Motives

Go ahead and take your Bibles from Mark chapter 14 as we start out with the first Sunday of the new year, 2025.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

You know, what another year the Lord has given to us.

And just as we transition to a new year, we're transitioning to a new chapter here in the book of Mark.

And as we come here to this transition in the gospel here, this narrative,

we're going to look this morning at some motives that are revealed.

Because, you know, as we understand, we all judge motives.

We look at motives. We try to assess motives that people have.

And here this morning we're going to look at some motives about people and their service

and how they look at the Lord and the things with that.

And so sometimes we can't always understand somebody's motive,

but we do and can assess the actions and the choices that they make.

And it may seem one way by observation.

You know, we can observe somebody and try to make some assessments about their motive.

But you know what? There's only two people who know your true motive.

That's yourself and God.

And the sad part is sometimes we don't even understand our motive.

Yeah, I believe sometimes we don't even understand why we do something sometimes until later on.

But I want you to know God understands all that's going on within us.

You know, and so we're going to see here as Mark 14 brings to light the heart of individuals here within the chapter.

But before we begin reading, we need to just give a little context here

because this chapter kind of marks a transition in a unique way

because it kind of gives a flashback or moves back in time.

Here, if we're going to look this morning, it moves back a few days

and catches us up with what was happening, you might say, parallel to what Jesus was doing.

The things that were happening in the background here,

and we're going to talk about that here this morning,

but as he looks and unpacks those things about individuals' motives.

And Jesus speaks specifically about one person's motive in the narrative

and gives us insight into it.

And so we see here as Jesus arrives a few days early,

if you remember when he came towards Jerusalem for the Passover,

it was there in Bethany where he began

and came in on that Friday evening before the Passover

as we had looked weeks ago,

and we find these things are going to start playing out already

that set the stage for what's happening in the week that follows.

And so if you found Mark chapter 14,

Mark 14 · chapter mention

let's stand together this morning for the reading of the Word of God here today

as we honor the Lord.

And let's look here in verse 1.

It says,

And after two days was the feast of the Passover,

and the unleavened bread,

and the chief priests and the scribes

sought how they might take him by craft

and put him to death.

But they said,

No, not on the feast day,

lest there be an uproar of the people.

And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,

he sat at meat,

and there came a woman having an alabaster box

of ointment of spikenard,

very precious,

and she broke the box and poured it on his head.

And there were some that had indignation within themselves

and said,

Why is this waste of the ointment made?

For it might have been sold for more than 300 pence

and had been given to the poor,

and they murmured against her.

And Jesus said,

Let her alone.

Why trouble ye her?

She thwart a good work on me.

For ye have the poor with you always,

and whensoever ye will,

ye may do them good.

But me ye have not always.

And she hath done what she could.

She has come aforehand

to anoint my body to the bearing.

Verily I say unto you,

Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached

throughout the whole world,

this also that she hath done

shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve,

went unto the chief priest

to betray him unto them.

And when they heard it,

they were glad and promised to give him money,

and he sought how he might conveniently betray him.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father,

as we come before you this morning,

Lord, we just thank you and praise you

for the day that you've given to us,

the opportunity to meet together.

Lord, as we just take time to look

at the motives of these individuals

here this morning,

that Lord, help us to assess our own motives

of what and the why if we do things,

and especially for your service.

Lord, help us to keep the right motives

in our lives towards you.

Lord, help us to do it in light

of what you've done for us.

Lord, help us to examine our motives

even here today,

that it might be found

that it was something

that was done well for you.

And Lord, we pray just have your hand

upon each one today,

and we give you all the praise

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

May we be seated.

You know, as we find here,

Mark takes us back

to the Friday as Jesus arrives.

And we'll talk just a little bit

about that here,

because it says it was two days

before the feast of the Passover.

And so one thing I want you to understand,

John's Gospel tells us

that this feast happened

on that Friday night

before the Sabbath,

there when Jesus arrived.

John chapter 12,

John 12 · chapter mention

we'll look at that

a little bit this morning.

But I want you to understand,

sometimes we get caught up

and miss things in language,

because here it's talking about

the feast of the Passover

was two days.

Now, the feast is talking

about the festival,

in other words,

the course of the time frame

of Passover.

In order to understand that,

we have to look back

into Exodus.

If you remember in Exodus

when God originally

gave the Passover,

the Passover wasn't so much

an event,

but was a time period

that was involved,

because it started

on the tenth day of the month.

On the tenth day of Nisan,

they picked the lamb,

and they began,

from that point,

when they picked the lamb,

they would look at the lamb,

they would scrutinize the lamb,

they made sure the lamb

was proper to be sacrificed,

and then on the fourteenth day

was actually the day of Passover,

and they would actually kill

the lamb on that day.

Also on that day,

when they killed the lamb,

the next day began

the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

And so when it talks

about the feast,

or the festival,

the word here is festival.

In other words,

it's talking about

that time frame involved,

because sometimes we get,

as we read our Bible,

we get to reading through,

and we need to understand,

how has this happened?

Two days, it says,

and the other one says

six days before in John.

How does that correlate?

Well, John speaks specifically

about six days before

the Passover event itself,

and this one says,

two days,

was two days before

the festival began,

which would have been

on that Sunday.

And so, in other words,

we'll find that

if we understand the context,

we understand there,

everything flows perfectly

on the timeline.

And everything flows through,

there's no conflict here

of these events.

This is when this event

took place,

was in the house

of one Simon,

the leper.

And so,

this feast refers

to that entire time

of the Passover.

And that helps us understand

the context

of the passage.

Why was it placed here?

It's because he's given us

a motive about what's happening

behind the scenes,

because there's going to be

one of Jesus' disciples,

Judas,

that's going to turn Jesus in.

What were some things

preceding that

that led forth,

and that motive

behind it

is revealed?

Because,

take a look over quick,

go to John chapter 12

John 12 · chapter mention

for a moment here this morning

as we look here

in this,

and you'll see

what I'm speaking of here.

Because we see here,

we can understand

this context,

John chapter 12

John 12 · chapter mention

and verse 1

says,

In other words,

we see that

this event

is the same one,

and John gives us

more details

about who was present.

We have some very important

people present here.

We have

one,

as it mentioned,

he says that Mary

and Martha were there,

we find that Lazarus,

and if we consider

Lazarus was a unique gift,

our guest that day,

because just a few days

earlier from that,

Lazarus had been

laying in a grave,

and Jesus told him

to come forth.

You know,

here's one that had

risen from the dead

sitting at the meal.

Now,

wouldn't that make

your festivities

a little different?

You know,

as you consider

that Lazarus

is here sitting here

after Jesus

has called him forth

from the grave,

and while Jesus

and his disciples

arrived there,

this gathering here

has some other things

happening,

because notice

what it tells us

here in our text,

because something's

happening at the same

time that Jesus

is coming into Bethany

to prepare to present

himself in Jerusalem.

On that Sunday,

we find that triumphal

entry that we talk about,

and notice here

in verse 1,

it says,

and after two days

was the feast

of the Passover

of unleavened bread.

Now,

notice here,

the chief priests

and the scribes

took him by craft

and put him to death,

but they said,

not on the feast day

lest there be an uproar

of the people.

So,

we see here

something's taking place.

Matthew tells us

in his gospel

in Matthew 26

that they actually met

at the palace

of Caiaphas,

the high priest.

In other words,

they were there

meeting in a place

of a private home,

and this is one

of those things

that we're actually

doing something

that sometimes happens today.

You know,

people don't want to meet

in the official space

when they're making plans

to do things

they ought not to do.

You know?

Have you ever noticed that?

They usually don't do that

on the official space.

They go someplace else

to do it.

Because what were they doing?

They had a plot here.

They said,

how can we get rid of Jesus?

Now,

we understand

that this was before

Jesus even got to Jerusalem.

Why were they plotting?

Well,

one,

they knew Jesus

was going to be there

because he'd been there

every other time.

You know,

the Bible says

that it was his custom

to go to Jerusalem

at the feast.

In other words,

Jesus,

his whole life

from the time

he was a young child,

had been every time

to Jerusalem

for the feast

of the Passover.

Passover.

So in other words,

they knew

that he was going to show up.

But they didn't like him.

There were some things

that they wanted

to deal with

with Jesus

because he was getting in the way.

We're going to look

at his motives

here a little bit

because as we're going

to look here this morning

as they meet

behind closed doors,

we find that they

wanted to get rid of Jesus

because he was causing

a disruption

among the people.

And one of those disruptions

he caused

was Lazarus

walking around.

Now,

I don't know about you,

but that would definitely

cause a disruption

in the society around.

You know,

here's Lazarus

when everybody

knew was dead,

got up and walked out.

Now,

he's talking

to people

and others

are talking.

You know,

the Bible says

that some of them

that saw Lazarus

rise from the dead

caused them

to believe

that Jesus

was the Messiah.

that Jesus

is the one

they had to point

their direction to.

But there was others,

the Bible tells us,

that went

and told

the chief priests

and those things,

others,

that what had happened

and how the people

were beginning

to follow Jesus.

And as they met

behind those doors

and discussing

those things

and the disruption

that it was causing,

and those gatherers

were establishing

a plan

to put Jesus

to death.

So let's look

at the motives

here this morning

of these that we're meeting.

The motives

of the leaders.

Because this is important

to see here,

the motive that was there.

Turn back over

to the Gospel of John

for a moment

because John

gives us some insight

into this meeting

and what was going on.

It gives us insight

and I think we can

all connect with this

this morning

in the context

of society as a whole

and as people

because we understand

there's nothing new

under the sun.

You know,

if we haven't learned anything

that you ought to learn

that people do

what people do.

You can look back

in history

and the motives

of why people do something

is the same motive

of why people do it today.

You know,

it boils down to

the very simple thing.

Look here in John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

Look in verse 48.

The Word of God

says this.

It says,

If we let him thus alone,

all men will believe on him

and the Romans

shall come away,

come and take away

both our place

and nation.

That does some description

of their motive,

isn't it?

What are they concerned about?

They're not concerned about

is Jesus the Messiah?

Is he the one sent by God?

They're more worried

about their place

and their position

of who they are

and where they hold authority.

I think we can understand

that still happens today,

doesn't it?

People get so caught up

they do what's counter

to what's best

for maintaining

their power

and their authority

and their place.

The attempt was about themselves.

You know,

we see here,

look back in our text

this morning

in Mark chapter 14

Mark 14 · chapter mention

because notice here

what it says

and it says

at the end of that chapter,

it says,

or at the end of that verse,

it says,

The chief priests

and the scribes

sought how they might

take him by craft

and put him to death.

That word craft

means deception.

In other words,

how can we,

by trick or deception,

get Jesus

to a place

that we can have him killed?

They're plotting murder.

Here's the religious leaders,

those that were supposed

to uphold

the commands of God,

the very simple commands

because, I mean,

it's probably one of the most famous

of the commands of God

that people can quote

if you get them,

thou shalt not kill.

I mean,

it's pretty simple.

It's not complex.

It's not drawn out.

You know,

it's one of those commands

that God gives

that I don't think

people have trouble

understanding it

or argue about interpretation

of what it applies to.

I mean,

when you take a life

of an individual,

it's pretty clear.

When we understand

the plot

and the plan

that they were doing

with this,

they wanted to put

Jesus to death

by craft.

In other words,

they wanted to say,

how can we get this,

make this happen?

How can we manipulate

the system

to get it where we want?

You know?

Now,

like I said,

like when I was reading

through this and studying,

I'm like,

man,

did they read the newspaper?

Are the articles online?

I mean,

this is some of the same stuff

going on today,

isn't it?

That people manipulate

and try to do.

We see their motive

being laid out here,

but we find

like good politicians,

they didn't want to do it

in a manner or time

to detract from their standing

with the people.

Because look at verse 2,

what it says,

but they said,

not on the feast day

lest there be an uproar

of the people.

You know,

they're like,

we want to get rid of them,

but we've got to be

unique and deceptive

about this a little bit.

So everybody thinks

we're doing the right thing.

You know,

everybody's going to do

the right thing

and the right elements

involved here

and their intent

was to take Jesus

after the feast

of the Passover

because everybody

was going to be departing,

people weren't going

to be paying attention

and they said,

well,

take him at the end

and put him to death.

That was their plan.

That was the scheme

that they had come up with

at that point.

Now we know

that God

was involved

in this also.

God knew

what was going to happen

because in that meeting,

turn back over

to John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

for a moment

because we're going

to learn here

something about their motive

because their motive here,

notice here

as they're going through

in John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

in verse 49

says this,

and one of them

named Caiaphas

being the high priest

that same year

said unto them,

ye know nothing at all

nor consider

that it is expedient

for us

that one man

should die

for the people

that the whole nation

perish not.

You know,

now I can imagine

Caiaphas standing up

in the midst

of this group

and saying,

hey,

it's expedient

for one to die

for the nation.

Now this is also unique

in the fact

the next verse

gives us some more

information

because notice

in verse,

the next verse there

it says

in verse 51,

and this spake

he not of himself

but being the high priest

that year

he prophesied

that Jesus

should die

for that nation

and that not

for that nation only

but for also

he should gather

together in one

the children of God

that were scattered

abroad.

In other words,

God spoke

through an evil leader

because of the position

he held

God still spoke truth

and he spoke,

Caiaphas spoke

a reality

that Jesus

would

die

for the nation

of Israel

but also die

for everybody else.

it was a prophecy

that was set forth

that this was going

to take place

we see there

clearly their motive

was contrary

to everything

they said

they held high.

You got to remember

this is a group

that said

well we're the

religious people

you know

we got everything

right

we're all

whitewashed

and look good

and I want you

to understand

that you can have

people who look

good on the outside

but their motive

on the inside

isn't even

where he's close

because motives matter.

We're going to look

at that here

in just a moment

because we're going

to start here

quick and look

at the next person

whose motives

are judged

and looked at

that's the

motives of Mary

you know

look here at verse 3

it says

in being in Bethany

at the house

of Simon the letter

he sat at meat

and came a woman

having a alabaster

box of ointment

of spikard

very precious

and he broke

the box

and poured it

on his head

now we find here

that doesn't tell us

this is Mary here

Mark doesn't reveal

that but John does

in John chapter 12

John 12 · chapter mention

in verse 3

he says

that it was Mary

who took a pound

of ointment

of spikard

and very costly

and anointed

the feet of Jesus

and wiped his feet

with her hair

you know

and we see here

that Mary

we're going to see here

the motives of Mary

as she comes

at this dinner

and she breaks

open this bottle

of perfume

now this is

basically here

the spikenard

is a very expensive

substance

the actual stuff

even today

is pretty expensive

you know

this would have been

something that was

not easily

we find later

it was worth

300 pennies worth

now today

that's not really

something we think about

but let me put it

this way

300 pennies worth

was about a year's wages

for the average worker

now it makes a little

difference

imagine you're

taking your whole year's wages

or what would mean

even the wages

of a working person

you know

let's put it today

okay let's take

a minimum wage

person's wage

and say they took

everything they had

that year

and that's what

this cost

that's pretty great value

even if you have

substance

that's a lot of value

that's something

that had value

to it

and we see here

she brings this

costly

container of perfume

which is

interestingly enough

is kind of an

amberish red color

and she breaks it open

and she pours it out

on Jesus' head

and it runs down

over him

and we're going to find

here

Jesus says

she's actually

doing something

that's a picture

of what's to come

I don't think

Mary understood

what she was doing

in that context

until Jesus

explained it

I think Mary

had a motive here

that was one

she wanted to

honor the Lord

because by doing this

she was honoring him

as the guest

there at the table

because as she

pours it out

she begins to wipe

his feet with her hair

and what statement

did she make

you know

I think when we look

at Mary's statement

we're going to see here

she made a statement

because some people

got upset

have you ever noticed

in life

sometimes you can make

a statement

by what you do

the choices you make

the things behind it

and people begin

to assess it

and we're going to see

here in just a moment

here those that

assessed it

but let's look at Mary

here and her motives

here for a little bit

because she was making

a statement about

her commitment

to Jesus

when she poured it out

there was no going back

you know it was

unconditional

and complete commitment

I mean when she

poured the bottle out

there was no going back

you don't put oil

back in the bottle

you know it doesn't

work that way

she was all in

in this commitment

of what she was to do

there was no going back

it was unconditional

it was complete

and she understood

the cost

she understood

the cost that was there

she was making

a statement

I believe about

Jesus' value

to her

you know

often times

what we do

makes a statement

about the value

we hold to God

or that we

God has to us

because the choices

we make

the priorities we place

the value we put

into something

says something

about how you hold

it in esteem

how do you honor

how do you

why is it important

in your life

you know

why are these things

there

and when she poured

it out

it revealed

that her Savior

was more valuable

than the things

in her life

you know I think

we could learn

we could spend

some time this morning

just talking about

her motives

because it's motives

that we ought to have

as believers

when you consider

what could we give

Jesus more than

what he's already

given us

what has he provided

for us

her actions spoke

and at that moment

she did not care

what anybody else thought

now I want you

to understand

that by her wiping

not just pouring the oil

but wiping his feet

with her hair

made a statement

that she was humble enough

to act as a servant

it was the reality

of other people

were not going to be happy

with what she did

because she was outside

the norm

you know

she was outside

what was expected

by her doing this

because if she was proper

she should have had

her hair up

and kept it up

that was just one

of the things of the day

it was a cultural dynamic

but she didn't care

what somebody else thought

her focus was on the Lord

her focus is

how am I honoring Jesus

how am I honoring him

for what he's given

honoring the Savior

her focus was strictly

upon Jesus

not what everybody else thought

she washed his feet

you know that job

of wiping his feet

was the job

of a household slave

yet she humbled herself

before the Lord

to serve

she gave no one the cost

you know

because I want you to understand

that the Bible

makes it very clear

you cannot offer to God

something that does not

cost you something

you know oftentimes

people want to serve God

by convenience

well if I have time

or if I'm available

I might show up

or I might do something

but the reality is

is that a sacrifice

by a very element

of sacrifice

means there's a price

that it costs something

you know consider David

go back to 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 24 · chapter mention

chapter 24

for a moment

2 Samuel chapter 24

2 Samuel 24 · chapter mention

in verse 24

we find here

that David

is about to make a

sacrifice

unto the Lord

and he's a

very needful

to buy this piece

of land

as the place

Uriah's threshing floor

it's the same place

where the temple mount

is today

but we're going to see here

that there's a lot

of things in this story

but I want you to notice

David's statement

because Uriah says

unto the king

you know

hey

you can just have it

if you're going to use it

for the Lord

he said

King David

if you need this

for the Lord

I'm willing to give it to you

now I believe

that guy had a good heart

about what was going on

he had a good

there was nothing wrong

with his intention

he said

man if you're going to use it

for the Lord

use it

but this particular case

dealt very specifically

man I don't know

what's up with that word lately

specifically

with David

what it says

in the middle of that verse

there's

neither will I offer

burnt offerings

unto the Lord my God

which

of that which

doth cost me

nothing

you cannot offer

unto God

something that doesn't

have value

you know

often times people

don't want to

offer things

unto God

but you know

really by offering

what we think

has value

in this life

unto the Lord

makes a statement

it makes a statement

about our motive

it makes a statement

about our priority

it makes a statement

about what we deem important

look over to

Philippians chapter 3

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

for a moment

Philippians chapter 3

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

in verse 7

here we have

the apostle Paul

you know

sometimes I don't think

we really grasp

all the things

as I study out

Paul's life

I mean

Paul had it made

he was a Roman citizen

he was a man of influence

he had resources

he had all the things

that most people

on the outside

would look and say

here's a guy

who has it all together

he had the best education

he came from

a notable family

I mean he had

all the right connections

in the right places

he had resources

and look at what Paul

who gave up

all that life

to serve the Lord

notice what he says

here in verse 7

he says

but what things

were gained to me

those I counted

lost for Christ

yea doubtless

and I count all things

but lost

for the excellency

of the knowledge

of Christ Jesus

my Lord

for whom I have

suffered the loss

of all things

and do count them

but dung

that I might win

Christ

I want you to see

that Paul understood

to serve the Lord

was going to come

with a price

the sacrifice

unto the Lord

had a price

attached to it

a price

isn't necessarily

just resources

sometimes the highest

price we pay

is time

you know you get

resources back

the only thing

you have in life

you cannot redeem

and get more of

is time

your life

the direction

the things that you do

because look at

Jesus response to her

look here in verse 6

it says

and Jesus said

let her alone

why trouble ye her

she hath wrought

a good work on me

but ye have

the poor with you

always

and whensoever

ye will

ye may do

them good

but me

ye have not always

and she hath done

what she could

and she hath aforehand

to anoint my body

to the bearing

verily I say unto you

wheresoever this gospel

shall be preached

throughout the whole world

this also that she hath done

shall be spoken of

for a memorial

of her

you know

that's quite a lot

right there

I mean

Jesus here

looks at Judas

because we're going to

find here

Judas was the one

raising the stink

and he also caused

other people

to get upset about it

but I want you to hear

Jesus looks at him

and says

leave her alone

she's done that

which is right

you know

I want you to understand

sometimes you can do

what's right

and other people

aren't going to

recognize it as that

because of their motives

they're going to

judge those things

she wrought a good work

she had given

the right priority

to the Lord

as Jesus says

the poor will be with you

in other words

Jesus said

hey

she did the right thing

by honoring me

because she can honor

the poor anytime

they're not going

anyplace

Jesus said

in a few days

I'm going to go

to the cross

I'm going to die

for the sins

of the world

he said

that the poor

will be with you

always

now I want you

to notice here

there's a couple

things there

one the reality

is you're going

to have people

who struggle

in life

in all generation

and we can do

good to them

at any time

but how we honor

the Lord

is important

and honoring

the Lord

ought to have

a priority

over that

he declares

that she had

anointed his body

for the bearing

you know

it'd be less

than a week

from this point

that he would

be in a grave

because I want

you to see here

also something

very important

because her motive

and her actions

made a difference

in eternity

Jesus

notice

he said

wherever the

gospel's preached

what she did

is going to be

spoken of

now we already

learned here

a few weeks ago

God's word

doesn't pass away

in other words

this event

is memorialized

in God's word

for eternity

but it also

gives us a picture

to consider

the reality

of what we do

has an internal

impact

the choices

we make

you know

consider 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

when it talks

about the things

that we do

if any man's

work abide

which he built

thereon

he shall receive

a reward

if any man's

work shall be

burned

he shall suffer

loss

but he himself

shall be saved

yet so by fire

I want you

to understand

God judges

the motive

of your work

if you study

this passage

it talks about

wood, hay, and stubble

we can do a lot

of wood, hay, and stubble

instead of gold, silver

and precious stones

that endure

and the difference

if you read that passage

you'll find out

has attached

very greatly

the motive

behind why

you're doing something

are you doing it

for the Lord

or are you doing it

for somebody else

what's the motive

behind what you do

because you can do

the right thing

for the wrong reasons

still be wrong

other people might

look at it as right

but if your motive

behind it

isn't right

there's still a problem

there's an issue there

you know

Mary's motive

was manifest

in her love

for the Lord

outweighing

everything else

because she was

living out

the greatest commandment

where it tells us

that thou shalt

love the Lord

thy God

with all thy heart

with all thy soul

with all thy mind

and with all thy strength

this is the first commandment

I think we can look

at this and say

Mary said

God

you're first

I'm loving you

with all that

I have

and I don't care

what somebody else

thinks about it

Mary made a statement

about his worthiness

to be worshipped

and served

and her commitment

was clear

we know that her motive

was the right motive

her motive

was because she loved

the Lord

she said

I don't care

what somebody else

thinks about it

my motive

is because

I'm going to

serve the Lord

so we have

the motive

of the leaders

and we have

the motives

of Mary

but we're going

to look also

because this passage

ties in the motive

of a man called Judas

now Judas

is a

unique character

to scripture

in a few senses

because

he's spoken of

in the Old Testament

not by name

but as one

that was going

to betray

the Lord

these things

are foretold

what's going to happen

he's fulfilling

his life

is fulfilling

prophecy

in a bad sense

now Mark

doesn't mention

who declared

the act

was wasteful

John does

because let's look

first here

in verse 4

of Mark

Mark 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

it says

and there were

some that had

indignation

within themselves

and said

why was this

waste of the

ointment

made

now John 12

tells us

that one of

the disciples

Judas Iscariot

Simon's son

which should

betray him

why was

this ointment

sold for

three

not

this ointment

sold for

three hundred

pence

and given

to the poor

he said this

not that he

cared for the

poor

but because

he was a

thief

and had

the bag

and bear

what was

put therein

John gives

us the motive

behind his

indignation

John reveals

the motive

you know

it's interesting

here because

Judas is

acting very

self-righteously

he's like

guys

that was

horrible

that she

wasted

a year's

salary

it could

have been

sold and

given to

the poor

sounds good

well look at

his motive

he's just

looking out

for others

that's what

it looked like

on the outside

but what was

his motive

if motive

was I need

to manipulate

this

because of

what I

want

of what

I desire

he was

acting

self-righteous

like he

was looking

out for

the needs

of others

the poor

could have

used that

but you

know

as I was

thinking through

this I

thought about

many charities

today are

kind of like

Judas's

you know

I'll just

give you

we'll take a

side note here

for a moment

and tell you

be careful

who you give

money to

because they

might sound

good

there's a lot

of Judas's

who sound

good

but all

they're

looking for

is not

the benefit

of others

they're looking

for how deep

they can grab

in the bag

let me tell you

there's a lot

of charities

today if you

do your research

you'll find out

they're not

very good

there's a lot

of Judas

charities out

there

you know

when they

spend 90

to 95%

on administration

and 5%

doing what

they're doing

I'd call that

a Judas

ministry

amen

they're looking

at how far

they can dip

in the bag

side note

but something

to be attentive

to

because

just because

something sounds

good doesn't

mean it is

we need to be

careful because

Judas

I want you to

realize Judas

fooled everybody

but Jesus

you ever thought

about that

Judas

fooled

everybody

but Jesus

when Jesus

said one at

the table

is going to

betray

me

not everybody

looked

you know

they didn't

look down

the table

what did they

do

they looked

at even

themselves

is it

I

you know

what that

tells us

that Judas

had everybody

fooled

matter of fact

it might have

been one of

them as they

were looking

around the

table

they were

going

well maybe

it's

Bartholome

maybe

it's

Judas

no I'm

probably

not

Judas

but we

find out

that even

though he

looked good

on the

outside

his motives

were wrong

on the

inside

and his

influence

was such

that nobody

thought

that his

motives

were not

right

matter of

fact he

caused

others

to get

upset

with him

you know

this sometimes

happens

people get

upset

about things

because somebody

else

well I think

they got

the right

motive

you better

check and

see if it

is right

because Judas

his motive

here was

nothing but

about himself

he had a

motive that

looked good

on the

outside

but a

motive

that was

twisted

and wicked

on the

inside

others

joined

with him

his influence

was such

over them

and you

know

it ought to

stand as a

warning

to us

this morning

that the

only one

that can

identify the

motive

is ourselves

and that's

only sometimes

because I

want you to

understand

the Bible

tells us

and makes

it very

clear

that there's

some

betrayal

even within

ourselves

because we

see Judas

do something

here after

this

the Bible

tells us

look at

what Judas

did

look at

verse 10

and Judas

Iscariot

one of the

twelve

went unto

the chief

priest

to betray

him

unto them

now have

you ever

wondered

why did

Judas

go to

the chief

priest

go back

to John

John 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

for a

moment

John

John 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

and verse

57

gives us

the answer

why did

Judas

know he

could go

to the

chief

priest

and the

scribes

verse 57

says and

now both

the chief

priest and

the Pharisees

had given

a commandment

that if any

man knew

where he

were he

could show

it and they

might take

him in other

words that

chief

priest and

the scribes

had put out

a memo

a big poster

or whatever

it was

and said

hey if

anybody's

willing to

betray

Jesus

so that

we might

take him

by craft

or trickery

that's not

what the

sign said

but that's

what their

intent was

Judas

apparently

heard about

it

because we

know what

did Judas

do he

went and