30 pieces of silver and a kiss from a traitor. 

Grace Bible Church
pastor Teacher
Robert R. Mclaughlin
Tree of Life
weekly Review
022320
30 pieces of silver and a kiss from a traitor.

We begin with four major passages in the Word of God that give us some more insight to some of the thoughts our Lord was having while He was hanging on the Cross; PSA 22; JOH 6:60-71; JOH 13:7-22; PSA 41:9; ZEC 11:12-13. Now, we will read most of these passages as we continue with our study.

It‘s also very interesting that the greatest passages in the Word of God that describe the “Cross of our Lord” and what our Lord was thinking during those three hours of darkness while He was on the Cross; PSA 22; MAT 27:45-46.

Here is a description of our Lord upon the Cross. We begin around noon time MAT 27:45, where darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour or 3 O’clock on what we would call Wednesday afternoon. The days of the week were not named yet. Then God the Holy Spirit, our mentor, reveals what our Lord was SHOUTING from the Cross during those three hours of suffering spiritual death, which means separation from God.

MAT 27:46, And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

We are also told in MAT 27 that more information is given concerning the Cross is in the Old Testament then there is in the entire New Testament. Both the Old and the New Testaments teach about the Cross of Christ. But the Old Testament is where we find out the details concerning the Cross and the mental attitude of our Lord during those three hours of darkness while he hung on the Cross.

Before we go on in our study of Judas Iscariot, the traitor and betrayer, look at MAT 27 beginning with MAT 27:37-41, And they put up above His head the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” At that time two robbers *were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, (PSA 22) and saying, “You who {are going to} destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking {Him,} and saying,

Please notice who is mocking our Lord Jesus Christ and what they are doing. They are accusing other believers of sin and evil while they are ignoring their own sins and failures even though they are religious people. The very ones who are mocking and judging others are the very ones who think more highly of themselves than what they ought to.

GAL 6:3, For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

1CO 10:12, Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

MAT 27:41-42, In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking {Him,} and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we shall believe in Him. – [This is sarcasm, whether from Satan and the kingdom of darkness made up of the Fallen angels or the depraved human beings]. The crowd continues to accuse this innocent man who loved them all and they say in MAT 27:43 “He trusts in God; let Him deliver {Him} now, if He takes pleasure in Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'“

MAT 27:44-49, And the robbers also who had been crucified with Him were casting the same insult at Him. Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. (12 noon to 3:00 PM) And about the ninth hour [3 PM] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, {began} saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest {of them} said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.”

Then our Lord takes His own life in MAT 27:50-53, And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up {His} spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

This is a fabulous section in the New Testament that only Matthew seems to give us the details that were involved.

So, as we continue to let the Bible speak to us concerning all realms of life, let’s notice four major passages and principles that our Lord gave to His disciples.

1. The first passage is found in JOH 6:60-71 where our Lord says to the twelve disciples that there is one among them who is a traitor. Here, our Lord gets right to the point. For example, after our Lord taught many doctrinal principles that challenged His listeners, we read; JOH 6:60, Many therefore of His disciples [mathetes – technical word for disciple, pupil, or teacher], when they heard {this} said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”

Mathetes = a technical word for disciple, pupil, or teacher.
Mathetes was considered to be the lifestyle of the serious students of the Word of God.
Mathetes means to learn in an advanced way that describes a person who learns from another by instruction, whether formal or informal.

JOH 6:61-64, But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? {“What} then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was before? Or going back in the clouds of the air to the third heaven. It is the Spirit [Holy Spirit] who gives life; the flesh [the OSN] profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.”

Our Lord knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. In other words, He is completely in control as He sustains the Universe by the word of His power or by His omnipotence which no one can contest; HEB 1:3.

He’s got the whole world in His hands.

JOH 6:65-71, And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. Jesus said therefore to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and {yet} one of you is a devil?” Now He meant Judas {the son} of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

2. The second passage that tells us that the Lord knew He was being betrayed is found in JOH 13:7-22, where He also tells us that He knew who the traitor was. (Background – Foot washing)

JOH 13:7-11, Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you shall understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet [rebound], but is completely clean [salvation is cleanliness for the believer]; and you are clean [eternally saved], but not all {of you.}” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason, He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

JOH 13:18-, “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but {it is} that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.' [Psa 41:9] “From now on I am telling you before {it} comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am {He.}Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” The disciples {began} looking at one another, at a loss {to know} of which one He was speaking.

3. The third passage that tells us that the Lord knew He was being betrayed is found in Psa 41:9, where we are told that the betrayal would come from someone close to our Lord. Psa 41:9, Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
4. The fourth passage tells us the exact amount that Judas would receive for his betrayal of our Lord and His disciples; ZEC 11:12-13; MAT 26:15-16. That exact amount was 30 pieces of silver. Notice the words of Iscariot - Judas is his name.

MAT 26:15-16, and said, “What are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?” And they weighed out to him thirty pieces of silver. And from then on he {began} looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.

In this section of the word of God, the Lord is rebuking the shepherds in those days for betraying the people of God by denying them doctrinal teaching and therefore, the Lord uses a prophecy that points to the ultimate betrayer, Judas Iscariot.

ZEC 11:12-13, And I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So, they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So, I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

Now, those are just four of the passages that gives us more information and insight to our Lord’s betrayal by Judas Iscariot. Now, because of the prophecies concerning our Lord’s betrayal, there is always a danger that we may think that Judas Iscariot was ordained by God to betray our Lord. This is unfortunately the type of conclusions that those who are influenced by Hyper-Calvinism adhere to.

Hyper-Calvinism refers to the theology, which is the study of God that denies the universal duty of human beings to believe in Christ for the salvation of their souls.
Hyper-Calvinism says that no individual can become born-again or saved by their own choice.
Hyper-Calvinism also denies the freedom that comes from Bible doctrine to the apostate theology that man has no right to question God because of Rom 9 and the sovereignty of God.

The danger behind Hyper-Calvinism is that those who believe it and live in it become apathetic, careless, indifferent, uncaring, or irresponsible when it comes to the PPOG and PSD’s.