“Abandoned by a Disciple” – Luke 22:1-6

One of the greatest fears of people around the world is the fear of public speaking. There are probably a number of reasons for this, but I think one of the main reasons is that when a person takes the stage, they are alone. There is no one standing beside us when we have to make a speech.

I think my mom had that idea in her mind. The advice she gave me before I preached my first sermon was, “Glynn, everyone there is hoping you do well.” I have never forgotten her words. They were a comfort then; they’re a comfort still.

We don’t like to go it alone. Even people who consider themselves loners still have a friend or two. Hermits may live alone by choice, but they still have occasional contact with other people.

As we enter the season leading up to the Easter celebration, it is important that we remember that Jesus was alone on the way to the cross and on the cross. Reading the Bible, we see that Jesus was abandoned by His disciples and even asked God why He had forsaken Him.

We begin a series looking at those who abandoned Jesus when He needed a friend.

Background

We all know that Judas was the disciple who betrayed Jesus. He has gone down in history as the greatest betrayer of all mankind. Yet, even though the Bible tells us that Judas betrayed Jesus, it never tells us why Judas did what he did. It’s left for us to speculate.

In Matthew and Mark, the two verses that speak of Judas’ determination to betray Jesus comes on the heels of a meal in Bethany. It is at this meal that Jesus was anointed by an unnamed woman. The oil used to anoint Jesus was very expensive. Comments by those who objected to the use of the costly perfume was that the better use of the oil would have been to sell it and give the proceeds to the poor. Mark states that the cost was enough to have brought in a year’s wages (cf. Mark 14:5). John tells us that it was Judas who objected. John also tells us that Judas was both treasurer of the disciples and was a thief (cf. John 12:4-5).

When Jesus rebuked the indignation toward the woman, it is possible that Judas decided at that point that he needed to betray Jesus. Whether Judas was motivated by greed or a misguided effort to persuade Jesus to proclaim Himself as Messiah or some other reason, we can’t really say. All we know for sure is that Jesus was betrayed by Judas.

Central Truth: As Jesus approached the cross, He was abandoned by Judas who betrayed Him.

Judas betrayed Jesus because:

1. The Pharisees wanted to “get rid of Jesus” (1-2)

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.

We have spent the last few months looking at Jesus and the Pharisees, how they differed in their understanding of scripture and of God’s expectations for us. We know from this series of messages that the Pharisees determined early in Jesus’ ministry that they would kill Jesus (cf. Mark 3:6). According to the Pharisees, Jesus had violated the Sabbath by healing a man with a withered hand.

They wanted to get rid of Jesus because He was a threat to their way of doing things. To the Pharisees, Jesus was a heretic and a blasphemer. He was turning the people against them, and if the people rose up and proclaimed Him messiah, the whole might of Rome would fall down upon the people of Israel. So it was determined He had to die (cf. John 11:45-53).

Yet, even though they had committed themselves to ridding themselves of Jesus, they waited for three years to finally do so. Mark tells us that the religious leaders determined to kill Jesus either before or after Passover (cf. Mark 14:1-2). The reason was that there was a large influx of Jews into Jerusalem for the holy day, and that many of these Jews were supportive of Jesus.

You see, it wasn’t that the religious leaders didn’t have the authority to arrest Jesus. Certainly, they had the temple guards under their command, and the job of the guards was to enforce the laws and order in the temple area and in Jerusalem. Remember that Jesus had entered Jerusalem and had cleared the temple of the moneychangers (cf. Matthew 21:8-22; Mark 11:12-14; Luke 19:45-47; John 2:13-16). John seems to indicate Jesus cleared the Temple during His first visit to Jerusalem, while the other three gospel accounts state the event took place after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. It is quite possible that Jesus cleared the temple twice. Disrupting the temple business would have been a valid reason for arresting Jesus. Luke tells us that the religious leaders were trying to kill Jesus after the temple incident but they couldn’t find a way to do it because of all the people (cf. Luke 19:47-48).

The reluctance to arrest Jesus for fear of causing a riot meant that they had to find a quiet way to arrest Him. And so they waited, hoping to find Jesus alone at some convenient time.

2. Satan entered into Judas (3)

Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.

Of the three accounts of Judas’ determination to betray Jesus, only Luke lays the blame squarely on Satan. John does say that Satan entered into Judas, but only after Jesus had exposed him during the least meal together (cf. John 13:26-27).

The point of stating Satan had entered into Judas is to let us know that Judas’ actions were not a part of God’s will, but were of Satan. Judas may have had the best of intentions when he betrayed Jesus—he may have thought his action would further the kingdom of God by accelerating Jesus’ proclaiming Himself as Messiah. But even the best of intentions can be against God’s will. Proverbs tells us, “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord” (16:2) and, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (14:12). Peter once told Jesus that the disciples would never let Jesus be turned over to the authorities. Jesus’ response to Peter was, “Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men” (Matthew 16:23).

Make no mistake. Satan can make us think that our plans are designed to help people, to make us happy, to bring peace. The reality is, though, that Satan’s plans only hurt people, make them miserable and create chaos and conflict. Satan is a liar and the father of lies. He is very good at convincing us that evil is good, but no matter how we paint his ideas, evil is always evil, and sin is always sin.

The reason Judas decided to betray Jesus is immaterial. His motives were based not on God’s revelation but on Satan’s temptations, and Judas must take the blame for his actions.

The tragedy of this is that Judas should have known better. He was one of the Twelve. He had walked with Jesus, learning from Him, seeing the miracles. While Judas may not have been a part of the inner circle of Peter, Andrew, James and John, he nonetheless had greater access to Jesus than the typical person. That Judas could allow the devil to enter into him and lead him along a path that would ultimately lead to Judas’ destruction should remind us all that we must be on our guard against Satan and temptation.

3. Judas worked with the Pharisees (4-6)

And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

Again, we can’t know the why of Judas’ decision to betray Jesus, but we know the how. After Satan had entered into Judas and Judas had committed himself to a life of sin, he immediately sought out the ones most willing to harm Jesus.

Notice at this point in time—when Judas approached Jesus’ enemies—no suggestion of money exchanging hands was present. It was only after Judas agreed to betray Jesus that he was offered money for his trouble. The fact that they agreed to give him money suggests that Judas was the one who brought the subject up first, which gives us part of Judas’ motive. Whatever reason he had to betray Jesus, Judas used it to line his pockets as well.

Having reached an agreement with the Pharisees, Judas now sat back, watched and waited. He had probably been told by the Pharisees that the time to betray Him would have to be at a time and a place where it was least likely to draw attention to Jesus’ arrest. As is so often the case with sin, it had to be done in the quiet, away from prying eyes. When we commit to going against God’s will, the last thing we want is for someone else to point out what we are planning is wrong.

Conclusion

At Calvary, Jesus died alone. He died alone abandoned by almost all of His followers. The first to abandon Jesus was also the one who decided his abandonment would be through betrayal. By turning his back on Jesus, Judas committed himself to a way that would lead him away from Christ and toward his own destruction.

What you and I can learn from this is that Satan can get hold of anyone. He can tempt us and we can fall for his lies. When we do, we turn our back on the One who calls us. Sin always leads us away from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our sin is a form of betrayal.

Let us learn from Judas. And let us commit ourselves to resist the devil and turn always to God.