First Presbyterian Church

Judas Iscariot tends to occupy a scandalous and shadowy place in many peoples' minds.  As the one who betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ, we might be tempted to portray him as an unwilling disciple who lurked in the background for three years looking for the right time to sell Jesus off.

Such thinking is not supported by Scripture.  Judas IS mentioned throughout each of the gospels as the one who would betray Jesus, as no doubt the gospel authors struggled to find his place in the story.

But as one of the 12 disciples, he also preached the gospel, he probably led people to faith, he healed in Jesus' name, he slept on the ground and walked the mountain trailed.  He followed Jesus. 

What was missing?  Or, to ask another way, what did Judas posses that kept him from experiencing the full extent of the gospel?

I would submit that he was full of self deceit.  To THINK that he followed Jesus, only to betray him in the end, is to be self deceiving.  By the end of following Jesus for 3 years, as the Gospel Glare began to manifest itself, as the Jews and their leaders were being judged by Jesus and the heat was increasing, as people turned away from the Light of the World, as Jesus' own disciples cringed and flinched and eventually ran, Judas' heart was exposed both in self deceit and in unwillingness to follow Jesus at all costs. 

In so doing, Judas stands as a warning about how easily our hearts self deceive, and what cost attends self deceit.

Sermon Outline:  The Gospel puts Judas (and all Self Deception) on Trial

            Matthew 10:1-10.

Introduction:

            - Meet the 12 Disciples

            - Descriptions (all negative) of 3 of the 12 Disciples

Judas Iscariot, "who betrayed Jesus Christ."

            - "Praise of the Lord"; Judah

            - Follower of Jesus Christ who preached the good news, healed people, risked and

            suffered along with the other disciples

            - Disillusionment, ultimately, betrayal.  Question:  What happened?

Self-Deceit

            - There is Truth in the world, embodied in Jesus Christ

            - Following Truth, being exposed to Light

            - The hidden power of Self Deceit

            - The Prevalence of Self Deceit:  all disciples

            - The Response to being Exposed:  Run/Die; "Do you love me?"

Bible Study John 3:16-21.

1. What is an embarrassing (wrong) thing you got caught doing?  How did you respond to being caught?

2. A parent once said to his child, "My prayer is not that you are perfect, but that when you do wrong you get caught."  What positive insight lies behind this statement?

3. Read John 3:16-17.  Even though these verses are very familiar, reflect on them carefully:

a. From what you can learn in both verses together, what is the pre-believing state of all people?  what, from v. 17, should be the result of that standing?

b. What does it take to gain eternal life?  How does v. 17 give insight about God's motives to those who might be teetering on the edge of belief and unbelief?

c. What do you learn about God in verses 16 and 17?  What do you learn about how God intends to save the world?  (what does it mean, to save the world "through" him?)

4. Read verses 18-21.  How does verse 18 explain John 3:14-15 (if you need help, go back into the Old Testament story of Israel in the desert, and Moses lifting the snake up to save those who looked to it--Numbers 21)

5. Is verse 19 true of all people, that is, do all humans love darkness instead of light?  are our deeds evil?

6. To "flesh out" verse 19, think of a time in your life when you wandered into sin and rebellion.  How did you rationalize that sin to yourself?  Looking back, what lies did you have to believe in order to live for that time in that sin?

7. How is God's light not just a saving light, but painful?  That is, why do we work so hard to not get caught?  (see v. 20)

8. If deeds are exposed by the light, v. 20, why, then, do some learn to come to the light, v. 21? 

9. If you were to explain to someone the importance of walking in God's light, how would you do that? 

10. How might the following categories help you flesh out walking in the light:

a. how easily humans deceive ourselves and rationalize our sins.

b. why most people find it easier to hide behind masks and darkness rather than walking into the light.

c. how confession, repentance, mercy (God's) and restoration work.

d. how much "easier" it is to walk in the light (confessing, repenting, accepting mercy and restoration) than to walk in the darkness (rationalizing, hiding...).