Intro:
A. The most notorious and universally scorned of all the disciples is Judas Iscariot—the betrayer.
1. He betrayed the perfect, sinless, holy Son of God for a handful of money.
2. He spent three years with Jesus, but for all of that time his heart was only growing hard and hateful.
B. Here was a man who drew as close to the Savior as it is humanly possible to be.
1. He enjoyed every privilege Christ afforded.
2. He was intimately familiar with everything Jesus taught.
1. Jesus all night before selecting the twelve. Lk. 6:11-13; cf. 22:3; Jn. 15:16
2. Thought: Was it unwise for Jesus to select Judas as one of the twelve in the first place?
3. Jesus knew from the that Judas would betray Him. Jn. 6:64; cf. Psm. 41:9; 55:12-14; Zech.
11:12-13
4. Was Judas a rational man? (Would Jesus have selected an irrational man)?
Was Judas responsible for his own actions or was he coerced into doing what he did?
- People who are perfectly rational sometimes do impulsive, drastic things they later regret very much.
- NOTE: A person can become mentally ill and then, in that state, do things for which they are not morally accountable.
- NOTE: Every person is accountable for his or her actions up to the point of losing rationality.
5. What were the requirements for one to be an apostle? Acts 1:21, 22
6. What specific role did Judas fulfill as one of the twelve? Jn. 12:6
Judas was living covertly with the fact that he was a . Jn. 13:29
- What was his attitude towards money? Jn. 12:2-5; cf. Mt. 20:2
- QUESTION: Did this sin have any impact on why he later killed himself?
- Judas had every opportunity to turn from his error.
1) He heard every lesson Jesus taught during His ministry.
2) Many of those lessons applied directly to him. cf. Lk. 16:1-3; Mt. 22:11-14; 6:19-34; Lk. 13:13-21; Mt. 23:1-(Did he ever apply any of these messages? Why did he keep up his deceit)?
7. What expectations did the twelve have about following Jesus? Mt. 19:27; cf. Lk. 18:29-30
8. What did Judas do immediately after he did not gain access to the money from the perfume? Mt. 26:14-16;
Ex. 21:32 (Note: At the very moment when Jesus was instituting the Lord’s Supper, Judas was making arrangements
for His capture). cf. Lk. 22:39; Jn. 18:2
9. Did Jesus know Judas would betray Him? Jn. 13:10-11, 18-19, 21; Mt. 26:22
10. Exactly how did Judas die? Mt. 27:5; Acts 1:18-19
11. Did Jesus know Judas would commit suicide? (Why didn’t Jesus prevent Judas from killing himself)?
12. Did the other eleven see any suicidal tendencies in Judas prior to the time he took his own life?
13. Did the other eleven feel any guilt for not seeing the “signals” in Judas prior to his death?