up words like "traitor" or "betray," you will find the name Judas. And that is because his name has become a synonym for treachery, hypocrisy, disloyalty, betrayal. And that's really about the only place you'll find his name. Have you ever met a Judas? Have you ever had anybody come up to you and go, hi, my name's Judas. That's like the name Adolf. I mean, you're just not going to find that.
I've never dedicated a baby named Judas from this pulpit. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the little Judas to you. I've never done that. I've met a Judah, or a Jude, the shortened form, but not a Judas. You've never met somebody named Judas. You haven't seen a dog named Judas. And that's because of the treachery that he brought to bear in the gospel accounts.
Now I heard a story about a husband and a wife, they were at home. And one night, a thief broke into their bedroom. They were there in the bedroom. The husband and wife saw the thief. And the thief said, well, now that you've see me, I have to shoot you. And so he took the gun out, and he pointed the gun at the woman. And he said, now you need to tell me your name. I always like to know my victim's name before I shoot them. She said, my name is Elizabeth. And he looked shocked. He said, Elizabeth, that was my mother's name. I can't pull the trigger. I can't shoot you. And then he turned his gun toward the husband and said, what's your name. And he looked down at the gun, and looked over at his wife, and then looked at the thief. And he said in a shocked stutter, my name is Joe, but all my close friends call me Elizabeth.
See, Joe had the same problem that Judas had. His name was OK at one time, but not now. Now he wants to go by a different name. Now Judas was an honorable name. The word means "praise," like the tribe of Judah. Praise, beautiful name. Probably Judas was even named after one of the heroes in Jewish history by the name of Judas Maccabeus. Some of you have heard that name. Judas Maccabeus was the son of the leader who revolted against the Seleucid Syrians when they came to oppress Israel. And that family became the family that rededicated the temple.
So Judas Maccabeus loomed large in their history, and it was a common name. So common a name, did you know that Jesus had a brother named Judas? I should say a step-brother. Joseph and Mary had children after Jesus was virgin born, and one of them was named Judas. It was a common name. Not only that, but I don't know if you know that not one, but two of the apostles were named Judas. We only know of one because of his infamy. But there was another one among that 12 that was named Judas. And sometimes you read about it in the New Testament. It will say, "Judas, not Iscariot," in parentheses, because his name, Judas Iscariot's name, has become so infamous, and that's because of his treachery.
Because of that, there are three times the New Testament lists all of the apostles by name, and there's something that is noteworthy. Peter is always named first. Judas is always named last. So though his name meant praise, this was not a praiseworthy man. Though his name was an honorable name, he was not an honorable man, but he's among the followers. How did he get there? He got there because Jesus picked him, right? He chose him. After spending a night in prayer, Jesus went and picked the inner circle out of all of the disciples to be called his 12. Luke chapter 6 tells us this.
"He went out to a mountain to pray, continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called the disciples to himself. And from them, He chose 12, whom He also named apostles." And then the list comes Peter, James, John, the others, finally, "and Judas Iscariot, who also became the traitor." So think of it. For three years, for three years, this man Judas walked and talked with the living Son of God. For three years, he was among them. He was with Jesus. He sat under the stars with Jesus. He ate meals with Him. He listened to His sermons. He was there when He gave the Sermon on the Mount. He saw Him raise dead people, heal blind people. In fact, Judas was sent on his own preaching mission along with the other 11 to the towns around Galilee. He was that close to Jesus as to be picked by Him.
Not only was he picked by Jesus. He was placed by Jesus. He was given a prominent place among the 12 disciples. Do you know what his position was? He was the treasurer. He kept the money box, the Bible tells us. He was given that special responsibility by Christ himself, so I can only figure Judas had a real keen business mind. He was like the chief accountant.
Now what's interesting about that is there was another money guy among the 12, Matthew, the tax collector. You'd think, well, he would have been a good guy to look over the money box, but it was Judas that was chosen. This is one of the reasons none of the other apostles suspected Judas at all, which is interesting. You might think, Peter, I always thought it was him. I knew it by that hoodie he wears, and that sinister look he has. That's a traitor.
No one suspected Judas at all, all the way up to the end. In fact, when Jesus at the Last Supper, another gospel records, announces that there is a betrayer sitting at the table. There's one question all of the apostles ask. You know what it was? Is it I, Lord? Is it I, Lord? None of them, said is it him? They didn't know it was Judas. He was so good at covering things up, nobody knew his dark side. So Jesus picked him, Jesus placed him.
There is something else to make a note of. Jesus positioned him, and I mean at the Last Supper. As I've studied this text and others for years, I've come to believe that it was Judas who sat in a very prominent position with Christ at the Last Supper, that Judas was sitting right next to him at his left side. That's what I've come to believe. I want you to look at verse 21 of John 13.
"When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit and testified, and said, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.' Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke." Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Who was that? That's John. He's called the disciple whom Jesus loved. Again, make note John is writing this. Just thought you ought to remember that. I'm the one Jesus loved. Me, John. But I love that he writes that about himself. The disciple that Jesus loved was leaning on Jesus' bosom.
Verse 24, "Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Him who it was of whom He spoke," because he's right next to Him. "Then leaning back on Jesus breast, he said to Him, 'Lord who is it?' Jesus answered, 'It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.' And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, 'What you do, do quickly.' But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. For some thought because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, buy those things we need for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor. Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately, and it was night."
With all due respect to Leonardo da Vinci, who gave us that famous painting The Last Supper, it's a great painting, but it's so inaccurate. Because you know the painting, everybody sort of leaning toward Jesus, facing the camera, kind of off to one side. And as nice as that picture is, and as lofty in the art world as it has become, it doesn't paint the accurate picture.
They weren't sitting on chairs at a table like you and I have a meal. They were at a triclinium, a u-shaped table called a triclinium, three-sided table. And in those days, they would not sit in chairs, but recline on their left elbow, typically with their right hand free to grab food, to pass it around. But they were in a relaxed, reclined position so that as they were reclining, John would have been to Jesus right, leaning left toward Jesus' breast. And then Jesus would have been reclining toward somebody else.
Now you'll notice in verse 26 that Jesus said, "'It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread.' And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon." Did you know that at a meal like Passover, there were places of honor to be given by the host, typically. And the place of honor was the right hand and the left hand. You remember Mrs. Zebedee who came to Jesus one time? She goes, I have a small request. I want my two boys to sit at your right and left hand in the kingdom. Those were places of honor.
So at the Last Supper, John, invited presumably by Jesus to sit at his right hand, was leaning toward Jesus breast. So all he had to do is cock his head a little bit and go, so who is it? And Jesus could simply look and say, "The one to whom I give a piece of bread." Jesus took a piece of bread and passed it to someone. And in that u-shaped table, the one he could reach would be the person on his left, and I believe that was Judas Iscariot.
So you have John leaning left into Jesus' breast, Jesus leaning left into Judas' breast, Judas leaning left into somebody else's bosom. He dipped the bread, and He gave it to Judas, which must have meant that before the evening started, our Lord went not just to John, but to Judas, and said, Judas, I want you to sit right next to me tonight. Jesus knew all about this creep, but He invites him right next to Him, as if perhaps one final reach out to say, it doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to do this. Reaching for his heart.
Now I can't say that for certain, but I do know this for certain. John was right where Jesus wants us to be, leaning toward Him, toward His heart, being able to just talk to Him so intimately. Jesus does not just want to be in your midst. He wants to be in your heart. He wants to be in the center of your life. And John was in the right place, leaning toward Jesus. Here's my question for you. Are you like John, leaning toward Jesus, or are you more like Judas, leaning away from Jesus? It's a good question for evaluation. Which way am I inclined in my leaning? So Judas was among the followers.
A second noteworthy thing about this text is he was against the master. He was against the master. In verse 18, we noted that Jesus quotes an Old Testament prophecy, which we'll look at in a moment, but notice it. "He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me." What a picture that is, of somebody lifting up their heel like kicking you away. I want nothing to do with them.
Did you know that there are some people who actually think Judas Iscariot wasn't a bad guy, that he was a good guy? Yeah, he has been recast throughout history. And you will note this around Easter time when they have those kooky television specials about the real story of Jesus and His followers. And they'll make something up from some crazy source that they found and make a whole documentary to subvert any traditional faith in Jesus Christ.
And many of them make Judas out to be this misunderstood hero, who is trying to save Jesus from Himself. But Jesus got Himself into trouble, wouldn't listen to Judas. They make him out to be the hero, Judas. It goes all the way back to a play in a movie in the '60s called Jesus Christ Superstar, and a book that was put out by Hugh Schonfield called The Passover Plot. Those are sources that try to cast Judas as the good guy.
I just want you to know Judas was not a good guy. Jesus in John 6 calls him a devil. How's that for a title? There's a devil among you. In his prayer to the Father in John 17, our Lord Jesus called him "the son of perdition." So he's not a good guy. He was a greedy guy, but he was not a good guy. He didn't serve Christ. He sabotaged Christ. He didn't see Jesus as his master. He looked to Jesus as his servant that would help him out.
Now, we don't know for sure, but we do know that Judas, like many other Jews, expected a political Messiah, not a Savior who would die for people. They wanted some deliverer who would take them out of the oppression that Rome had brought to them. And perhaps Judas betrayed Jesus to force Jesus into a place where he would have to conquer Rome or be conquered. We don't know for sure.
But one thing we do know for sure, Judas had no place for the cross. He didn't want a cross. He wanted a crown. And he wanted to be one who would have authority. If there's going to be a kingdom, he wanted to be first in line. The thing is, you have to go to the cross to wear the crown. There was no cross in his thinking.
But there's more than that. Judas was covetous. He was a money guy. We know that. He kept the treasury. But we get insight into who Judas was a few nights before this when our Lord, with His disciples, is at the home of Mary, and Martha, Lazarus, and they're in Bethany. And you know the story, how Mary takes this very expensive vial of oil ointment, breaks it open and pours it on Jesus' feet. It was very expensive, and it was quite a sacrifice. And the whole room was filled with this beautiful odor, aroma.
Well, one of the disciples named Judas pipes up. And he says, now listen to how righteous this sounds, why wasn't this oil sold for 300 denari and given to the poor? Oh, I think that's the kind of guy we want on staff. He's going to keep everybody accountable to the penny. But John gives us the footnote, tells us why. He said this. He said, "not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. And he had the money box, and he used to take what was put in it."
So now we get a better picture of Judas Iscariot. Not a good guy, a greedy guy. Here's a guy with a critical eye and a hypocritical heart on Jesus' team. Francis Bacon once said, "A bad man is worse when he pretends to be a saint." What I do love about that story is Jesus immediately turns to Judas and rebukes him publicly. And that could have set him off and pushed him over the edge in his betrayal. He said, "Let her alone. She has done this for my burial." So he was among the followers, and he was against the mass. There's a third and final notable trait of Judas Iscariot. He was anticipated by the scriptures. This was all predicted.
So go back to verse 18 and notice what Jesus does. He says, "I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the scriptures may be fulfilled," now he's showing that what Judas did was predicted, "he who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He." What does Jesus do? He's quoting, quoting an Old Testament scripture. Who's he quoting? His relative, King David. His ancestor, King David. In Psalm 41 verse 9, David writes this.
Now it is believed that when David wrote Psalm 41:9, what he was referring to was his own personal feeling of betrayal when a trusted counselor named Ahithophel betrayed him. You that know your bibles know that Ahithophel was a counselor of David who sided with Absalom, the son of David, who rebelled against his father. And Ahithophel, his buddy, his friend, betrayed him and sided with Absalom in that revolt. So David writes about that.
So Jesus pulls out Psalm 41 verse 9 because it fit perfectly. He, like His ancestor David, was also being betrayed. However, there's one part of it Jesus left out. In quoting Psalm 41:9, He leaves a phrase out, and that phrase is noteworthy. So you look at verse 18. I'm going to read to you Psalm 41:9. Notice the difference.
"Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me." What Jesus left out was that phrase, "my friend in whom I trusted." You know why? Jesus didn't trust Judas. Jesus never trusted Judas. Jesus knew from the beginning it was Judas. In fact, He announces that it is Judas. All the way up, He gives hints until He finally gives the bread and shows the hand of Judas Iscariot.
Way back in John chapter 6, Jesus said, "Some of you do not believe," for Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him. And then in John 13 verse 10, He says to them, "You are clean, but not all of you." For He knew who would betray him. Therefore, He said, "You are not all clean."
So Jesus didn't trust him, so he didn't quote the part, "the one in whom I trusted." He didn't trust him, because he knew him, which brings up a question. If Jesus knew him so well, why did he pick him to begin with? And I'm not going to try to unravel all the Calvinistic, and Armenian arguments, and predestination, and free will, and all that. I'm just going to answer it two simple ways.
Number one, He picked him to fulfill scripture. Jesus had complete and total knowledge, complete awareness of prophecy, of His situation, of Judas Iscariot. And to fulfill prophecy, He did it. Like He says here, "that the scripture may be fulfilled." In John 17, he prays to His Father. Goes, "Father, of those you gave me, I lost none of them except for one, the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled."
But now I want to take it off that divine plane and take it to the human level for a moment. There's a second reason, and that is this. To love anyone at all is to make yourself vulnerable. Any time you will give your love away to anyone, you are taking a risk. You are becoming vulnerable. And it means the possibility, almost the guarantee, that you're going to be hurt.
I had somebody ask me, Skip, how can I love and not be hurt? I said, don't love. Don't even get involved with any person on any level in any relationship. Have no trust. Be a recluse. Live in the desert. Have a dog, but no person. Because you can't. To love at all, to commit at all, to have any relationship at all is to bring with it the possibility and almost the guarantee that somewhere along the line, you are going to be hurt. And I'm sorry to be so cliche about this and quote that old song that I never really liked, but love hurts. That was from what, Nazareth was the group? And I will not sing it. It would ruin it all. I tried it the previous service. It was a bomb.
When people stand up in front and give their vows at a wedding, no one says, "For better or for best, for richer or for richest, in health and prosperity, until rapture do us part." It's, "In sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do us part." There's a lot of pain built into those words. Anybody can love an ideal person. The challenge is to love the real person. Jesus chose Judas knowing all along who this man was and what he would do, but He chose him anyway.
Can I just say to you, those of you who have been betrayed by someone, and I know there's a lot of you have, and because of that betrayal, because your heart has been broken, and even crushed, and trodden, you over time have learned to develop mechanisms around your life to become harder, maybe even bitter, to stay people away. And I just want to say, don't. Stop. Love anyway, knowing in advance you could be hurt, and probably will be. Love anyway.
I read a testimony of a man, Christian man, whose wife is an alcoholic. And she admitted to him that she had an affair 10 years before this confession she gave to him, 10 years before, with his best friend, best friend. His heart was broken, crushed. It almost destroyed their marriage, turned the kids against her. Their friends isolated them. It was almost the end of their marriage.
But he said, I remembered something that Jesus taught His disciples to pray. "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." He said, I knew that at some point, I'm going to have to forgive. I have to do that. He said the first time he met that man, his best friend he hadn't seen in a while. The first time he saw him again said, something within me made me thrust my arm out toward him, and grab him, and shake his hand, and extend forgiveness to him.
And he writes this. "For the first time in my life, I knew what it was to forgive. I felt a tremendous sense of release, as an unbearable weight of bitterness was lifted from my heart." He said it was that experience of forgiveness to that man that helped him to fully forgive his wife, and the relationship was reconciled. So Jesus quotes Psalm 41:9 of Ahithophel's betrayal of David, applies that now to himself with Judas Iscariot to show that the scripture was being fulfilled. It was anticipated by scripture.
And there were other parts of this betrayal that were also predicted. We don't have time to have you turn to them all, but I'll make mention of them. For example, the exact amount of betrayal is given, and the kind of metal used in that betrayal is given. In Matthew chapter 26, I'll read a couple of verses to you. It says, "Then one of the 12 called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and said, 'What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?' And they counted out to him 30 pieces of silver. So from that time, he sought opportunity to betray him."
What's amazing about that is 520 years before that event, a prophet named Zechariah wrote this poetic prophecy in Chapter 11 of the book of Zechariah talking about money being given to betray and end the ministry of what he calls, "a good shepherd." And this is what Zechariah writes. Zechariah 11, verse 11 and 12. "Then I said to them, if it is agreeable to you, give me my wages. And if not, refrain. So they weighed out for me my wages, 30 pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, 'Throw it to the potter,' that princely price they set on me. So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter."
Did you hear that? There are some amazing details in that. Number one, it suggests there'll be a haggling over the price, and there was. Matthew tells us. Judas was saying, well, what are you going to give me for this? And there was some kind of an agreement and disagreement, and they settled on the price. Number two, that the metal involved would be not gold, not copper, which were common in metallurgy at the time, but silver, 30 pieces of silver. Number three, the amount 30 pieces, not 20 pieces of silver, 30. Is that significant, 30 pieces of silver? Again, you Bible students will remember that in the Old Testament, 30 pieces of silver was the price to repay somebody whose servant had been gored by an ox.
So here's how it works. Let's say I have an ox. You're out in the field. You send your servant out to keep my ox away from your field, and the ox turns around and gores him. The law requires me to give you 30 pieces of silver. That's the price for a servant being gored by an ox. So it wasn't much. Again, is that significant? Well, Jesus is called the servant of God. Paul the Apostle in Philippians said he became a servant and served God's will to the point of death, and he was treated as such.
And then the final detail is that once the money was paid, it would be thrown down in the house of the Lord and used to buy a potter's field. Matthew 27 tells us Judas was remorseful afterwards. He threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went out and hanged himself. The priests said, what are we going to do with this money? We can't put it in the treasury. It's blood money. So they went and bought a potter's field. An amazing set of prophecies.
Now I want to close on a personal note. I've been in the ministry long enough to know that there are people that come to churches, not all of them, thank God, but there are some who come to churches who do exactly what Judas did 2,000 years ago. Oh, they play the game. They know the rules. They sit right down. They fit right in. But outside the church, they lie, they curse, they scheme, they gossip, they grumble, they complain, they bar hop, they party, they cheat on their wives, they cheat on their husbands, all the while, like Judas, in effect, they deny their Lord. That's the spirit of Judas. What I'm thankful for is they are the exception, not the rule.
Now when you go out at night and look up at the heavens, if you ever see one of those shooting stars, a meteor, a falling star, what do you do? Well, I'll tell you what I do. I go, wow, ooh, aw. Hey, look. Check it out. I just saw a falling star. Now, why do we do that? Because they're rare, because stars normally don't fall. For every one falling star, there are billions of others who hang in there and shine brightly. And I am honored and thankful for the solid believers who don't fall, who love their husbands, love their wives, love their family, love their church, live in integrity, keep their promises. Honored for those people, thankful for those people. I see so many around. Keep hanging in there. Keep being that example.
Heavenly Father, I think of Judas Iscariot at the Last Supper, in that place of privilege, that place of honor, to be given that piece of bread by Jesus, the living Son of God, to be in that place of splendor next to Him, to have Jesus leaning toward Judas, and for Judas not to have taken the lifeline that Jesus gave. Lord, I pray if anyone is wandering from you, living a double life, living with a critical eye and a hypocritical heart, turn them back to you in Jesus' name. Amen.