Active Christians Today at The University of Toledo

Introduction:

Our narrator is Judas. Our primary Scripture is from Luke 14
Location: Galilee and Judea
Time: Circa 30 AD

Jesus chose Judas to be an apostle. Apparently, Judas was taught the same things as the other apostles and had the same types of experiences. It seems likely that Jesus loved Judas and valued him as much as any of the other apostles, at least until near the end.

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER:

When you think of Judas, what thoughts go through your mind?

What have you been taught about Judas?

Do you have any pity for Judas? If so, why? If not, why not?

STUDY THE WORD

We see the prophesy in the Old Testament book of Zechariah that predicts how Jesus would be betrayed.

Do these verses at all make you feel sorry for Judas?

Is there anyone in your life who did something very wrong or even evil and yet you still feel sorry for them? If so, why do you leave room for that sort of pity? What makes you feel that way?

Scholarly Questions and Suppositions

There are three scholarly viewpoints regarding how Judas reached the point of betraying Jesus.

Why do you think he did it?

1. Judas was destined to be a traitor.

Was his decision inevitable or could it have been any other disciple? Why or why not?

Luke never met Judas. What Luke knew of Judas likely came from the testimony of the other apostles and from the stories he heard. We don’t read much about Judas before his betrayal of Jesus. It's easy to suppose the Gospel writers so detested his betrayal that they were not interested in saying anything nice about him, but they also say very little about half of the apostles, so it may be that Judas was just like those apostles.

2. Do you believe Judas joined the disciples just so he could eventually betray Jesus?

Some scholars believe that Judas was intent upon betraying Jesus from the outset. The Wednesday of Holy Week is sometimes called “Spy Wednesday” just for that reason.

How do you believe the other disciples would have responded discovering that one in their midst betrayed Jesus?

Would those disciples have given Jesus any room for forgiveness? Why or why not?

3. The decision Judas made to betray Jesus was arrived at gradually.

Most scholars go with this belief. Judas, like us, was human and therefore suffered from the same failures and sins as we do.

The book of John gives us some indication that Judas’ descent into betrayal was gradual. Judas appeared to be on the wrong side of Jesus in several incidents including that of Mary and Martha. Mary chose to wash Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. Judas grew angry saying that the perfume could have been sold and the proceeds used to help the poor, however we know that Judas was embezzling from the disciples used to help the needy. Therefore, Mary’s proceeds would have benefited Judas.

How do you think Judas’ responsibility for handling the disciples’ finances played into his betrayal?

How close was Judas to something that would be tempting for any of us?

How does proximity to temptation play into our own struggle with sin?

We are not told in the Bible when Judas started drifting away from Jesus. Perhaps he expected Jesus to overthrow Rome to establish an earthly kingdom and was disappointed when Jesus made it clear his kingdom was spiritual. Or perhaps it happened when Jesus called for his disciples to be fully committed and Judas realized he did not want that. Or perhaps it was some difficult teaching of Jesus or a time Judas was embarrassed by Jesus' words or actions. We don’t know why or when, but we do know that the actions of Judas helped result in the death of Jesus.

CONNECT WITH THE BIBLE:

Luke 14:15 references a feast in the kingdom of God.

Since Jesus launches into one of his parables in reply, it is easy to overlook or misunderstand the reference. The statement was made after Jesus mentions the resurrection of the righteous. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the righteous, but they perceived they were the only righteous ones. Jesus' parable not only discounts their likelihood of attendance, but also opens up the resurrection door for the all the people the Pharisees had rejected—the Gentiles, the poor, and the physically disabled and disfigured.

Luke 14:25 says that large crowds were with Jesus when he told them about the high cost of following him.

Surely that kind of talk must have discouraged several in the crowd.

John 6:66 records a time when Jesus clarified how hard it was going to be to follow him, and many of his disciples turned away and left for good.

Unlike many modern leaders, Jesus did not make it easy or cheap to be his disciple; he was interested in having only dedicated followers who were willing to count the cost, and to pay it.

How does it make you feel to know that Jesus expected a lot from us as Believers?

The Eyewitness videos present each character as if it is an eyewitness interview. The script is added here just to make it easier to follow along. The author of the script shares the scholarly view that Judas’ betrayal happened over time and was not sudden.

VIDEO ~ Luke Episode 14 Judas SCRIPT

You know the end of my life story, most probably, but I ask your indulgence to hear another part. My story up to mid-way through Jesus’ ministry. At that point, I was still his friend.

Mine was a common name during my lifetime. Think of two original twelve apostles, Jude Thomas or Jude Thaddaeus, or even Jude the brother of Jesus.

I was the outsider of the Twelve. From the beginning. I dressed differently, talked differently, and thought differently. Although the Gospel writers don’t talk of my interactions in the group, you can guess that I didn’t have any close friends among the apostles, and when I struggled, nobody to confide in.

I was very skilled with money and was chosen to be the treasurer of our group, even though Matthew was known to be extremely talented in that area. The Bible doesn’t say when, where or how I became a disciple. You do know it was early in the ministry of Jesus because he believed I could be a fisher of men.

I was as dedicated as any of the other apostles those first couple of years. I wasn’t outspoken, but neither were six of the other apostles that you know little about. I was sent out as a pair with the other twelve, and then as a pair with the seventy. I saw Jesus do miracles and healings, and heard all his teachings. I did miracles and healings. For the first couple of years, you would not have been able to distinguish my ministry from the other eleven. Jesus did not distinguish me from them either. He loved me as much as them.

I am Judas the son of Simon Iscariot. Scholars of your day have concluded that my father’s name meant that we came from Kerioth, a town about 10 miles south of Hebron, or about 30 miles south of Jerusalem. Those scholars have concluded that I was probably the only one of the twelve apostles who was not from Galilee. One Sabbath, we apostles went with Jesus to eat at the home of a prominent Pharisee. We were relegated to the cheap seats at the back of the room, but Jesus was seated near the front. As often happened, the Pharisees were trying to find a way to disparage him. A man who was an obvious plant came to stand before Jesus. He had some abnormal swelling and it was apparent to everyone in the room he needed healing. Rather than being caught in a trap, Jesus set his own by asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

What a question! The Pharisees and experts of the law knew the spirit of the law encouraged such an action, but their man-made rules prohibited such a thing. They were caught in a trap of their own making and had no out. They could do nothing except remain silent, even after Jesus healed the man. Oh, the uncomfortable silence, everyone hoped Jesus would change the subject. Until Jesus changed the subject.

He looked around the room and made the observation that everyone had been scrambling to get seats of honor. Imagine the red faces because they had been doing just that. Jesus pointed out that it was a smarter strategy to take a lower seat, and then receive a special honor if the host moved you to the front. Eliminated the risk of being embarrassed in case the host asked you to take a lower seat. I’m sure that was embarrassing to all the guests in the room, but it was more embarrassing when they later realized he wasn’t talking about seating at a dinner, but being humble in relationship to God.

Jesus then looked at his host and told him that he was not righteous when he invited friends and family to a dinner, because they could just pay him back. But it was righteous to invite those who were not able to pay him back. Must have been a shock to the host and all of the guests. Looking around, the only poor people in the room were Jesus and us— his apostles! I doubt anybody in the room had ever purposely invited a poor person to a dinner, except for a few relatives. Maybe. It was in situations like those that I began to be uncomfortable. Jesus not only insulted his host twice, but also insulted all the guests in the room.

I wanted respect from the religious leaders, always did. But I also always hoped for some financial support from them, too. Jesus never seemed concerned about money. In retrospect, I guess if you already own the whole universe, there isn’t much on earth that you need. Consider that in your own life. If you are truly the sons and daughters of God, what is there on earth that you don’t already own?

Back to the dinner at the Pharisee’s house. There I was in the cheap seats squirming in embarrassment when one of the people near Jesus tried to change the subject again. The man said, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” That comment probably doesn’t mean much to you, but it did to us in the room.

We were all Jews. We had all been brought up with the notion that only Jews would be saved when the Messiah came. We did not have a well-developed notion of what Heaven was or how you got there, but we were all certain that the Jews had exclusive claim to the benefits that would occur when the Messiah came. We were all certain that was true, especially the religious leaders of the Jews. We were all certain, except Jesus.

Jesus wanted everyone to know that the kingdom wasn’t coming on their terms, but on God’s terms…and Jesus had been announcing those terms. Those who weren’t willing to accept Jesus’ terms were going to disinvite themselves from the feast, while those who were willing to accept the terms would enjoy it. The parable Jesus told clearly showed the religious leaders as disinviting themselves, while the obviously unclean people would get to enjoy the banquet. The man’s comment had been right, the ones eating at the feast were blessed, but he misunderstood who those people would be.

Needless to say, the banquet ended on a sour note, and we were not given any gifts or support. As treasurer, I was quite disappointed that Jesus not only didn’t raise any money that night, but he had antagonized people that could have made our lives much better. I should have known it was only going to get worse from there.

Not long after that, large crowds were following us everywhere we went. It would have been a simple thing for the Lord to give a little uplifting message, and then pass the hat for some contributions from the crowd. Instead of doing that, Jesus raised his voice and said quite the opposite: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brother and sister … and their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” I can assure you that that is not the kind of message that is encouraging for a treasurer hoping to get more money.

Your modern-day translators and preachers can waltz around all they want, but Jesus said “hate” and that is exactly what he meant. He meant that you not only had to be willing to do without those people and things in your life, but that you counted them as your enemies. Furthermore, he wanted you to become willing to give up your life, literally, in order to become his disciple. You can be assured that many of the crowd left before he could tell his next parable.

The parable Jesus told next is my favorite because of its simplicity and obviousness. As with many of his parables, Jesus had seen something we had all seen, but had understood its deeper meaning. We had all seen buildings which were abandoned before they were finished, but never thought anything about them. Jesus understood them in a different way.

He said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.” He finished that sentence and looked around, nodding at a partial structure in the distance. Not many of us had wanted to build a tower, but many of us wanted to build houses.

“Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to finish? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish the building, everyone who sees it will laugh at you. They will say, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” From his past lessons, we apostles knew Jesus wasn’t talking about buildings.

I can’t prove it, but when Jesus said that last sentence, I believe he looked right into my eyes, right into my soul. Maybe that was the first time I realized I was not willing to give up everything to be his disciple. And if I wasn’t willing to give up everything, I probably wasn’t willing to give up very much. He made me count the cost of being his disciple, and I decided that I wasn’t willing to pay the price.

That was the day my doubts began. I recalled Jesus saying, “Whoever is not with me is against me.”1 Now that I knew I was not wholeheartedly for him, I started finding little ways to be against him. At first, I just discounted some of the things he said. I quit praying as much, then not at all. I quit listening with attention. I wanted to raise as much money as I could, (long pause) so I could…… steal more. If he said I was his enemy, I would prove that I was.

You want to be a friend of Jesus? How much are you willing to give up? Or not willing, as the case may be. You can’t do that, you can’t be unwilling to give it all up, Jesus said that. Maybe you should quit trying to do what Jesus says you cannot do. You are either his friend or his enemy. And, from my own example, you don’t want to become his enemy.

CONNECT TO GOD:

Jesus once said that whoever was not with him was against him, but he also said that whoever is not against him is for him. What is the difference in those statements?

In the end, what is the best way to sum up both of those statements?

How do you think the Pharisees reacted to being told they were not righteous and would not receive the rewards of the righteous?

APPLY IT:

Judas betrayed Jesus for money. Have you ever traded some measure of your integrity for earthly gain? What would you do if the opportunity was presented to you in the future?

What practical commitments do you maintain when it comes to following Jesus? How can you meet those commitments? How can you add to them?

Have you ever committed to do something for God, but not fulfilled that commitment? What kept you from doing so?

What are some of the costs of being a disciple of Jesus?

Praises & Prayer Requests:

Share any other prayer requests, and close by thanking God for his comfort and promise to be with us.