What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery. Part 3. The profile of a Traitor. John 13

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary.
The Tree of Life from the week ending 02/06/05
What it means to be initiated into the secret of the mystery. Part 3.
The profile of a Traitor. John 13

JOH 13:12-16, And so when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments, and reclined {at the table} again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet [and I have], you also are under obligation to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly means point of doctrine, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent [the humanity of Christ]greater than the one who sent Him [God the Father]."

Our Lord did not want them to misinterpret what He had just done. The service rendered by our Lord, indicated His relaxed mental attitude and His wonderful sense of humor. When believers do not have this type of attitude it is usually because of N.V.T.D. or because they have fallen into some form of reversionism, especially legalistic reversionism. In reversionism you lose discernment and get involved with self-justification (excuses for what you've done), self-deception (thinking more highly of yourself than what you ought to) and self-absorption (thinking everyone is focused only on you).
So, in JOH 13:17 our Lord says, "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them." The Greek word for know is oidate referring to doctrine as a frame of reference. TLJC has been teaching them these things for some time now. The Greek noun makaroi means to be happy and in the plural we would translate JOH 13:17,"If you know these things, Happinesses are yours"

Satan's propaganda is that worldly pleasures and material things can make you happy. However, this happiness doesn't last and it cannot carry you in time of suffering. The happiness God has provided is a permanent problem-solving device. If, as a believer in Jesus Christ, you have been faithful in the reception, retention, and recall of Bible doctrine and have advanced in the spiritual life, you have that great inner happiness and you take it with you wherever you go. God's happiness isn't dependent on environment, associations, or circumstances of prosperity or adversity.

This Divine happiness comes through teaching and then advancing through momentum testing to spiritual maturity where this happiness reaches its peak. Then by passing evidence testing, you have the +H that will exist in living, dying, and in the eternal state. This is the one thing you can take with you when you die, for divine happiness resides in your soul.

You gain divine happiness through understanding God's grace. PSA 31:7 "I will rejoice and be happy in the provision of Your grace." Happiness is a form of energy that is beyond human imagination or understanding. God in His omniscience designed a plan to make us happy. He found a system whereby He could share His perfect happiness with us. God made the church age believer a new spiritual species so that He can share with us these wonderful things now in time; we don't have to wait until the end of our life. Nothing can destroy or change the happiness of God; it's impossible for God to be unhappy.

Back in JOH 13:17, "If you know these things, happinesses are yours if [third class condition, maybe you will, maybe you will not] (if) you do them." The Greek verb for do is poiete, meaning to keep on doing the same things. TLJC has used the foot-washing ceremony to illustrate the communication of Bible doctrine. He told the eleven disciples that they were going to go out and wash other people's feet, which means teaching Bible doctrine. This verse also deals with the happiness that comes from Bible doctrine.

JOH 13:18, "I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen or elected; but {it is} that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me." The Greek verb for eat is trogon which is not the usual word for eating (esthio), trogon means that the traitor (Judas) is crunching his food. Trogon also means to gnaw or to bite. That is what Judas is about to do with TLJC. The phrase has lifted up is the Greek verb eperen meaning to reject the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. The raising up of the heel means to over-throw or to reject authority. Judas has pretended to love the Lord but it has been a pseudo-love. If a believer really loves God, it will be manifested by his desire to hear God's doctrines, JOH 8:47, He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear {them,} because you are not of God. JOH 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commands." This Greek word for keep is tereo, which means to guard something that belongs to you as precious. This should be your attitude, never take the communication of doctrine for granted!

JOH 13:19, 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.}
Our Lord is telling them that there is a traitor in their midst and that he is about to betray TLJC.

JOH 13:20, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send [referring only to prepared pastor-teachers today] receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."
When you receive the ones whom God has sent, you receive the Lord who is represented today by the prepared pastor-teacher and when a congregation receives the authority of their right pastor-teacher, they are receiving the authority of Jesus Christ. In other words, the chain of command goes right up to God the Father.

JOH 13:21-30, 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. There was reclining on Jesus' breast one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore gestured to him, and said to him, "Tell {us} who it is of whom He is speaking." He, leaning back thus on Jesus' breast, said to Him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus therefore answered, "That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him." So when He had dipped the orsel, He took and gave it to Judas, {the son} of Simon Iscariot. And after the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Jesus therefore said to him, "What you do, do quickly." Now no one of those reclining {at the table} knew for what purpose He had said this to him. For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, Buy the things we have need of for the feast; or else, that he should give something to the poor. And so after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night.

Meet Judas Iscariot, a person who was dismissed from Bible class in a very gracious way. His life should hit you right square in the eyes of your soul. Little is actually known of him, we know he was the treasurer for the ministry of our Lord and His disciples, in Joh 12:6, it says he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to embezzle what was put into it. Judas, was there for the miracles, the doctrinal teaching, the prayer times, the confrontations with the politicians and leaders. He was sent out, along with the others, to teach and heal. But somewhere along the way, something died. All believers should remember and be careful not allow anything to die concerning your relationship with the Lord. REV 2:4, "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

Whatever it was that caused Judas to dedicate his life to following TLJC, had died. Instead of just leaving the ministry, he now gets on a mission to attack it and to question it and he is about to betray TLJC for 30 pieces of silver. We'll never really know what went on in his heart and mind just like we will never really know what really goes on in the hearts and minds of the Judas' in our lives. He will end up saying; MAT 27:3-5, Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See {to that} yourself!" And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself. His body would end up dangling from a hangman's noose off a tree and then fall in a potter's field.

During the next 24 hours in the passage there will be two trees outside of Jerusalem, a tree of life and a tree of death. On the tree of life a man died, but through his death came life for all who trust in Him, punishment is passed off and forgiveness is found. On the other tree dangles the body of a man who carried his heavy load himself, and found no rest. Pride and arrogance is vicious and self-destructive, Judas realized his wrong, admitted it openly, tried to put it behind him but the one step he missed was deadly: He didn't believe in TLJC, instead he tried to sort it all out himself.

Human logic relies almost solely on sensory perceptions. Judas saw every miracle Jesus performed and yet he still did not believe. Judas, like the rest of the Jewish population, thought the Messiah would be a political hero. Judas thought he could ride on the coat tails of Jesus all the way to the top. Here is a man who has been with TLJC nearly his entire ministry, but his greed blinded him.

We have noted the principle many times in 1CO 10:11, These things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. The disciples will learn the lesson that you can follow TLJC for years; listen to His teachings; take notes and even represent Him to others, as Judas did, and still fall away from all that you had followed. We have noted the warning many times in REV 3:11, "hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown." REV 2:25, "Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come."We become what we worship, whether it is money, health, family, or pleasure. Judas' false worship became lifeless and resulted in a death that had no honor. This is what we will become if we put other things in front of God.

Interestingly Judas is always identified as Judas Iscariot, meaning he was from Kerioth, which was near Hebron, and being reared there he is the only non-Galilean that Jesus chose. As terrible as the term traitor is, that title fades into insignificance compared to what Judas was called in JOH 17:12, "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled."

To be the son of perdition denotes that Judas is a man identified with eternal destruction and whose destiny is the Lake of Fire. This word perdition is also used for the anti-Christ in 2TH 2:3. It was not that Judas was foreordained from eternity past to go to hell without an opportunity to be saved. Instead, he chose to reject Jesus Christ and will suffer the consequences of any person who rejects the Savior. Notice JOH 13:26, Jesus therefore answered, "That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him." So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, {the son} of Simon Iscariot.

Judas should have refused it but Judas isn't a man. Traitors never are! This was the final invitation of salvation from our Lord to Judas Iscariot, but he rejected it. Judas Iscariot's name actually means "praise of the Lord." That's interesting because it does reveal the hypocrisy of this traitor. It's also interesting that when Judas' name appears in the lists of the twelve disciples that it always last, MAT 10:2 4; MAR 3:16 19; LUK 6:14 16.

So let's look at the profile of a traitor.

1. The traitor is usually someone close to you that has become so familiar with you that they believe that they're more qualified to do what you are doing, PSA 41:9; PSA 55:12-14, 20-22.

2. The traitor is usually someone who is bitter about their own personal failures and lack of promotion. They are losers who are looking for excuses and can usually be swayed. Whenever people fail in life, they are easy targets for being used as traitors in conspiracies and revolts or deceptions.

3. Many times the traitor can have a good personality and even give the appearance that they are leaders. They will cater to people for the sake of gaining an advantage. As JUD 1:16 says, These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

4. The traitor can also be very sincere, very emotional, but most of all, very arrogant. David's son Absalom would even betray his father, 2SA 15:2-6. Absalom was very sincere, very emotional, but most of all, very arrogant. Every Christian at some time will be attracted to a pleasing personality, whose function is manipulation, undermining authority, and exploitation for evil.

5. The traitor also likes to look for others who have an axe to grind against the one they are betraying. They find people who are jealous, vindictive, bitter or implacable to join them in their betrayal. They will start to be around those who agree with their grievances or disagreements with the one in charge.

6. The traitor is usually jealous, covetous, envious and lustful of what the victim of their betrayal has. If the traitor is a believer, you will always hear the traitor claiming that the Lord is with him or on his side. In some cases they will even claim that the Lord told them to do it (JOH 16:1-3).

7. The traitor likes to get as many individuals involved in his betrayal as he can so that the betrayal will have some credibility and believability. Once you get people involved with a betrayal by whatever means possible, like lying, gossip, judging, defamation of character, etc. You do four things: 1) You give the betrayal some credibility and believability. 2) You bully people into supporting something that is evil without them even knowing it. (However, God the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to them through doctrine, if they desire.) 3) You put them in a position of supporting the betrayal, which is very difficult for them to get out of, unless, they make some drastic decisions. 4) You cause them to get involved with the evil behind the betrayal, which can be used in the future to keep them committed to the traitor as well. When the traitor is exposed and his betrayal begins to crumble, and it will in God's time, the traitor reminds people that they were also involved and therefore they need to help him out of the pit that he's now in.

8. The traitor is usually promised some form of personal promotion and prosperity for his betrayal, either by someone else, or by his own false concept of self-elevation. Sometimes he will get others to do his dirty work while trying to appear the right and innocent one who is a victim rather than a villain. Satan is good at using God's people to attack God's people.

9. The traitor leads others in his betrayal with lies and inventions, corruption, distortion, inaccuracy, misrepresentation, perversion, defamation, and slander. They lead others into shifting the blame for their own misfortunes from themselves to the one who is being betrayed.

10. The traitor works behind the scenes for a long period of time and waits for something to reach its peak when it's time to strike (JER 20:10).

11. The traitor looks for individuals who can easily be swayed into joining the betrayal. The type of people who can easily be swayed are bitter people who are failures and losers in life.

12. There are some traitors who never face the one they have betrayed, and they let other's do their dirty work. They are implacable and nothing you do will satisfy them. They will turn against you in every possible way, join any conspiracy, and believe any lie.

13. The traitor will use you as a stepping-stone as they are trying to climb the ladder of success. They will do anything they can to put you down.

14. Many traitors assume that the victim of their betrayal has overlooked their talent and ability.

15. Many traitors bear a grudge from a sense of grievance or frustrated ambition.

16. The traitor makes false accusations and those who make accusations and judge others are usually guilty of the very thing. And if they're not, they are usually doing things that are far more evil and wicked.

17. The traitor thinks that he should be in a position of authority when in reality he does not have the leadership ability to be there. They are often cowards who backbite, slander, gossip and malign anyone who has any authority over them. The interesting, yet sad thing is that betrayals usually start with someone very close to the one who is being betrayed. Lucifer was the Messiah's personal angel. Joseph's brothers sold Joseph into slavery. Korah, the cousin of Moses, betrayed Moses. Absalom was the son of David. Judas was close to TLJC. Never be shocked at those involved in betrayal. This is why the Bible warns us to be very careful with the friendships that we develop in life. Those are the relationships that can sneak up on you and take advantage of you.

18. The traitor must be clever, personable, hypocritical, sly and arrogant.

Normally he has two personalities, one that he uses to recruit people for his betrayal and then the other, which is who he really is. He has to be sly, arrogant, filled with his own self-importance and take himself very seriously.

19. The traitor is usually dissatisfied with his circumstances and his niche in life and he wants to be promoted beyond his capacity.

20. In trying to wipe out others, the traitor inevitably wipes out himself, MAT 7:1-2; PSA 7:14-16.

Back in JOH 13:26, Jesus therefore answered, "That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him." So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, {the son} of Simon Iscariot.

Jesus Christ is going to signal out Judas and offer him the psomion the highest offer given at the Passover. This is the last Gospel Appeal given to Judas.

A history of Judas
His opportunities: He was from the tribe of Judah (the same tribe as our Lord), and this was brought out in the Greek of JOH 6:71, so he's from the ruling tribe, he's an aristocrat. He was called by Christ. LUK 6:16, and he overtly responded even though he was on negative volition, so he's a hypocrite. He was numbered among the 12, MAT 10:4. He was the treasurer, Joh 12:6. He was present and was given the highest honor at the last supper, JOH 13:26.

The sowing of Judas Iscariot: In JOH 12:4-6, he was covetous, had a tremendous lust for things and was materialistic. He was a thief, Joh 12:6. He was Satan possessed, LUK 22:3. He bargained to betray Jesus Christ,MAR 14:10. He was bribed to become a traitor.  MAT 26:14-16.

The reaping of Judas: Repentance, MAT 27:3. Restitution, MAT 27:4. His death, MAT 27:5; ACT 1:18. His curse,ACT 1:20. His replacement, 1CO 15:7-10. His replacement was the apostle Paul, and not that very nice man whom they voted in, in Acts 1. God appointed the apostle Paul, 1CO 12:7 10.

So, when our Lord offered the psomion to Judas Iscariot, it was the highest honor that could be bestowed on a person like Judas, who was the least deserving of all at the last supper.