You may recall that about a year ago, the media was buzzing with the publication in English of “The Gospel of Judas.” Claiming to be a recent discovery, the document was actually discovered in 1970 near the banks of the
Well, that is a much different understanding than the New Testament accounts. While many claim that the Gnostic writings give us a glimpse of early Christianity, the fact is they give us a window into some of the earliest deviations from orthodox Christianity -- namely the Gnostic movement which has its roots in early departures from "the faith once delivered" combatted by the Apostle Paul in Colossians and John in most of his writings in the New Testament. "Full-blown" Gnosticism does not take shape until the middle of the Second Century, nearly 100 years after the writings of the eyewitnesses that we now have in the New Testament. The Gospel of Judas had surfaced in the time of Irenaeus, and he dismissed it immediately as heresy. This is significant because Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a personal acquaintance of the Apostle John, the last surviving apostle.
The Gospel of Judas was written at least 150 years after the alleged author died. This is typical of gnostic writings. They seek credibility by claiming authorship of those whose names are well known in the universally accepted canon of the New Testament. However, their origins are all much later than the deaths of those who are attributed authorship of the documents.
The Gnostic writings emphasize the attainment of esoteric, spiritual knowledge as the means of salvation. They differ from the New Testament teaching of salvation through the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross of
It is believed that the Gospel of Judas has its roots in a branch of Gnosticism called the Cainites. They bear the name of Cain because of their practice of taking the characters of the Bible who are presented in a negative light, and attempting to redeem their reputations by painting them in heroic fashion. This is what they attempted to do with Judas, but it is easy to see that the picture they paint of Judas is greatly distorted from the accounts of the eyewitnesses found in the biblical Gospels. The leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church has published the following comment on the media frenzy surrounding the Gospel of Judas, characterizing it as "non-Christian babbling resulting from a group of people trying to create a false ‘amalgam’ between the Greek mythology and
So if we want to know about Judas Iscariot, it seems we are much better off turning to the eyewitness historical documents of the New Testament rather than fantastical writings of subsequent generations. As we view the New Testament lists of the twelve whom Jesus chose, we find that Judas Iscariot is always named last, and always identified as the one who would betray Jesus.
It was no hasty decision on the part of Jesus when He selected these twelve. Luke 6:12-13 tells us that he prayed all night long about this matter. This is much different than the way most churches select those who will serve in various ministries. Often times, a person with a clipboard walks around looking for whoever is willing to take on the job. But Jesus spent a whole night in prayer before hand-picking twelve from a multitude of followers who would become His apostles. And yet, one of the twelve would turn out to be a bad egg. Did He not see it coming? Did He not pray enough? Did He make a bad choice? Why did He choose Judas?
We might be tempted to see the betrayal of Jesus as something unexpected – a turn of events that caught Jesus by surprise. Did Jesus know that Judas would betray Him? What does the Bible say? In John 6:64, Jesus said, “But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.” Again, in the same chapter, verses 70-71, “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?’ Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.” Later in John’s Gospel, Chapter 13, verses 10 and 11, Jesus said to Peter, “ … ‘You are clean, but not all of you.’ For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’” So three times, John tells us He knew, He knew, He knew. He knew that Judas was going to betray Him, so the question arises: “Why did Jesus choose Judas?”
I. Jesus Chose Judas to Fulfill Scripture.
In the High Priestly Prayer of John 17, Jesus said, “I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.” Peter said the same thing in Acts 1:16, saying, “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.” This Scripture to which both Jesus and Peter refer is Psalm 41:9. There, we read these words: “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” Judas was close to Jesus. He spent every moment of every day with Him for three years. Judas was entrusted with responsibility—he was the treasurer of the apostles. At the last supper, they shared bread together, and then Judas lifted up his heel against Jesus—a heel, I remind you, that Jesus had just washed. In John 13:18, Jesus warned His disciples what was getting ready to happen, referring to Psalm 41:9 and saying, “He who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me.”
Lest we be tempted to say that God made Judas betray Jesus, we must understand that God’s foreknowledge of a thing does not rule out human responsibility. Judas had a choice – he did not have to betray Jesus. But he chose to do so, and God knew He would from the beginning. Your decisions never surprise God. He is all-knowing. Nonetheless, our bad decisions disappoint God because He does not want to see us throw our lives away in sin. He wants us to live for His glory, and when we fail to do that, even though He knows we will, it grieves the Father’s heart. We sin because we choose our own way over God’s way. Judas made a choice. But God knew that he would, foretold it in Scripture, and it was fulfilled.
II. Jesus chose Judas to prove the deity of Christ.
Did Abraham Lincoln know that John Wilkes Booth would assassinate him at Ford’s Theater? Did John Kennedy know that he would be shot driving through downtown
If you are looking at an English translation of the Bible you will notice something different about the word He. What is it? It is in italics. Whenever our English Bibles have something in italics, it means that the word does not occur in the Greek manuscripts, but has been supplied by the translators to smooth out the reading of the text. So, what do you have left when you take the italicized He away? “You may believe that I am.” This Greek construction, ego eimi, is spoken by Jesus 25 times in the Gospel of John. Each time it is a declaration of His divine nature. You recall in Exodus 3 that when Moses said to God, “Whom shall I say sent me?”, God said, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
Jesus Christ’s foreknowledge of what Judas was going to do, and His pronouncement of it in advance boldly declares to us that He is God. He is the all-knowing one who knows the end from the beginning. In Isaiah 46:9-10, God says, “I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” This all-knowing God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, and chose Judas Iscariot to prove Himself to the world.
III. Jesus chose Judas to encourage future generations of Christians.
Jesus Christ knew when He chose Judas that Judas was going to betray Him. And certainly He knew that in future generations there would those who were involved in church, even leaders in the church, who would fall away. Often when that happens, Christians become discouraged, fall out of fellowship with the church, and even lose total interest in the Christian faith. But what happened to the other eleven disciples when Judas fell away? They remained faithful. Early in the book of Acts we read that they were together in one accord. One bad apple does not have to spoil the whole bunch. People will disappoint you, even people you look up to in the church. Some are genuinely saved and fail the Lord terribly; others are not saved, but have only pretended to be. But you have known some undoubtedly who for one reason or the other have drifted away from faithfully walking with Christ. But Jesus never said for us to follow each other; He said, “Follow Me.”
We cannot let the failure of others lead us away from following Jesus. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3-5, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” This is a wise admonition, and one we can learn from the example of Judas Iscariot. In spite of his miserable failure, others remained faithful. In spite of what you see others doing, you can stay faithful to Christ also.
IV. Jesus chose Judas to provide us with a warning.
We discussed this last Sunday, but it bears repeating. Judas was involved in the service of the Lord. He held a position of responsibility among the apostles, but he was not saved. This is a warning to us that church membership, church attendance, and church involvement will not save us. The only way to be saved is through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You know what Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” We will not impress God with how much we can do for Him unless first we have allowed Him to do something for us – namely, save us from our sins.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” It is not my desire to stir up doubt in the heart of any born-again Christian. However, there are worse things than doubt. False assurance is infinitely worse than doubting your salvation. So do not be afraid to do a spiritual inventory of your life and ask yourselves some hard questions. Has there come a point in your life when you have turned from sin and called upon Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? If not, then on what basis do you claim to have eternal life? Peter said in Acts 4:12 that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. Jesus Christ alone is our only hope for being made right with God.
If you examine yourself and say, “I remember praying a prayer of commitment to Christ at some point,” then perhaps another question is in order: Has your life changed since that time? Has God given you a desire to obey Him and a sincere love for other Christians? First John says that these two things are the marks of a genuine Christian. And if they are not present in your life, you have to wonder if your commitment to Christ was sincere.
What if you examine yourself and find that you are not saved? Then you thank God that He allowed you to see that before it was too late, and you turn from sin and self to Jesus Christ by faith and repentance, calling upon Him as Savior, and surrendering to Him as Lord, and commit to live for Him the rest of your days. Judas Iscariot never did that. He perished because He had never truly given Himself to Jesus. He stands as a warning to all of us.
V. Jesus chose Judas in order that we might have Judas’s testimony.
Anyone can say kind words and speak of the greatness of their dearest friends. But the testimony of an enemy carries a unique kind of credibility. After betraying the Lord and handing Him over to death, Judas ran to the high priests, threw their money back at their feet and said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” (Matthew 27:4). Judas had been with Jesus every waking moment for three years. If Jesus had sinned, Judas would have known about it. If He deserved to endure the punishment and death of the cross, Judas could have been proud to have handed Him over. But his testimony reveals that he had not acted justly. He betrayed innocent blood.
The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. The Bible also says that Jesus Christ never committed any sin. In John 8:46, Jesus called out to His opposers, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” Judas called Him innocent. Pilate said, “I find no fault in Him.” Hebrews 4:15 says He was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. First John 3:5 says that in Him there is no Sin. So if the wages of sin is death, then why did Jesus die? He died for sin, but not for His own. By virtue of His sinless life, He was able to lay His life down for ours, taking upon Himself the punishment that our sins deserve. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He [God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The testimony of Judas Iscariot proclaims this truth, as he says within the shadow of the cross, “I have betrayed innocent blood.”
In John 15:16, Jesus said to the twelve, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you.” So why did He choose Judas? We have seen a fivefold answer to this question found in the Scriptures. But now there a more difficult question to ask. As you contemplate God’s purpose for choosing Judas, ask this question: “Why did Jesus choose me?” Surely He does not need another betrayer. He chose you to know Him intimately, to serve Him faithfully, and to proclaim Him boldly. “You did not choose Me,” He said, “but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit.” Are you bearing fruit for Him through your faith and your life for Christ?
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