Background of Judas

[Luke 6:12-16]

One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: Simon (whom he named Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot),Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

Judas wasn’t a straggler that snuck his way into the inner circle of Jesus, he was handpicked.

[Luke 9:1-6]

One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples[a] and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money,[b] or even a change of clothes. Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. And if a town refuses to  welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.” So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.

[Luke 22:3-6]

Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.

When you started following Jesus, you probably didn’t expect you’d betray him either…yet maybe you did today. Maybe you did last week. Maybe you did just a couple of hours ago.

1. Your proximity to Jesus does not equal intimacy with Jesus

[Luke 22:47-48]

But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss.But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

are there spiritual practices right now in your own life… prayer, attending Church, reading your bible, living in community with each other, sabbathing, that are merely empty hollow gestures like Judas’ kiss?

[Romans 12:1-2]

And so, dear brothers and sisters,I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

[Luke 14:25-27]

A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

2. Judas followed Jesus until it cost too much.

Where when the cost is too high, I say see you later Jesus.

You’re asking me to surrender my career? see ya later. you’re asking me to surrender my marriage? see ya later. you’re asking me to surrender my sexuality? see ya later. my finances? see you later.

[Matthew 26:15]

and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.

[Matthew 27:3-4]

When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”

3. A disciple of Jesus must be willing to reorganize their lives around him.

[Philippians 2:5-8]

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God,  he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

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Application Questions

1. What stood out to you from this message and why?

2. What is one thing God is telling you to START doing because of this message?

3. What is one thing God is telling you to STOP doing because of this message?

4. How will this message change how you act at home, work and in the your relationships?