LIFE LESSONS
JUDAS ISCARIOT
DR. JIM DIXON
JOHN 12: 1-8
NOVEMBER 14, 2004
There were many men in the Bible or in biblical times, in the Bible itself, many men named Judas. There was Judas of Galilee, Judas of Damascus, Judas Barsabbas, all three of these mentioned in the Book of Acts. There was Judas, the brother of Jesus; Judas, the son of James; many called Judas. The truth is in biblical times amongst the people of the Jews, Judas was a very, very common name, but it’s not so today. Today it’s very hard to find anybody named Judas because this name has been stigmatized by one man and that one man was Judas Iscariot.
In the biblical Jewish world, most people only had one name. You were Judas or you were Jesus. You were Matthew, Mark or Luke or John. Most people just had one name but you were distinguished from other people who had the same name in a variety of ways. You might be distinguished by the city in which you grew up. So, it was Jesus of Nazareth. Or you might be distinguished by the name of your father, so were James and John, the Son of Zebedee. Or you might be distinguished by your temperament or by a nickname associated with your temperament or even your political actions. And so, it was Simon the Zealot.
How is Judas distinguished from other people named Judas? Well, he was called Iscariot, Judas Iscariot, but here’s the problem. No one knows the meaning of Iscariot today. Bible scholars do not even know whether Iscariot is a Hebrew word, an Aramaic word or a Greek word. Of course, the traditional view is that Iscariot is Hebrew and it comes from “Ish Kerioth” which, in Hebrew, means, “the man of Kerioth,” or “the man from Kerioth,” “the man from the city of Kerioth.” This is the traditional view and a lot of your commentaries will take this view and they will say that Iscariot means, “the man from Kerioth.” But many modern scholars doubt this because, in biblical times, there were only two cities named Kerioth and it’s unlikely that Judas came from either one of them.
The first city named Kerioth was Kerioth Hazen. Kerioth Hazen is mentioned in the biblical book of Joshua. It was found in Southern Judah down by the Dead Sea. If Judas was from Kerioth Hazen, then he was the only one of the twelve disciples not from Galilee, and he would have felt like an odd man out which is possible except in the time of Judas, the city of Kerioth Hazen was no longer called Kerioth Hazen. It had been called Kerioth Hazen in the time of Joshua 1200 years before Judas but scholars now know that in the time of Judas this city was called Hazor so it’s unlikely that Judas would be given a name associated with a city that no longer goes by that name.
There was one other Kerioth and strangely enough archeologists tell us it is mentioned on the famous Moabite stone. This other city of Chariot is also mentioned in the book of Jeremiah and possibly in the book of Isaiah. This other Kerioth was in the land of Moab. Many scholars believe that it was just another name for the ancient city of Ar, which is the ancient capital of Moab. Whenever you see a listing of the cities of Moab, if the city of Ar is listed, then Kerioth is not listed. If the city of Kerioth is listed, then the city of Ar is not listed and therefore scholars think they’re two names for the same city. But, you see, there’s no scholar who really believes Judas, one of the twelve disciples was a Moabite. There’s no scholar who believe that Judas was gentile. There’s no bible scholar who really believes that Judas grew up in Kerioth and Moab, so most scholars today look for another meaning of the word Iscariot.
This morning as we go through our life lessons, I would like us to draw two life lessons from two possible meanings of this label, Iscariot. First of all, there are many scholars who believe Iscariot is Aramaic and it means, “man of the lie.” They believe that it comes from the Aramaic root “sacar” which is the Aramaic word for “lie” or “deception,” and they believe that etymologically the word Iscariot must mean, “man of the lie.” If this is true, then this nickname was given to Judas after his death. It was given to him in retrospect. While he yet lived he was probably just called, “Judas, son of Simon,” but after he died, he began to be labeled Judas Iscariot, Man of the Lie. Certainly, this fits because Judas was a man of deception. He’d entered into covenant with our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Perhaps, we don’t know for sure, Judas partook of that last meal, the bread and the cup. Perhaps he took of the Lord’s Supper entering into a covenant meal but then he went out and he betrayed the Son of God, selling out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and ultimately he delivered Him over to the authorities with a kiss because he was the man of the lie; he was the man of deception. Of course, Judas presented himself as a man of financial responsibility, and Judas was given the company purse. Judas was given the moneybag. He was given the collective resources of the disciples to take care of that money, but the Bible tells us he pilfered from the treasury. He stole because he was the man of the lie. He was the man of deception.
The Bible tells us an amazing thing about Judas Iscariot. It tells us that the devil actually entered into him. Satan actually entered into him. This is an amazing statement. It would mean that Judas was not simply demon possessed but actually indwelt by Satan. Thus, we hear Jesus say, “Did I not choose you twelve and one of you is a devil.” Of course, our Lord Jesus tells us that the devil is a liar and the father of lies, so it would fit that Judas would be called Iscariot, the man of the lie. What about you? Are you a person of loyalty? Are you a person of integrity? Are you a person of truth?
I know that most of you have heard of the Canadian Pacific Railroad which today is called CP Rail. Of course, in the year 1885, it was the Canadian Pacific Railroad that built the Transcontinental Railroad across Southern Canada from coast-to-coast, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Over the years, the Canadian Pacific Railroad has built hotels, GRAND hotels, along that transcontinental railroad line. If you’ve ever been up to Alberta and you’ve seen Banff and Lake Louise and you’ve seen the Chateau Lake Louise and the Banff Springs Hotel, those were built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, by CP Rail, and they are grand.
Of course, none of it would have been possible if it were not for the Indian nation called the Blackfoot. Now, today, there are three reservations for the Blackfoot Indians in Canada, and one in the United States. In the United States, the Blackfoot Indians are called the Blackfeet, but in Canada they’re called the Blackfoot. Of course, it all goes back to 1866 when the Chief of the Confederated Blackfoot Tribes, a man named Crowfoot, entered into a deal with the Canadian Pacific Railroad. He allowed the Canadian Pacific Railroad to build through Blackfoot territory, part of which was in Alberta. That’s how the Canadian Pacific was able to build that transcontinental railroad and they gave the Blackfoot Indians many things. They gave them food and clothing. They gave them many promises and of course they gave Crowfoot, the Chief of the Blackfoot Indian Nation, a lifetime pass to ride the Canadian Pacific Railroad. He could take it anywhere as long as he lived and he died in 1890 and he never once rode the Canadian Pacific Rail.
Why was that? They asked him just before he died, “Why? You had this lifetime pass. You could have gone anywhere. Why did you not use it?” He said, “I don’t believe it. I think the pass is a lie. I think it’s all deception.” It’s hard to blame the Indians for feelings that way because Indians in Canada and the United States have been lied to time and time again. They have been deceived time and again. The United States Government, a notorious history, tragic history with regard to the Indians. Many times, I mean it is a fact of history, we have entered into treaties with the Indian peoples and we have broken those treaties. Sometimes we kept the treaties but the treaties were scripted with hidden language and the treaties themselves were deceitful. Of course, today we like to think better of our government. We would like to think we have a government now that says what it means and means what it says. No one wants to live in a nation where the government is characterized by lies or deception.
You may have noticed just recently Osama Bin Laden has released another videotape and it has gone all over the world. It has been carried by many media outlets, and it’s been carried throughout the Muslim world. According to the most recent issue of the Economist Magazine, this video tape has been a shock for many Muslims, particularly in the Middle East because on the video tape Osama Bin Laden basically confesses that he was behind 9/11, that he and his organization was behind the terrorists acts of 9/11. You see, there are actually many people in the Muslim world who believe that 9/11 was actually a plan and a plot by the American CIA or by the Israeli Mussaud, that we actually did these things in order to demonize the Muslim people. Is it not an amazing world we live in? It’s an amazing world, and so these Muslims were just shocked to hear that Al Qaeda actually did it. Isn’t it an amazing world we live in? An amazing world, and so these Muslims were just shocked to hear that Al Qaeda did it and Osama Bin Laden was actually behind it. We live in a world of lies. We live in a world of deception. How about you? What kind of a person are you?
Some of you have read Scott Peck’s book called, “People of the Lie.” In that book, Scott Peck argues that oftentimes the people of the lie are religious people. The psychologist argues that the lie is the image we like to present to others or even to ourselves. The lie is the way we portray ourselves to others or even the way we portray ourselves to ourselves. We’re self-deceived. We won’t acknowledge and we can’t even see who we really are. We feign righteousness. These are called, by Scott Peck, people of the lie. We’re reminded of the Bible, 1 John, chapter 1, where the Apostle writes, “This is the message we’ve heard from the beginning. God is light. In Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth, but if walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar.” A powerful passage of scripture.
What does it mean to “walk in the light?” What does it mean to “not walk in the darkness?” When we look at it biblically and even in the context of 1 John 1, it is very clear that walking in the light simply means you confess your sinfulness. You don’t deceive others. You don’t deceive yourself. It doesn’t mean you’re perfect, but it means you acknowledge your flaws. You come into the light. You reveal yourselves as you really area. You don’t keep anything in the closet. This is what the children of Jesus Christ, the children of God are meant to be like: children of the light, not people of the lie. We are honest and open about who we are, even our flaws. This is who Christ wants us to be. To be real and to be honest and keep nothing in the dark. We bring it into the light. An error to avoid is the err of Judas, the man of the lie.
Well, there’s a second teaching, a second lesson, and it deals with another possible meaning of the word Iscariot. You see, many Bible scholars believe that this word Iscariot actually comes from the Greek, “sikarios.” They believe it’s an Aramaic form of the Greek word, “sikarios,” and that it means, “dagger man” or “assassin.” If this is true, if Iscariot means assassin or dagger man, as many Bible scholars now believe, then that would mean that Judas Iscariot had been a member of the Zealot party in Israel, and the most radical fringe of the Zealot party in Israel. He was one of those seeking the violent overthrow of the Roman Empire.
There’s a movie that is called Judas. In this movie, Judas is portrayed as a zealot, and he’s portrayed as one of those on the radical zealot fringe. The word Iscariot is taken to mean, dagger bearer. This label is taken to mean assassin. This would mean, if it’s true that Judas was part of the Sicarii, the radical fringe of the zealots and they often wore daggers or carried daggers or small swords under their robes. They went around in crowds and they sought to assassinate Roman authorities or even Jewish people who were supporting Roman authorities. They were radical.
It is possible that Judas was a member of the Sicarii and that he was a zealot and that his father before him was. It says in the Gospel of John, the 6th chapter, and also the 13th chapter, it might be saying that Judas’ father Simon was also called Iscariot, although the Greek is not certain. But we know that zealots tended to be multi¬ generational and oftentimes if the father was a zealot, his son was a zealot. And so, Judas would have been one of those who wanted to cast off the shackles of Rome. He wanted to stop Roman oppression. He was amongst the segment of the Jews that was just tired of being a vassal state.
For centuries the Jews had been a persecuted, oppressed people. They had been oppressed by the Babylonians, then by the Medo-Persians, then by the Greeks, then by the Seleucids, and now they were oppressed by Rome. They were tired of it. They sought the violent overthrow of the Roman Empire. Judas had seen the power of Christ, and all the zealots believed that one day Messiah would come and he would deliver the Jewish people from their oppressors. Judas had seen the power of Christ. He’d seen Christ heal the lame and the sick and the blind and the deaf and the dumb. He had seen Jesus raise the dead. He knew the power that was in Him and he believed He was the Messiah perhaps. As Passion Week approached and he saw that Jesus was not going to resist Rome, he grew disillusioned and he betrayed the Son of God. This is the view of the movie, the clip from which we just saw.
This is a possible view of Judas and it may very well be true. If it’s true that Judas was a zealot and a member of the Sicarii, he would not have been alone amongst the band of twelve disciples. There were other radicals amongst the twelve. There was the disciple whose name was Simon. He was called “the zealot,” “the Canaanite zealot.” Certainly, he hated Roman oppression.
There was Peter himself who Jesus called Simon Bar-jonah which could mean “Son of John,” but now many scholars believe that Bar-jonah is a transliteration of the Aramaic “Baiyonah,” and it means, “zealot” or even “outlaw.” We know that Peter carried a sword. He was not just a fisherman. He carried a sword. We know of course that James and John were Boanerges. Jesus named them so. They were Sons of Thunder. We know that they wanted to call down fire from heaven and destroy a Samaritan city just because that city did not believe. Judas would have found men of like nature perhaps among the twelve.
Jesus summoned an interesting group to disciple. You see, by the power that was His, He transformed the disciples. He transformed all of them but Judas. Judas didn’t change. Judas never understood the nature of the kingdom of heaven. He never understood the nature of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. He didn’t understand Christ’s true purpose, Christ’s true mission, and I think the question that confronts us today is, “DO YOU?”
Do you understand Christ’s true purpose? Do you understand His true mission? Do you understand the nature of the kingdom of Christ, the nature of the kingdom of heaven? Do you think it’s all about you and your interests? Do you think it’s all about getting saved? Do you think it’s all about a hedge of protection? God’s daily provision? Is there a higher purpose? Do you understand the purpose of the kingdom of Jesus Christ?
On July 15 in the year 1099, 20,000 Christian Knights, Crusader Knights, arrived at the walls of the city of Jerusalem. They’d been on a 3-year journey, and on that July 15, 1099, they arrived at the walls of the city of Jerusalem. They had come to conquer the city, to take back the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It was on that day, July 15, that they stormed the walls and they took the city. Historians tell us that they slaughtered Jews and Muslims by the tens of thousands.
Just five years ago on the 900th anniversary of the Crusader Conquest of Jerusalem, five hundred Christians completed a three-year journey. On July 15, 1999, just five years ago, they arrived at the walls of the city of Jerusalem in repentance. They came to say they were sorry. They came to ask forgiveness from Muslims and Jews. They came with letters from Vatican City. They came with a Proclamation signed by the Pope, Pope John Paul II. They came with letters from Protestant denominations, the ELCA, The United Methodist Church, the PCUSA and many others just to say, “We’re sorry.”
I don’t know how you feel about. Obviously you were not in the Crusades and yet there’s no denying this. The Crusaders misunderstood the nature of the kingdom of heaven. They did not understand the mission of Christ. The Bible is very clear. Jesus Christ has not given His church the physical sword. God, the Bible tells us, has given the physical sword to the State and the State is to use it to deter evil on the earth. That’s why nations have armies and police forces. But God has not given the physical sword to the church. We never march as the Church with a physical sword. We don’t think physical conquest. This is not the mission of the church of Jesus Christ.
The Crusaders didn’t understand it, but the Bible tells us that Christ has given His church the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The Bible tells us we’ve been sent forth, we who believe, with a mission to take the Gospel to every nation. We’ve been sent forth as ambassadors of light and love and compassion and truth. We’ve been sent forth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are sent forth and told to tell people about Jesus Christ. This mission is upon us. Jesus said, “You shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” Of course, in the Bible we are told to go into all the world and make disciples. This is the mission laid upon the church of Jesus Christ.
My responsibility as a pastor is to teach the Word. Our staff is responsible for equipping you, and you are responsible to go out into the community, into the workplace, into the culture and be light and to share the Gospel, to tell the story of Jesus, to give your testimony. This charge is laid on the church. Are we faithful and do we understand it?
In John, chapter 10, verse 10, we’re told that the devil has come to steal and to kill and to destroy. There’s no denying that Satan was very active in the events of 9/11 where so many were killed and so many were destroyed. And of course, just this year the 9/11 Commission has issued its report and many of us for the first time heard some of the tapes from the airplanes that crashed. I think many Americans were stunned when they heard the voice of Mohammed Atta on American Airlines Flight #11. Before the crash, he said to the people, “Just be silent and you’ll be okay.” That’s what he said. “Just be silent and you’ll be okay.” The devil is still saying that. He says it to the church of Jesus Christ. He says it to you. “Just be silent and you’ll be okay.” The world is heading for a crash and the devil wants us to be silent, just be silent. Of course, that’s the tragedy of our times. So, many Christians are silent and yet the Gospel sends us forth as ambassadors for Christ and it takes a loving boldness.
I think this morning Christ wants to renew our commitment and to understand the true purpose of the kingdom of heaven on earth. There’s a battle going on for the souls of men and women the world over. It’s a struggle between light and darkness and we’ve been called to be engaged in this struggle. Of course, we labor with confidence because we know the victory is ours. We know that one day Christ will come again. He will receive His people to Himself and He will judge the nations.
Just last week, Barb came into the first service a little late. She usually comes in the first third of the first service and stays through the second service. She came and sat by me as she always does. As she sat down, I saw her sit in the seat here and she kind of reached over to the side. I said, “What are you doing?” She started laughing. She said she had just kind of been zoned out and she had reached over to fasten her seatbelt!
You might have noticed we don’t have any seatbelts here in the sanctuary. This sanctuary is not a moving object and yet this church is going places. One day the church of Jesus Christ is going to ascend. We’re going to be raptured. The Bible says, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a cry of command, the Archangel’s call, the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise. Then we who are alive or who are left until His coming shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. We will always be with the Lord.” Jesus is coming again and the victory is ours. Don’t be timid. Don’t be afraid. This life is a classroom. Death is graduation day. We have a mission before us and it’s a spiritual mission. It has to do with the souls, the eternal souls, of men, women and children, and nothing is more important. Nothing should cause your distraction. This must be our focus. We must understand.
So, we look at Judas and we see this title Iscariot. It could be “man from Kerioth,” but it probably means either “man of the lie” or “assassin” or “dagger man.” He didn’t understand the nature of Christ and His kingdom and he was a man of deceit. Christ would say to us today, “Be real. Confess your sins. Come into the light. Be honest and open and serve. Serve the spiritual purposes of My eternal kingdom without fear because one day I am coming again. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.