THE MINISTRY OF JUDAS
Matthew 10:1-5
JUDAS ASSIGNED MINISTRY
1. He was a chosen disciple
Matthew 10:1-5
10 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Every believer in Jesus Christ has been called to the ministry. It is
what we do in the ministry counts.
God has a plan for each of us. Each plan is different.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT JUDAS
1. He was in church every day
2. He ran with the other 11 disciples
3. He was the treasurer of the group
He could handle money
He was practical with the donations
He kept track of the financial of the group
It was Judas who dispensed the money to buy bread
4. He was active in the church
He was with the group Jesus sent out two by two to cast out demons,
and heal the sick.
5. He voiced his concern about how money was spent.
John 12:4-5
Judas Iscariot (who was to give him up), said,
Why was not this perfume traded for three hundred pence and the money was given
to the poor?
6. He stayed with Jesus until the end.
7. He heard all the teachings of Jesus
He was in Sunday School
He was in Bible Study
He was on the mission field
WHAT WAS JUDAS PROBLEM?
He loved money
John 12:4-6
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 \”Why wasn\’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year\’s wages.\” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
We all love money.
I can buy stuff with money
I need money to eat
I need money to put gas in my car
THE SYMPTOM OF JUDAS PROBLEM
The symptom of Judas\’ problem was his love for money
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
His real problem was this, He didn’t trust Jesus
When you are all about you, you trust the wrong things
and the wrong people.
JUDAS\’S PROBLEM WAS HIS DESTINY
John 17:12
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Judas did not choose his destiny. It was chosen for him before he was born.
Judas could not change the outcome of his life, Jesus chose it.
Jesus wrote the end of Judas\’ life 600 years before he was born.
Psalms 41:9-10
Even my close friend, whom I trusted,
he who shared my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me.
Was Judas responsible for his betrayal of Jesus? Yes.
But it was God’s divine plan.
JUDAS CONFESSED HIS SIN
Matthew 27:3-5
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 \”I have sinned,\” he said, \”for I have betrayed innocent blood.\”
\”What is that to us?\” they replied. \”That\’s your responsibility.\”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
When you yield to the temptation of the devil, he plans to destroy you.
Judas felt remorse and wanted forgiveness
He went back to the Chief priest
He confessed his sin
They had no power to forgive sin.
They had no interest in Judas\’ welfare.
The devil will use you to destroy someone else.
Judas was so mixed up in his mind that he didn’t go back to Jesus!!!
He didn’t have the courage to face Jesus and the
other disciples.
He didn’t ask Jesus for forgiveness
He didn’t trust Jesus to forgive him
His sin was no bigger than our sins
All of us have betrayed Jesus at some point in our lives.
JUDAS\’S PROBLEM WAS NO WORST THAN OURS
Judas had a money problem
Do you know that the majority of the Church has a money
problem.
The average churchgoer only gives 2-3% of their income to God
God commands us to give 10% plus an offering.
Malachi 3:8-10
\”Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
\”But you ask, \’How do we rob you?\’
\”In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me.
NIV
THE REAL PROBLEM
HE WAS LOST IN THE CHURCH
Judas\’ real problem was one of not believing Jesus as God and God
enough to forgive him.
Judas heard the word from Jesus.
He was a student of the Word, but he couldn’t apply it to himself.
Matthew 6:12-15
12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.\’
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Luke 17:3-4
\”If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, \’I repent,\’ forgive him.\”
WHAT WE LEARN FROM JUDAS
You should never get to the point where you believe that your sins are too bad for Jesus
to forgive you.
You should never get to the point of hopelessness
Your hope in Jesus has nothing to do with your sins.
Every time you confess your sins and ask for forgiveness
you start with a clean slate
Your situation is never hopeless with Jesus
When you have a feeling of hopelessness you are where the devil wants
you to be.
The devil’s lie becomes your rule of thought.
WE HAVE TO TEACH THIS TO OUR CHILDREN
Judas committed suicide.
Suicide is a serious public health problem. Suicide rates increased 30% between 2000–2018, and declined in 2019 and 2020. Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States,3 with 45,979 deaths in 2020. This is about one death every 11 minutes.
Facts About Suicide | Suicide | CDC
https://www.cdc.gov › suicide › facts
In the United States
Suicide is the third leading cause of death of young people between the ages of 15 and 24. 5,000 young people complete suicide in the U.S. each year. Each year, there are approximately 10 youth suicides for every 100,000 youth. Each day, there are approximately 12 youth suicides.
Teen Suicide Facts – Suicide & Crisis Center of North Texas
https://www.sccenter.org › … › For Teens
HOW DID THE DEVIL GET TO JUDAS?
HIS TEMPTATION LOVE OF MONEY
OPPORTUNITY TO GET QUICK MONEY
UNBELIEF IN JESUS AS LORD
BELIEVED THAT HIS SIN WAS TOO BIG TO BE FORGIVEN
TALKING TO THE WRONG PEOPLE
A SENSE OF HOPELESSNESS
CLASS QUESTIONS
1. WHY DID JESUS ALLOW JUDAS TO BETRAY HIM?
2. DID JUDAS GO TO HEAVEN?
What scripture validates your answer?
3. WHAT ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE COMMIT SUICIDE?
4. IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A CHRISTIAN TO COMMIT SUICIDE?
What scripture validates your answer?
5. IF A CHRISTIAN COMMITS SUICIDE, WILL HE GO TO HEAVEN?
What scripture validates your answer?
According to the Grace To You Web Site
So if a true Christian would commit suicide in a time of extreme weakness, he or she would be received into heaven (Jude 24). But we question the faith of those who take their lives or even consider it seriously–it may well be that they have never been truly saved.
That\’s because God\’s children are defined repeatedly in Scripture as those who have hope (Acts 24:15; Romans 5:2-5, 8:24; 2 Corinthians 1:10, etc.) and purpose in life (Luke 9:23-25; Romans 8:28; Colossians 1:29). And those who think of committing suicide do so because they have neither hope nor purpose in their lives.
Furthermore, one who repeatedly considers suicide is practicing sin in his heart (Proverbs 23:7), and 1 John 3:9 says that \”no one who is born of God practices sin.\”
Rev. M. Mitchell
