Judas Iscariot, the Suicide of Satan, and the Salvation of the World by John Piper

[Music] let's pray together we believe from your word that Satan is a liar and a murderer and there have been certain points in his existence where he was in suicidally insane as when he entered into Judas and I praise you for your great work through Satan's insanity and that I'm saved because what Judas did and I ask O God that you would protect us from Satan now who's been defamed and defeated and will one day be cast into the lake of fire with all of those who do not trust Christ and how we would love to be the instrument as a church of thousands escaping that judgment and coming into the enjoyment of everlasting pleasures at your right hand through faith in Jesus would you use this message to that end and for the strengthening of your people I pray in Jesus name Amen this is the final message in the series entitled spectacular sins and their global purpose in the glory of Christ the aim of the series and this message has been to show that over and over in history the epoch-making sins that have turned the course of history have not nullified but only fulfilled the purposes of God to glorify his son and save his people and my prayer has been and is at this moment that as these great historical vistas of God's sovereignty over sin take place in your renewed mind they would have a profoundly practical effect in making you strong in the face of breath stopping sorrows and courageous in the face of dangerous opposition Christ exalting strength in calamity Christ exalting courage and conflict I pray that the Lord will weave cords of steel and silk into the fabric of your soul the most spectacular sin that has ever happened in the history of the world was the brutal murder of Jesus Christ we are at the apex of sin in this series and we're at the apex of sovereignty in this series to murder the morally perfect infinitely worthy divine son of God isn't evil greater than which there is none and perhaps the most despicable part of it was the betrayal of Jesus by one of his closest friends Judas Iscariot Judas was one of the twelve that Jesus had chosen personally chosen after an all-nighter of Prayer he was with him during his entire public ministry at his side he was entrusted with the money bag as the treasurer of the group he was close enough at Jesus side on the night in which he was betrayed to be dipping his bread in the same cup in verse 3 of chapter 22 of Luke says Satan entered into Judas he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him and they were glad and agreed to give him money so he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd which he did with a kiss now three questions are raised in my mind by the statement that Satan entered into Judas number one did Satan mess up an innocent man did he find this good disciple and mess him up that's question number one number two why would Satan do this doesn't he know this is suicide represented symbolically and Judas own suicide Satan is about to destroy himself doesn't he know this and there is evidence he did know it question number three where in the world was God that's the question most people ask when a horrific calamity happens where was God what was his role or non role in the most spectacular sin that ever was so let's take those questions one at a time number one Luke chapter 22 verse 3 Satan entered into Judas how are we to think about the will of Judas and the will of Satan the power of Satan in the wheel of Jews Judas was not an innocent bystander when Satan entered him the Apostle John more clearly than others makes very clear this man was Mary had just anointed Jesus with some very expensive ointment and Judas complains that the money could have gone to the poor and Jesus did not approve of that and John comments he said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and having the charge of the money bag he used to help himself to what was put into it that's incredible almost if you didn't have internet it would be incredible if you didn't read the news about charlatans in the pulpit it would be incredible another one now thirty nine thousand dollars spent on the wife's clothing at the same store twenty-nine thousand dollars to fly the kids to the Bahamas in the name of m'angil ISM our red Mercedes and a white Lexus thank you very much Judas is not incredible anymore I just want to quit sometimes so much reproach is brought on the ministry I hate the prosperity gospel I hate the use of money sometimes I just want to strip myself bare of everything and be like Francis of Assisi and go naked into the wilderness lest there be any thought that I give a rip about what money means so pray for me in that regard not that I won't have my rear end showing some day but but that I won't fall so I read that and I say Judas you can't walk with Jesus that long to do what you did can you and then I read the news I say well Paul explains to us a little bit of how Satan and sin work together let me read you a passage that has been more illuminating to me than any other passage about how the influence of Satan in my own sin conspire it's Ephesians 2 I'll just read it to you you can mark it down and look at it later Jesus - one two three goes like this and you are dead talking to me and you you are dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked so our sins our chest passes we're doing this stuff we're feeling this stuff thinking this stuff following the course of this world following the Prince of the power of the air notice the connection between my sin in his leadership my sin and I'm following him I mean not even know I'm following him he's just beating the drum and everything in me likes that rhythm the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience whom we all wants in among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh there it is again that's me that's not him in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind and we're by nature children of Wrath like the rest of mankind so when you think about Satan coming into Judas don't think oh poor Judas dead in our sins walking in passions of the flesh fulfilling the desires of the body and therefore following the Prince of the power of the air Satan does not take innocent people captive there are no innocent people Satan has power we're sinful passions hold sway Judas was a lover of money not Jesus and he covered it be aware of this oh this is a warning to Bethlehem people in the world we live and because of who we are he covered it with a phony external relationship with Jesus and then he sold him for thirty pieces of silver then everybody watching Judas cast out demons thought he was saved he sent them all out two by two they all came back power in their hands and Jesus looked at him and said don't rejoice that you got power rejoice that your names are in heaven you'll wonder if he glanced at Judas his name wasn't written there the son of destruction so Bethlehem how many of Judas tribe are there still here today don't be one I just beg of you don't be one and don't be duped by one second question why would Satan do this doesn't he know this is suicide doesn't he know he's going to be undone he's going to be destroyed the cross and the resurrection are the breaking of the back of Satan they're the defanging of Satan they are the decisive battle that enables him finally be thrown into the lake of fire doesn't he know this I think he knew it why do I think he knew it I think he'd do it for these couple of reasons when you see Jesus come on the scene in the front end of the Gospels he hits Satan immediately bang what is Satan's tactic immediately in the wilderness turn stones - Brad you the son of God use your power to escape hunger jump off the temple angels will catch you demonstrate your power you get following bow down to me you can rule the world interpretation whatever you do don't die whatever you do don't suffer whatever you do don't use your power to lay your life down that's the way Satan began to work there's one other little clue you remember the time that Jesus predicted that he was going to be handed over to the elders in the chief priests and be killed and pee bigmouth shoot-from-the-hip ready fire aim Peter said I'll just read it far be it from you Lord this will never happen to you to which Jesus was not gentle and the words he used are very significant he said get behind me Satan why not write was he just this is Peter its personality no you tell me this will never happen to me this death get behind me saying that's what Satan once so what happened what's going on in Luke 22 3 Satan enters into Judas well the bible does not tell us what happened then tell us so I'm I'm going to guess all right this is Piper's attempt to draw some inferences from the data and may not be the case I don't know what's going on in Satan's head I'm not really here to get in there and find out but I conclude that Satan saw his efforts to divert Jesus from the cross failing over and over again Jesus sets his face like flint to die no matter what Satan does Jesus is resolute and there comes a point where he knows I can't stop this now what would you do if you were the arch evil person and your first strategy aborts I can't stop this here's what I would do I think I'm a like Satan in this regard I try to make it as bad as possible and I think that's what he's doing if I can't keep him from dying I'll make his death I'll make it through betrayal I'll make it through abandonment of his disciples I'll make it through the denial of Peter do you remember little princess here middle Luke 22 Jesus looks at Peter and says Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat it's Peter Satan minute have you Peter but I prayed for you when you turn strengthen your brethren Satan wanted Peter down he wanted all the disciples scattered and he wanted that lash to be as hard as it could be in the nails to be as rusty as they could be and the death to be as slow as it could be if he can't stop it he'll make it horrible emotionally horrible relationally horrible physically horrible I think that probably is what happened so that's my answer to the question what's going on with Satan's reversal this is insane and and just know this is another little spin-off for your practical life satanic temptation is irrational we deal with people walking away from marriages kids doing stuff breaking their parents heart and you try to reason it's totally unreasonable there is no rationality they will look in your eyes like a deer in the headlights and speak gibberish when it comes to truth Satan is irrational he's insane if we just saw clearly this is why truth is the main weapon in the Christian life Satan's a deceiver he's a liar and at the key points of his worst action he's irrationally insanely evil number three the most important question of the whole sermon series where was God or let's be more precise I don't like that question where was God it's kind of a emotive reaction when horrible things happen it doesn't doesn't have a very easy answer like heaven wouldn't be a helpful answer here wouldn't be a helpful answer everywhere wouldn't be a helpful answer it's it's a question that that that it's just an emotional it means why didn't he do something that's what it means so I'm asking what was God's role or non role in the most spectacular sin that ever happened the murder of Jesus now caution to answer this question I think we need to put our hands on our mouths and silence all philosophical speculation which we all you don't think you're a philosopher but you are we all bring presuppositions ideas worldviews assumptions speculations to questions like this we bring them and I just want to say let's let's just put our hands on our mouths and do our best to just let the Bible speak and I'll try to get out of the way as much as I can in the next few minutes and let the Bible speak in answer to the question what was his role in this sin of the murder of Jesus the betrayal of Jesus the abandonment of Jesus the denial of Jesus the crucifixion of Jesus the mockery of Jesus what was his place the first thing the Bible shows us is that the details surrounding the death of Jesus were prophesied amazingly in the Old Testament so that there is no way we can think that they happened without God's awareness at least so the Scriptures prophesied that evil men will reject Jesus when he comes have you never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone this was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes psalm 118 the scriptures prophesied that Jesus must be hated the word that is written in the law must be fulfilled they hated me without a cause the Scriptures prophesied that the disciples would abandon Jesus you will all fall away because of me for it is written I will strike the Shepherd and the Sheep of the sheep and the flock will be scattered the Scriptures prophesied that Jesus will be pierced and not a bone will be broken one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear for these things took place that the Scriptures might be fulfilled now one of his bones will be broken and again another scripture they will look on him whom they have pierced scriptures prophesied that Jesus would be betrayed by a close friend for thirty pieces of silver 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 the son of man goes as it was written of him but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the Prophet Jeremiah saying they took thirty pieces of silver the price of him on whom the price had been set by some of the sons of Israel and they gave them for the potter's field as the Lord directed me these things were fixed and had to be less the scripture be broken and not only does the scripture portray the prophecies Jesus himself prophesized down to the details remember these see we are going up to Jerusalem Jesus says and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles and they will mock him and spit upon him and flog him and kill him and after three days he will rise that's pretty detailed prophecy coming out of the mouth of Jesus that's going to happen that's going to happen it's fixed it's the plan and then right up to the end prophesying still he looks at Peter and says truly I tell you this night before the rooster crows you're going to deny me three times I know this is going to happen you will do this I know it now from these prophecies Old Testament Jesus prophecies we know that God for saw and did not prevent and therefore included in his plan that the son would be rejected hated abandoned betrayed denied condemned spit upon flogged mocked pierced and killed and all of those are sin no exceptions they are explicitly in the mind of God before they happen as things that he plans will happen to Jesus these things did not just happen they were foretold in the word God knew they would happen he did not plan to stop them in and not planning to stop them he planned to let them happen which means he folded them in to his plan and they happened according to his sovereign will and all of them were evil they were sin it is sin to reject Jesus hate abandon betrayed deny condemn spit upon flog mock and pierce and kill the morally perfect infinitely worthy divine son of God it is in fact the most spectacular sin that ever happened willed by God God brought them to pass and we don't have to even use any kind of inferring capacities of our mind to draw that conclusion because the Bible simply says it in isaiah 53:10 verse 6 all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all verse 10 it was the will of the Lord to crush him he has put him to grief so behind the spitting and flogging and mocking and killing is the invisible hand and plan of God his father who loves him infinitely I say real carefully hand and plan this truth is too big too big too weighty too controversial too shocking to be imprecise about or glib or careless or cocky or combative I choose the word hand and plan because those are the two words the most explicit text in the Bible uses concerning this and the text should be circled in red in your Bible Acts chapter 4 verses 27 and 28 is the clearest most explicit statement about God's hand and plan in the horrific sinful crucifixion of his son in the Bible it goes like this acts 4:27 truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and all the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place Herod Pilate Gentile soldiers mobs crying crucify him gathered to do what your hand and your plan predestined to take place now that's a very strange way of talking we do not think of hands predestiny anything hands don't predestined do they plans but hands what's this what your hand and plan predestined to take place that's a literal translation I think what it means is this the hand of God in the Bible represents his power and not just abstract theoretical power but practical exertions in the world bear your right arm stretch forth your hand means do something and an in connection with plan then doesn't it mean what your hand and your plan predestined to take place means not just a plan that might abort but a plan with a hand behind it a plan with an almighty sovereign divine hand behind it that's the way I think the church was thinking when they prayed that way Herod and Pilate and the soldiers and the mobs were gathered together to do what God's plan and his power behind the plan would most surely execute that explains isaiah 53:10 it was the will of the Lord to bruise him he has put him to grief or let me give you the literal translation from the King James Version which happens in this case to be the most literal of isaiah 53:10 it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief so the Lord bruised his son behind Herod Pilate mobs soldiers Judas Peter abandoning disciples was an invisible plan and hand namely the plan of his father who loved him infinitely and never stopped loving him you remember that little text in Ephesians 4 where Paul says that the death of Jesus is a fragrant aroma to God so even when he was pouring his wrath upon his own son in our place he was loving the sons obedience loving the sons devotion now I step back and conclude this series by asking why should this matter to you why should this sermon and these seven sermons matter to you spectacular sins and their global purpose in the glory of Christ manifest in the salvation of sinners well I just gave you the answer tonight it should matter this for this reason if God were not the main actor in the death of Christ then the death of Christ would not save us from our sins and we would perish in hell forever the reason the death of Christ is the heart of the gospel is because it was God's doing Romans 5:8 God shows his love for us God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died God shows his love and that Christ died if you try to separate the activity of God and keep his hands clean from this murder you have no gospel and you have no love Romans 8:3 sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin he condemned sin in the flesh God condemned my sin in the flesh of Jesus when when the the skin tour was my sin being punished this is love beyond degree galatians 3:13 christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us God cursed Jesus so that the curse could be taken away from me 2nd Corinthians 5:21 for our sake God made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in in him we might become the righteousness of God if you take God's activity out of the death of Jesus we can't be justified by God it wouldn't have anything to do with God just be a tragic circumstantial historical event isaiah 53:5 he was wounded for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities God wounded him God crushed him for you and for me and we go free the reason why this series of messages matters is this if you embrace the biblical truth that God ordains spectacular sins for the global glory of his son without ever becoming whole unholy or unrighteous or sinful in any way in doing that if you embrace that truth you will not shrink back from the cross as a work of God and I don't want anybody to shrink back from the cross as a work of God you will not be among the number of those who in their arrogance call the most loving act that ever was divine child abuse you will not be among that number and there are many in the Twin Cities who say that you will come to the cross and fall on your face and you will say this is no mere human conspiracy this is the work of God this is the love of God you will receive it as your highest treasure and you will be saved Christ will be glorified and I will not have preached in vain let's pray I ask you Lord to draw unbelieving sinners to yourself now at the south campus and at the North Campus now and here downtown Holy Spirit don't leave us to our own resources when we sing grant that some would be singing this from a born-again heart a faith filled heart a Christ treasuring heart for the first time through Christ I asked amen you [Music]

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Keywords: John, Piper, Revival, Repent, God, Sermons, Jesus, SermonIndex

Id: ofmIDL2K4BE

Length: 39min 48sec (2388 seconds)

Published: Sun May 01 2011