John 18:1-3: The Beginning of the End

John 18:1-3: “The Beginning of the End”

Please turn with me in your Bible to John 18. If you’re using one of the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 749. We’ve been going through the gospel of John passage by passage. And this Sunday, the next passage we come to is John 18:1-3. For the past few chapters, Jesus has been preparing his disciples for his immanent arrest and crucifixion. In chapter 13, he taught them how to live in his absence, telling them to serve one another and love one another just as he had served and loved them. Then, in chapters 14-16, he encouraged them by telling them all about the Holy Spirit who would come after him and who would be an even greater help to them than Jesus himself had been. Then in chapter 17, Jesus prayed for his disciples to be protected from the evil one and to enjoy unity among themselves. And now, as we enter chapter 18, as you can see from the title of the sermon, we enter what I’m calling “the beginning of the end.” Things go downhill for Jesus, and they go downhill rather quickly.

Back in chapter 13, Jesus had predicted that Judas Iscariot would betray him. Here’s how it went down in chapter 13, verses 21-30: 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. 

And it definitely was night, in more ways than one. So ever since chapter 13, there’s been this cloud of gloom and dread hanging in the air regarding Judas Iscariot. We, as the readers of John’s gospel, have been clued in that Judas is going to betray Jesus. And now, we see that betrayal actually happen in our main text for the morning. John 18:1-3. Here’s what it says: 1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 

So try to understand the gravity of what’s recorded in those three verses. Judas Iscariot, a man who has been traveling with Jesus and who has been one of Jesus’ closest friends for the past three years, sells him out to his enemies. We know from other passages of Scripture, such as Matthew 26, that Judas struck a deal with the chief priests to betray Jesus for the price of just thirty pieces of silver—the common price of a slave.  And now, here in John 18, Judas follows through with his end of the deal and actually betrays Jesus into the hands of his enemies. This is a betrayal of epic proportions. For those of you who are married, imagine what it would feel like to come home one day and find your spouse in bed with someone else. Imagine the anger you’d feel, the hurt you’d feel, and the deep emotional wounds that would likely be present to one degree or another for the rest of your life. I actually have a friend who recently had something like that happen to him. He discovered that his wife had been intimate with someone else. I just can’t imagine what that would be like. I know if that happened to me—which I don’t believe it ever will—my entire life would be turned inside out. And that’s sort of what we’re dealing with here. Of course, Jesus wasn’t in any way taken off guard by this betrayal. I have no doubt that Jesus knew Judas would betray him not just since chapter 13 but from even before he first chose Judas to be one of his disciples. However, this betrayal is just as scandalous as any act of adultery that’s ever been committed, and it must have hurt nearly as much as well. 

So if you’re looking for a main idea this morning, we can sum it up in three words: Judas betrays Jesus. And there are three warnings I’d like us to observe from Judas’s life—three habits Judas had for years that we need to make sure we don’t have. If you’re taking notes this morning, here they are: coming without converting, professing without possessing, and hearing without heeding. Coming without converting, professing without possessing, and hearing without heeding. Three things about which we need to be warned. 

Coming without Converting

So first, coming without converting. Judas came to Jesus, but he never actually converted—he never actually changed. He just wanted to use Jesus for his own selfish ends and ride on Jesus’ coat-tails, so to speak. Judas probably observed that Jesus had a lot of potential to be the next “big thing” to hit Jerusalem—that Jesus possessed extraordinary charisma, that he was able to attract large crowds, and that he would eventually probably gain significant political power and influence and hopefully, in Judas’s mind, wealth. And Judas decided to follow Jesus because he wanted in on the action. Interestingly, out of all the things Judas thought he could gain by following Jesus, the Bible tells us he was especially interested in wealth. Back in John 12, Jesus was visiting his friends Martha and Mary at their house, and listen to what happened as it’s described in John 12:3-6: “3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.” So Judas was a thief. He lined his pockets with the money that was intended to support Jesus’ ministry. And there we get a glimpse of just how self-serving Judas’s motives were. He was all about himself and his own personal gain. He came to Jesus, but he never truly experienced any kind of conversion—any kind of change. 

And the unfortunate reality is that a lot of people today aren’t as different from Judas as they might like to believe. Sure, they may not be stealing money or doing anything to make them as infamous as Judas has become, but a lot of people try to follow Jesus because they want Jesus to do something for them. Maybe they want Jesus to fix their marriage or bless their business or heal their sickness or make their life better in some way. And here’s the thing: it’s entirely possible that Jesus will do those things, but the problem is that those things are the only reason a lot of people are interested in Jesus. They only care about what Jesus can do for them. And, just like Judas, that’s why they come to Jesus.

And I understand that God often uses a lot of those practical things in life to get people’s attention. God might initially use a miserable marriage, a failing business, or a debilitating illness to get someone’s attention and draw them to himself. But somewhere along the way, there has to be a conversion. Somewhere along the way, that person’s heart has to be changed so that they’re captivated by Jesus himself and begin to desire Jesus himself rather than just what they think Jesus will do for them. 

I’m reminded of what happened on that TV show The Blacklist between the characters of Tom and Elizabeth Keen. Elizabeth Keen is an FBI agent on the show, and her husband Tom Keen at first appears to be a harmless and very normal school teacher but turns out to be a covert operative. We learn that he’s been assigned to earn Elizabeth’s trust, marry her, and then gather intelligence for his employer. So needless to say, Tom enters the marriage with some troubling motives. But then, he finds himself drawn to Elizabeth. As Hollywood would say, he falls in love with her. Now, eventually, as you might expect, Elizabeth discovers Tom is a covert operative and nearly kills him before he manages to escape. But through all the subsequent twists and turns of the plot, Tom re-enters Elizabeth’s life and proves his love for her. He actually risks his life for her and repeatedly sacrifices his own interests for hers. So Tom initially came to Elizabeth with motives that were quite flawed, but he then undergoes a transformation so that by later seasons, it’s obvious that he truly loves her. 

And that’s similar to what has to happen in order for someone to become a true disciple of Jesus. They may initially be interested in Jesus because they want Jesus to do something for them. There’s a specific issue in their life that God initially uses to get their attention. But in order to be a true disciple of Jesus and in order to truly be saved and have a faith that’s genuine, that person has to experience an inward conversion. Their heart has to be changed. So this morning, just ask yourself, “Has my heart ever been changed? Have I ever come to see—and I mean truly see—the glory and beauty and supremacy of Jesus in a way that’s changed me and made me want to follow him regardless of what it might cost me?” Have you ever come to that point? Have you ever experienced that kind of a conversion?

Professing without Possessing

So that’s the first thing we should be warned about as we look at Judas’s life: coming without converting. Then secondly, beware of professing without possessing. Judas professed faith, but he never truly possessed it. Of course, he was, without question, very skilled at looking the part. He knew how to behave the way people expected a disciple to behave and speak the way people expected a disciple to speak. In fact, he was so trusted that, if you remember, he was even allowed to serve as the treasurer for Jesus’ disciples. That’s how much the rest of the disciples trusted him. And let’s not forget that Judas traveled around with Jesus for three whole years, serving people, helping people, and presumably teaching people various things he had heard Jesus say. So on the outside, Judas seemed like he was an exceptionally devoted follower of Jesus. He knew how to look the part. But in reality, it was all fake. It was all just a show. 

And even today, it’s unfortunately not uncommon for people to make themselves out to be someone they’re not. Not too long ago, it was revealed that the United States congressman representing a good portion of southwestern Pennsylvania was—to say the least—not who he claimed to be. This congressman claimed to be staunchly pro-life. He was a Republican and his constituents expected him to be pro-life, so that’s the view he said he had. But just three or four months ago, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that he actually wasn’t as pro-life as he claimed to be or really pro-life at all. The newspaper published a text message from this man’s mistress—which in itself is a pretty big problem—sent to this man saying, “You have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you have no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week.” Then the congressman had replied, “I get what you say about my March for life messages. I’ve never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don’t write any more. I will.” Now, not surprisingly, after these text messages were made public, this congressman tendered his resignation. But this story illustrates what a pervasive problem this is. It’s yet another example of how a lot of people aren’t who they claim to be. 

And unfortunately, churches aren’t exempt from that problem. Just like Judas, a lot of people profess faith, but they don’t truly possess it. That’s why Jesus says this in Matthew 7:21-23: 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” So do you see what Jesus is saying there? A lot of people are going to come up to him after they die saying, “Lord, Lord, look at all these religious things I’ve done. Look at how involved in church I’ve been. Look at how impressive my religious resume is.” But what will Jesus say to them? “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” In other words, “Your life may have looked really good on the outside, but I know what you’re like on the inside. I know that on the inside, you don’t look anything like a true disciple.” That’s what Jesus will say to them, and that’s what he’ll say to you too if you’ve never repented of your sin and trusted Jesus in your heart. You see, you might be able to fool other people, but you can’t fool God. He knows your heart. He knows what things are like on the inside. Don’t think you’re fooling him. If you’ve never come to true repentance and faith, God knows that. So I would encourage you even this morning to truly turn to him before it’s too late.

Hearing without Heeding

Then finally, as we think about Judas, not only should we take warning about coming without converting and then about professing without possessing, it’s also important for us to be warned about hearing without heeding. Judas heard Jesus’ teachings, but he never heeded them. And in my opinion, this is what makes his story especially tragic. Just think of all the opportunities Judas had to hear the truth. He heard the truth day in and day out for three whole years. He even heard it from the lips of Jesus himself and personally saw all the miracles Jesus did to confirm the truth of his message. And yet, in spite of having so many opportunities to embrace Jesus’ message, Judas somehow never did. Somehow, he never believed the things he heard. I just can’t get over that. 

And sadly, there are a lot of people today who, for whatever reason, attend church week after week but who have never embraced the truth about Jesus. Many of them are children or teenagers who come because their parents make them come. Others are adults who come in order to make their spouse happy or in order to make someone else happy or maybe simply because they feel like that’s what they ought to do. So they attend church. And they sit through sermon after sermon. But they never believe the things they hear.  They stubbornly continue to live apart from God. And that’s a scary place to be, because the Bible warns us that if we do that—if we hear the gospel over and over again without believing it—our heart becomes hard. 1 Timothy 4:2 describes it as a searing of our conscience. Kind of like when you’re grilling a hamburger and you sear the outside of that hamburger so that that the outside becomes burned a little bit and a little tough and keeps all the juices of the hamburger inside. That’s what happens to your heart when you reject the gospel over and over again. Your heart becomes seared, and you gradually lose the ability to respond to the gospel. Your spiritual senses are dulled. 

Think about what happens physically when you’re exposed to carbon monoxide. A couple of weeks ago, I installed some carbon monoxide detectors in my house. You may remember me sharing with you recently in a previous sermon about the neighbors we have whose furnace began malfunctioning and began pumping all of this carbon monoxide into their house. Thankfully, everybody was okay because that house’s smoke detectors were also carbon monoxide detectors. So after hearing about this family, I decided I should probably check my own smoke detectors to see if they detected carbon monoxide also. And since I couldn’t find any place that said they did, I bought some units that do detect carbon monoxide. But imagine what it would be like if the alarms on those detectors started going off, but for some reason I didn’t believe there was really carbon monoxide in the house, so I just kept shutting them off. What would happen if I did that? Well, the house would gradually fill up with carbon monoxide, and as I took in more of that carbon monoxide, I would become sleepier and sleepier. And if I refused for long enough to heed the alarm on that carbon monoxide detector and just kept silencing the alarm, I would eventually lose my ability to heed it. I would lose my ability to get out of the house and would instead go to sleep and never wake up. Now of course, I can’t imagine actually doing that. But tragically, that’s exactly what some people do when they hear the gospel. They hear the gospel and they feel God pricking their heart and calling them to himself, but instead of heeding that call, they dig in their heels and stay right where they are. Just like Judas, they hear but don’t heed. That’s scary. 

And it’s especially scary when you consider what Romans 1 says about those who refuse to believe. Speaking of people around the world who have stubbornly refused to turn to God, it states in verses 21-23, “21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” So instead of embracing the things they knew about God, these people turned away from him. And how does God respond to that? Well, the subsequent verses state three times that God “gave them up” to their sin. That’s the phrase the text uses. God “gave them up.” Another translation says that he “gave them over.” So in effect, God says, “If sin is what you want, that’s what you’ll get.” And he just lets him go. He lets them have what their sinful hearts desire. He no longer pursues them or tugs at their heart or makes them feel uncomfortable in any way. They want sin, so he gives them over to their sin. 

Conclusion

So how do you know if that’s happened to you or not? Well, if you’re here this morning, and what I’m saying makes you feel convicted and uncomfortable and even alarmed, then I have good news for you:  God hasn’t given you over to your sin. He’s given you another chance to embrace the gospel. And let me just say: he wants you to embrace it. It’s not like he’s looking for an excuse to send you to hell. The fact is that while God is committed to upholding justice by punishing us for our sins, he’s also been unbelievably gracious in providing a way for us to be rescued from our sins. And he’s done that through Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God, and he came to this earth, taking on human flesh, in order to save us. Because here was the problem. God wanted to show us grace and kindness, even in our sin. But he wasn’t about to compromise his justice in order to do so. That would make him just as unrighteous as we are. So God devised a plan to show us grace and yet also uphold justice. And that plan involved Jesus coming to this earth and dying in our place on the cross. Because somebody had to suffer the penalty for our sin. Somebody had pay. And Jesus loved us so much that he paid that debt in full. And he then rose from the dead so that we too could have the hope of eternal life. That’s the gospel. But it’s not enough just to hear that gospel message. You have to embrace it. You have to turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus alone to rescue you and wash away your sins and make you into a new person. And you can do that even this morning. Just cry out to God. Acknowledge that you’re a sinner and tell him that you need Jesus to save you.  If you’ve never done that, why not this morning? You never know: this legitimately might be the last chance you’ll ever have to embrace that gospel message.

If you have any questions about anything I’ve talked about this morning, I would absolutely love to meet with you and answer any of the questions you may have. The easiest way to arrange that is to take a Connection Card, fill out your information, and then at the bottom in the prayer requests section, simply write, “schedule a conversation.” Just put that down at the bottom: “schedule a conversation.” Then you can place that card in the box at the back of the sanctuary, and I’ll follow up with you in a timely manner. Again, I would love to meet with you. Let’s pray. And actually, let you be give you a few moments for silent prayer. Spend this time asking God to show you your heart. Do any of the things we’ve talked about describe you? Coming without converting, professing without possessing, or hearing without heeding. Does any of that describe you? Spend a few moments praying for God show you your heart and make you aware of the true state of your heart before him. And then respond appropriately. So I’ll give you a moment or two to pray silently, and then I’ll take over and lead us in a prayer.