Twelve Ordinary Men: Lesson 6

Overview

Matthew: The Sinner Christ Claimed

Matthew, also called Levi, was a tax collector—a publican who purchased a tax franchise from Rome and used force to extort money from his fellow Israelites. Tax collectors were considered social outcasts in Israel, lumped together with prostitutes and barred from the synagogue. Yet when Jesus passed by his booth and said, "Follow me," Matthew immediately left behind a lucrative career he could never recover (Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:27-29). Like Andrew and Philip before him, his first instinct was to introduce his friends—other tax collectors and sinners—to Jesus through a banquet in his home. When the Pharisees objected, Jesus made his mission plain: he came to claim sinners. Despite being excluded from synagogue worship, Matthew possessed a deep working knowledge of the Old Testament, evident in his Gospel's frequent quotations from the Law, Psalms, and Prophets. Tradition holds he ministered to the Jews before being burned at the stake. His life reminds us that no one is too sinful to be redeemed and used by God.

Thomas: Courageous Devotion Beyond the Doubt

Thomas deserves a fuller hearing than his nickname suggests. Before the famous moment of doubt, Thomas displayed remarkable courage. When Jesus announced he was returning to Judea—where the religious leaders had just tried to stone him—Thomas rallied the others: "Let us also go that we may die with him" John 11:6-16. His was a "heroic pessimism," willing to face death rather than be parted from Christ. Later, when Thomas declared he would not believe in the resurrection without seeing the wounds himself John 20:24-25, he was no different from the other disciples, who also needed Jesus to show them his hands and side John 20:19-20. Jesus did not rebuke their fear; he came gently, saying, "Peace be with you," meeting their doubt with tender proof. He still does this for us when our faith is shaken. Tradition holds that Thomas carried the gospel to India, where he was martyred by spear.

The Lesser-Known Apostles: James, Simon, and Judas (son of James)

Scripture records little about James the son of Alphaeus (called "James the less"), Simon the Zealot, or Judas (also called Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus). Yet by their very call as apostles, they walked with Jesus for three years and shared in the Great Commission. Particularly striking is the pairing of Matthew and Simon: Matthew collected taxes for Rome, while Simon belonged to the Zealots, a party committed to overthrowing Roman rule, sometimes through violence. Politically they should have been enemies, but in Christ they became brothers. Their worldly divisions were eclipsed by their shared call. Judas (not Iscariot) is recorded asking Jesus how he would reveal himself to the disciples and not the world, prompting Jesus's promise that he would manifest himself to all who love him. Tradition tells us these men carried the gospel to Syria, Persia, the British Isles, and Mesopotamia, and each gave his life for the faith.

Judas Iscariot: A Sobering Warning

Judas Iscariot stands apart—the only apostle from Judea rather than Galilee, the trusted treasurer of the group, and the betrayer. While the other eleven show how God uses flawed and ordinary people, Judas warns of spiritual carelessness, squandered opportunity, and a hardening heart. He witnessed every miracle, heard every sermon, even had his feet washed by Jesus, yet remained unmoved. His betrayal was foretold (Psalm 41:9; Psalm 55:12-14; Zechariah 11:12-13), but prophecy did not coerce him. God's foreknowledge is not the same as God's will; God does not harden hearts or author sin. Rather, when we persistently resist him, he permits us to live with the consequences of our choices, as Romans describes when God "gave them over" to their lusts. Judas was remorseful when he realized the bargain he had made, but he did not repent. He hanged himself rather than turning to the mercy that was still available. The lesson is not to spiral into anxious self-examination wondering if we are "a Judas," but to remember that Jesus came to claim sinners—and to take seriously the call to soften, not harden, our hearts in his presence.

Pastoral Takeaway

The Twelve were ordinary, flawed, and in some cases scandalous men. Their stories are not records of their greatness but of Christ's. If you have ever thought yourself too sinful to be useful, remember Matthew. If your faith has wavered in the face of fear or grief, remember Thomas and the gentle Savior who met him. If you find yourself divided from a brother or sister by politics or background, remember Matthew and Simon working side by side. And if you sense your heart growing cold, do not delay—turn to the Christ who still claims sinners and welcomes the contrite.

Transcript

So let's open and pray. 2s

Lord, we thank you so much. 5s

We thank you for gathering us here once again to learn more about you and to know you better. 7s

Lord, we ask that as we conclude our study on the apostles today, that you would keep our hearts and minds open to leading us, 13s

that we would seek your strength, we would seek your perfection, and that we would seek your will, that we would be able to glorify you and share your love, 24s

and work as the apostles did in growing your kingdom, despite our flaws, despite our ordinaryness, and that we would embrace you, Lord, 38s

and embrace all you do in and for our lives. 51s

Lord, we lift this to you in the name of Jesus, amen. 56s

Okay, so we got a lot to get through today, but we can do it. 59s

I know we can. Go team. 64s

Okay, so we stopped with Bartholomew and Nathaniel, which is Bartholomew, 67s

so we're going to pick up with Matthew. 78s

And for some of these, I'm going to give you scriptural references, and I've decided, I think that, and you can tell me if I'm wrong, 83s

but would it be helpful for me to send out the epilogue where it has the dates, the roundabout dates, of when the apostles were martyred, 92s

and in the scripture references that we have as well as this chart. 102s

So I will send out an epilogue this week, and so as I mentioned, scriptural references, because we have a lot to get to and through, 109s

we may reference them and you can go back and look it up, especially when we get to the prophecies about Judas. 122s

So Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, Matthew. 128s

So all the men that Jesus had chosen to be his disciples, we know that they were nothing to write home about. 131s

There was no special greatness. 138s

They were all with the exception of Judas. 143s

They were all from that Galilee region, so they were all from right around here. 146s

So we've got the Galilee region, then we've got Samaria, and then we've got Judea. 153s

So they're all in this rural area. 159s

They're farmers and fishermen. They're very, very common. 163s

But we have one who is a notorious sinner, and that's not Judas. 168s

It is Matthew. He's also known as Levi. Levi would be his Jewish name. 174s

Matthew was a notorious sinner because Matthew was a tax collector. 181s

He was a publican, and that meant that he was lower than low. 188s

A tax collector was a despised person in Israel, because the tax collector purchased a tax franchise from the Roman emperor, 195s

and then extorted money from the Israelites to fill the Roman coffers and line his own pocket. 207s

A tax collector would use brute force. 217s

You think about a shakedown from the mafia or some thugs. 220s

That is exactly what a tax collector would do. 223s

He would use brute force. He would have some thugs or be the thug himself to shakedown these people of Israel for their money. 226s

So John MacArthur puts it that a tax collector was a despicable, vile, unprincipled, scoundrel. 234s

They really were social pariahs in Israel. 242s

They were linked together with prostitutes. 246s

They were very low on the social, social totem pole, and they were outcast. 251s

They were not allowed to worship in synagogue. 258s

They were not allowed to go into the synagogue. 261s

Jesus called Matthew, or Levi. 264s

Let's do go to the calling. 268s

Let's go to Matthew 9. 271s

The gospel of Matthew is written by the Apostle Matthew. 273s

So we'll keep that in mind as we go here. 278s

What a glorious testament to his apostleship that he doesn't try to paint himself with a pretty picture or as a pretty picture. 283s

He tells the truth about himself and about others. 294s

So we go to Matthew 9 and we go to verse 9. 299s

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth. 306s

And he said to him, follow me. 311s

And he got up and followed him. 313s

Let's go over to the gospel of Luke, where we see the same call. 316s

And it goes into a good explanation of what Matthew does. 323s

So in this one, he is referred to by his Jewish name, Luke chapter 5 verse 27. 328s

After this, he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. 340s

And he said to him, follow me. 345s

And he got up, left everything, and followed him. 347s

Now, just like Andrew and Philip, the first thing they did when they met Jesus was they found Andrew found his brother Peter to introduce Jesus. 350s

And Philip found his friend Nathaniel to introduce to Jesus. 361s

Well, just like them, we see here in verse 29, then Levi gave a great banquet for him that's for Jesus in his house. 366s

And there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. 376s

Levi did the exact same thing that Andrew and Philip did, but who were his friends? 381s

Who were the people that he associated with? 387s

Tax collectors and prostitutes. 390s

So that is who he gathered for this banquet in honor of Jesus. 392s

His friends were low-lifes because he was a low-life. 399s

But what does Jesus tell the Pharisees when they say, you are eating here with these low-lifes, with these scoundrels, with these disgusting people? 407s

He says, these are the people I came to claim. 417s

These are the people I came for. 421s

He came to claim the sinners. 425s

That was why Jesus was here. 429s

We don't know why Matthew became a tax collector, but whatever reason it was that he was a tax collector when he had the call of Jesus, he dropped everything. 433s

Tax collecting, though very low in society, was very lucrative. 447s

He would have had a lot of money, a lot of wealth, a lot of material gain, but he dropped it all. 455s

He dropped it all. 464s

And there would have been plenty of people clamoring in line to take over his franchise, to gain earthly wealth for themselves. 465s

Matthew, though he was not allowed in the synagogue, he had a very strong working knowledge of the Old Testament. 475s

So in his gospel, there is a lot of Jewish tradition, Jewish teaching, a lot of the Judaism is in there. 486s

So we know that he's well-versed. 499s

He quotes from the Psalms, from the prophets, from the law. 501s

So he knows his Old Testament, and although he was not allowed in the synagogue, what Matthew or Levi reminds us is that Jesus can and does redeem the most despicable amongst men. 506s

And uses them to his glory and for his purpose and his mission. 529s

Scripture doesn't give us a lot of information about Matthew, even though he wrote one of the gospels, it's not about him. 537s

It's not about the apostles, it is about Christ and who Christ is and what Christ does for all of creation. 546s

Church history and tradition holds that he ministered to the Jews, which makes sense. 557s

Remember, his gospel is very linked with the Jewish teachings. 563s

That he ministered to the Jews in Israel and abroad before being martyred for his faith. 571s

Tradition indicates that he was burned at the stake. 578s

So that's what we have about Matthew. 583s

And what I'd like to draw out about Matthew in our time, because we don't have a lot of information about these ones, so we're good. 585s

So what I'd really like to draw out, just as we have been able to see with all of these men, their flaws. 595s

And we are, oh, yep. 604s

There you go. 608s

We're able to see their flaws and relate to their sinfulness, to their personality traits, whether it's strength or weakness, and see how God has used them and worked in their lives. 610s

I think it's important to make sure that we remember Matthew was a great sinner. 626s

And when we are deeply condemned or convicted, I guess convicted to be a better word, when we are deeply convicted of our sin and the depth of our sin, it does not mean that God is done with us and it does not mean that we are not redeemable. 634s

And so I want to lift that up because we all have either been in that position or know someone in that position who says, I'm too much of a sinner. 652s

I'm no good to God, and that's not true, because God came to claim the sinners. 668s

You and me, all of us. 676s

So I do want to lift that up to you and encourage you with that word. 677s

So then we have Thomas. 684s

Thomas has only mentioned once in the synoptic gospels when those apostles are listed, and what we hear of him, or what we know of him by name, comes from the gospel of John. 686s

So we know that Thomas was a twin, but Scripture doesn't tell us anything about his twin. 702s

We don't know if it was a twin brother, a twin sister, we don't know anything about Thomas's twin. 707s

Doubting Thomas, poor, doubting Thomas, he got such a bad reputation for one statement that's recorded in Scripture. 714s

It just hurts for Thomas. 724s

So let's go to John, the gospel of John, chapter 11, because before we jump on the doubting Thomas, bandwagon, we need to back up and see who Thomas has already shown himself to be. 727s

So let's go to John, chapter 11, we're going to go to verses 6 through 8, and then 12 through 16. 743s

So Lazarus is ill. 753s

Starting in chapter 6, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, Jesus stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 756s

Then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. 764s

The disciples said to him, rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and you're going there again. 769s

So the disciples, Jesus has already begun to be under attack. 775s

The religious leaders were already trying to have him stoneed. 783s

It is dangerous for him to head back to Judea, and his apostles are saying, don't go there. 787s

If Lazarus is fine, don't go there. He's asleep. 796s

And so then we jump down to, so it's a dangerous mission that they're going on. 799s

Then we jump down to verse 12. 806s

And the disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be alright. 809s

Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 814s

Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 820s

For your sake, I am glad I was not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him. 824s

So Jesus is saying, we are going. We are going into the place of danger. 829s

I'm glad that I was not there. Jesus knows the miracle that is about to happen, and he says, I'm going. 836s

Thomas, who is called the twins, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. 844s

MacArthur, John MacArthur refers to his statement as heroic pessimism, because he is pretty sure they're going to die. 854s

He's thinking this is going to be the worst outcome possible. They're all going to be killed. 862s

But he's heroic and he's courageous because he is saying, I am devoted to Christ and I am going with him. 866s

Let's go, guys. And so he is boldly and courageously devoted to Christ. 873s

He is ready to stand by Christ side, regardless of the danger. 882s

The whole thought is that it's better to die and be with Christ than to be left behind. 888s

His bravery and devotion showed a leadership and a strength for the other apostles as well, because they all went. 896s

So he did lead in that moment the others. 905s

And now we're going to jump to this sad nickname that has plagued this apostle for centuries. 911s

Let's go to John 20. Just keep in mind, he is courageous and devoted to the Lord. 918s

Let's go to John 20 versus 24 and 25. 926s

So Jesus has died. Jesus was resurrected. 932s

I'm sorry, John 20, 19 through 20. 939s

No, no, 24 through 25. I'm sorry, I'm like jumping. I've got two things here. 943s

24 through 25. So Jesus has been resurrected. He comes into the upper room where the disciples or the apostles are hiding. 948s

And it says, but Thomas, who was called the twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 956s

So the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord, but he said to them, unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, 962s

I will not believe. Thomas had doubt. He had no faith. 975s

Now let's back up a little bit more to Luke to John 20, 19 through 20. 985s

Jesus had died. Jesus was resurrected. 992s

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace be with you. 996s

After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 1009s

Jesus entered into that room saying, peace be with you. Look, it's me. And he began by showing them. 1018s

It wasn't that the disciples were knowing that this was Jesus or believing that this was Jesus without that proof. 1027s

Think about when the women had gone to the tomb and it was empty and they came back and told the disciples and the disciples didn't believe them. 1036s

And they had to run to the tomb for themselves. They had to see for themselves. 1045s

So it was doubting apostles, doubting disciples, not just doubting Thomas. 1052s

Jesus knew his disciples. He knew their flaws. He knew their fears. He knew their doubts. And in the face of the supernatural, he knew that they would be confused and doubting. 1062s

But he was gentle. The first thing he says to them is peace be with you. And he shows them his hands and he shows them his side. 1078s

He doesn't wait for them to ask him to prove who he is. He does it because he knows them. He knows their hearts and he knows their fears. 1089s

So he sympathized with them and he sympathizes with all of us in our fear and in our doubts and in our shaken faith. 1103s

And he comes to us gently and says it's me. It's me. Peace be with you. 1117s

History has Thomas carrying the gospel to India. There's a place in Madras where Thomas is said to be buried. 1123s

Even today, the strongest tradition is that he was martyred by being run through with a spear. 1131s

So, you. 1139s

So now we're going to get to this last group. And the good news is that we don't have a lot of information on them. 1143s

That's not good news because we don't want the information, but it's good news because we only have a certain amount of time today. 1155s

So, James, Simon and Judas, not Judas of Ascariot or Judas Iscariot, they are the least well-known inscripture. 1161s

But they were all appointed as apostles. So by their very call, they would have been absolutely instrumental in the mission of the church and in spreading the good news. 1172s

So by their call, they experienced the ministry of Jesus for those three years. 1186s

By their call, they had that same commission to go and make disciples of all nations. 1193s

They had that same commission as Peter. We just don't have the same information of how that played out in their lives. 1200s

All we know from scripture of James is that he's the son of Alphais. His name, James, is even very common. 1211s

There are two apostles named James. And so James has a nickname that is James the less. 1221s

And it's probably a suggestion similar to like James the younger or James younger than this James because there were two apostles. 1231s

There's some evidence in church history that shows that James took the gospel to Syria and Persia. And there are three possible accounts of his death. 1243s

So church tradition, we have three possibilities that he was stoned, that he was beaten to death, or that he was crucified. 1254s

We really don't know much about this James that does not take away from who he is as an apostle though. 1264s

Then we have Simon the zealot. In scripture, when he's referred to as Simon the Canaanite, it's not referring to him as being from Canaan. 1275s

That's from a Hebrew root word that means zealous. 1284s

So the historian Josephus describes four parties of the Jews during this first century. There were four parties. 1290s

There were the Pharisees who were the religious fundamental of their time. They were very fastidious about the law. 1296s

Then we have the Sadducees who were religiously liberal. They denied the supernatural. That's when they get in the argument over the resurrection and Paul kind of starts that whole argument and flinks back and lets the Pharisees and Sadducees go at it. 1306s

They were very rich, very powerful. They were in charge of the temple. Then we have the Ascens. They are not mentioned in scripture. 1325s

This was a celibate order who lived in the desert and devoted themselves to the law. 1334s

If you are part of a celibate order, you will die out. So that's probably why we don't have much on the Ascens. 1340s

Then we have the zealots. They are politically minded. They absolutely hated the Romans. Their goal was to overthrow this Roman occupation. 1347s

They would take part in terrorism and acts of violence to move their agenda forward. 1361s

Simon, Simon the zealot was involved with this group. What's really interesting is that Simon and Matthew were both called as apostles by Jesus, but they would have been on complete opposite ends of the political spectrum. 1370s

Because Matthew was collecting taxes, he was shaking people down for the Roman government. And Simon was doing everything that he could to work towards overthrowing the Roman government. 1392s

As called disciples of Jesus Christ, they rose past what should have divided them. They rose past who they thought they were in this world. 1407s

They were part of the brotherhood in the apostleship. They would have worked side by side for those three years in ministry with Jesus. 1424s

They would have worshipped together the same Lord. 1437s

So their difference of policy, their difference of worldly beliefs, didn't mark or mar what was important as their call as apostles. 1442s

There's no good historical record of Simon's death, but some sources have him taking the gospel north to the British Isles. 1460s

So then we come to Judas, where did he go? This Judas, not this Judas, we're going to get to him. 1473s

So the name Judas, just automatically brings to mind treachery and betrayal and evil, but it actually means Jehovah leads. 1483s

So this Judas, not the betrayer, this Judas had three names. Judas, Lebius, Thadius. And his given name was probably Judas. 1496s

Thadius means breast child, which could mean that he was the youngest or it could denote like he's a mama's boy. 1511s

Lebius means heart child, which could mean that he has a tender heart, like a child's heart. 1521s

We have one New Testament time of this Judas speaking. It's in John chapter 14, verse 22. And since it's one verse, one time, let's give him his due. 1530s

John 14, chapter 14, verse 22, where this is after Jesus, or this is the upper room discourse, after Jesus had already washed their feet after Judas had left. 1543s

And we've got him telling of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the advocate. 1561s

And it says Judas, not a scarier, said to him, Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world? 1569s

So that's the one word that we have from Judas, not a scarier. And Jesus then goes on to explain that Christ would manifest Himself to anyone who loves Him. 1579s

So early church tradition tells us that Judas went north to Odessa, which was a royal city in Mesopotamia, which is modern day Turkey. 1597s

And many sources have accounts of him healing the king there named Abgar. 1608s

Church tradition also has him being clubbed to death for his faith. 1614s

Okay, so now we're on good time. Now we get to Judas Iscariot, the traitor. 1621s

Okay, we know that the name Judas means Jehovah Leads. And it has ended up through time to be notorious with betrayal and treachery. 1632s

Iscariot actually signifies the region that Judas was from. 1647s

He was unlike the other apostles who were all from the area of Galilee somewhere. 1653s

Judas Iscariot was from Judea, a little town in Judea. 1663s

And so he was an outsider. He was already not like the others. 1672s

He may have felt like an outsider from the very beginning. 1680s

And that could have worked to justify for himself his actions. 1686s

We don't know anything about his background other than that his father's name was Simon. 1695s

Which is also a very common name. And we know that the other apostles trusted him. 1704s

We know that he was trusted because he was in charge of the treachery for the apostles. 1711s

He was in charge of the money. His name appears in all the lists of the apostles in the synoptic gospels and is left out in acts. 1719s

In Judas story we see a very difficult story. 1732s

We see the depth of the hardness of heart. 1737s

And we see the depth of the hate in his heart. 1742s

He had spent three years just like the rest of them right alongside Jesus hearing everything he said, witnessing every miracle. 1747s

He performed and not only did he remain unchanged and unmoved by Jesus but his heart grew harder and harder and filled with hate. 1759s

John MacArthur pointed out that while the other 11 apostles exemplify how God can and does use the most flawed and ordinary amongst us to propel his mission forward, 1776s

Judas is a warning of spiritual carelessness, squandered opportunity, sinful lusts and hardness of heart. 1789s

He was near Christ and yet he was hardened in sin. 1801s

We don't know details about the call when Jesus called Judas but we do know that he was called as an apostle by Jesus Christ. 1808s

And we know that just as the other apostles did, he would have given up his life to follow Jesus for those three years. 1821s

But we see that he did not give up his life. 1833s

He did not surrender to Jesus. 1839s

He did not surrender to follow Jesus and Jesus knew this. 1845s

In the sixth chapter of John, Jesus is saying that not all believe, not all believe. 1852s

And he knew Judas's heart but he continued to embrace Judas. 1861s

Think about in the upper room when Jesus in an act of humbleness and service, when he washes the apostles' feet, Judas is right there. 1868s

Judas receives that same blessing, that same washing from Christ. 1880s

But again, he is unmoved, unchanged, heart of heart. 1886s

Jesus apostles thought that he was going to usher in a new kingdom of power for Israel. 1891s

They saw him teaching with authority. They saw him doing things that no man had done. 1899s

He clearly had power unlike any other man. 1905s

He wasn't scared to challenge the authorities, the powers that be. 1909s

And it's very possible that Judas followed Jesus for this exact reason, for earthly ambition, for worldly power that Jesus showed. 1916s

And he wanted to gain from that worldly power. 1930s

He wanted to gain out of his own greed and selfishness. 1934s

Scripture does not say that's why Judas followed him. 1941s

But knowing that Judas did not have a heart for our Lord, 1945s

and that his heart kept hardening more and more to the point of betrayal, 1953s

we can make educated guesses on why he would have possibly followed Jesus. 1960s

He listened to Jesus, he saw all he did, and he was still unmoved, and he dove deeper and deeper into deceit. 1968s

He must have been an amazing, amazing deceiver. 1977s

He was filled with hate for Jesus. 1983s

His heart was hardened against Jesus, and yet none of the apostles knew. 1987s

They trusted him with their money. 1996s

They did not realize the hardness of heart that he had. 1999s

And when Judas witnesses Mary anointing Jesus with that expensive oil, with the expensive perfume, 2005s

he is outraged and he says this could have been sold for 300 denariah, 2013s

and all the apostles assume that he's upset because this could have gone to the poor and the widows. 2021s

But he is not in that mindset. 2029s

And he, after witnessing this amazing anointing upon Christ, he goes out, and he sells Christ for 30 pieces of silver. 2034s

So looking at these two in comparison, we have this oil, this anointing that is poured over Jesus. 2049s

And it's worth a year's worth of working wages. 2056s

The cost of it was a person's year of working. 2063s

And Judas sold Jesus for the little amount that it would cost to buy a slave. 2070s

Prophecy tells of Judas' betrayal in Psalm 41 verse 9. 2083s

And I'm going to tell you these, and I will email them out. 2089s

We're not going to read through all of these right now. 2093s

But Psalm 41 verse 9, Psalm 55 verses 12 through 14. 2097s

And the prophet Zechariah chapter 11 verses 12 through 13. 2105s

So there is prophecy of Judas. 2113s

There is prophecy of this betrayal. 2117s

There is prophecy of this 30 pieces of silver, which then brings us to that question of, 2120s

was Judas born with the purpose of betraying Christ and being damned? 2130s

Which is a really hard question to struggle with. 2139s

Because we'll talk about predestination. 2144s

We'll talk about being chosen. 2147s

As scripture says, we are chosen before the foundations of this earth. 2151s

Before time, we have been chosen in Christ. 2156s

So then does that lead us to believe that Judas was chosen before time to be damned? 2161s

So are some chosen to be saved and some chosen to be damned? 2168s

And that is a teaching in Calvinism that we refer to as double predestination. 2173s

And that teaching leaves everyone pretty hopeless because we don't know then. 2183s

What are we chosen to be? 2191s

What are we predestined to be? 2193s

So God knew that Jesus or God knew that Judas would betray him. 2195s

Scripture is fulfilled in the betrayal, but Judas was not coerced into betraying Christ. 2202s

Judas is the one who is responsible for his actions. 2212s

When Judas was faced with the truth, when he was up against the truth, 2221s

the truth of Jesus did not transform it. 2227s

It hardened his heart. 2232s

It is not God's doing or God's will to harden anyone's heart. 2234s

But, and I know Pastor Eibel has used this example before. 2242s

We can, and I may be jumping ahead. 2246s

Okay, I'm going to jump ahead if it's jumping ahead and we'll work our way back a little bit. 2250s

So we have freedom and responsibility of choice this side of heaven. 2254s

God gives us that permission. 2268s

Right? 2274s

He permits us to live this side of heaven as we like. 2275s

He gives us his will. 2284s

He gives us his word. 2287s

He gives us his way. 2289s

But he also, in Romans, it says that he gave them to their lusts. 2291s

Right? 2299s

When we fight and fight and fight against God's will, he permits us. 2300s

He permits us to sin. 2308s

He does not will us to sin. 2310s

He does not put the sin in our hearts. 2312s

He does not harden our hearts. 2315s

But he permits us. 2317s

He permits us. 2320s

So this is where Pastor Eibel has used in just a devotion recently. 2322s

He said it again where you can tie a blindfold around your eyes 2328s

and go walk across Northwest Highway because you have Christian freedom to do so. 2334s

And we know that God provides for us. 2340s

But God also permits us to have to deal or to deal with the consequence of our action. 2344s

He permits us to deal with our choices here. 2354s

So if we tie our band around our eyes and go walk across Northwest Highway and get hit by a car, 2360s

it's not that God willed us to be hit by a car. 2368s

It's that we were idiots. 2371s

In our sin, we are idiots. 2377s

In our sin, we are going against the perfect will and word of God. 2380s

So Judas had every opportunity even when Jesus says, you know, he's giving Judas the bread. 2389s

He says, whoa to the one who will betray me. 2399s

Whoa, he's even warning Judas in that moment. 2404s

You still have a way out. 2409s

But Judas didn't have to by God's will betray him. 2412s

But God, God let Judas live in the consequence and live in his own actions. 2425s

And God knew God is outside of space and time. 2439s

So God could give the prophetic word of what was to happen. 2444s

God could give that knowing what would happen. 2451s

Does not mean that God wanted it or willed it to happen. 2455s

But he told of what would happen. 2460s

And just like Paul writes in Romans that God will work everything to his good purpose and glory, right? 2462s

He worked the betrayal of Jesus to our good purpose, to his good purpose, to his glory that forgives our sins. 2473s

When faced with Jesus, when faced with the real God and the presence of the light of God, 2489s

and instead of being transformed and moved and drawn into that light, Judas was shutting his heart down, hardening it, filling it with hate. 2504s

And so God gave him over to his own sin. 2522s

And Judas became a willing instrument of Satan. 2531s

Divine mercy gave way to divine judgment. 2537s

Judas was handed over to sin because, or handed over to Satan because sin had triumphed in his heart. 2543s

And he was damned because of his own failure to heed what he heard. 2553s

It was not God's doing or God's will that Judas would be damned. 2562s

But in his divine judgment, God let Judas be used as an instrument for Satan. 2572s

It just stinks. 2588s

It stinks. 2592s

And it's hard. 2594s

It's just hard. 2599s

And we know from Scripture, Judas did not repent. 2602s

He was remorseful. 2609s

He did not repent. 2611s

When he betrays Jesus, he tells the chief priest. 2612s

I'll give you a sign. 2621s

Before he even can give the sign, Jesus identifies himself. 2624s

There was no reason that Judas had to give the sign. 2629s

And yet, in the own evil of his heart, he still stepped forward and gave him a kiss. 2634s

A kiss that is supposed to be a loving greeting, a welcoming, a shared bond. 2644s

It's twisted and sick. 2655s

And Judas does not repent. 2659s

He doesn't cry with a contrite heart. 2663s

He's remorseful because he got a mere 30 pieces of silver. 2669s

He realizes the bum deal that he got. 2672s

And he's not happy about that. 2676s

And he hangs himself. 2680s

And even his hanging went wrong. 2682s

Something happened. 2684s

I don't know if it was the rope or what. 2685s

But in Acts, we find out that he had fallen. 2687s

He fell on rocks or something. 2690s

He was split open in the middle. 2692s

And his entrails came out. 2695s

Blah. 2697s

So Judas is. 2704s

Judas is a sad, sad story. 2709s

And we can get wrapped up in who Judas, a scarier was and is or was, and his death and his status of damnation. 2712s

But it's easy to take his story and then kind of spiral out of control and find ourselves identifying with Judas. 2727s

Maybe we're not, maybe we're not real, maybe my heart is getting heartened to Jesus. 2739s

And then we can find ourselves spiraling out of control ourselves. 2745s

Let's not spiral out of control. 2751s

Let's remember Jesus used and uses sinners. 2754s

He calls and comes to claim sinners, even the lowest of low, to be his own and to work his mission. 2761s

So we have so much to be grateful for and thankful for with these, with these men. 2774s