João 13

João 13

Robertson - Darkness falls suddenly in the orient. Out into the terror and the mystery of this dreadful night (symbol of his devilish work) Judas went. John MacArthur gives an excellent summary of lessons to be learned from the tragic treachery of Judas Iscariot (See John Commentary - Page 82): First, Judas is history’s greatest example of lost opportunity and wasted privilege. He heard Jesus teach day in and day out. Further, he had the opportunity to personally interact with Him. He witnessed firsthand the miracles Jesus performed that proved He was God in human flesh. Yet Judas refused Christ’s invitation to exchange the oppressive burden of sin for the easy yoke of submission to Him (Matt. 11:28–30). Second, Judas is the foremost illustration of the danger of loving money (1 Tim. 6:10). Money meant more to him than eternal salvation. Third, Judas typifies the vileness of spiritual betrayal. In every age there have been Judases, who professed to follow Christ but turned against Him. Judas’s life is also a sobering reminder of the need for self-examination (2 Cor. 13:5). Fourth, Judas was living proof of Christ’s patience, mercy, and loving-kindness. Even when he arrived with the mob to arrest Him, Jesus still addressed Judas as “friend” (Matt. 26:50). Fifth, the example of Judas shows that the Devil will always be at work among God’s people. Jesus illustrated that truth in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt. 13:24–30, 36–43). Sixth, Judas proves the deadliness of hypocrisy. He was a fruitless branch, cast into the eternal fire of hell (John 15:6). Finally, Judas demonstrated that there is nothing sinful men can do to thwart the sovereign will of God. Out of the seeming tragedy of the cross came the triumph of redemption; Satan’s apparent victory was in reality his ultimate defeat (Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8; cf. Gen. 3:15). God used Judas’s treachery for His own glory (cf. Gen. 50:20). When Judas sold Jesus to His enemies he was in effect selling his own soul to the Devil. In the words of the poet, Still as of old Men by themselves are priced— For thirty pieces Judas sold Himself, not Christ Alexander Whyte was a great Scottish preacher (1836–1921) who magnified the awfulness of sin and the graciousness of Christ in his sermons. But He was always more aware of his own sins than those of others. An evangelist once went to Edinburgh and criticized the ministers. A friend told Whyte, “The evangelist said last night that Dr. Hood Wilson was not a converted man.” Whyte jumped from his chair. “The rascal,” he cried. “Dr. Wilson not a converted man!” Then the friend reported that the evangelist also said that Dr. Whyte was not converted. At that, Whyte stopped short, sat down, put his face in his hands, and was silent for a long time. Then he said to the visitor, “Leave me, friend leave me! I must examine my heart!” (In Warren Wiersbe, Walking with the Giants [Baker], p. 92.) That’s the effect that the story of Judas should have on us. We should soberly examine our own hearts before God. (Steven