Please turn with me in the Word of God to the Gospel of John, to chapter 12. We'll read the first eight verses and then we'll turn over to chapter 13 and read a few verses there. So, John chapter 12, beginning at verse 1. This is an account of Jesus at supper the night before his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. So let us listen to God's word. John chapter 12 at verse 1. Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at the table. 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. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was about to betray him, said, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. And having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me. And then turning over to chapter 13 at verse 16, this is Jesus speaking after he has washed the feet of the disciples on the evening of the institution of the Lord's Supper. Jesus says, John 13, verse 16, Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. That's a quotation from Psalm 41. I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place, you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. So far the reading. of God's Word. When I read the Gospel of John, I sometimes get the feeling that John had read the other three Gospels and had thought to himself, these are great, but they leave out some things that I think people need to know. And so I have the feeling that one of John's purposes is to add some things that the other Gospels do not include, he doesn't do that to criticize the other Gospels, but simply to make the point that there's so much to be said about Jesus that more can always be said. But one of the curious things, one of the surprising things, maybe one of the strange things about what John adds in his Gospel is a lot more material about Judas Iscariot. We might have thought the less said about Judas, the better. I don't think we often talk about Judas or think about Judas. And the other three Gospels do mention him, but rather briefly. And John seems to have a very intentional purpose of telling us a good deal about Judas that we do not learn in the other Gospels. John seems concerned that we would know more fully the truth about Judas. And in five chapters of his gospel, he mentions Judas explicitly. And in other chapters, he alludes, it would seem, to Judas. And so, since John wants us to consider Judas by the way he writes his gospel, I thought we could consider that tonight. not just as an exercise in Bible knowledge, but because John had a real spiritual purpose in communicating what he did about Judas. And I hope we'll see that clearly as we go along. And so John says to us tonight, consider Judas, consider his life, consider his loss, and consider the lesson that his life holds for us. So think with me a minute about the life of Judas as we see it revealed in Scripture. In the Synoptic Gospels, in the first three Gospels, we're not told a lot about Judas. He's in the list of the apostles. We're told that he plots with the chief priests to betray Jesus. We're told that he's at the Last Supper. And then we're told that he betrays Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. It's a familiar story, but a brief one. And then Matthew adds the detail that he went out and hanged himself after the arrest of Jesus. It's not a lot. It's rather brief. But as we think about Judas, one of the things that should strike us is what a privileged life Judas led. I don't know about you, but I've talked to people over the years who've said, well, you know, if I could actually have seen Jesus, I might believe. If I could actually have heard Jesus, I might believe. If I could have seen the miracles myself, I might believe. And of course, that's exactly the privileged situation in which Judas found himself. For three years, he knew Jesus. He heard Jesus. He saw Jesus. He saw the miracles performed by Jesus. He had intimate contact and fellowship with Jesus. You might think of John chapter 6, where John records how Jesus fed the 5,000. Judas was there, and Judas saw that great miracle performed. And then he heard Jesus teach about that miracle. Jesus taught something very interesting there in John 6 that I think is part and parcel of what the Apostle John is trying to teach us in this story. After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus said to the disciples, John 6, 12, Now, Jesus is not just showing good economy here. Jesus is not just being careful here. He is being that. But he's making a point, isn't he? In the work that Jesus does, nothing is ever lost. And he himself applies that spiritually when in John 6.39 we have recorded Jesus saying, And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me. Here is a great point that John wants to make in his gospel. All of those whom the Father gives to Jesus, Jesus will hold on to. Not one will be lost. Not one will be lost. And when Judas comes to lead the party to arrest Jesus in the garden, Jesus asks that the disciples be allowed to leave as they arrest him. And Jesus, almost quoting himself, says in John 18, verse 9, This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken of those whom you gave me, I have lost not one. It's one of the great themes in John's gospel. No one can snatch one who belongs to Jesus from the hand of Jesus. Judas was also there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. What a moment. Recorded in John chapter 11. Lazarus, dead days already. So dead that his sisters didn't want the tomb open, you remember? He stinks, they said. But Jesus has power over life and death. And they opened the tomb, and Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth. I heard a preacher recently quoting Matthew Henry who said, you know, Jesus had to say Lazarus, because if Jesus had just said come forth, all the dead would have risen. And surely they will on the last day. But there Jesus stood, showing his power. over death, showing his commitment to life. And Lazarus is there seeing it. And it has no impact on him. And then we come to this dinner scene. Jesus is there. Lazarus is there. Mary is there. Martha is there. Judas is there. Judas has to confront the fact that Lazarus is still alive. It wasn't an optical illusion just for a moment, but days and days later, Lazarus is there having dinner. All displayed before everyone, including Judas. Judas, you see, had every opportunity to believe. But he didn't. And he didn't because of his own character. The first thing that John tells us about Judas we find recorded in John chapter 6 where Jesus said to his disciples after Peter says, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And Jesus says, yes, but did I not choose you to be my disciples? And one of you is a devil. And John records he was speaking there of Judas Iscariot. What does it mean that Jesus said of Judas there, first thing we read about Judas in John's Gospel, that he was a devil? What Jesus meant was that he was in alliance with the devil. He belonged to the devil. He was committed to the devil's work. Jesus had said in a similar sort of way in John 8, verse 44, You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. Judas isn't a devil in the sense that he's a demonic spirit, but he's a devil in the sense that he has allied himself with the purposes and work of the evil one. And he's done it in the very presence of the blessed one, of the good one. And then in the text we read tonight in John chapter 6, John records for us that Judas was a thief. It's been interesting that some 20th century artists and movie makers have tried to rehabilitate Judas. Poor Judas, he meant well. No, the scriptures say, he never meant well. He was a devil and a thief. And when he said, oh, we should have taken that expensive ointment and sold it and given to the poor, John records, he had no care for the poor. He was just a thief who wanted the money for himself. And there's a great contrast John is very intentionally establishing here. The contrast already made so powerfully in John chapter 10 between the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep and the hireling who when there's danger runs away. The hireling. Remember what John 10 says? The hireling who is a thief and cares nothing for the sheep. The good shepherd came to give his life for the sheep. The good shepherd, Jesus says, comes that we might have life and have it more abundantly. And how that's displayed for us in chapter 11. What does it mean that Jesus came to give life and that we might have it more abundantly? Well, how better can we see that than in the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead? There's the good shepherd at work. There's the promise of the work that he'll do for all of us on the last day. And how can we see Judas more clearly revealed than as the hireling who is a thief, who cares nothing for the sheep? That's the real character of Judas. That's the life he lived. And so he's lost. Lost not because he didn't know. Lost not because he wasn't called. But lost because he went his own way, refusing to repent and believe. But lost also, John wants to make clear, according to the purpose of God. Now, why is it important that John records that Judas is lost because of the purpose of God? Well, first of all, he records it because it's true. It's repeated over and over again. Jesus, in his high priestly prayers, we call it in John 17, prayed for his sheep and says, I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Now, this is important because the point being made is, Jesus has not failed with Judas. Jesus has not been frustrated by Judas. Judas has not been surprised by Judas. But Jesus knew and planned all along what would become of Judas. It had been prophesied. Psalm 41, verse 9, Even my closest friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. It was prophesied, as we sang in Psalm 54, verse 12, for it is not any enemy who taunts me, then I could bear it, but it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together within God's house. We walked in the throng. Let death steal over them, for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. Judas was a devil in rejecting the Lord, and he went the way he went, according to the purpose of God. Now that's hard, isn't it? That's a hard truth. But it's a truth that John is teaching unmistakably. And he's teaching it to show us that Jesus did not fail with Judas. And why is that important? It's important because if Jesus fails with Judas, he might fail with you. He might fail with me. You remember at the Last Supper, Jesus said, one of you will betray me. And the immediate response of the disciples was, is it me? Is it me? Because when we look in our hearts, we recognize, don't we, we don't have the strength to be faithful to the Lord. We are subject to sin and failure. And if we're subject to sin and failure, are we also subject to loss? If Jesus can lose Judas, might he not lose me? And John wants to say in the most powerful way possible, no, he didn't lose Judas. The way Judas went was the way Judas wanted to go, but also the way God had planned for him to go. And because Judas does not represent a failure on the part of Jesus, you can be sure that you will not be a failure on the part of Jesus. When Jesus says, I promise you, I will not lose one of my sheep, he means it. And he will fulfill that promise. John 10, 28, I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. And then John 10, 26, really applying to Judas, you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. You see, the Reformed doctrine of election and reprobation is not just some theological game that we play. And the celebration of the Synod of Dort will not be just a celebration that we beat the Armenians once. They've made a pretty big comeback. We need to keep the fight going. It is an abundantly clear scriptural truth what we have confessed as Reformed people about election and reprobation. But it's not only true. It's spiritually vital. That's what John is showing us. That's why John tells us more about Judas. So that we'll know that Jesus has not lost anyone. Think of the difference. The lesson John would have us see is, think of the difference between Peter and Judas. We say Peter denied Jesus, whereas Judas betrayed Jesus. But when you come right down to it, is the sin vastly different? They both turned their back on Jesus. But what's the difference? Peter was one of the elect. Peter was one of the sheep. Peter was one of the ones whom Jesus would not lose. Peter was one of the ones that could not be snatched out of the hand of Jesus. And so Jesus prophesied of Peter that he would be restored after his denial. And he was. And he was. That's why in the Canons of Dort, in the fifth head of doctrine on perseverance, references made to both Peter and to David and the Canons of Dort rightly say, Look at these two great sinners, Peter, a denier, and David, a murderer, an adulterer. They don't deserve the grace of God. But God, in His electing mercy, chose them and drew them and kept them so that they would not be lost. Now, the point is not that it's fine to be a denier. or a murderer, or an adulterer. But the point is that for those who turn to Christ, who plead for his mercy, there is no sin that will not be forgiven. There is no sin that will not be forgiven. And Jesus holds on to his own. It's in the very character and meaning of his death. When Jesus died, the Father's wrath was propitiated, was settled. When Jesus died, sin was paid for. When Jesus died, his people were forgiven. When Jesus died, he called his sheep, each by name. I really believe that when Jesus died on the cross, he thought of every one of our names. He didn't die in general. He died personally, and specifically, and caringly, and unfailingly. And that's why John is really making the point, Jesus didn't die for Judas. He didn't turn the Father's wrath against Judas away. He didn't pay the penalty of Judas' sin. He didn't forgive Judas. He didn't die for Judas. You see, again, our doctrine of the limited atonement is not just a theological nicety. it's an illumination of the basic character of the death of Christ. The basic character of the death of Christ is that Christ accomplishes successfully and fully and unstoppably what he sets out to do. And so Judas is lost, not because of the failure of Christ, but because Judas had turned his back as the Lord had purposed him to do. And the great purpose of John here is that we should have in our hearts as we belong to Christ, as we look to Christ, as we hope to Christ, as we look in our hearts and say, I'm not a devil and I'm not a thief. Not because of my wisdom, not because of my goodness, but because the grace of God has worked in my heart so I'm different, so I've been changed, so I've been renewed. And because we are not thieves and because we are not devils and because we are part of the flock of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ says to us, I will not lose one of you. I will not lose one of you. Luther said once, if I could choose whether to have my salvation in my hand or in God's hand, which would I choose? Well, that's pretty easy, isn't it? Don't I want my salvation to be in God's hand, not in mine? God's hand is powerful to save. And that's why it's right to think about Judas. Judas is not a tragedy. Judas is one who went the way he wanted to go. It's sad. But Judas cannot undermine our confidence in Jesus. Can't undermine our assurance in Jesus. In that same Psalm 55 that speaks of Judas the betrayer, we also have one of the great promises from God. Psalm 55, verse 22. Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved. What a glorious promise. Are you burdened? Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you. Are you afraid of being dragged away? He will never let you be moved. Because Jesus will not lose one of those for whom He died. Praise God. Amen. Let us pray. O Lord, we thank You for such a Savior. Such a Savior who accomplishes His purpose, and no one can stand against Him. such a Savior who calls every sinner to faith and repentance and promises everyone who believes that he will be saved. Fill us with that hope. Fill us with that joy. Fill us with confidence in the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep. Hear us and bless us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.