Old Llantrisant Hill
Introduction
- Approaching Easter - my favourite celebration
- We can openly proclaim that Christ has risen!
- Tonight: to consider one of the characters of the Easter narrative
- Judas Iscariot
- His name has become the definition of betrayal
- He betrayed Jesus with a greeting and a kiss
- This name permanently tarnished
- Why did Jesus choose Judas?
- To be a disciple
- A close friend [one of the 12]
- A mistake?
- Overview:
- Religious hypocrisy - the need of salvation
Human responsibility - the sovereignty of God
- Personal responsibility - the tragedy of sin
- Why did Jesus choose Judas?
Religious hypocrisy - the need of salvation
- To warn us against religious hypocrisy
- Consider Judas before that Paschal week - examples
- The people he knew
- A man of integrity
- Learned from the best Teacher - Jesus
- An evangelist
- He healed and cast out demons
- Nobody suspected Judas - John 13:21-22, 28-29
- On the surface:
- The best of Christian
- A devout follower
- An evangelist
- The Lord knows the heart
- Being religious is not evidence of salvation
- A warning against being a religious hypocrite
- He was not saved
- He did not believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour - v64
- He may have believed in his mind, but not his heart
- This is a challenge to self-examination - are we religious hypocrites?
- Does our heart belong to the Lord?
- Are you saved?
- What is the treasure of your heart?
- Satan has many who come to church
- 2 Tim 3:5
- We are to put religion away - we need Jesus alone
- Are we listening to the gospel of Jesus?
- It is not about our environment/church
- Judas was at the feet of Jesus
- Adam and Eve were before God in the Garden of Eden
- We see the religious hypocrisy and the need of salvation
Human responsibility - the sovereignty of God
- We have a choice to make and we must choose Jesus
- The sovereignty of God
- cf John 13:18-19, John 6:65
- No one can come to Jesus unless granted by the Father
- We still have a responsibility
- These events and Judas' action confirm that Jesus is the Christ
- The Scriptures are fulfilled
- Ps 41:9
- Our responsibility
- Did Judas have a choice?
- He was not forced to betray Jesus
- He would have been saved had he repented
- Judas was misguided in his thinking
- He gave into sin
- He gave into satan's enticement
- Judas chose his own way
- Satan took hold of him
- This led him to betray the Lord Jesus
- Our choice:
- To call out to Jesus
- To seek forgiveness
- We need Jesus to transform our hearts but obedience to His call is our responsibility
- What takes priority over Christ?
- God knows our choices - but let them be to obey Him
- We are no robots controlled by Him, we have responsibility to obey and serve Him
Personal responsibility - the tragedy of sin
- Sin is ugly and fatal
- It is our personal responsibility to turn to Jesus - Matt 27
- Judas was filled with guilt and remorse
- Satan had hold of him
- He threw the money into the temple
- He hanged himself
- Guilt and remorse is not the same as repentance
- If only Judas had repented - but he had given himself to sin
- Sin blinded him to see Christ
- Acts 1:18 - the ugliness caused by sin
- This is why the word of God is clear regarding sin
- Sin may initially look beautiful
- Sin destroys
- Sin condemns to hell - Acts 1:25
- When we die - we go to where we belong
- Where do you belong?
- There are only two camps
Closing Remarks
- The difference between Judas and Peter
- Peter repented
- Peter believed Why did Jesus choose Judas? v68-69
- Do not rest in religion but trust in Jesus Christ
- We have a personal choice
- Sin is tragic so put your faith in Jesus
- Declare the words of Peter - "you are the Christ"