A Byword for Betrayal
| Title: | A Byword for Betrayal |
|---|---|
| Bible Book: | Matthew 10 : 4 |
| Author: | Franklin L. Kirksey |
| Subject: | Betrayal; Judas; Easter |
| Objective: | We must watch carefully that to which we give our hearts. When we commit our life to anything outside of Jesus, we will find that it will lead us to fail Him, and perhaps betray Him. Dr. Franklin Kirksey presents a sobering message about Judas and the deadly road of disloyalty. |
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Introduction
Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines a “byword” as "a proverbial saying: PROVERB; one that personifies a type, one that is noteworthy or notorious; EPITHET; a frequently used word or phrase."1
The same dictionary defines the term “betrayal” as “the act or fact of violating the trust or confidence of another” and provides the following synonyms: “disloyalty, double cross, faithlessness, falseness, falsity, infidelity, perfidy, sellout, treachery, treason, and unfaithfulness.”2
According to the Dictionary.com “betray” means, "to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty: Benedict Arnold betrayed his country."3
Judas Iscariot is a byword for betrayal. Matthew ends his list of disciples with the following, “. . . and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him” (Matthew 10:4b).
Kevin A. Miller, editor-at-large of Leadership journal and executive vice president at Christianity Today International, shares, “If there were a binding contract to sign before entering ministry, the fine print would include: ‘The undersigned acknowledges that the pastoral ministry may be hazardous and subject the undersigned to expressions of animosity, including but not limited to calumny, slander, misrepresentation, and betrayal.’
Being betrayed is so profoundly painful few pastors can talk about it—yet if they do open up, they can't stop talking about what happened to them.”4
David, the sweet singer of Israel, reveals some of the pain of betrayal in Psalm 55: 12-14. He explains, “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; / Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; / Then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, / My companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, / And walked to the house of God in the throng.”
Michael Card musically captures the misery of betrayal: “Only a friend can betray a friend, a stranger has nothing to gain / and only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain.”
William Tyndale (1494-1536), the man who first translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English, made it available to the common people. In 1535 he was betrayed by a friend, taken prisoner to the castle of Vilford, and continued to work on his translation. He was unable to finish his work because he was sentenced to die a heretic's death: Strangulation and burning at the stake. On October 6, 1536 he cried out his last words, "Oh Lord, open the King of England's eyes." God answered his prayer just three years later in 1539, when King Henry VIII finally allowed, and even funded, the printing of an English Bible known as the “Great Bible”.
Someone explains, “No treachery is worse than betrayal by a family member or friend. Julius Caesar knew such treachery. Among the conspirators who assassinated the Roman leader on March 15, 44 was Marcus Junius Brutus. Caesar not only trusted Brutus, he had favored him as a son. According to Roman historians, Caesar first resisted the onslaught of the assassins. But when he saw Brutus among them with his dagger drawn, Caesar ceased to struggle and, pulling the top part of his robe over his face, asked the famous question, "You too, Brutus?"5
John Calvin (1509-1564) concluded, “Surely in Judas' betrayal it will be no more right, because God both willed that his Son be delivered up, and delivered him up to death, to ascribe the guilt of the crime to God than to transfer the credit for redemption to Judas.”
Maybe you have heard of a “Judas goat”. Have you observed the behavior of goats? Those who know tell us they are capricious, impulsive, unpredictable, devious and contrary. They are usually not content with what they have. They are not good followers. You would not say they have a “gregarious behavior” or desiring to be with others as sheep, cattle or horses.
Some tell us that meat packers use this instinct in sheep and goats to their advantage. They will train an old goat, appropriately called a ‘Judas,’ to lead sheep to the pens for slaughter. A well-trained Judas will lead group after group of sheep to the slaughter all day long.”
Have you seen a “Judas Tree”? We are told, “This small, sparsely branched tree is said to be the one from which Judas Iscariot hanged himself after betraying Christ, but the name may derive from "Judea's tree", after the region encompassing Israel and Palestine where the tree is commonplace.”6
We will note several aspects about Judas Iscariot.
I. Judas Had An Unpretentious Birth
The first scriptural reference for Judas is Matthew 10:4. We also find Judas mentioned early in the other synoptic gospels namely, Mark 3:19 and Luke 6:16. There is no biblical record of how he became a disciple. “Not a great amount is known of Judas before becoming one of The Twelve Apostles. We know that he was the son of a man named Simon, who was also surnamed Iscariot. Judas is the Greek form of Judah. "Iscariot" is thought to be taken from the Hebrew Ish Kerioth, which means something like "a man from Kerioth.” Kerioth was a town located in the south of the land of Israel, not far from Hebron.”7
Simon named his son Judas, known to us as Judas Bar-Simon or Judas son of Simon. Iscariot likely refers to his birthplace. Iscariot means “a man of Kerioth.”
We know from Matthew 10:4 that Jesus invited Judas to be a follower. In addition, we know from Luke 22:25-26 that Jesus invited Judas to be a friend.
Dr. R. Kent Hughes, senior pastor emeritus of College Church, Wheaton, Illinois, comments, “The atmosphere of the Upper Room was charged with Jesus' persistence.” He further explains, “When Jesus washed the disciples' feet, he had lovingly taken each of Judas' feet in his hands. And in the process of washing Peter's feet, he had remarked to them all, ‘And you are clean, though not every one of you" (Luke 22:10). It was a loving arrow aimed at Judas' waning conscience. His words hurt Judas, but not enough.
The very seating arrangement bore the architecture of grace, because from left to right it was Judas, Jesus, and John, as evidenced by the private conversation going on between the three in verse 25-28. As they reclined, Jesus' head was at Judas' breast, and John's head was at Jesus' breast too. Jesus had given Judas the left-hand side, the place of honor. It appears that Jesus probably said something like ‘Judas, I want to have a talk with you. Sit at the place of honor to my left tonight.’
His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask him which one he means.’ (Luke 22:22-24)
The intimate seating arrangement made this so easy. John had only to lean back a few inches and say, ‘Lord, who is it?’ (Luke 22:25). To which Jesus quietly responded, ‘It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.' Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon" (Luke 22:26).
The offer of the dipped morsel was both a rich, symbolic custom and a powerful, ultimate appeal. In Palestinian culture the act of the host's taking a morsel from the table, dipping it in the common dish, and offering it to another was a gesture of honor or friendship.
A thousand years before, when Boaz invited his future wife Ruth to come dine with him, he said, ‘Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar' . . . and he served her’ (Ruth 2:14, NASB). Jesus was saying, as he extended the dipped bread, ‘Judas, here is my friendship. It's not too late.’ Judas took it but did not turn back to the Master. So the door slammed shut, and he locked it with his own hand”.8
Not only do we note that Judas had an unpretentious birth.
II. Judas Made An Unwise Bargain.
Matthew presents the following inspired information, “Then one of the twelve, 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 thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?’ And He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, ‘My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.’” Matthew 26:14-18
Thirty pieces of silver was a small amount of money. Dr. Herbert Lockyer (1886-1985) observes, “Never was so little paid for so much.”9 William Shakespeare (1564-1616) refers to Judas as “The base Judean who sold a pearl richer than all his tribe.”
We read about this price in the prophecy of Zechariah, “Then I said to them, ‘If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.’ So they weighed out for my wages thirty 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 thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter” (Zechariah 11:12-13).
Judas’ bargain with the chief priest was extremely unwise.
III. Judas Performed An Unforgettable Betrayal.
John explains, “And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him. . . Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean” (John 13:2, 10-11).
Psalm 41 is a Messianic Psalm predicting Judas’ betrayal.
From Mark 14:34 we discover Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, hence the Judas kiss.
The disciples no doubt trusted Judas and he became their treasurer. John records, “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.” (John 13:26-29)
Dr. Lawrence O. Richards, author of over 200 Christian books, states, “Judas’ betrayal was perhaps history’s greatest sin.”10
Judas’ betrayal of the Christ was unforgettable. Remember the eternal Word of God records this act at least 40 times.
IV. Judas Endured An Unnecessary Bondage
As Paul warns Timothy, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:6-10).
Please note three things from Judas’ life refer to money. First, he stole money from the disciples’ treasury. John plainly tells us Judas was a thief (John 12:6). Second, Judas criticized the amount of money spent on the perfume to anoint the Lord before his burial (John 12:5). Remember if they took Judas’ suggestion to sell the ointment to give to the poor, he would have likely taken some of that money as well. Third, he betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. Judas’ loved money.
Jesus refers to Judas Iscariot, as “the son of perdition” in John 17:12 the same name used to identify the antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 7.
Judas’ heart became harder and harder. We read the repeated warning in Hebrews 3 and 4 “Do not harden your hearts”. Judas’ bondage was absolutely unnecessary.
V. Judas Suffered An Unrelenting Burden
We read in Matthew 27:3 that Judas “repented himself”. This is a bitter regret without repentance as we read in 2 Corinthians 7:9 and 10, which says, “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” The writer to the Hebrews exhorts, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears” (Hebrews 12:14-17).
Dr. Billy Graham broadcast a sermon titled “The Most Unforgettable Character I Ever Met” based on Matthew 21:10 over radio station KTIS in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday, April 11, 1949 using the approach of a Reader’s Digest feature titled “My Most Unforgettable Character”. In this message he employed the style of interviews with the following: John the Baptist, Rahab the Harlot, Blind Bartimaeus, Pontius Pilate, the Roman Centurion, Simon Peter, Thomas and Judas Iscariot among others. Dr. Graham said, “And then I ask Judas, ‘Judas, you are the man that betrayed Christ. Who was the most unforgettable character that you ever met down through the years that you walked the dusty highways of Galilee?’ And Judas answers back, ‘I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood. Surely this was the Son of God.’”11
Dr. Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009), founder of AMG Publications and Pulpit Helps magazine, shares the following in his commentary on Matthew, “Perhaps like Judas, when Herod saw the ultimate fruit of his sin, he was sorry as many people are when they finally see how far astray their sin has led them.”
Do you know the title of theme song for the television show M.A.S.H.? Composers Mike Altman and Johnny Mandel titled it “Suicide Is Painless”. Let me assure you that suicide is not painless. It might be spineless but it is not painless. Suicide results in the loss of opportunity for the eternal reward of the believer or the loss of opportunity for the eternal redemption of the unbeliever.
Hymn writer Lewis E. Jones (1865-1936) penned these words at a camp meeting at Mountain Lake Park, Maryland, “Would you be free from the burden of sin? / There’s power in the blood, power in the blood”.12
From the information we gain through reading Matthew 27:5, 47-50 and Acts 1:18 we know that Judas hanged himself swinging out and exploding upon impact.
Without genuine biblical repentance Judas’ burden really was unbearable.
VI. Conclusion
Dr. Adrian P. Rogers (1931-2005), pastor emeritus Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee, shares, “I want to tell you something that happened to me the day before yesterday. As I was coming to Atlanta on the airplane, I sat by a teenage girl. My seat had been changed as I asked a lady if she would mind changing places with me as I wanted to sit by my wife. The lady was kind so I was really sitting in the wrong seat as this young lady came and sat down beside me and buckled in. She was fifteen years of age. I looked over at her and she looked so lonely. After a while I turned and began a conversation with her.
I said, ‘How are you?’
‘Fine.’
‘Are you going on vacation?’
She said, ‘I’m going to visit my aunt.’
I said, ‘How long are you going to stay?’
She said, ‘Well, about six weeks. I’m going to spend the summer. I’m going to work, try to earn some money.’
I said, ‘Let me ask you a question. Have you been thinking about giving your heart to Jesus? Have you been thinking about being saved?’
She looked at me and said, ‘Mister, I want to ask you a question. Is suicide a sin?’
I said, ‘Little lady, yes, suicide is a sin. But you don’t have to think of suicide because Jesus said, ‘I’m come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.’
I took the Word of God and began to share with her from the Word of God. She told me how her stepfather (she was from a broken home) was an alcoholic. She told me how the aunt whom she hardly knew was a drunkard. She poured out a little bit of the disappointment and heartache of her life and I shared with her how Jesus, the virgin-born Son of God who is the Savior, died for her sin and how much God loved her.
I said, ‘Little lady, wouldn’t you like to be saved right here on this airplane? Would you allow me to lead you in a prayer and you can receive Christ as your personal Savior?’
She said, ‘Yes, very much.’ There on that airplane we prayed and she opened her sweet little heart. She gave her heart to Jesus Christ and she was wondrously saved—born again!”13
1Available from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Byword Accessed: 12//05/09
2Available from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Betrayal Accessed: 12/08/09
3Available from: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/betray Accessed: 12/08/09
4Available from: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/currenttrendscolumns/leadershipweekly/cln20121.html Accessed: 12/08/09
5Today in the Word, (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, August 13, 1992 )
6Available from: http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:-mupGcy3UI4J:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cercis+judas+tree&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us Accessed: 12/07/09
7Available from: http://www.keyway.ca/htm2000/20001207.htm Accessed: 12/08/09
8R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Luke, Volume Two That You May Know the Truth, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books: A Division of Good News Publishers, 1998), pp. 308-309 DATABASE © 2004 WORDsearch Corp.
9Herbert Lockyer, All the Apostles of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1972), p. 109
10Lawrence O. Richards, Richard’s Bible Reading Companion (Cook Communication Ministry, 1991, 2004) © 2007 WORDsearch Corp.
11Mark W. Lee, So You Want To Speak: Hints and Helps for Public Speaking (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1952), pp. 33, 37
12Available from: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/h/therepow.htm Accessed: 12/05/09
13Jesus Author and Finisher: Messages on the Person of Jesus Christ, Compiler, Morris H. Chapman (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1987), pp. 66-68
By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort 30775 Jay Drive Spanish Fort, Alabama 36527
Author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice Available on Amazon.com and WORDsearchbible.com
http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Biblical-Preaching-Giving-Bible/dp/1594577684
http://www.wordsearchbible.com/products/Sound_Biblical_Preaching_1476.html
http://www.webspawner.com/users/franklinlkirksey / fkirksey@bellsouth.net / (251) 626-6210
© December 13, 2009 All Rights Reserved
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