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                The Truth About Judas - Betrayer of Christ

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By David Wilkerson
June 15, 1992
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          "Judas Iscariot, which also was the betrayer" (Luke
          6:16).

          He was a handpicked disciple of Jesus Christ: a
          preacher of the gospel, a healer of the sick, a
          traveling companion of Jesus. He was so trusted he was
          made treasurer of the apostolic evangelistic team. He
          wasn't elected to the position - Jesus personally chose
          Judas for the job.

          According to Augustine, tradition says "Jesus had
          delivered Judas often from death, and for his sake
          healed his father of palsy and cured his mother of
          leprosy, and next to Peter he honored him above all the
          other apostles."

          But we do know certain things about Judas as fact: that
          Jesus washed his feet, let him dip his bread in His own
          cup, and made him His treasurer. Yet this was the very
          man who would betray Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
          - with a kiss of death!

          Judas led the wild mob of Jewish officers to the
          garden, where he identified Christ with a kiss. After
          the kiss, Jesus looked into Judas' eyes and said,
          "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?"
          (Luke 22:48). He was saying, "Is that how you would
          betray me, Judas - with a kiss, a sign of affection?"

          I wonder what went through Judas' mind as the scene
          unfolded:

          The mob fell backward at the very mention of Jesus'
          name. Then suddenly they all rose up in demonic anger,
          waving swords and clubs - and they bound Christ and
          dragged Him to the house of Annas. Early church writers
          described the scene this way:

          "Some of them lay hold on his garments, others on the
          hair of his head: some pluck him by the beard, others
          struck him with angry fists, and being enraged, that
          with a word he had thrown them backwards on the ground,
          they therefore threw him on his back, and basely tread
          him under their dirty feet.... As a roaring lion drags
          along the earth his prey, and tears it, and pulls it,
          so they hauled Christ all along the earth, spitting,
          pounding on him, pulling him by the hair...."

          This is confirmed by the Scriptures: "Many bulls have
          compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me
          round, They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a
          ravening and a roaring lion" (Psalm 22:12-13).

          Judas' betrayal of Jesus was so heinous, so diabolical,
          that one early church father said: "It would have been
          well for the world, especially for the children of God,
          that Judas was alone in this transgression, that there
          were no more traitorous persons in it besides himself."
          In other words: It would have been good if there had
          been only one Judas.

          But the truth is, the world is full of Judas' kind! The
          church still witnesses the betrayal of Jesus Christ
          every day. The spirit of Judas is very much alive in
          the hearts of many former followers of Christ - and
          within the walls of the church as well!

          I want to ask you a blunt, up-front question: Could you
          be a traitor to Christ and not know it? Have you sold
          out Jesus and betrayed Him? Traitors are those who once
          were loyal to the one they betray. Only those within
          the camp can be traitors.

          There are two facts I want to share with you about
          Judas. They may surprise you - but please do not take
          them lightly. I believe they were given to me by the
          Holy Spirit as a warning for your soul!

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              Fact Number One: The High Priests and Religious
                Leaders Did Not Need Judas to Seize Christ.

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          Jesus could easily have been captured without Judas'
          help. He had taught in the synagogues, streets and
          marketplaces. His face was one of the most recognizable
          in all Israel and Judah. Scripture says the people
          followed Him even to the quiet places where He withdrew
          to pray!

          Jesus said to the arresting mob, "Are ye come out as
          against a thief with swords and staves for to take me?
          I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye
          laid no hold on me" (Matthew 26:55). In other words: "I
          am well known to you - My face is familiar. Why this
          sudden attack as though I were a complete stranger to
          you?"

          Clearly Judas' kiss was not needed to identify Christ -
          because Christ's enemies knew Him well already! His
          face was emblazoned on their consciences. And the aura
          of His mighty presence was itself enough to identify
          Him.

          Indeed - it is clear the perpetrators of this crime did
          not need Judas. The fact is, they despised him. They
          treated him lightly, using him and then quickly pushing
          him aside. When he repented suddenly of his traitorous
          deed, flinging the money to the ground and crying, "I
          have betrayed the innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4), the
          Jewish leaders merely laughed at him.

          They said, "What is that to us? See thou to that"
          (verse 4), meaning, "That's your problem - take care of
          it yourself. We have no need of you or your tears!"

          Judas wasn't needed for Jesus' trial or crucifixion,
          either. In fact, he wasn't around for either one. By
          the time Christ went to the Cross, Judas was already
          dead, having committed suicide within twenty-four hours
          of his awful deed.

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                  Fact Number Two: Satan Needed a Judas!

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          Satan was behind the scenes, directing every
          treacherous move. His strategy was to find a betrayer -
          someone close to Christ, someone He trusted, one who
          supposedly was under His care. Yet he had to have one
          whose heart was tilted to covetousness - someone he
          could entice and weaken, planting questions and doubts
          in his mind. Then he could possess him and turn him
          into a traitor!

          You see, Satan wanted much more than to have his
          demon-directed mob go into the garden and take hold of
          Jesus. He wanted the whole affair to make a statement -
          to be a satanic witness! He wanted a demonic testimony
          to ring loudly in every realm of creation. And here is
          the statement he wanted to make:

          "Jesus Christ cannot keep you - He can't even deliver
          His own! He is not a true Savior or a Keeper of men's
          souls. He failed to keep Judas - and He failed to keep
          me, one of His angels, and all the others who fell with
          me. I'm going to prove that Jesus has no power to keep
          anyone from failing. He will give you up to your
          enemy!"

          Judas was to be the devil's illustrated sermon on how
          Jesus Christ was powerless to save the lost - because
          He did not save His very own disciple!

          Satan wanted it to appear as if he had snatched Judas
          right out of the Master's hands. He wanted to show he
          had the power to approach anyone close to Jesus and
          take him at will - and that Jesus would let it happen!
          He could march right into the Lord's flock as a roaring
          lion, steal a lamb in his teeth, and damn and destroy
          him, causing him to commit suicide.

          Finally, when the time would come to push Judas to kill
          himself, Satan would scream out his testimony to all of
          hell, heaven and the world: "Do you see what has become
          of this man? Look at him he was a disciple of Jesus.
          But Jesus couldn't keep him!"

          Satan had to have a Judas! He wanted to use him to
          proclaim his demonic statement to three different
          realms:

            1. Satan first wanted to make a statement to all the
               principalities and powers of darkness. I believe
               the devil planned to use Judas' fall to justify
               his own fall and the fall of those angels who
               joined in his rebellion!

               If the devil could destroy a close disciple of
               Jesus - one who himself had cast out devils,
               healed the sick, performed miracles and walked in
               the fullest light of truth - then he could say to
               every fallen angel and demonic power: "See? God's
               love is flawed. His compassions do fail! It was
               prophesied long ago that Judas would come, and yet
               God did nothing to protect or save him.

               "God could have kept me too - He could have kept
               all of us from pride. But now you can clearly see
               that God again has failed to keep His own!"

            2. Satan also wanted to make a statement to all the
               holy angels. He sought to throw darts of doubt
               into heaven itself to corrupt the unfallen,
               uncorrupted witnesses in glory.

               Don't think for a moment the devil has given up
               his struggle to bring down the heavens and exalt
               himself as God. He is the accuser of not just the
               brethren, but of all that is of God - including
               the angels!

               After Judas' suicide, Satan screamed to those in
               glory: "God couldn't save one of His very own
               disciples - and He didn't keep us, His created
               angels. what makes you think He'll keep you?

               "He created man, and now it is clear He can't keep
               man. His own kind betray him! So what hinders
               another rebellion among you?"

               We know the battle still rages, that Satan still
               fights the heavenly hosts. He fought the archangel
               Michael, who sought to bring the Word of God to
               Daniel. And surely today he uses every lie and
               diabolic strategy to try to plant doubt and
               rebellion in the hosts of Jehovah!

            3. Most of all, Satan's statement was meant for
               mankind - for you and me! The message he sent was
               meant primarily for God's people on earth. He
               wants to use it to destroy all faith!

               The devil knows the Scriptures well - and he knew
               that all following generations would look back
               upon first occurrences as examples "upon whom the
               ends of the world are come" (I Corinthians 10:11).
               Satan wanted an example too - a pattern to show
               every following generation what he claimed was
               God's failure to keep His own children from
               failing. The betrayal by Judas was meant to shake
               and undermine the faith of God's children in His
               saving, keeping power.

               So what, the devil says, if Jesus exposed Judas as
               a "devil": "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one
               of you is a devil?" (John 6:70). Satan replies,
               that's all the more testimony to my power! If
               Jesus knew Judas had the devil in him, then why
               didn't He overpower me? Why did He let Judas
               continue as a devil? Why didn't He cast me out?

               "If God couldn't take care of His own disciples,
               how can He take care of you?"

               Beloved, the enemy wants to plant a seed of doubt
               in the minds of all men and women - and he will
               repeat his message time after time, as long as the
               Lord has a earth, he will cry out from -
               generation to generation, right up to eternity:
               "God cannot keep His children!"

          Imagine what the high priests and the Sanhedrin must
          have thought as they bargained with Judas, the pitiful
          man before them. They saw this devilish example
          betraying Christ and falling into ruin. They must have
          said to themselves, "We're right! Jesus is not God, or
          the Son of God. If He were, He would have kept this
          disciple from falling."

          You can see them opening their scrolls, quoting: "It is
          written by the Psalmist, "Behold, he that keepeth
          Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy
          keeper.... The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the
          moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all
          evil" (Psalm 121:4-7). If Jesus were God, He would have
          fulfilled this Scripture!

          "Also, it is written: "Surely he shall deliver thee
          from the snare of the fowler... There shall no evil
          befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy
          dwelling" (Psalm 91:3, 10). Jesus cannot be God,
          because He allowed Judas to be snared. Evil befell this
          man - and he was a close disciple!" You can hear Satan
          shouting to their inner man: "If Jesus is God, why
          isn't He keeping this man? Why isn't Judas being
          delivered?"

          A few weeks ago, during our Friday prayer meeting, we
          heard the testimony of a mother and her teenage
          daughter who had been attacked by a mob of youth. The
          mob ripped the girl's clothes and beat her mother.
          Somehow, they escaped without further harm.

          When they came forward to testify, the mother was
          wearing sunglasses to hide her eyes, blackened from the
          beating. Now the daughter is struggling with her faith.
          She said to me tearfully, "Look at my lip - a girl bit
          me there, and I have the scar for life. Pastor David,
          my mother has served the Lord for so long. Why did God
          allow this to happen to us? Why didn't His promises
          work? Where was He?"

          A couple of months ago, fires and lootings spread
          through Los Angeles. But for the first few days of
          those riots, all the Teen Challenge centers in that
          area were spared, including a huge warehouse in the
          heart of the city. That warehouse is used to store
          clothes and appliances, which are sold at base prices
          to help the poor and needy.

          Then, on the third or fourth day of the riots, the
          warehouse was burned to the ground. Some 5,000 square
          feet of goods and space were completely destroyed.
          Nothing was left!

          Some of the young Teen Challenge converts questioned:
          "Where was the angel of the Lord? Where was the
          protection? This was a good work in God's name. Why did
          He allow it to be destroyed?"

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             In These Troubled Times, When All Is Being Shaken,
               Satan Will Try to Place Great Fear Upon You!

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          More and more, you are going to hear about God's people
          going through trials and suffering all kinds of evil.
          And Satan will use those examples to try to convince
          you that God will not be there when you need Him - that
          He will not keep you from the wicked one!

          We have been given great examples of faith under trial:
          According to church tradition, the apostle Paul was
          beheaded. Hebrews 11 lists the heroes of the faith who
          were burned at the stake, skinned alive, boiled in oil
          - all because they wouldn't recant their testimony of
          the Lord Jesus Christ.

          Yet my message here is not meant to deal with why God's
          people suffer - why some are permitted to endure so
          much when His promises are so mighty. I don't know all
          the answers to that. But I do know that Paul said this:
          "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time
          are not worthy to be compared with the glory which
          shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

          Nothing can compare to the glory we look forward to!
          "If so be that we suffer with him [Christ], that we may
          be also glorified together" (verse 17).

          I know also that God uses suffering to prepare us. We
          are going to go through economic suffering, sickness
          and other trials. I don't know why my wife, Gwen, has
          had cancer so many different times, or why my daughters
          Bonnie and Debbie have had cancer. I don't understand
          that kind of suffering.

          But I do know this: If you aren't being prepared
          through trials, you will listen to the devil when he
          whispers to you, "God is not a Keeper of His people" -
          and you'll look for an easy ride to heaven! You'll run
          to some prosperity church to have your ears tickled.
          Then, when the first problem arises, you'll end up
          throwing away all your faith - because it hasn't
          answered your deepest problems and needs!

          What was behind Judas' fall? How did this disciple
          become a traitor? This is important to know - because
          it gives us warning signs for our own lives, lest we
          stumble and fall too:

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           1. The Love of Money Had Taken Root in Judas' Heart!

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          "And he went his way, and communed with the chief
          priests and captains, how he might betray him unto
          them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him
          money" (Luke 22:4-5).

          The word "covenanted" here means "bargained." As Judas
          sat before these evil priests, he wouldn't settle for
          just fifteen or twenty pieces of silver - he had to
          have thirty or nothing. That was his bottom price!

          Bible commentators make all kinds of excuses for Judas'
          betrayal. Many say that money was not his motive - that
          he only wanted to force Jesus to set up an earthly
          kingdom.

          But the truth is, money was the motive! Why else would
          he bargain, arguing a price? He could have simply said,
          "Look, I only want Jesus forced into this position to
          make Him display His power" - and he would have taken
          any amount of silver. But the love of money had driven
          out of Judas' heart all the love he had for Jesus!

          Indeed, the love of money is the root of all such evil
          (see I Timothy 6:10). It is the seed the devil plants
          in a man or woman's heart that drives out all love for
          Christ. Up sprouts the need to accumulate money. Then
          comes the need to count it and make sure it isn't lost.
          Afterward comes the need to build on it.

          You may have set some goal for yourself - of retiring,
          or of being financially secure. I'm sure Judas had a
          financial goal too. But this kind never have enough -
          because the goal is always being lifted higher!

          The devil tells you, "If you want to serve the Lord,
          wait till you get a certain amount in the bank. Then
          you'll be free to serve Him!" But after you get that
          much, Satan whispers: "That's really not enough,
          because interest rates are going down. You really need
          this much more...." And the figure keeps escalating!

          Yet the Bible says:
          "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a
          snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which
          drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of
          money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted
          after, they have erred [turned away] from the faith,
          and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But
          thou, O man of God, flee these things" (I Timothy
          6:9-11).

          If your life is focused on making a living - on the
          pursuit of money - then you have the very same spirit
          of Satan in you that Judas had in him! It was simple
          greed that turned Judas into a thief, a traitor and a
          murderer of Jesus Christ. And that proves Paul's
          argument that the love of money is the root and germ of
          all kinds of evil!

          As you read this message, ask yourself. Have you sold
          out Christ in this way? Have you become a traitor to
          Him, bargaining your soul for more money?

          There is nothing wrong with having a savings account.
          But if you have neglected Jesus because your life is
          wrapped up in accumulating money, then you too have
          sold out Jesus, as surely as Judas did!

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          2. Judas Became Blind to The Changes Overpowering Him!

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          Satan had dropped a veil over Judas' eyes, so he could
          not see how he had been changing. The disciple became
          blind to the evil and ruin that had settled into his
          heart.

          Judas was familiar with the prophecies about the one
          coming who would betray the Redeemer. I wonder how many
          times he read or heard these words: "Mine own familiar
          friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread,
          hath lifted up his heel against me" (Psalm 41:9).

          But never once did Judas think of himself as filling
          that awful role! "Me, the object of prophecy? Jeremiah
          and Isaiah saw my day? I'm not a betrayer of Christ - I
          am a simple disciple. I am not evil!"

          Yet Jesus very clearly pointed a finger at the
          disciples and said, "But that the Scripture may be
          fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me hath lifted up
          his heel against me... one of you shall betray me"
          (John 13:18,21). Was Judas so blind he could not see he
          was the man?

          Today, we too read biblical prophecies that speak of
          our day. For example, Jesus said that in the last days
          many will again crucify Christ, putting Him to open
          shame, because they let their hearts grow cold:
          "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall
          wax cold" (Matthew 24:12).

          That prophecy was spoken hundreds of years ago. Yet I
          ask you: Is your heart cold toward the Lord today?
          Jesus said sin would abound everywhere - and the love
          of many believers would grow cold! Are you the man or
          woman whom this prophecy is putting its finger on right
          now?

          Let me share with you the most shameful thing that can
          happen to those who once knew and loved Jesus: Without
          knowing it, they become the devil's last day "Judas
          statement"! If your love is growing cold, the devil
          will use you as his example - the same way he used
          Judas!

          Satan will point you out to all the powers of hell, all
          the angels in glory and all who knew you on earth - and
          he'll say: "Look! He once walked with Jesus - and Jesus
          didn't keep him! Once again, I slipped into the Lord's
          flock and stole another lamb so close to Christ. I have
          his heart now, and I will ruin and destroy him. He
          proves by his falling away that God is not a Keeper!"

          Nothing could be worse for you than to stand before the
          Lord and answer for all your friends and acquaintances,
          because you turned away from Him. You may say, "Don't
          put that burden on me - I'm only responsible for my own
          actions. I don't have to answer for anybody else!"

          Not so! How many on your job once knew you as a lover
          of Jesus? You testified to them, you told them what
          Jesus did for you. They knew your walk with Christ.

          But you turned your back on Him. And you've changed -
          yet you don't know you've changed, because the devil
          has blinded you! Day by day, week by week, year by
          year, you've become hardened in your heart.

          Now all who once knew you as a lover of Jesus see a
          different person. And a crowd of witnesses will arise
          on Judgment Day and condemn you to the Judge: "You
          can't judge me, God, because I was looking at his life!
          Ten years ago he was on fire and loved You with all his
          heart. I was deep in sin - and yet I had my eye on him.
          I saw how close he was to You.

          "Then he failed - and I thought, "What chance do I
          have?" Let my blood be upon him, Lord! What little hope
          I had of turning to You was taken from me by his
          failure to follow on!" That is how you become the Judas
          testimony!

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             Jesus Had the Last Word About His Keeping Power!

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          In His final prayer with His disciples, Jesus made His
          own statement - to heaven, hell and all mankind:

          "Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of
          them is lost, but the son of perdition [Judas]; that
          the Scriptures might be fulfilled" (John 17:12).

          Do you hear the truth of what Jesus is saying? "I lost
          only one - and I didn't really lose him, because he was
          of the devil from the beginning. I have kept everyone
          who has ever given Me his heart! I believe Judas could
          have been saved - because Jesus did everything He could
          for him. It wasn't God who hardened Judas' heart. He
          merely foresaw that Judas would harden himself to
          Christ, time after time. You see, Judas had a divided
          heart - and he chose not to repent! That is how he
          ended up as Satan's tool.

          Hear the words well, dear saint: "Those that thou
          gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost!" (John
          17:12).

          The example of Peter should encourage us. Jesus told
          him, "Peter, Satan is after you. He has desired to sift
          you, destroy you and turn you also into a traitor. But
          I'm praying for you, that your faith will not fail!"

          Peter didn't fail in his faith - because Jesus kept
          him! Though he failed at the hour of temptation, he
          still had a heart that loved Christ - and Peter came
          back to Jesus, giving Him his heart and fully
          repenting. Jesus saw that hungry heart and said, "I'm
          going to keep you from the power of the devil!"

          Beloved, God is going to keep you for "greater is he
          that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John
          4:4). You can turn to Psalm 91 and believe every verse
          about His protection over you. You may go through a
          season of suffering, but nobody can touch your peace
          with God!

          We can't know what tomorrow holds - but I pray that as
          believers we can each say with Job, "Though he slay me,
          yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15). And I know for
          sure if the Lord does let His wall of protection down,
          it's for a reason. We may never understand it all. But
          we can know this: "He that keepeth thee will not sleep"
          (Psalm 121:3).

          It is true and it is sure: He "is able to keep you from
          falling, and present you faultless before the presence
          of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24).

          Hallelujah!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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