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LESSON ONE,
INTRODUCTION:
This short paragraph tells
about someone who literally "sold" Jesus to the highest bidder!
"Then
one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and
said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto
you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from
that time he sought opportunity to betray him." Matthew 26:14-16
Today we will merely survey the passage,
noting several primary facts I plan to emphasize.
First, see how Judas took the initiative. The
authorities did not come to him with this treacherous idea! He went to
them! He "sold" His Lord for a few pieces of money!
What might have been his motive?
Was it the money alone?
Was it some kind of "hurt feelings?"
Was it anger, even if temporary?
We don't know.
Secondly, with the resurging emphasis on
Gnosticism today, we must note from our Text that Judas did betray
Jesus! Many use the verb "deliver" in its mildest sense, saying that Judas
just "helped" Jesus die on the Cross, our Lord's main Plan anyway! But the
Holy Spirit uses that same verb a few words later for "betrayed!"
What Judas did was a sin!
He was not trying to help Jesus, but rather,
kill Him!
"Then
one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and
said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto
you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from
that time he sought opportunity to betray him." Matthew 26:14-16
Thirdly, the thirty pieces of silver.
John 12:6 tells us about Judas:
"He
was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein."
Sounds like the cash might have been part of
his plan! But even that says a lot! The chief priests were willing to pay
an "informant" for information about our Lord!
That at least means they could not build a
valid case against Him, no proof of any wrongdoing existed, so a "snitch"
was necessary!
Someone can always be found, if you're willing
to buy information!
Fourthly, since sin always worsens as time
progresses, Judas is soon "seeking opportunity" to betray Jesus!
Every day he looked for a way!
A way to hasten our Lord to Calvary!
For financial gain!
And Judah was successful, too!
"And
while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a
great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders
of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying,
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. And forthwith he
came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. And Jesus said unto
him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on
Jesus, and took him." Matthew 26:47-50
Disloyalty to Jesus!
And what about us this Sunday Morning, folks?
What kind of life have we lived during the
past week?
Have we loved our Lord?
Have we studied His Word?
Have we prayed?
Have we stayed "near" His Side?
Or, by our actions anyway, have we also
"betrayed" Him?
That verb is "paradidomai." It literally means
"to give," in Greek "didomai," someone to an enemy "alongside," in Greek "para,"
you!
To "turn them over" to wicked hands!
Preachers who no longer believe the Blood of
Jesus saves, they have betrayed the Lord.
Christians who no longer live for Him, having
forsaken the Bible and holy living and His church, have come pretty close
to betraying Him too.
College Professors who have forsaken those old
core beliefs, the fundamental issues of our faith, in order to "better"
their positions in the academic world, have betrayed Jesus as well.
It's everywhere today!
Disloyalty!
Will anyone today love Jesus?
Will anyone stand with our Lord?
Will anyone go, as the old hymn says, "With
Him, With Him, All the Way?"
Knowing our readers on these pages, I suspect
the answer is "Yes!"
I can hear you now. "Preacher Bagwell, the
last thing we ever want to do is forsake our dear Lord!"
And we all say, in unison, "Amen!"
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON TWO, VERSE 14:
That's what he is called,
"one of the twelve."
"Then
one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,"
Matthew 26:14, today's verse.
Judas,
he heard Jesus' Sermons!
He saw our Lord's
miracles, many of them anyway!
He ate meal after meal
with the Saviour!
Yet Jesus said of him,
"Have
not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" John 6:70
Judah was a lost man!
Lost men betray the Lord!
The name "Judas" is a good one. It means the
same as "Judah," the Old Testament patriarch. That is, "praise!"
But instead of praising the Lord, he sold the
Lord, for thirty pieces of silver!
"Iscariot" simply identifies the area in which
he formerly lived. It just means "a man from Kerioth." It was located in,
where else, the tribal territory of Judah. That's according to Joshua
15:25.
A good background!
A good home-place!
A good environment, living near Jesus!
But something went wrong!
Badly so.
He felt comfortable enough around the "chief
priests" to approach them about Jesus!
About betraying Jesus!
These men, these chief priests, were the
powerful religious leaders of Israel in that day. "Archiereus" merely
blends "arch," meaning "beginning or head," and "iereus," meaning
"priests." You've heard of the "arch-angel," these individuals are the
"arch-priests."
And they felt threatened by Jesus!
Their "power" was in jeopardy, they thought.
Their "prestige," too.
Their "reputations."
But, really, the only thing in danger was the
welfare of their eternal souls!
Reject Jesus, which they did, and an eternity
in Hell awaits you!
Accept Him, which they refused to do, and
Heaven is yours!
How about you, reader, here today?
Are you saved?
Or, have you betrayed Jesus long ago?
Twelve Disciples.
One was a traitor.
Surely that is enough to teach us that, even
among the best of crowds, there are a few "fakes" in the bunch!
A few imposters!
In John 17:12, Jesus calls Judas "the son of
perdition." Look: "While
I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou
gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but
the son of perdition; that
the scripture might be fulfilled."
There is no doubt about it.
Judas is in Hell today!
Having rejected Jesus.
What a sobering thought.
Going to Hell from a church pew!
Worse than that!
Going to Hell from very near Jesus!
Be sure you are saved!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON THREE, VERSE 15:
They
do it yet today.
At least with "major"
criminals.
The police make their arrests
very carefully.
Often in the middle of the
night, or approaching dawn anyway.
Often with numbers of officers
involved.
Often with massive force being
displayed.
And, as in our Text today,
often with the use of a paid informant.
And this is exactly how they
arrested Jesus!
At night!
With over 600 soldiers!
With many "swords" and
"staves," an awesome force of arms.
And with a paid informant at
hand!
"And
Judas unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver
him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of
silver." Matthew 26:15
He "sold" Jesus
into their hands!
Now our verse
today appears to suggest that money was a major factor. And it
well may have been. Paul later tells Timothy:
"For
the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows." 1st Timothy 6:10
"What will ye give me?"
So asks the
traitor.
John has already
told us: "Not
that he, Judas, cared for the poor; but because he was a thief,
and had the bag, and bare what was put therein." John
12:6
Money!
That verb "will
deliver" is critical this morning, too.
What will ye give
me, and I will deliver him unto you?
It's a future
tense form of "paradidomai," meaning "to give over" a person
into the hands of others.
To "sell" Jesus
to His enemies!
To "betray" the
Lord!
Today some
liberals and revisionists try to tell us that "paradidomai" just
means the Judas was "helping" Jesus reach the Cross!
Aiding our Lord
in the completion of His major Goal in coming to earth anyway!
But if we let the
Holy Spirit translate the verb, "paradidomai" still, He says it
means "to betray," not merely "to hand over" or
"to help!" Out Text here this week offers clear proof of this
fact. Watch: "And
Judas said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will
deliver ("paradidomai") him unto you? And they covenanted
with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he
sought opportunity to betray ("paradidomai") him."
Matthew 26:15-16, with our verb underlined as it appears twice
in the King James Bible. It means "betrayed!"
To this day
"betrayal" carries a sinister connotation.
It's a bad thing.
Judas was not a
good man.
So, the
authorities were quite willing to "pay" for information about
Jesus' whereabouts on the morning of His upcoming arrest!
Gladly they did!
"And they covenanted
with him for thirty pieces of silver."
Can you hear them
bargaining?
The chief priests
and Judas?
The verb
"covenanted" is "histemi," strangely so! The word normally mens
"to stand," but I have found several places where it also medans
"to fix" a certain day of action and "to pay" or "to count out"
certain sums of money!
They "stood" in
agreement with the traitor, the money for the Saviour!
Those who study
the value of metals say that 30 pieces of silver in first
century Palestine would have been worth a little less than a
thousand dollars. Judas sold Jesus for a thousand dollars!
Adjusted for
inflation, over 2,000 years or inflation, the value rises to
around $250,000.00, so say the professionals!
Money!
Money!
Money!
Would I sell
Jesus for money?
Would you?
Our answer is,
surely, NO!
But many have
done so!
They have sold
Him for a little popularity!
Or pleasure!
Or earthly gain!
Or love of self!
Or autonomy!
To place anyone
or anything ahead of Jesus ... is to betray Him into the hands
of the enemy!
But, wait a
minute.
Judas aside now.
What about
Matthew, the writer of our account today?
History says he
died for Jesus' sake!
What about
Thomas?
He did too, died
for His Lord!
And Paul?
Another martyr!
Here's my point.
For every person
who "sells" Jesus to the highest bidder, surely there are ten
real Believers who keep Jesus first place in their lives!
Surely!
Where do you
place on this scale of loving Jesus?
Where do I?
Sold out to Him?
Or selling Him
out?
Think abut it
today.
The old hymn
writer said: "I'd rather have Jesus ... than silver or gold!"
Judas just did
not feel that way!
But we should.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
Tell the dear
Lord ...
Tell Him right
now exactly what He is worth to you! And, as you do so,
remember, that's the exact definition of "worship!" In the
English language, anyway. To express someone's true worth, from
the depths of your heart! "Lord, you are my Everything! My All!
My Saviour!"
Amen.
LESSON FOUR, VERSE 16:
We are told of Judas the
Disciple: "And
from that time he sought opportunity to betray him."
Matthew 26:16
Looking to sell
Jesus for thirty pieces of silver!
Two words in this
short verse demand our attention!
The nouns "time"
and opportunity."
"Time" is "tote"
in Greek, pronounced "tot'-eh." It is a temporal marker, a
blending of adjectives and adverbs, that most often means
"then." In the King James Text it is reproduced as "then" 149 of
the 159 times it appears.
The financial
"deal" had been arranged, and Judah then started looking
for just the right time to harm our Lord.
The other noun, "opporunity,"
is "eukairia," meaning a "good" (in Greek "eu") "block of time"
("kairos"), a "window of possibility" in which he could commit
his crime!
Just the right
moment!
When the City was
sleeping.
When Jesus was at
the best possible place!
Secluded, in a
garden.
When the
"targets" were naturally less alert, rather than more so!
In the middle of
the night.
Arrests yet today
are often conducted under these conditions.
Judas, we are
told, "sought" such an occasion!
The verb "sought"
is "zeteo," to actively "go about looking for the thing!" To
crave or even demand it!
Judas meant to
earn his money, as soon as possible too!
"And
from that time he sought opportunity to betray him."
And here again is
the verb "betray," a blended term just meaning "to hand over"
Jesus to His enemies. "To give" our Lord "away!" It is spelled "paradidomai."
This wicked act
reminds me of something Paul wrote.
Twice, in fact.
Both Ephesians
5:16 and Colossians 4:5 say, "Redeem the
time." That's what we must be doing!
That particular
verb, "exagorazo," means "to go down to the market
place and make a transaction, bringing your purchase out
and putting it to immediate use."
Treat time like a
commodity!
"Buy" each hour
as from the Lord, making it "count" for His Glory!
After all, no one
has more than 24 of them each day!
"Redeeming the time, because the days are
evil." Ephesians 5:16 again, this time the whole verse.
And Paul also
uses "kairos" for "time" here. Buy up every single "opportunity"
you have, every "open door" God sends your way, and use them for
Jesus' Sake!
Well, Judas
redeemed his time all right, but for an evil purpose!
We are to redeem
our time as well, but for the opposite reason.
Paul again,
"Redeeming the time, because the days are
evil."
To keep from
committing evil!
And "evil" here
is "poneros," the most potent and active and vile word to which
Paul had access!
"Watch every
minute ... to keep from sinning!" That's Paul.
"Watch every
minute ... to betray Jesus!" That's Judas.
And the
difference between the two is eternal!
One is in Heaven
today, the other in Hell.
Have you yet
taken "opportunity" be be saved?
Only God can give
you that privilege.
And when He does,
you had better "seize it" immediately!
Today let's "use"
our time wisely!
And, lest you
missed it, here's the worst possible way to "spend" your day.
"And
from that time he sought opportunity to betray him."
No!
Instead, love
Him!
Adore Him!
Worship Him!
He is worthy of
all that and a whole lot more!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
Let's love Jesus with all our hearts!
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