1. Have you been or are you currently a fan of “Survivor,” “The Biggest Loser,” or another competitive, so called “reality” TV shows? Why or why not?
2. In many of these shows, in order to keep up ratings and heighten drama, there is a process where a player is eliminated in each round. Often alliances are formed between players where they agree (behind the scenes) to not vote each other out. They establish some sort of trust based on mutual self-interests. Sometimes these agreements are broken, and on T.V. they refer to it as “game play.” In real life, when agreements are broken between individuals, friends, family, co-workers and others, it is often called something more serious - betrayal. Read Isaiah 53:3-9. Who was betrayed?
3. Read Matthew 26:1-16. What action seemed to upset Judas? (vs. 8-9).
4. Read John 12:1-6. What was a huge character weakness in Judas’ life? How did Satan manipulate that weakness to plant false thoughts in Judas’ mind about the identity of Jesus? What responsibility did Judas bear for deciding to receive and consider those warped thoughts? (Read Matthew 26:24-25). What does this say about the significance of our thought life and the ideas we entertain?
5. Read Psalm 41:9 and Psalm 55:12-14. The Psalmist talks about betrayal. The betrayal listed here is not from an enemy or causal acquaintance. The pain of this betrayal comes from a one time close and trusted friend. Why does betrayal from a close trusted relationship hurt more deeply than the attack from an enemy?
6. Read Matthew 26:20-25. In the NLT translation, verse 22 reads, “Greatly distressed, one by one they began to ask Him, “I’m not the one, am I Lord?” This reveals how Jesus treated the one whom would eventually betray Him. No doubt, Jesus knew all along that Judas would betray Him, yet Jesus treated him so much like the others that they had no idea. What example does Jesus provide for us in the way He treated Judas?
7. Commentator Frank E. Gaebelein points out some of Judas’ character issues and what might have prompted his horrifying actions. “Like most human motives, his were mixed and doubtless included avarice and jealousy combined with profound disappointment that Jesus was not acting like the Messiah he had expected.”
It is hard to imagine that someone who walked with Jesus, lived with Him, saw the miracles, heard not only the teaching to the multitudes and Christ‘s instructions as He “poured into His inner core” of believers, ended up betraying the most beautiful and only perfect person who ever lived, this completely God and completely human, “God in the flesh.” Yet, He did. What warnings does this give us about the capabilities of human nature?
8. Avarice is an intense greedieness - a self-serving desire for money, wealth, power or possessions. When someone is jealous they want what another person has and is angry that they cannot have that something. Answers.com defines disappointment as “a feeling of regret or dejection upon the frustrations of one's expectations.”
Where did avarice, jealousy and disappointment have a start in Judas’ life? Was it in things that happened to him, or was it his reaction to circumstances and his own decisions and mind processes under the control of his free will that sent Judas‘ life on a downward spiral?
9. How can someone who was so close to Christ have betrayed Him?
10. Read Galatians 5:22-26. Contrast these descriptions of the Spirit-filled life to that of Judas. The person who is filled with the Spirit spends a lot of time in Christ’s presence. Judas spent a lot of time in the presence of Christ. What constitutes the difference?
11. Authors Harold Myra and Marshall Shelley in their book The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham wrote: Perhaps you will never experience betrayal. Then again, it’s one of the more likely experiences ahead, a time when someone turns on you, opens you to shame and ridicule, or subverts your labors of love, your relationships and aspirations. How you respond when it happens can make the difference...”
What steps and decisions can you make to insure a healthy and Christ-honoring response when something like a betrayal comes in to your life? How does Christ’s example impact you? How can this group pray for you in this area?
Gaebelein, Frank E. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 258
Galatians 5:22-26 (New American Standard)
Isaiah 53 (New American Standard)
John 12:1-6 (New American Standard)
Matthew 26 (New American Standard)
Myra, Harold and Marshall, Shelley The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham 178
Psalm 41:9; 55:12-14 (New American Standard)
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary 95-96
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_disappointment&alreadyAsked=1&rtitle=What_a_disappointment_that_play_was
