Security is for the Saved
INTRODUCTION
Lost opportunity or wasted privilege. Jesus has magnified the Reality of the Believer’s Security in the High Priestly Prayer with His Father. We, as believers, have been given by the Father to the Son, saved by the Son’s finished work, sealed with the Holy Spirit’s promise, kept by the Father’s name and the Son of God, sanctified by the truth of the gospel, unified in the Father and Son, and glorified by the Father and the Son.
Once a person is saved, the least of their worries is if the Father and Son can keep those they saved. However, in John 17:12, Jesus said in His prayer to His Father, “none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” This passage reminds us that Jesus chose 12 apostles, however, one of the 12 was never saved. Remember, “the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7, “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’"
The question is not did Judas lose his salvation, but did Judas ever possess salvation? Judas Iscariot has been referred to as the most notorious traitor, both in the Bible and in all of human history. Judas had the incredible privilege of being one of the twelve closest followers of the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. Yet inconceivably, after more than three years of living constantly with the incomparably perfect Jesus, observing the miracles He performed, and hearing His teaching, Judas betrayed Him to His death. The dark, tragic story of Judas reveals the depth of evil to which the human heart is capable of sinking, ever in the very best of circumstances.
The early church universally detested and scorned Judas. For instance, his name appears last in every New Testament list of the Apostles, except for the one in Acts 1, where it does not appear at all. In addition, whenever the gospel writers mention Judas, they always identify him as the traitor who betrayed Jesus. (Matt 10:4, Mark 3:19, Luke 6:16, John 6:71). John MacArthur
All 4 gospels records list Judas as the betrayer.
I. JESUS’ DISCLOSURE OF THE CONCEALED.
John 13:18-19 - Jesus wanted to make sure that the rest of the disciples understood when the betrayal and arrest took place that He was not surprised.
In John 13:10-11 Note: “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.’"
In His omniscience Jesus was a discerner of hearts. John 2:23-25, “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.”
John 3:18 is a quote from Ps 41:9
“Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.”
In Zech 11:12-13, we have prophecy of Judas’ betrayal. Zechariah 11:12-13, “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.”
“the Scriptures may be fulfilled” – long before Judas was born, his duplicity was foreseen and designed into God’s eternal plan. NOTE: God’s foreknowing always in Scripture precedes His predetermined (predestination) plan.
(Romans 8:29-30)
Judas was the “son of perdition” (destruction), not because Scripture prophesied that he would be, but by his actions he proved that the Scriptures which foretold his betrayal was true. God did not foreordain that Judas be a betrayer, even though He foreknew and foresaw that he would be. Many centuries before Judas was born, God, through the Holy Spirit, recorded in the Scriptures the actions of one who would resist and rebel against the grace of God.
Leon Morris, “The reference to the fulfilling of the Scripture brings out the divine purpose. This does not mean that Judas was an automaton (robot). He was a responsible person and acted freely. But God used that man’s evil act to bring about His own purpose.” (Gen 50:20)
John MacArthur, “But Judas’ role in the divine plan was not something apart from his own desire; he was not a robot, programmed to betray Jesus against his will. Judas freely chose to do what he did, and was fully accountable for his actions. The same tension between divine sovereignty and human choice is evident in Judas’ becoming a disciple. He chose to follow Christ, yet he became a follower of Christ only because Christ chose him (John 15:16) though not, of course, to salvation. Judas’ betrayal was predetermined, but that in no way contradicts the truth that he acted on his on volition. Jesus affirmed both truths when He said in Luke 22:22, “And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined (God’s sovereignty), but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed (Judas’ responsibility).”
Judas had every opportunity to repent and turn from his sins. Much of Jesus’ teaching applied directly to him.
- Luke 16:1-13. The Unjust Steward
Luke 16:1, “He also said to His disciples: ‘There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.’”
He was shrewd but not saved
- Matthew 22:11-14. The Wedding Garment
Matthew 22:12, “So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.”
- Matthew 6:19-34 & Luke 16:13
Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.”
You cannot serve God and mammon.
- Jesus’ Candid Warning.
John 6:70, “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, twelve, and one of you is a devil?’"
- This context of John 13
John 13:10, “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.’"
It left Judas unmoved, hardened in his heart, and refusing to repent.
II. JESUS DECLARES THE GREAT COMMISSION. 20
Would having a traitor in their midst destroy their mission? No, here Jesus reassures them of their commission.
2 Corinthians 5:20, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.”
“begging sinners on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God.”
III. JESUS’ DISTRESS BECAUSE OF HIS
COMPASSION. 21-30
A. HIS TROUBLED SPIRIT. 21
Speaks of severe mental or spiritual turmoil, the deep anguish of Jesus’ soul What troubled Him?
- His unconditional love for Judas
- Judas’ ingratitude for all the kindness He had shown him.
Romans 2:4, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
- The fearful fate that awaited Judas in Hell
- The presence of Satan v.27
- Separation from the Father (Matt 27:46)
B. THEIR TROUBLED SPIRIT. 22-25
Wondering who would betray Him
Judas was not suspected by the others.
Matthew 26:21-22, “Now as they were eating, He said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.’ And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, ‘Lord, is it I?’”
Matthew 26:25, “Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, ‘Rabbi, is it I?’
He said to him, ‘You have said it.’"
Mark 14:19, “And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, ‘Is it I?’ And another said, ‘Is it I?’"
C. JUDAS’ TESTIMONY SEALED. 26-30
Hints of his treachery:
“Just a few days before the Last Supper, however, an incident occurred that apparently was the last straw for Judas. At a dinner in Bethany given in Jesus’ honor, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed Jesus with a large amount of expensive perfume. Shocked and outraged, Judas protested indignantly, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor people?’ (John 12:5). Judas, of course, cared nothing for the poor, he ‘said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it’ (v.6). Losing out on the opportunity to embezzle from that vast sum of money (three hundred denarii amounted to a full year’s wages for an average laborer) infuriated Judas. But so convincing was his outward display of pious hypocrisy that the rest of the disciples joined in his protest (Matt 26:8-9.
Judas’ simmering discontent then boiling over, he immediately after this incident ‘went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?’ And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.’
(Matt 26:14-16) That came down to telling the leaders where He would be at night away from the crowds. Judas could no longer contain his bitterness and disillusionment, which spilled forth in secret treachery.”
v.27 “Satan entered him”
Also used in Luke 22:3
Luke 22:1-6, “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.”
The Devil evidently gained direct control over Judas on two occasions: just before the betrayal was arranged, and now as it was about to be carried out. Divine mercy gave way to divine judgment and Judas was in essence handed over to Satan. Judas had irrevocably crossed that line. Judas is history’s greatest example of lost opportunity and wasted privilege. Yet Judas refused Christ’s invitation to exchange the oppressive burden of sin for the easy yoke of submission to Him. Judas is the foremost illustration of the danger of loving money. Money meant more to him than eternal salvation. Judas typifies the vileness of spiritual betrayal. Judas was living proof of Christ’s patience, mercy, and loving-kindness. Even when he arrived with the mob to arrest Him, Jesus still addressed Judas as “friend.”
The example of Judas shows that the Devil will always be at work among God’s people. Jesus illustrated that truth in the parable of the wheat and the tares. Judas proves the deadliness of hypocrisy. He was a fruitless branch, cast into the eternal fire of hell. Demonstrated that there is nothing sinful men can do to thwart the sovereign will of God. When Judas sold Jesus to His enemies he was in effect selling his own soul to the Devil.
“Still as of old
Men by themselves are priced –
For thirty pieces Judas sold
Himself, not Christ.”