Introduction: We have been studying the Master’s men, the TWELVE disciples that changed the world for the cause of Christ. As we have noted, there are four lists of the DISCIPLES who became the APOSTLES, given in Matthew 10, Mark 3, Luke 6, and Acts 1. All four lists contain some marvelous similarities. Please notice again the list in Matthew 10:1-4, ““And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. (2) Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; (3) Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; (4) Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.” As we have examined the first eleven Apostles, we have attempted to see how their personalities and characteristics fit into the Lord’s plan. The last Apostle stands out against the background of the others. He is isolated, lonely, and alone. Judas Iscariot is mentioned last in the list of the Apostles, along with a comment about his betrayal of Christ.

I. HIS NAME: In Matthew 10:4 we read, “…and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”  This disciple had two names:

A. Judas: The name Judas, a common name, was simply the Greek form of Judah.

Either way, it’s a paradox! If it means "Jehovah leads," there was never an individual who was more obviously led by Satan than Judas. If it means "one who is the object of praise," there was never an individual more unworthy of praise than he.

B. Iscariot: The name Iscariot basically comes from a combination of the Hebrew term ish,which means "man," andKerioth,the name of a town. He was "a man from the town of Kerioth." It’s simply a geographical identification. It’s interesting that Judas is the only Apostle who is identified geographically. This is important because he is the only non-Galilean, the only Judean Jew. Since the rest of the Apostles were from Galilee, it may indicate that from the very beginning Judas was never really one of the boys.

II. HIS CALL: The call of Judas is not recorded in the Bible. However, we know one thing is certain, not only did Jesus call Judas, but He also knew Judas would betray Him, and that is why He chose him. Not only was Jesus omniscient, but He knew the Old Testament had predicted that one of His own would betray Him.

The Old Testament prophesied that the Messiah would be betrayed by His own familiar friend for 30 pieces of silver.

In other words, Judas was lost because it was the fulfillment of scripture. Jesus chose him because He knew the Scripture, and He knew that the prophecy must be fulfilled. That was the plan!

III. HIS CHARACTER: Outwardly, I don’t think Judas appeared to have a defective character. In fact, he must have had qualities and capacities which commended him. He was with the disciples for three years, and when Jesus announced, in John 13, that one of them would betray Him, they didn’t suspect Judas they suspected themselves. Judas must have been a fantastic hypocrite. So good, in fact, that they elected him treasurer of the group. That just shows you how much they trusted him. Remember there were others in the group with horrifying backgrounds.

Remember, Judas had the same potential as any of the others. Christ could have transformed him if his heart had been willing. He had the same raw material and was no more unqualified than the rest. But the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. While the other men were being melted and molded, he was being hardened! Someone wrote of Judas:

IV. HIS CHANCE: Jesus chose Judas because of the plan, yet He offered Judas every opportunity not to fulfill it, Judas heard the lessons that Jesus taught in the three years that he was with Him, and many of them directly applied to him:

Jesus even said in John 6:70, "…one of you is a devil"to warn Judas. But Judas never listened and never applied the lessons. He just kept up his deceit.

Jesus knew exactly what Judas was, yet He still loved him and tried to reach him. A perfect example of this is in John 13:21-26 during the Last Supper. In verse 21 Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray Me…," In verse 25, John asked Jesus who it was that would betray Him, and He answered in verse 26, "He it is to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it."

I believe that giving the sop to Judas was an act of love and affection. So, besides teaching and warning Judas throughout His ministry, Jesus actually honored the man. He was always reaching out to Judas, but he never responded!

V. HIS DECEPTION: Now an incident which occurs in John 12:1-6 serves to unmask the hatred that had built up in Judas. In verses 1-2 we read, “Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. (2) There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, (5) Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? (6) This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. (7) Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. (8) For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.”

Please note, Judas didn’t become a thief at this point, he had always been one. He had probably been stealing money (the Greek word for “bare” literally says “pilfering”) from Jesus and the other Apostles for the three years he had been with them.

Can you image the kind of person he was? He traveled around with this poor band of men, and while they were doing good, he was stealing out of their resources. He was a materialist, and he was in life only for what he could get out of it, and he was for now getting away with it. That very night Judas left Bethany, and negotiated to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

According to Matthew 26:15, Judas negotiated with the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver, exactly what Zechariah 11:12-13 had prophesied. Thirty pieces of silver would be worth somewhere between 10-20 dollars today. After having negotiated the betrayal, Judas joins the rest of the disciples in the upper room in John 13, where his hypocrisy is exposed.

Even though Jesus was in the process of exposing Judas, verses 21-26 show how effective he was in his hypocrisy.“When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (22) Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. (23) Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. (24) Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. (25) He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? (26) Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.” Now notice verses 27-30, “And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. (28) Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. (29) For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. (30) He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.”

He played out his hypocrisy so well, that they still didn’t suspect him as the betrayer. Well, Satan entered Judas, and Judas went out to consummate the betrayal.

VI. HIS DEATH: Judas sold Christ, he sold his fellow Apostles, he sold his own soul, and he bought hell. Unfortunately, the price was too high. Matthew 27:3 says, “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.” The word "repented" might sound good to you, but the Greek tells us that he just "felt bad," he regretted what he had done.

Now, a spiritually-minded man deals with his conscience in a spiritual way and goes to God for forgiveness. But a materialist like Judas deals with his conscience in a physical way. So, instead of going to God and asking forgiveness, he returned the money, thinking that the physical act of returning the money would relieve his spiritual conviction. But it didn’t! His unforgiving heart screamed out for vengeance on himself.

Some people think this is a contradiction. It’s not! Judas couldn’t hang himself any better than he could do anything else. Either the knot was insufficient or the branch broke. Having hanged himself over a precipice, he plummeted to the rocks beneath, bursting open his bowels. Now do you know what the chief priests did with the money Judas returned? According to Matthew 27:6-7, they “…took the silver pieces, and said, it is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.” That’s an exact fulfillment of Zechariah 11:12-13. The plan was fulfilled.

VII. THE LESSONS LEARNED: As we close out this study of Judas Iscariot, here are FOUR lessons we can learn from this Disciple’s life and character:

Judas was the ultimate hypocrite of all time, an illustration of people who can hide in the presence of Christ and be filled with Satan. Acts 1:25 says that Judas went "to his own place,"right where he belonged. It’s the same place that all people end up who reject Christ.