John 13:18-30 “From Enemies to Friends”

1:03But during the Cold War, neither the Americans nor the Soviets were ever completely sure who is a friend and who is an enemy. People who appeared to be friends were actually enemies, and people who appeared to be enemies were actually friends. Defection from the east to the west was common. Even defection from the west to the east was not unheard of. And that's usually because somebody decided that along the way they no longer believed in the cause and they could profit from their defection.

1:44Well, today in John 13, we're going to have the opportunity to zoom in on Judas Iscariot, the most famous defector of all time. He's a man who appeared to be a friend, but who actually was an enemy. And like so many during the Cold War, he was able to profit from his defection. But all along, God was in control, just as he always is. And he used Judas's betrayal to achieve the greatest victory of all time, the salvation of his people.

2:21So we're going to learn today in John 13 that because Jesus' friend became his enemy, God's enemies can become his friends through faith. Let's pick up here in verse 18. John writes, I am not speaking of all of you, I know whom I have chosen. Now, remember in the previous section, Jesus has washed the feet of the disciples. He then gave them instructions to do as he had taught them and according to the example that he had given them.

2:54And during that time of his teaching, he said, You call me teacher and Lord, and you're right because the That's what I am. But not all of them thought of Jesus as teacher and Lord. Not all of them were going to follow his example because not all of them were chosen. Take a look on the screen earlier in John chapter 6, what John writes. Jesus says, It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. Listen to this.

3:29But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him. And he said, This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father. Jesus always knew that there were some among these hundreds, even thousands of people who were following him, that there were some who did not believe.

3:58They were there for other reasons. They were there to get a free meal. They were there to get healed. They were there because it was a spectacle and it was something to see and behold. They were there for lots of reasons. He knew all along there were many people in that group that did not believe. And he also knew the identity of his betrayer. Look at what he writes next. Verse 66. After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, Do you want to? Go away as well? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?

4:36You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. He answered them, Did I not choose you the twelve? And yet, one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him. Judas was chosen to be a disciple, but Judas never believed. Jesus knew all along that Judas did not have saving faith and would be the one who would eventually betray him and hand him over to the religious leaders. And so we come to John 13, verse 2, which we covered last week. If you look back there in your text, it says, During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him.

5:30Jesus knew that some of his followers didn't believe that he was the Son of God and that one of his own disciples would betray him. And by the time that we get to John chapter 13, Satan has already put it into Judas's heart to betray Jesus. And John does not record the details of that betrayal in his gospel, but Luke does. Take a look at Luke 22. Now the feast of unleavened bread drew near, which is called the Passover.

5:58And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking. How to put him to death, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. 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.

6:24So you have to remember that the religious leaders had two problems on their hands. First, they didn't know where Jesus was. Remember earlier in John, he kept slipping away out of their grasp, and they literally didn't know where he was. That's problem one. Problem two is that the crowd loved him. So they couldn't locate Jesus, and they couldn't arrest him in public because the crowd would have rioted. They thought that Jesus was great. So they needed an insider, someone who could bring them to Jesus at a secret location where nobody else would be around, so that they could arrest him privately and not upset the crowd. So when Judas came forward offering to betray Jesus for money, they had their man.

7:13Now, all of this, if you're reading this for the first time, this is very unsettling. Feels very out of control. Feels like this one guy, Judas Iscariot, is going to derail God's plan of salvation for the world. But that is not the case everywhere. Everything was going exactly according to plan, and that's what Jesus says in verse 18. Take a look there again. But the scripture will be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.

7:47Now, Jesus is quoting Psalm 41.9, but he's actually paraphrasing it. Take a look at what Psalm 41.9 says in full. Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. Even my close friend in whom I trusted has lifted his heel. To lift the heel in the ancient Near East, to show the bottom of the foot, that was the greatest insult that you could deliver to someone. The feet were unclean and considered to be. So it was a huge insult. And David wrote Psalm 41, and you have to remember that David's son Absalom rebelled against him. He had this very same thing happen to him. One of his most trusted counselors, Ahithophel, defected to Absalom when Absalom rebelled against him.

8:45Ahithophel is a man who counseled David all through his life as king. He is a man who sat at David's table and ate with him many different times. And then he turned traitor and he betrayed King David. He lifted his heel against him. Similarly, Jesus only chose 12 disciples to be a part of his innermost circle, and Judas was one of them. He spent practically every waking hour with Jesus for the better part of three years. They were close friends, and Jesus trusted him.

9:21You remember back in chapter 12, John pointed out that Judas was the treasurer. He's the one that had the money bag. He's the one that kept track of the expenses and paid out money for their physical needs and to give to the poor, and he used to steal from it. He used to help himself to what was in it. But there was that level of trust that this guy can handle the money for the group. But by this point, Satan had already put it in Judas's heart to betray Jesus.

9:50He had already cut the deal with the religious leaders. He had already lifted his heel against Jesus. And yet, Jesus still knelt down. He took that heel in his hands and he carefully washed it, just like he did for the other 11 disciples. What a picture of the gospel. He did all of that knowing that Judas had already sold him out. The deal had already been cut. And it reminds us of the gospel. Message itself. Take a look at Romans chapter 5.

10:34For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Friends, Jesus came as a humble servant to wash our feet, and yet we have all lifted our heel against him. It would be one thing if God sent his son for good people who tried their very best to always do the right thing and always honor God. That would be one thing, but he didn't. God sent Jesus, his son, to die for us, the ungodly, while we were still sinners, while we were still rebelling against him, while we still had our heels lifted against him. He died for us and washed us in his blood. Not once we had cleaned ourselves up, not once we had made more promises to try harder to do better, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

11:54That's amazing grace. Now, Jesus did not want. The disciples to be discouraged by him telling them that one among them was going to betray him. And so look at verse 19, what he says to encourage them. I am telling you this now before it takes place, that when it does take place, you may believe that I am he. That is, when it takes place, you will believe that I am he of whom David prophesied about in Psalm 41. I am the ultimate one who is betrayed by a close friend. You see, this is what Jesus does all throughout his ministry. He continually points the disciples back to the word, back to the Old Testament as we know it, to show them that everything that was happening to him was going according to plan. Hundreds and hundreds of prophecies made about the coming Messiah, and Jesus is pointing one after another. Do you see how this applies to me? Do you see how this applies to me? Do you see that I am the one of whom the prophets spoke? And friends, this is the very thing that became the strength for the early church. This strong confidence that God is sovereign and in control of all things and that he is working out his plan of salvation as he always has.

13:20Look at Acts chapter 4 on the screen. The early church is being persecuted by the religious leaders. They've told them, don't speak anymore in this name. Look at what it says. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our Father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. That's Psalm 2, 1 and 2.

14:01For 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 the people of Israel, listen to this, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Jesus would be betrayed according to God's perfect plan of salvation. And as the disciples came to see and understand this after Jesus' resurrection, it encouraged them to boldly proclaim the gospel, which is exactly what they pray for in Acts 4. They don't pray that the persecution would stop. They don't pray for more comfort. They pray for boldness to go out and preach the gospel in the face of persecution.

14:52I think that's why Jesus says what he says in verse 20. That verse seems so random. When you first look at it, look what he says. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. But remember the context here. Jesus is connecting all of the dots. He's saying that everything is happening to me just as the prophets foretold. And everything that's going to happen to you when you go out, when I send you out as my apostles, my emissaries, my representatives, my ambassadors, all of that is going to happen just as the scriptures say. So when it happens, don't be discouraged, don't be disheartened. Trust that God is working out his perfect plan of salvation. Jesus would commission them to go and make disciples of all nations. It would be hard work. They would experience trial and persecution, but nothing would happen to them apart from God's plan that he had predestined to take place.

15:57So Jesus knows all of this is coming. He knows what the prophets have said. He knows he's going to be betrayed by a close friend, but that does not make it any easier for him. He's fully human. Look at verse 21. After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified, Truly, truly I say to you, one of you will betray me. This word troubled is that same word. Word that's used back in John 5 when the pool at Bethesda is stirred up and bubbles up. It's the sense of being agitated, disturbed. It says his spirit was disturbed within him. That's the feeling that he's got right now. And he's troubled by this upcoming betrayal.

16:51And that word that's used here, betray, it means to hand someone over, presuming that they are guilty, or to hand someone over to one's enemies. And both of those things are true. In Jesus' case, he's going to be handed over into the control of his enemies who presume that he's guilty of blasphemy and deserves to die for claiming to be the Son of God. But now that Jesus explicitly states what he implies back in verse 18, the disciples are stunned. Jesus says, one of you is going to betray me. He implied that when he quoted Psalm 41:9. Now he says it explicitly, one of you is going to betray me. Look at verse 22.

17:38The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. Now, does that surprise you? I think most of us, most readers of the Bible, assume that it was obvious that it was Judas. Like every time Jesus was teaching over the last three years, Judas is. Kind of like off in the corner, like, I hate this guy, you know. That's not how it was at all. It was not at all obvious to the disciples who would betray Jesus. And I think Matthew, in his recollection, he captures this best. Look at Matthew 26.

18:18And as they were eating, he said, Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me. And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him, one after another, Is it I, Lord? Not only did they not assume that it was Judas, every one of them was filled with sorrow and asked if it was him. Is it I, Lord? Now, friends, that is sobering. Judas shows us that if we are good enough at playing the game, we can convince even those believers who are closest to us that we too are a Christian.

19:10All you have to do is play the game well enough. You can fool everybody into thinking you love Jesus when you really don't. Again, these guys were together 24-7 for three years. And maybe Judas was on board all the way up until the last few weeks when Jesus started saying that he was going to be betrayed and crucified. That he would die and rise again. Maybe he was on board until all of those prophecies that he was saying he was going to fulfill in his death. We don't know.

19:42But either way, Jesus knew all along that Judas didn't really believe. The disciples didn't know that, but Jesus did. The disciples had no idea what was really going on in Judas's heart and mind. They had no idea he'd already taken money from the chief priests in order to betray Jesus. And friends, I think this can happen to us. I know that this happens to us. I can think of more than a handful of instances where we at New Life have seen people profess faith in Jesus. We've baptized them. We've discipled them for some time.

20:24And then all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, they disappear. So you work and you work and you work to chase them down to find out what in the world is going on. And they're like, yeah, I don't know if I believe that stuff anymore. That has happened more than once. How do you make sense of that? John gives us a clue in 1 John chapter 2. Take a look. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us. Of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

21:12Jesus himself said that only those who persevere to the end will be saved. And he illustrated that with the parable of the four soils. You've got the first soil where Satan comes and he snatches up the word before it can take root. Easy to understand, right? Some people just don't believe when they hear. You've got the fourth soil, which is the good soil, and those are the people who believe and persevere to the end. But it's the two soils in the middle that are most concerning, the rocky ground and the thorny, the soil that has the thorns. And what the rocky ground shows us, according to Jesus, is that it springs up quickly. You're like, wow, look at that. It's growing. Something's going on here. But Jesus says there's no root. So the sun comes out and it scorches it and it dies. And Jesus interprets that as when trials come, these believers, these rocky ground believers, fall away.

22:07They thought Jesus was promising them a life of prosperity, health, success. When they don't get that, they're like, I'm out of here. That's why I came. And if I can't get that, if Jesus can't deliver that to me, then I'm not following him anymore. But then you've got the thorny hearers. And those are the ones who, again, spring up after the seed is planted. But then the thorns are planted. Choke it out. And Jesus interprets that as the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of the world.

22:41The deceitfulness of riches and the cares of the world come and choke out that young plant. And that sounds a lot like what happened to Judas. The cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, him betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, that sounds a lot like Judas. So, friends, in the New Testament, the authors are really, really sober about this whole prospect of people falling away from the faith, of people being self-deceived into thinking that you are a Christian when you're not.

23:15And so, in 2 Corinthians 13, 5, Paul says, examine yourselves, test yourselves to see whether you're in the faith. Have you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord? Do you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead? Does your life bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Do you seek to obey Jesus in every area of your life? Not picking and choosing which areas you get to obey and which areas you get to disobey. Which areas of your life do you obey Jesus in? All of them. We need to seek to obey Jesus in every area. Remember last week, Luke 6, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you?

24:00Is your life marked by ongoing repentance and faith? Friends, we live in the American South. So many of us grew up in the church. So many of us grew up hearing these things all the time. It is so easy to think that because you know the Bible, because you've been baptized, because you've been to church your whole life, that you are a Christian. Paul says, do not assume that. Examine yourself. Test yourself to see if you're in the faith.

24:28None of this is to make a genuine believer doubt, okay? It's not to make you doubt your salvation if you are a true believer. But the scriptures have given us a lot of tests to apply to our lives that can be objectively answered in terms of are you a real Christian or not? And so test yourself, examine yourself. That's what we're commanded to do. All right, verse 23. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table close to Jesus. So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. Just picturing that makes me laugh. You know, John is like reclined, because the way they sat at the table, they would lean on their left arm. So he's like reclined up against Jesus. And you can see Peter, he's across. He's like, who is it?

25:26You know, he's trying to get his attention this whole time. And John's just kind of leaning back against Jesus. Jesus is having the time of his life. For the first time, he refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. And some people read that, and they're like, you know, that makes me a little uncomfortable. Why does he refer to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved? Well, I want you to remember that at the beginning of chapter 13, John said he showed all of the disciples the full extent of his love. He loved them all to the end.

25:59And it may be true that Jesus loved John the most. I mean, John was a part of the most intimate circle. Peter, James, and John were in that most intimate circle of three friends that got to see things like the Transfiguration. Jesus was human, and humans often have best friends. And so it may be true that he really did love John the most. But I think what John is doing here by calling himself the disciple that Jesus loved, I don't think John is boasting that he loved, that Jesus loved him more than the other disciples. I think John is rejoicing in the fact that Jesus loved him at all.

26:37I mean, you think about the way that Paul talks about Christ dying. In the book of Romans, he says that Christ died for all. That's true. But then to the Galatians, he said, Christ loved me and gave himself for me. To say that Christ died for me isn't to say that Christ didn't die for you. To say that Jesus loves me isn't to say that he doesn't love you. And so I think that's what John is doing. He's rejoicing in the fact that Jesus loved him, not necessarily that he loved him more than the other disciples. And I think John is also just trying to keep the focus off of himself. He's not even going to mention himself as the author. He wants the focus to be on Jesus. Verse 25.

27:22So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, the text actually says, leaning into his bosom, which y'all know I love, he says to him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it. So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. So again, remember, they're all reclining at the table, which means they're leaning on their left arm. You've got to have your right arm free to eat and to pass food, because in the ancient Near East, your right hand was your clean hand. That's the hand that you ate food with. Your left hand was reserved for personal hygiene.

28:04And so they're all leaning on their left side. So John is to the right of Jesus. That's why he can just lean back and ask Jesus. I mean, it looks uncomfortable. You know, I wouldn't want to talk like this, but that's how they did it. You know, he's able to lean back. Well, if he's able to hand the morsel to Judas, that means that Judas is directly to his left. And the place to the left in the ancient Near East is the special place of honor.

28:32So Judas is right there with him. I want to remind you again of Psalm 41:9. Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. Now, Judas and Jesus ate together many times before this, so even if this never happened, that prophecy would still be fulfilled. But Jesus wants to leave no doubt that that prophecy is being fulfilled, and so he identifies the betrayer in this way. He could have just said, the one to whom I point, it's him. But he doesn't. He says, the one to whom I give this morsel of bread, he who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.

29:18Verse 27. Then, after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, What you are going to do, do quickly. Now, you read that, and you probably wonder, what exactly does that mean? Satan entered into him. Does that mean that Judas was possessed? Well, I think it's important to note that in Scripture, the word possession is never used in connection with demons or Satan. So the Bible speaks of people having a demon. Or suffering from demonic influence, and Paul will talk about Satan ensnaring people and capturing them to do his will. You have all of that kind of language, but we don't find the word possession in scripture. And so I think it's unhelpful to use that term.

30:17And I think it's important to note that while Satan exerted some kind of very powerful influence over Judas, God still held him responsible. Jesus says, the one who betrays me is guilty of a greater sin. He is guilty. He's not innocent because he got taken over by Satan and possessed. He is guilty. Jesus says it would be better for him if he had never been born. And remember, Judas is coherent enough to go to the chief priests, negotiate a price for betraying Jesus, and then come back and play such a good role that nobody ever suspected him of being the betrayer. That hardly seems like other cases in scripture where people who have a demon are so afflicted that they're running around naked, they're yelling and screaming, they're throwing themselves into fire and water, they're cutting themselves. It just doesn't seem like that.

31:15So here's the reality. We can't come to a definitive conclusion on the influence that Satan wielded over Judas. It was obviously a lot. But this is a very good reminder to everybody that we are in this. Midst of a spiritual war. We are in the midst of a spiritual war. Satan and demons are real. They are not the way that uneducated and superstitious people talk about bad things happening. Satan and demons are real. They are not symbolic. Take a look at Ephesians chapter 6.

31:55For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 1 Peter 5. Be sober-minded. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. James 4:7. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

32:41So, friends, remember, we are in the midst of a spiritual war with cosmic powers. Satan is very real, and he is prowling around looking for someone to devour. Some, if not many, of the trials and temptations and everything else you experience is not just because Of stuff going on circumstantially in your life. It's not just because of your own shortcomings and failures. It is literally because you have an enemy, Satan, and he is prowling around looking to devour you. And so we need to fight the good fight, praying alongside of each other to resist him, because Jesus says that's what's going to make him flee.

33:23So Satan has entered into Judas, and Jesus tells him, What you're going to do, do quickly. And I think part of the reason for that is the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Jesus did not come this far to turn back and avoid the cross. So he tells him, get on with it. The hour has come. But I think we also can't forget that a few hours later in the Garden of Gethsemane, when that band is led by Judas to arrest Jesus, Simon Peter draws his sword and cuts the ear off the high priest.

34:00So I think Jesus is telling Judas, you better get out of here, because if they figure out what you're about to do, they're not going to let you do it. So he tells him, do it quickly. Verse 28. Now, no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him, buy what we need for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor. So after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out.

34:30And it was night. The disciples are still in the dark at this point. They are still assuming the best about Judas. He is the treasurer, the keeper of the money bag. And they're like, if Jesus told him to do something quickly, then he probably needs to go buy some supplies or give alms to the poor, which was totally common during the Passover. They still assumed the best. But in fact, Judas was going out to meet a band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests who were going to show up a few hours later with clubs and torches to arrest Jesus.

35:10And this last phrase in verse 30 is so ominous. And it was night. Given John's emphasis on light and darkness in his gospel, this is not just to help you understand what time of day it is. This is a commentary on the state of Judas' soul. It was night. Just before they went to the upper room together to have supper, Jesus said, Walk in the light while you still have it. Believe in the light that you may become sons of light. But Judas never did this. He didn't walk in the light. He didn't believe in the light, so he never became a son of light. And as a result, just like Jesus said in chapter 12, Judas was overtaken by darkness. And eventually overtaken by Satan himself.

36:06Someone once said, There's a road to hell at the very gates of heaven. There's a road to hell at the very gates of heaven. For three years, Judas followed Jesus and listened to his teaching for hours a day. He saw thousands upon thousands of miracles. He even saw Jesus raise people from the dead. And yet, he never believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and he betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver. And so, friends, think about all of the people, and maybe you said this at one point in your life. All the people who say, if I had just been there, if I could have just seen the miracles myself, I would believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Judas proves that that's not true. He saw everything and still didn't believe. And again, the scary part about all of this is that I think it is very unlikely that Judas considered himself an unbeliever for all three years. I do not think Judas followed Jesus for three years thinking to himself, I don't believe this, I don't believe this, I don't believe this, I don't think he's the Son of God. I think he thought all along that he was a true follower. I think he thought all along that he had saving faith.

37:31There is a road to hell at the very gates of heaven. And Judas found it. Lots of people do. Again, you may have grown up in the church. You may know tons of Bible verses. You may know tons of theology. But if you have not placed your faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus alone for salvation, for reconciliation with God, then you're in the same place that Judas is, knowing a lot of information, but not having saving faith.

38:11One time a scribe came to Jesus and he asked him, What are the greatest commandments? And Jesus asked him, he turned the question right back around. He said, what do you think? And the scribe said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus looked at that guy and he goes, You're not far from the kingdom of heaven. That guy gave a perfect theological answer. Couldn't have said it better. And Jesus did not say, Congratulations, you are in the kingdom.

38:51He said, You're not far. You can know all the right stuff, but it is not. An issue of knowing in your head. It is an issue of believing in your heart that Jesus is the Christ. And so I urge you today to examine yourself and test yourself to see whether you've come to saving faith in Jesus or whether, like Judas, you just look like you have. If you're already a Christian, this passage reminds us that God is in complete control of all things and working everything together for good.

39:35When Judas betrayed Jesus and Jesus was arrested, it looked like a great victory for Satan and for all of Jesus' enemies. But it wasn't. In fact, it was the last step on the road to Jesus' greatest victory, his death and resurrection. And so, friends, if you're facing trials in your life where it seems like God is absent, that he has forgotten you, that there's no way that what is going on in your life right now could possibly turn out for good, I want you to remember what Jesus told the disciples in verse 19. I am telling you this stuff now so that when it happens, you will believe that I am he.

40:14We're promised over and over again in the New Testament, you are going to go through trials. You are going to have a hard life. You are going to be mocked and persecuted and left out because of your faith. That is going to happen. And instead of that rattling our faith and making us think, Man, God has forgotten me. Let us instead do what Jesus has encouraged us to do and go back to the scripture and say, He must be the Messiah. He said all of this was going to happen, and it's happening just as he said that he would.

40:44But he's working all things together for good, just as he used this betrayal by a close friend to save us. Because Jesus' friend became his enemy. We who were once God's enemies have become his friends through faith. Let's pray. Father, I pray for every person here who is going through a really hard time. Some are going through intense medical trials. Their health, or the health of someone that they love very much, is not good. Some are experiencing trials in their relationships.

41:56They're heartbroken and confused. Some are going through financial difficulties, trouble at work, trouble with their class, their program. Others are being persecuted and ostracized and left out because of their faith. And I pray that you would minister to them this morning through your word and through the power of your Holy Spirit, that they would believe that in the midst of all of these things, you are working all things together for good. You are making them more like you.

42:36You are going to bring other people into the kingdom when they observe how they remain steadfast through difficult trials, not glossing over it and acting like it's no big deal, but remaining steadfast in faith, even when it's hard. We pray that you would encourage them, strengthen them this morning. God, we pray for anyone here who may be deceived, who, like Judas, blend in perfectly because they know the right things to say, they know the way to act, they know what's acceptable and what's not acceptable in Christian subculture, but in their hearts they don't have saving faith. God, we pray this morning you would reveal the truth to them and bring them to saving. Faith in Jesus.

43:35I pray that Satan, since we've talked so much about him this morning, I pray that Satan does not keep them from coming forward and saying, I need to become a Christian because they're worried about what other people will think. So we pray that you would use this time together today to save souls. And God, we pray that you would revive all of us. In Christ's name, we pray these things. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.