It is a privilege to be here and study God’s Word together. These words are so much more than words; never has a book been so loved and so hated. Many right now would give their life for this message, and many right now want to destroy any influence of these words.

Today we will finish the lesson we started last time. Our title is Desire and Destiny, and we are looking at 4 examples from Mark 14. We already looked at the example of the leaders and Mary. The leaders desired to kill Jesus, but Mary desired to honor Him. Their desires shaped their behavior, just as they still do for us.

The last two examples we will look at are Judas and the disciples; one is good, and the other is not. Let’s go with J Mark to Mark 14 for a closer look at these two examples.  

As we resume our study from the previous episode, I’ll read the text, Mark 14:1-16.

² After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.

 ² But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.”

³ And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.

⁴ But some were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?

⁵ For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.

⁶ But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 

⁷ For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 

⁸ She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 

⁹ Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. 

¹¹ And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.

¹² Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”

¹³ And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. 

¹⁴ Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 

¹⁵ Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”

¹⁶ So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Next ILLUSTRATION (of desire and destiny) is,

The Desire of Judas

Verse 10 makes a very tragic statement. “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. So, he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.” How did this happen? Did Satan all of a sudden decide to move in on Judas?

First, we know that two views of the Messiah developed during the intertestamental period. One view was of the conquering King coming to set up His kingdom on earth and restore the kingdom to Israel. This theme appears prominently in portions of the prophetic Scripture. The Gospel records show that the Twelve expected Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom. 

The other view was of the Suffering Servant as described in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53 and some of the Psalms. Because these views seemed contradictory, reconciling them was difficult. Eventually, the Suffering Servant concept was abandoned. The people of Jesus’ day were looking for a Messiah to set them free from the Roman yoke of bondage.

Judas Iscariot: Who was he? Scripture gives us few details about him, but it offers clues to help us understand his actions. John chapter 12 tells us that Judas was a callous man who didn’t care about the poor, although he pretended to. He was also a thief and the treasurer for Jesus and the Twelve. Jesus knew about Judas’ covetousness, yet He entrusted him with the group’s finances. Isn’t God’s grace amazing?

Iscariot identifies him as being from Kerioth, a small, nondescript town in the Judean hill country. Judas was the only one of the Twelve from outside Galilee. Like the other disciples, he must’ve seen Jesus as the One who could deliver Israel from Roman bondage. When it became clear that Jesus would fulfill the suffering Servant aspect of the Messiah, Judas grew disillusioned and sought an opportunity to betray Him. Judas may also have expected Jesus to walk away from His enemies as He had done previously.

Whatever his motives were, Judas’ desire for money became his undoing. It was the avenue Satan used to “enter” his heart and affect his choices. All the time he walked with Jesus and the disciples, he had opportunities to embrace his Master’s teaching and make the right choices. But his life bears witness to Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:9 of the corrupting influence of money—the desire to be rich leads to many snares and ultimately to destruction.

Judas’ desires guided his choices and would ultimately determine his destiny. He had just witnessed a graphic act of devotion to his Master, but he failed to understand its significance. Instead, he and the others complained about the waste of valuable perfume. Jesus’ rebuke probably stung him. It finalized the rift that had been growing between them. Judas could now retaliate against Jesus – and make some money in the process.

And what was his price? According to Exodus 21:32, thirty shekels of silver were the price you paid if a male or female servant were accidentally killed. But what was such a small sum compared to what Jesus promised him? Jesus said in His kingdom, the Twelve would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel! What kind of bargain was Judas making? It was a sad bargain, a deal with the Devil. He traded his moral integrity for a small amount of money. That’s what covetousness does; it focuses on the immediate and closes our eyes to eternal realities.

Judas’ goals and the religious leaders’ goals meshed because of their desires, and their destinies were similar, too. Until now, the leaders didn’t know how to arrest Jesus. Remember, they feared the people. Jerusalem was bursting at the seams with Passover crowds. The recent events of the Triumphal Entry and Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple had just happened. The leaders didn’t know which way to turn. Then Judas shows up! They had what Judas wanted: money. Judas had what the leaders wanted: someone who knew the details of Jesus’ private life and could arrange his arrest privately, away from the prying eyes of the crowds.

What kind of desires do we have? Are we motivated by covetousness? This desire has many different forms. We see it in both religious leaders and Judas. I don’t want to be cynical, but I’ve observed this connection between money and spiritual leaders. Money often purchases access, just like it did in this text. It silences those who know the truth. Either way, it leads to destruction, and woe to you and me if we allow this desire to control us.

Are you disillusioned with God? Has He failed to meet your expectations in some area of life? If so, then we need to “watch out” because Satan will suggest that God is not fair or just; if He were, he would give us what we want. We need to reject those kinds of thoughts immediately! We do not want to turn out like Judas. 

The evil desires of Judas are contrasted with the final illustration in our text.

The Final ILLUSTRATION (of desire and destiny) is,

The Desire of the Disciples

The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was when they killed the Passover lamb. We’re told, “The lamb was slain at 6 pm on the 15^th of the month, but the preparations began the day before.” The disciples knew Jesus would celebrate Passover; He was an observant Jew. They had kept the feast with Him before. Naturally, they wondered where they would gather. So, they asked Him about it.

In response, He sent His two most trusted disciples (Luke tells us they were Peter and John) to prepare the place for the Passover meal. He gave them unique but specific instructions. “Go into the city, and there you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him to the house that he enters. Say to the owner, The Master asks, Where is the guestroom where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? He will show you a large, upper room, furnished and ready.”

The rest of the Twelve didn’t know where they would gather. Whether Jesus had decided beforehand with the homeowner or relied on His divine foreknowledge, we don’t know. What we do know is that the place was waiting for them. This was highly unusual in the city, which was so crowded during the Feast days. Yet the two disciples followed His instructions, and it worked out just as Jesus had foretold. So, according to verse 16, they prepared the upper room for the Passover celebration. Little did they know this would be a Passover unlike any other. Their desire would lead to a destiny they could not have imagined.

Each individual or group in this narrative had desires; some were honorable, like Mary’s and the disciples’. Some were evil, like those of the religious leaders and Judas. Each had choices that would affect their destiny immediately and into eternity. We know how their choices turned out. We, too, face similar decisions every day. These illustrations should motivate us to choose wisely in our relationship with Jesus. Our eternal destiny is at stake!

Thanks, J Mark, for this teaching, and thank you for being with us. J Mark gave a good summary of these two lessons here at the end. I couldn’t agree more; our choices are so very important. As a schoolteacher, I’ve interacted with many young people. Many times I wished I could communicate to them the power of their decisions. Obviously, our choices at every stage in life matter, but the choices we make as young people have a huge impact on the rest of our lives. From these 4 examples, we can see a range of consequences; God help us consider our current desires and choices carefully.

Thanks again for being with us today. If you have any comments or feedback from these lessons, we’d love to hear it. Here is how you can reach us. Our email address is [email protected]. Or you can contact us via our website. Go to Heraldsofhope.org. There, you will find “Contact Us” under the Partner tab at the top right. Click on that to message us directly. We look forward to your response.

In closing, think about the decision Moses put in front of the Israelites in Exodus 32. He stood before the camp and asked, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” This was a defining moment for everyone who was there. Just as our choices define who we are, we must be wise and think carefully about our decisions.