Betrayed and Arrested

The opening section of the sermon introduces a series on the final week of Jesus Christ's life, a period to which one-third of the four Gospels is devoted. The pastor chooses to focus on the story of Judas Iscariot, a seemingly promising individual who met a tragic end by betraying Jesus. The sermon is not intended to condemn Judas but to teach the congregation to reflect carefully on the warning: "whoever thinks he stands firm, let him be careful lest he fall." The name Judas was once popular, given by parents in hope that their son would become a good person, yet only God knows the future of each person.

The pastor analyzes Judas's historical background as someone from Kerioth south of Jerusalem, chosen by Jesus along with the other eleven apostles to cast out demons and heal the sick. Judas was entrusted with the role of treasurer, demonstrating Jesus's trust in him. The pastor presents a hypothesis that Judas may have been a patriot who expected the Messiah to liberate the Jewish nation from Roman oppression, but when he realized that Jesus came not for political purposes but to die to redeem the sins of all people, he became increasingly disappointed and disillusioned. When the same teachings can be heard completely differently by different people—while the eleven apostles believed in Jesus's teachings, Judas grew increasingly distant from Him.

The third section presents the chain of events leading directly to the betrayal. When Mary anointed Jesus with expensive perfume, Judas objected in the name of helping the poor, but John reveals that Judas was a thief and wanted the money. Later, at the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of all the apostles, including Judas, an act demonstrating infinite love and offering an opportunity for repentance, but Judas refused. Satan then entered Judas, and he went to seek the chief priests to sell Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, a sum not large, equivalent only to the price of a slave.

The fourth section analyzes deeply the fundamental cause of the betrayal. Scholar William Barker points out that Judas let lesser ideals dominate him, although he saw the highest but did not let it rule him. The pastor emphasizes that when we allow good things—work, learning, success, position, family—to become the master of our life instead of God, we have violated the first commandment. Satan employs this strategy very effectively, causing us to place a lesser loyalty above supreme loyalty to God. The pastor warns that there can be only one supreme loyalty in life—loyalty to God—and all other loyalties must come second, including loyalty to nation, church, friends, and family.

The final section emphasizes the warning and calls for action. The pastor points out that the greatest pain is not only Judas's betrayal but his refusal to repent and ask for forgiveness, even though Jesus continued to offer opportunity until the final moment. Both at the Last Supper and in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus called Judas "friend" and gave him opportunity to repent, but he refused. The pastor hopes the congregation will be careful not to be deceived by Satan's schemes and not to wait until it is too late to repent, like Judas Iscariot.