Beloved or Betrayer
The Trial of the Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsNearness to the Lord will guard you from betraying Him
Notes
Transcript
Aldrich Ames worked for the CIA. This organization is charged with guarding our nation’s greatest secrets, while discovering and subverting those of our enemies.
To put it bluntly, the CIA is a house of spies. It is an organization of nameless and faceless men and women who selflessly sacrifice themselves on a daily basis for the interests of the United States, both at home and around the world, and Aldrich Ames was one of them...
except he wasn’t. Mr. Ames joined the CIA as an analyst with aspirations towards a “cush” government job. And while his success in many assignments made him valuable to them and moved him up the pay grade, his addiction to alcohol caused several passovers for promotions and brought him to a place of discontentment. He didn’t hate his country, but he wasn’t getting what he felt he deserved.
Then it came. In 1985, as part of his job of infiltrating Russian intelligence, he established contacts at the Soviet Embassy and soon was presented with an opportunity. As was a common practice, he passed his new contact some secret documents that were meaningless to build trust with them. On a whim, he asked them for $50,000.00 and the Russians coughed up the money without flinching.
The rest is history. Mr. Ames became a career traitor, selling out high level secrets for huge payoffs. By the time he was caught and prosecuted in 1994, Mr. Ames had spent nine years selling the Russians secrets at a price tag of more than 2 million dollars! He was single-handedly responsible for the death of 10 high-level operatives working in the Soviet Union and had spoiled countless other operations.
Mr. Ames was in the CIA- but he wasn’t CIA.
Open your Bibles with me, if you will, to . That’s the Gospel of John, chapter 13. And as you find your place, you’ll remember that we’re in the middle of a group of chapters that talk about what Jesus said and did during the Last Supper, His last celebration with His disciples.
We saw Jesus crawl on His knees as He went around and washed feet. We’ve been discussing our need to accept the humility of Christ, and to really, truly, love Him by joining Him in the humble service of others in every aspect of our lives. And we were saying last time that it isn’t enough to just come and sit at the table.
It isn’t enough to just come and hear God’s Word and to be among God’s people, that you actually have to enter in. That those who really believe in Jesus are the ones that do what He calls us to. That it isn’t a question of whether or not you know the truth, but whether or not you do it. Because what you do reflects what you truly believe.
And if we go as we are sent by Jesus, then others are going to know Jesus and through Jesus, they are going to have a relationship with God the Father. But all of that starts in our obedience to humbly serve as Jesus did.
And as we pick back up this morning, we’re going to be reading from , and as we do so, I would invite those who are able to stand with me in honor of the reading of God’s Word...
When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.”
The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking.
There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.”
He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him.
For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”; or else, that he should give something to the poor.
So after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night.
PRAY
Thank you, you may be seated. So, as we continue this morning, Jesus has just given His disciples this beautiful, humiliating, earth-shattering picture of what our love in humility is supposed to look like. And He has just finished telling us that He did this as an example as to how we are supposed to love, how we are supposed to live out our lives before Him.
In the midst of that conversation, he has mentioned several times that there was a traitor among them. And at the beginning of our passage, He does it again. Look at verse 21 again:
When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.”
Right now would be a really good time to go ahead and take out your listening guide to help you take notes. And as you reach into your program to get that out, and you begin taking notes, the first thing I want you to write down today is this:
Jesus knows your heart- both the beloved and the betrayer.
Jesus knows your heart- both the beloved and the betrayer.
Jesus knows who you are. He made you. He knows your every thought. He knows everything about you. He knows your deepest secrets, brightest successes and lowest failures.
I can assure you, beloved, that in this room right now are both the beloved and the betrayer. Both are present with us here this morning. Right here, right now, there are those that love Jesus dearly. There are saints of God in this place today, already busy in their lives sacrificially living to die to themselves and to go where Christ leads them in humble, faithful, loving service of their King.
And in here this morning, there are those that deceive themselves by sitting as His table, eating His bread, sitting in their seats, maybe singing a song, and pretending that coming to a Sunday morning assembly is enough.
And here’s the thing, I may not be able to tell the difference. You may not be able to tell the difference. Look at verse 22
The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking.
John
and skipping down, look at verses 28-29
Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him.
For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”; or else, that he should give something to the poor.
You can fool me. You can fool your closest friends and family. You can fool other people. Judas was able to fool all of the other disciples. You and I might not be able to tell the difference between the beloved and the betrayer, but Jesus knows.
You may not be able to tell the difference, but Jesus knows.
You may not be able to tell the difference, but Jesus knows.
but Jesus knows.
Jesus knows everything about you. tells us just how deeply our God knows us.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
Psalm 139
Verse 13 goes on:
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
Jesus has known you from before you were born. He knows your heart. He knows everything that there is to know about you. He knows whether what beats inside of you is the heart of the beloved or the heart of a traitor. He knows. He knows better than you know yourself.
Jesus knows what you have given your heart over to. He knows what drives your decisions, what you have put in front of you as your purpose. And this isn’t a game that we’re playing. Because what we see here is that what is in the heart of a man really, truly matters.
and so, this isn’t a game that we’re playing. And what we see it that what is in the heart of a man really, truly matters.
And I know the comparison is harsh. I bristle at the very thought of it. Which one of us could ever think of betraying Jesus the way that Judas did? How could we ever betray Him? How could I ever betray Him? The idea of it is bewildering to us, isn’t it?
It was bewildering as the disciples looked around the room at each other, looking for the eyes on whom they could pin the blame. But while none of us have taken a bag of 40 coins, many of us have played the part of the betrayer. We have called on the name of Christ. We have eaten at His table, taken of the blessings that He gives us freely, and yet our lives reflect the heart of a different master.
And as we look at this passage this morning, what I am convinced of, Beloved, is that we must be careful. You and I must be careful and intentional in the way we live our lives. Because the truth is that:
You will always serve one master- choose wisely which one.
You will always serve one master- choose wisely which one.
As we started off this morning, I shared the story of Aldrich Ames. And while his story is horrifying, his treachery isn’t unique. Benedict Arnold betrayed the American cause to fight for the British in the Revolutionary war. Julius and Ethel Rosenburg sold American research on the Atomic Bomb, Advanced Radar, and developing aviation technologies to Russia and were the first American Civilians to be executed as spies.
Apart from being traitors, do you know what all of these people had in common with Judas Iscariot? None of them started off wanting to be traitors...
None of them grew up thinking of treason as a career choice. They didn’t start out looking to betray anyone. So, what happened? In each case, it was a series of decisions. It was intentional choices driven by the desire of their hearts that led them to where they ended up.
You say, Pastor, I could never betray Jesus. There is nothing you could give me, there is nothing you could do to make me abandon my faith or to give up my brothers and sisters in Christ. I could never be the betrayer.
Be careful, friend, with this word, never. Do you not sin? And when you sin, how quick are you to deal with it? How quickly to do you come clean from it? Are you seeking His healing?
Do you tell your brothers and sisters in Christ so that they can pray for you? Hold you accountable?
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
How often do you do this? Have you ever done it? Do you not see that one sin leads to another, and then another, and then another.
Do you want to know the secret of life? The whole thing is about choices. Our choices come out of what we set our hearts desire to seek. Every choice that you make in this life has consequences. And those consequences open some doors to you while closing others. And if you aren’t very careful, you aren’t very intentional in what you seek after, you may end up with a master you don’t like.
Do you want to know the secret of life? The whole thing is about choices. Our choices come out of what we set our hearts desire to seek. Every choice that you make in this life has consequences. And those consequences open some doors to you while closing others. And if you aren’t very careful, you aren’t very intentional in what you seek after, you may end up with a master you don’t like.
Do you want to know the secret of life? The whole thing is about choices. Our choices come out of what we set our hearts desire to seek. Every choice that you make in this life has consequences. And those consequences open some doors to you while closing others. And if you aren’t very careful, you aren’t very intentional in what you seek after, you may end up with a master you don’t like.
Treachery to Christ for us is not a singular decision anymore than it likely was for Judas. Rather, it is a series of small, seemingly inconsequential decisions that chase a heartfelt desire different than Jesus. It is choice after choice after choice, small in degree, down a slippery slope that we cannot climb from the bottom.
Can you picture this scene? Here is a man that loves Jesus deeply and that is deeply loved by Jesus. John refers to himself as the “one whom Jesus loved” because John was the closest of the disciples to Christ.
There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.”
He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
Can you picture the scene that is before us in this passage?
Can you picture this scene? Here is a man that loves Jesus deeply and that is deeply loved by Jesus. John refers to himself as the “one whom Jesus loved” because John was the closest of the disciples to Christ.
Can you picture this scene? Here is a man that loves Jesus deeply and that is deeply loved by Jesus. John refers to himself as the “one whom Jesus loved” because John was the closest of the disciples to Christ.
Among this party of Christ’s most intimate and trusted friends, are two men that have walked the same road. As John and Judas sat at the Lord’s Supper, they were as different from each other as could possible be. Yet on the surface, it might be hard to tell the difference.
Did you know, the name Judas means “praise to God”? John is an English shortening of a Hebrew Name that means “God has been gracious.” Both of these men have names that sing blessings and praise and honor to their King.
John and Judas were both chosen by Christ Himself to be among His 12 disciples…both of them walked with Jesus every day for 3 years.
Both men were among those sent out by Jesus sent out to share the Gospel and work miracles. Jesus sent out the 12 disciples, and He said:
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.
These men were trusted by our Lord. He put responsibilities on them. Judas was the treasurer of the group. He kept the money bag.
Both of these men witnessed miracle after miracle after miracle, standing side by side. And yet, as we arrive at the Lord’s Supper, their positions are night and day different. And both have something to teach us. First, let’s look at John:
There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.”
Here is a man that loves Jesus deeply and that is deeply loved by Jesus. John refers to himself as the “one whom Jesus loved” because John was the closest of the disciples to Christ.
Here is a man that loves Jesus deeply and that is deeply loved by Jesus. John refers to himself as the “one whom Jesus loved” because John was the closest of the disciples to Christ.
And as they lay eating, John has turned to rest his head on Jesus’ side. It is an intimate position. It is one that not many of us here would be willing to let another person take with us, and it shows just how close the two of them were.
And the disciples were all trying to figure out who the traitor was, and what Jesus was talking about, and as they sat there, verse 24
So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.”
He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
Peter asks John, “who is he talking about?” Peter asks John, not Jesus. Why? Because Peter knew that if anybody would know who Jesus was speaking of besides Jesus, it would be John.
Because no one on Earth was closer to Jesus than John was.
And when John doesn’t know the answer to Peter’s question, it says he leaned back. You can almost see him rolling and twisting his head to ask “who is it, Lord?”
It is a comfortable turning to Jesus, a familiar one. John wants to know who the traitor is, but he isn’t worried about it. Why? Because,
Only Jesus can search and know your heart
The closer you get to Jesus, the less likely you are to betray Him
The closer you get to Jesus, the less likely you are to betray Him
Only Jesus can search and know your heart
Only Jesus can search and know your heart
When will a man betray his wife? When he stops daily seeking her affections. When he allows distance to slide between them. When he fails to keep her as the object of his love. Friends, you will serve a master.
When am I farthest from sin? Is it not when Jesus is my pursuit? When do I grow in maturity? Is it not when my eyes are fixed on Him? How different our lives would look, if we lived with our heads against His side!
Let your eyes wonder, men, in the presence of your wife. It will not happen twice!
Both John and Judas were with Jesus, but John pursued closeness to Jesus. He wanted to always be with Him. He wanted Jesus to see and to know that he loved Him. John wanted to be close to Jesus.
Even when Jesus is having a private conversation with others, John is not far behind. In , after the resurrection Jesus is walking on the beach with Peter, and in the beginning of verse 20, what do we see?
Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
Friends, learn from John. Be close to Jesus. Seek it. Crave it. Long for it.
our sin is dark, and every one of them is an act of treachery. You say that you love Jesus. Show Him your affection. tells us that our obedience shows our love.
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
Why would John say this to us? Because John knew that when obedience can only be born out of love for Christ growing in your life. And that love will only come out of relationship with Jesus. And the only way to build a relationship with Jesus is to fix your attention on Him alone and to follow close behind Him.
John shows us that the way to avoid betraying our Savior is intimacy with Him. John is close to Jesus, so close that there is nothing between them.
But what about Judas? What about the traitor? What does Judas have to teach us? There are a couple of things.
Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
First,
John 13:
You cannot hide your betrayal from Jesus
You cannot hide your betrayal from Jesus
We’ve already established that Jesus knows everything about you, and so this shouldn’t come as a shock to us. But Jesus knows of your sin. He knows of the ways that you betray Him. You cannot hide it from Him.
You would think that Judas would have known this, but it escaped him because of the turning of His heart. His turn was slow. It was gradual, and yet Jesus knew it from the very beginning. He gave Judas every chance to change it.
He trusted him with the money. Yet, what do we see
Now 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.
Judas pilfered the money. Money is such a little thing, and yet in has great power to tear a heart from the Lord. Was it not forty pieces of silver Judas received as payment in blood?
Jesus also warned Judas what would await him in his betrayal. Look at
“The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
“The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.”
Jesus knows your heart. You can’t hide anything from Him. It doesn’t have to stay the way that it is. He’s given you a way out, but let’s not pretend that you can hide it from Him.
Turn your heart to Jesus. Learn from Judas, and consider the alternative.
After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
Now, I know that some of you have read this and you say, aha! It isn’t fair. It was rigged! Satan made him do it.
And I say to you, friend that Satan entered in to a house with an open door. Where do footholds come into our lives? Are they not rooted in our sin?
Satan entered into Judas’ life to help him follow through on a decision he had already made.
Remember a few minutes ago, we were talking about only serving one master?
The only master you can choose besides Christ is Satan
The only master you can choose besides Christ is Satan
Now, you might not call him that. You might call your master a different name, but it will all lead us back to the same place. Because either you are with the Lord or you are against Him. There is no middle ground.
There is no collateral damage between heaven and hell. John found comfort in His Savior’s side. Judas chained himself to another master.
And I don’t say this lightly. I don’t throw around such a heavy name as though it were nothing. No, beloved, it is because I want you to whole-heartedly, with eyes wide open realize that the pathway that Judas walked down is a wide one. It is easy to find, and the sidewalks are well kept.
Its enticements are many, and easy to find when you take your eyes off of your one true love. But don’t fall into its trap. Don’t follow after those things that shine in the hands of sinful pursuits. Look at the last verse of our passage:
So after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night.
Friends, don’t miss this last point. I know your hungry. I know you’re thinking about lunch. But don’t miss this last thing. Your very eternity depends on it. See,
The road of betrayal will leave you in darkness.
The road of betrayal will leave you in darkness.
Aldrich Ames…American Traitors
John gives us an ominous foreshadowing as Judas leaves the room…he tells us that Judas went out into night. Into darkness. Throughout his Gospel, John has used this contrast of light and darkness, and here he shows us once again what happens to those who are outside of Christ.
Judas was one of the twelve! But his heart did not belong to Jesus. Who does your heart belong to this morning? You’ve come to the table. You’ve heard the truth preached. You’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good.
But this morning, do you see that that isn’t enough? This morning, are you the beloved or the betrayer? Do you walk like Judas, or do you walk like John? I’m here to tell you that it’s not too late.
This morning, there is still time. This morning, the altar is open to the betrayer. It is open to those that have been called to walk with Christ but have turned their eyes to other things. It is open to those beloved by Christ who have given their hearts to another. Come to Jesus this morning. Come draw close to Him while there is still time to do so. Come lay your head on His bosom and let your heart be His once more. Come to the only one who can cleanse you of your sins. Draw close to Him. Let Him be your everything. This morning, if you hear Him calling, harden not your heart.
Let’s Pray. Heavenly Father, we are here before you. And if we’re honest with you, Father, our hearts have not been Yours. We have betrayed you in the things that we have done and in the way that we have lived before you as though Your love meant nothing to us. But we’re here this morning, Lord, wanting to be like John and not Judas. We want to draw near to you. We long to find our rest in you. We desire that close, intimate place where there could never be anything between us. Jesus, would you draw us to yourself this morning. Would you reveal in us those things that are not of you. Would you turn us over and show us those things that are contrary to who you are, so that we may live out lives that reflect your love in us. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.