Iscariot - An Example of Submitting to the Text

 

What does it look like to submit to the Biblical text, as opposed to allowing our presuppositions to drive our understanding of the Bible, the Word of God? There are some subjects that I know, when thinking about them with others, will likely require much time and in which I can only hope for so much understanding. Why? Because of the habit of our hearts and minds to impose our understanding on the Bible as opposed to allowing the Bible to impose its truth on us. In other words, our habit is to force the Bible to submit to us, rather than submitting ourselves to the Word of God (see 1 Cor. 1:17 – 2:16).

 

Among these areas are the Trinity, free will and election, eschatology (Biblical prophecy), evangelism and witness, prayer, and Judas Iscariot. Actually, virtually any Bible study or Sunday message presents this challenge, to one degree or another, but there are particular passages and subjects that are more difficult than others.

 

In the last post I asked us to ponder some verses in Proverbs regarding the Law of God, but before we engage them, I want to offer an example or two of what I mean when I write of submitting to the Biblical text. We’ll begin with Judas Iscariot, for I have never worked through a Bible study with others that included Iscariot that did not have myriad presuppositions imposed on the text, along with conclusions that were without Biblical warrant.

 

Below is a handout I prepared for my congregation in 2009 when I was preaching a Sunday series on the Upper Room (John chapters 13 – 17). Knowing that I could not spend the time required in this sermon series to consider Judas Iscariot, I prepared this handout to hopefully help my folks through this important topic – for as important as the subject of Iscariot is in itself, it is also important in terms of how we think about it, whether or not we submit to the Biblical text, to the Word of God.

 

Because this is rather lengthy, should you want this in a PDF file please let me know and I’ll send you one.

 

 

 

Judas Iscariot

Staying Within the Biblical Text

By: Bob Withers

September 25, 2009

 

                Our time in the Upper Room with Jesus in September and October can only scratch the surface of John Chapters 13 – 17. Due to time limitations there are some threads of these chapters that we’ll be unable to touch on at all; one of which is Judas Iscariot.

            As we’ll see below, the Bible does not tell us a lot about Judas Iscariot (not to be confused with another Apostle named Judas), but that is the case with most of the Apostles, and in one sense this shouldn’t be a surprise because the Gospels are about Jesus Christ and not about us or anyone else. Of the twelve original Apostles we know more about Peter from the Gospels and the Book of Acts than anyone else, and next to Peter we know more about John than anyone else – but beyond those two Apostles our information is pretty scanty and in some instances nonexistent.

            Concerning Judas Iscariot, of the four Gospel writers John tells us more than Matthew, Mark and Luke; the Book of Acts (also written by Luke) also refers to Judas (in the first chapter) – but John is where we get more of a glimpse of Judas than anywhere else…and yet it is only a glimpse.

            The temptation with just getting a glimpse of something is to read more into it than we ought to and to build an image or teaching which may not be there at all; it is a temptation that most of us, including me, find hard to resist!

            The temptation with getting a glimpse of Judas is that we want to find some way to understand why he betrayed Jesus. Why did he do it? What was he thinking? What was he feeling? Perhaps he wanted the best for Jesus and just went about it the wrong way? Maybe he repented after he saw the consequences of his actions and asked for forgiveness? Isn’t there some way we can turn Judas into a sympathetic figure?

            The challenge in asking these questions is to stay within the Biblical text – a difficult challenge with almost any Biblical text; but perhaps a particular challenge with a tough subject like Judas Iscariot.

            Below are the key New Testament passages referring to Judas Iscariot, I have not included passages from Mark or Luke because they parallel those in Matthew and John – what do these passages teach us?

 

            JN 6:70 Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)

 

            The word “devil” means “slanderer” and whether or not Jesus means that Judas is a slanderer as opposed to being possessed or influenced by the devil at that particular time, the fact that Jesus uses this particular word forms an association with Judas and the evil one, known as the devil or Satan.

 

   JN 12:4 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.

 

          Here is another glimpse. We are told that Judas was a thief and we are shown that Judas was also a liar and a deceiver. In John 10:10 Jesus teaches that the thief (referring to the devil) comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. In John 6:44 Jesus also teaches that the devil is a murderer, a liar, and in fact “the father of lies”. So once again we have association occurring with Judas and Satan.

 

            The following passage in John Chapter 13 occurs in the Upper Room:

 

  JN 13:2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.

 

   JN 13:26 Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

 

            In 13:2 we see that Judas had already moved to betray Jesus; see also Matthew 26:14; Mark 14:10; Luke 22:3.

            In 13:26 – 27 we see something akin to a consummation of relationship between Judas and Satan – though the exact nature of what we’re reading is hard to grasp. Without a doubt a line of demarcation is crossed with the words, “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him”.

 

 

  MT 27:3 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.

 

            Here is another glimpse of Judas, which without a full Biblical context could be open to different interpretations. Could this mean that Judas came to God in repentance, asked forgiveness, and was forgiven? This is a fair and reasonable question. Of course we all know that remorse can take many forms, from true repentance and confession and seeking forgiveness; to being sorry for being caught. Remorse coming from a recognition of sin, a recognition of wrongdoing, does not in and of itself mean that it is remorse leading to repentance. Are there other Biblical passages that might throw light on this question: Did Judas turn to God in repentance?

 

JN 17:12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

 

2TH 2:1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

 

            In John 17:12 Jesus refers to Judas with a specific term, in the NIV it is the one doomed to destruction. Other English versions translate this phrase the son of perdition or son of destruction – and indeed the word son is exactly what the Greek text says. So Jesus is referring to Judas as the son or child of perdition or destruction. What does this mean? A look at Paul’s passage in 2 Thessalonians may help us to understand this phrase.

 

            In 2 Thessalonians Chapter Two Paul is dealing with, in part, the personification of Satan and Satan’s opposition to the Church of Jesus Christ. In describing the man of lawlessness, or who the Apostle John refers to as the antichrist, Paul uses the very same term that Jesus uses with respect to Judas; the man doomed to destruction (NIV), the son of destruction, the son of perdition (other English versions).

 

            Once again we are confronted with the association of Judas Iscariot with the devil or Satan, and now also with the spirit and persona of the antichrist – to the point where Paul and Jesus use the same term to describe both Judas and the antichrist. Considering this clear association it is unlikely that the “remorse” we read about in the Gospel of Matthew is a remorse of true repentance, for the Biblical picture of Satan and the antichrist presents no such picture – see Revelation 19:20-21; 20:10. While we may not understand any of what really went on within Judas Iscariot, anymore than we can say that we understand what went on with Satan that led to his rebellion against God; we can say in both instances that the Biblical picture ends in perdition, in an abyss that defies our understanding and which is beyond our comprehension.

 

            Beyond the above there are at least three Old Testament prophecies of Judas Iscariot, Psalm 41:9, which Jesus quotes in John 13:18; Psalm 69:25 and 109:8 which are both quoted by the Apostles in Acts 1:20. And then we have the words of Jesus about Judas in Matthew 26:24, “…but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Perhaps all we need do in reading about the remorse of Judas in Matthew 27:3 is to look back to what Jesus said about Judas in Matthew 26:24 – perhaps Matthew did not intend to leave us with any question about the irrevocability of Judas’s betrayal?

 

            There are many mysteries in the Scriptures, things that we can dimly see but which we cannot fully understand; as much as we would like to engage in speculation, speculation is generally unprofitable and diverts our attention from the Biblical text with its focus on Jesus Christ, God’s love for humanity, and the offer of redemption that is extended to us through the Cross and Resurrection.

 

            What can we learn from Judas? The first thing is in the words of Jesus, “Therefore when he [Judas] had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him,’” John 13:31. God uses persecution and betrayal in our lives to transform us into His image and to be glorified in us. If we are going to know Christ in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10) it will likely mean that we experience betrayal. We are called to allow the most painful experiences in life to be the means by which we are transformed into the image of Christ and the means by which God is glorified within us.

 

            The second thing we can learn is the heinousness of sin and the consequences of alignment with Satan. We are not engaged in a religious game; the Gospel is a matter of eternal life versus eternal death. What we believe matters, how we live matters, and our faithfulness to Christ matters. There is a lot we may not know about Judas Iscariot; but we should give heed to what we do know.