The Anatomy of Betrayal
Mark 14:43-51 records the ultimate betrayal; the betrayal of Judas leading to the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus. Although Judas’ actions led to Jesus fulfilling His redemptive mission, Judas was willfully responsible for His sin. Do you know that every sin begins with a thought? Someone said, "Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny." Moreover, continual disobedience can lead to demonic deception, which in turn can lead one to do the unthinkable. Consider with me three significant parts to the anatomy of Judas’ Betrayal.
1. Deliberate Disobedience
Remember, every sin, every act of willful and deliberate disobedience, begins with a thought. Judas, in his betrayal of Jesus, was sinning with his eyes wide open. He plotted, schemed, and accepted a bribe to deliver Jesus to those who wanted Him dead. After Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and submitted to the Father’s will, we read: “And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders” (Mark 14:43). We see here that in deliberate rebellion against Jesus, Judas comes to the garden where Jesus was praying. The actions of Judas were intentionally and carefully planned out.
Adrian Rogers suggests that giving into temptation is often a combination of 3 things: an undetected weakness, an unprotected life, and an unexpected opportunity. Before Judas betrayed Jesus with eyes wide open, those three things were evident in his life. I don’t believe that Judas started off as a disciple of Jesus with the intention to one day betray Him. Judas had an undetected weakness in his life, namely greed. He was in a trusted position, as the treasurer, which allowed for an unguarded life. This put him in a place for unexpected opportunities to sin. At some point, he began to give into the thought and temptation to steal from the moneybag. If you recall, when Mary in worship poured a costly ointment on Jesus, Judas’s heart was full of covetousness (John 12:4-6).
Judas deliberately disobeyed Jesus in an unthinkable way. He betrayed the son of God who came into the world to save sinners, including Judas. But remember he didn’t just wake up one morning and said, "I’m going to betray Jesus." He allowed the hidden sin of greed in his heart to go unresolved. He entertained the wrong thoughts and began to give into the temptation to steal a little money here and a little money there. It’s been said, sin will take you farther then you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
2. Demonic Deception
Every sin begins with a thought. The thought, if not cast down by truth, will produce a desire. And that desire will produce intent, and the intent will produce an action, and the action will produce a memory. Apart from true brokenness and repentance before God, the cycle continues and gets worse and worse.
When dealing with temptation, our own hearts can deceive us (Jeremiah 17:9). We are masters at rationalizing and justifying our own sin. I’ve heard it too many times, “O but me and God have an understanding. He understands why I’m living with my boyfriend. It's financially feasible right now.” No, God doesn’t understand.
"Stop trying to make God make you an exception. If you have a living arrangement that’s out of God’s will, he can’t bless you over it. Get it right. Get married or move out. Those are your choices. “But Pastor, God understands. God knows my special situation.” I’ve been a Pastor for a long time and I know how this goes. When you get into disobedience, deception comes with it. After a while you begin to believe something and you know in your heart that it's wrong. But somehow deception will creep in and you start thinking, “Well God and I are going to works this out another way.” [God’s way is the best and only way.] I’m here to tell somebody, “get it right, right now”. If you're not married and living together, get married or break up. Move out. Quit having relations that are designed for marriage only. That’s God plan. It’s not popular. The world says it’s ok. But the world is headed for destruction. I’ve heard over the years, “Pastor you have to understand our situation.” I say, “explain it to me.” "Well you see her divorce technically never really came through. So because she’s not legally divorced we can’t get legally married. But God understands all the paper work.” I’m telling you what I heard. “Alright, so you all have a paper situation. I’m telling you one of you has to move out. Find another address and stop acting like married folk when you're not.” -Paul Shepherd
O how we can really deceive ourselves. But it's important to note that the enemy is at work too. Listen to me, continual disobedience will lead to demonic deception. Moreover, our disobedience can be used by the enemy to hurt others. In our text, we read concerning Judas’ betrayal: “Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard" (Mark 14:44). The kiss that Judas gave to Jesus was a kiss of demonic deception and betrayal. But notice what happened during supper the evening before Jesus was betrayed: “During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him” (John 13:2). The continual disobedience in Judas' life, which started with giving into the temptations of his greedy heart, eventually opened him up fully to demonic influence and deception. But even then he had an opportunity to repent.
When Jesus dipped the morsel of bread and gave it to Judas and revealed that he would betray him, Jesus was giving him an opportunity to repent. Culturally, the dipping of the bread to give to another person during dinner was an act of friendship. At that moment, Jesus was telling Judas that he’s betraying the greatest friend anyone could ever have. But Judas didn’t take the bread in repentance. He took it in arrogance and departed. Notice what happened next: “So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly" (John 13:26-27). Judas, who was deliberately disobedient, and demonically deceived, is now possessed by Satan.
After Judas led the hateful crowd to Jesus in the garden and gave him a kiss of demonic deception (Luke 22:48), we read: “And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." And they all left him and fled" (Mark 14:48-50).
3. Disastrous Destiny
If you read the account in Matthew 27:3-5, you’ll find that after the devil used Judas, the reality of what he did hit him. He knew he had betrayed the Son of God for a measly thirty pieces of silver, which he tried to return. But the religious leaders couldn't care less about Judas’ regrets. Sadly, Judas never turned to Jesus in true brokenness and contrition. He continued to believe lies. And in his remorse, he went and killed himself. What a disastrous destiny.
However, God is so big that He can take the sinfulness of man and weave it into our lives to accomplish His good purposes without ever ordaining the sin. Notice in verse 51, that after the crowd seized Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, He said, “But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." And they all left him and fled” (Mark 14:51). In Jesus’ darkest hour, all of His closes disciples forsook Him, and denied Him. Jesus knew they would. After revealing to them that they would all forsake Him, He said to them, “But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee” (Mark 14:23). Galilee was the place where their journey with Jesus began. God is a God of new beginnings.
Beloved, if you’ve blown it, don’t believe the lie of the enemy that it’s over. Don’t run from Jesus, run to Jesus in humility and repentance. Every disciple who forsook Jesus after His arrest was restored by the Lord. And they all, to the glory of God, fulfilled their divine destiny in the power of the Holy Spirit.
What will be your destiny? If you’ve received Jesus by faith as Savior and Lord, you can trust that no matter what you face in this life, Jesus commands your destiny. He will never leave you nor forsake you. What He started in you, He will bring to completion. But that doesn’t mean that God works apart from you yielding to His will for your life. Remember, delayed obedience is disobedience. And continual disobedience can lead to demonic deception, which can bring you to do things you never thought you would ever do.
To someone who may feel betrayed: You need to know that no one, not even the devil can keep you from fulfilling God’s divine destiny for your life. In fact, what others meant for evil God can work it for your good (Genesis 50:20). Don’t allow someone’s betrayal hold you hostage. As someone wisely put it: “The glory of God is always in front of us not behind us.” Stop looking back. Forgive as you’ve been forgiven. Press forward and align your will to God without delay. Don’t follow your heart. Follow Jesus. He will lead you, guide you and enable you by His power to be all that He saved you to be.
If you’re out of God’s will, surrender to Him today in true repentance and brokenness without delay. There may be some consequences you will have to deal with. But God will restore you and you will be back on the road to fulfilling God’s best for your life. He will turn your mess into a message and make you a trophy of His grace.
In your service,
Pastor Marco
1. Deliberate Disobedience
Remember, every sin, every act of willful and deliberate disobedience, begins with a thought. Judas, in his betrayal of Jesus, was sinning with his eyes wide open. He plotted, schemed, and accepted a bribe to deliver Jesus to those who wanted Him dead. After Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and submitted to the Father’s will, we read: “And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders” (Mark 14:43). We see here that in deliberate rebellion against Jesus, Judas comes to the garden where Jesus was praying. The actions of Judas were intentionally and carefully planned out.
Adrian Rogers suggests that giving into temptation is often a combination of 3 things: an undetected weakness, an unprotected life, and an unexpected opportunity. Before Judas betrayed Jesus with eyes wide open, those three things were evident in his life. I don’t believe that Judas started off as a disciple of Jesus with the intention to one day betray Him. Judas had an undetected weakness in his life, namely greed. He was in a trusted position, as the treasurer, which allowed for an unguarded life. This put him in a place for unexpected opportunities to sin. At some point, he began to give into the thought and temptation to steal from the moneybag. If you recall, when Mary in worship poured a costly ointment on Jesus, Judas’s heart was full of covetousness (John 12:4-6).
Judas deliberately disobeyed Jesus in an unthinkable way. He betrayed the son of God who came into the world to save sinners, including Judas. But remember he didn’t just wake up one morning and said, "I’m going to betray Jesus." He allowed the hidden sin of greed in his heart to go unresolved. He entertained the wrong thoughts and began to give into the temptation to steal a little money here and a little money there. It’s been said, sin will take you farther then you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
2. Demonic Deception
Every sin begins with a thought. The thought, if not cast down by truth, will produce a desire. And that desire will produce intent, and the intent will produce an action, and the action will produce a memory. Apart from true brokenness and repentance before God, the cycle continues and gets worse and worse.
When dealing with temptation, our own hearts can deceive us (Jeremiah 17:9). We are masters at rationalizing and justifying our own sin. I’ve heard it too many times, “O but me and God have an understanding. He understands why I’m living with my boyfriend. It's financially feasible right now.” No, God doesn’t understand.
"Stop trying to make God make you an exception. If you have a living arrangement that’s out of God’s will, he can’t bless you over it. Get it right. Get married or move out. Those are your choices. “But Pastor, God understands. God knows my special situation.” I’ve been a Pastor for a long time and I know how this goes. When you get into disobedience, deception comes with it. After a while you begin to believe something and you know in your heart that it's wrong. But somehow deception will creep in and you start thinking, “Well God and I are going to works this out another way.” [God’s way is the best and only way.] I’m here to tell somebody, “get it right, right now”. If you're not married and living together, get married or break up. Move out. Quit having relations that are designed for marriage only. That’s God plan. It’s not popular. The world says it’s ok. But the world is headed for destruction. I’ve heard over the years, “Pastor you have to understand our situation.” I say, “explain it to me.” "Well you see her divorce technically never really came through. So because she’s not legally divorced we can’t get legally married. But God understands all the paper work.” I’m telling you what I heard. “Alright, so you all have a paper situation. I’m telling you one of you has to move out. Find another address and stop acting like married folk when you're not.” -Paul Shepherd
O how we can really deceive ourselves. But it's important to note that the enemy is at work too. Listen to me, continual disobedience will lead to demonic deception. Moreover, our disobedience can be used by the enemy to hurt others. In our text, we read concerning Judas’ betrayal: “Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard" (Mark 14:44). The kiss that Judas gave to Jesus was a kiss of demonic deception and betrayal. But notice what happened during supper the evening before Jesus was betrayed: “During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him” (John 13:2). The continual disobedience in Judas' life, which started with giving into the temptations of his greedy heart, eventually opened him up fully to demonic influence and deception. But even then he had an opportunity to repent.
When Jesus dipped the morsel of bread and gave it to Judas and revealed that he would betray him, Jesus was giving him an opportunity to repent. Culturally, the dipping of the bread to give to another person during dinner was an act of friendship. At that moment, Jesus was telling Judas that he’s betraying the greatest friend anyone could ever have. But Judas didn’t take the bread in repentance. He took it in arrogance and departed. Notice what happened next: “So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly" (John 13:26-27). Judas, who was deliberately disobedient, and demonically deceived, is now possessed by Satan.
After Judas led the hateful crowd to Jesus in the garden and gave him a kiss of demonic deception (Luke 22:48), we read: “And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." And they all left him and fled" (Mark 14:48-50).
3. Disastrous Destiny
If you read the account in Matthew 27:3-5, you’ll find that after the devil used Judas, the reality of what he did hit him. He knew he had betrayed the Son of God for a measly thirty pieces of silver, which he tried to return. But the religious leaders couldn't care less about Judas’ regrets. Sadly, Judas never turned to Jesus in true brokenness and contrition. He continued to believe lies. And in his remorse, he went and killed himself. What a disastrous destiny.
However, God is so big that He can take the sinfulness of man and weave it into our lives to accomplish His good purposes without ever ordaining the sin. Notice in verse 51, that after the crowd seized Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, He said, “But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." And they all left him and fled” (Mark 14:51). In Jesus’ darkest hour, all of His closes disciples forsook Him, and denied Him. Jesus knew they would. After revealing to them that they would all forsake Him, He said to them, “But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee” (Mark 14:23). Galilee was the place where their journey with Jesus began. God is a God of new beginnings.
Beloved, if you’ve blown it, don’t believe the lie of the enemy that it’s over. Don’t run from Jesus, run to Jesus in humility and repentance. Every disciple who forsook Jesus after His arrest was restored by the Lord. And they all, to the glory of God, fulfilled their divine destiny in the power of the Holy Spirit.
What will be your destiny? If you’ve received Jesus by faith as Savior and Lord, you can trust that no matter what you face in this life, Jesus commands your destiny. He will never leave you nor forsake you. What He started in you, He will bring to completion. But that doesn’t mean that God works apart from you yielding to His will for your life. Remember, delayed obedience is disobedience. And continual disobedience can lead to demonic deception, which can bring you to do things you never thought you would ever do.
To someone who may feel betrayed: You need to know that no one, not even the devil can keep you from fulfilling God’s divine destiny for your life. In fact, what others meant for evil God can work it for your good (Genesis 50:20). Don’t allow someone’s betrayal hold you hostage. As someone wisely put it: “The glory of God is always in front of us not behind us.” Stop looking back. Forgive as you’ve been forgiven. Press forward and align your will to God without delay. Don’t follow your heart. Follow Jesus. He will lead you, guide you and enable you by His power to be all that He saved you to be.
If you’re out of God’s will, surrender to Him today in true repentance and brokenness without delay. There may be some consequences you will have to deal with. But God will restore you and you will be back on the road to fulfilling God’s best for your life. He will turn your mess into a message and make you a trophy of His grace.
In your service,
Pastor Marco