TEXT: John 13:1-3
1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
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Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign sermon series, which is aimed at sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with unbelievers and reminding Christians, in this important election year, to keep the main thing the main thing — and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America is not only disobedient presidents, politicians, and people, but disobedient pastors, preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey the Lord’s Great Commission which is to, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” and who have refused to obey God’s repeated commands to “pray without ceasing” for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders. Yes, you should pray for the right candidate to win; yes, you should vote for the candidate that the Lord gives you peace about voting for. But, don’t get caught up in it like the world does. Nothing much is going to change until people get saved and get their hearts right with the Lord.
This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which says, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Acts 5:42 which says, “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” And 2 Timothy 2:4 which says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you are one of those saints who still loves to hear the “Old, old story of Jesus and His love” — As another hymn says, “For those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.” This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and understand the Gospel and be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is hell. This is message number 197.
Robert L. Deffinbaugh said, “What a comfort to the Christian, knowing that our Lord’s love is constant and unchanging, knowing that He chose to love us — and to keep on loving us — purely out of His grace, and not based upon our performance. Jesus loved His own; He loved them to the ‘end’ — to the uttermost degree.”
In our last message, we discussed the immeasurable love of Jesus Christ for His disciples which remained even in the face of His own death. Today we see that it remained not only in the face of death, but in the face of betrayal. Verse 2 reads, “And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray [Jesus]…”
The term “supper being ended” means that the serving of the supper was complete. Jesus and His disciples were still eating as is indicated in the following verses. Jesus was eating dinner with the man who would turn Him in to the religious authorities in a few hours. Imagine: Jesus with His heart full of God’s pure love reclining across the table from Judas, his heart full of the darkness of Satan.
Writing prophetically, David (who knew something of being betrayed by someone very close to him) described the sentiment of this moment. He said in Psalm 55:12-14, “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.” Jesus had hand-picked Judas to be His disciple. He had been with Jesus through three years of training and service. With all of the people who hated Jesus and were out to get Him, one would think that the devil would certainly have his pick of people he could influence to get to Jesus. But, he chose Judas, someone on the inside, and he put into his heart the thought and desire to betray Jesus.
Did Jesus know what was going on in Judas’ heart? Of course He did. Jesus knew all things. Yet the fact that we see Jesus sitting down to supper with His betrayer gives us a direct example of John’s words that Jesus loved each of His disciples to the very end. To the very end, Jesus wanted to save Judas from perdition and destruction. He showed Him the same love and kindness as He showed the other disciples. (In a few verses, we will see that Jesus washed all their feet.) Hampton Keathley IV said, “The presence of evil did not hinder love. This evil was directed at Christ, but we see that He did not react to Judas. He continued with His attitude and actions of love and service.”
Ultimately, Judas had to make his own decision. He rejected Christ’s love and chose the devil’s path.
Today, every person on the planet is confronted with the same unwavering love of Jesus. Jesus does not force us to believe in Him. He does not force us to choose life over death, salvation over damnation, happiness and Heaven over the horrors of Hell. He just keeps on loving us to the very end. God will not torture you into His kingdom. He will not drag you somewhere you do not want to go. If you refuse to accept Jesus’ love and refuse to trust Him as your Savior, you will, like Judas, be lost forever in perdition and Hell.
Today is the day for you to respond to Jesus’ epic love for you — a love that continues in the face of death, in the face of betrayal, in the face of rejection, in the face of the sin of the world. Here is how you can receive Jesus’ love and trust Him as your Lord and Savior today.
First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death…” This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell.
But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The phrase “For God so loved the world” means that if you are in this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.
The next phrase, “that He gave His only begotten Son” refers to Jesus Christ. He is God’s son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose again.
Our next phrase is “that whosoever believeth in Him”. The word “whosoever” means anybody at anytime. The phrase “believeth in Him” means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.
Our next phrase, “should not perish”, refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.
And, lastly, the phrase “but have everlasting life” means to live eternally in Heaven with God.
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please e-mail me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.
He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.
He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.
BCNN1 WP 