The Ohio Independent Baptist, December 1965

u as seariot By Donald Rcttger Did Jesus make a mistake in calling Judas to a place of high honor? Did He not know Judas would betray Him? I ha,, l' l cet l a ht 1, l 1, 111 f c r I 7 , 'a1 ,l 11d a 11 nt)t rc111~ 111 hl;r of C\ er 1c..u 111u ,l ~crrlll.10 11 Jtitl,l" l ,lril)l. ~ I 11a, c t fte11 ,, )rltlcrc i \\ h) Jc ll " (' ..1llt'tl tl11\ 111an. 1J Jc lt 111,1kc a 1111 t.,"c ! Did he n t kn '" that Jt1da \\t)ttltl l1 tra~' hin1. 1f o. h.. did lc,t1" .111 Jtttla to a place f highe t ht nor. thc1t 1" "t be nt1n1bered with the I_'?'" Be a11 c f the. e qu tion .,nd 111an, thers. I b gan a per onal • tud, f the life f Juda I acariot. ~ a re ult f thi tudy I would ltk t ugg t on1e rea -- on why Jc ti all d Juda to be nt1mbered \\ ith the 12. Fir t. let ti prove from the crip– ture that Juda wa not aved at the t1n1e that Je u called him nor wa he ever a ed. Thi i the fact that mak.e the problem o puzzling and al o the fact that Je u knew that Juda v:a not aved. Betrayal foretold In the Old Te tament the betrayal of J e us by Judas is clearly foretold. In P aim 41 :9 we find thee word . ·· ea n1ine own familiar fri end in \\ horn I have tru ted which did eat of nl}' bread . hath lifted u,p hi heel again t me.' P alm 55:14 "For it \\'a not an enemy that reproached me. then I could have born it: neither \\ a it he that hated me that did mag– nif}· him elf again t me~ then I would have hid myself from him; But it \-\ a thou. a man mine equal, my guide and mine aquaintance, We took ,\\Cet coun el together, ,and walked into the house of God in company,' ee al o P lam 109: 5-8 Zech. 1 l : 12- 13. The ew Te tament al o bear wit- ne to the fact that Juda wa never a,,ed. In John 12:46 the Holy Spirit bear witnes that Judas wa a thief and cared onl)' for "the bag.,. In John 6: 70 Je u called Judas a Devi] , hich \\' a" a tern1 not given to any other 111orta I. At the cal Ii ng of the I_ di ·ciple a recorded in l.,ukc C~J1apter 16 Vle fir1d in the 16th er e. '- . . and Juda'.> I cariot which DECEMBER , 1965 PAGE 4 ,11 '"" the traitor .,, Finall , in c t~ I : 2 5 t hc c r i pl ll rc stat C"i th at J tllla went t hi s own place . I l'>cl icvc the above vcr c. furn i h adc– qu,1tc pr of that Juda wa. never . avcd . Tf Jt1d a wa not . avcd, why did Jc 11 ca ll hin1 ? I would Jike to . ugge.. t omc rea on for ot1r Lord' action in the taten1ent that follow. The fir t rea on i the mo it obviou and will warrant no argument. The Scr ipture had to be fulfilled. Jesu wa emphatic about thi throUJghout the Go pel . Over and over again we read, " that the Scripture might be fulfil led. In John 13:18 Jesus aid: "'I ,peak not of you all; I know whom I have cho en· but that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He ,that eateth bread with me hath lifted up hi heel aginst me. ' Again in John 17: 12 ' Whi,Ie I wa with them in the world, I kept them in thy name· thooe that thou gavest me I have kept, and Donald Rettger Rev. Donald Rettger and his wife were saved approxima te ly 17 yea rs ago at their home in Er ie, Pa . They attended the Baptist Bible Institute, Cleveland, 0 ., and were in the f irst class to attend Cedarville College. Rev. Rettger graduated from Cedarv ille in 1954, then took a pastorate in Spartans– burg, Pa ., where the couple ministered for three and one-ha If years. The couple has four children and the family has been living for the last seven years ,n East Liverpool, O , where Rev . Mr . Rettger is pastor of the Heights Bible Ba ptist Church. none r, f ll1 · 111 i · l(>sl, liut tl1e rt o l' crl liti n; that the Scri1,turcs 11,igh l,c ft1lfill c( I.' Jn 1 hn 10: 5 Jc u sa itl · ' ' . . . t l1c cri JJl ltrc can not l1< l)tokcn.' In f> sH l111 4 1: the p ·nln1i hatl forctolc.l thnt Jesus' ,betraya \\'O tal<I 0111c fr 111 a fr icntl : one wh< wa ne ar ancl (Jcar to him : o ne so in, t11natc th at they 'i h,arctJ their f)rca together. P<;a lm .55: 12-14 al.o speak~ o f the clo\encs\ of th is betrayer. It Wa\ not c;omcone who wot1lcJ be: su°' pcc tcd bttt the one who would h~ the n1 05t unlikely. " Jt was not an enemy, btrt a man mine equal. 111y guic.Jc , my acquaintance." Verse 14 of tl1e wcctncsc; of fell owship tha} had together and of the prac ti ce o f religious wor hip 1ogether . PsaJ ,n I 09: 4-8 peaks of the Jove that J csu, n1Janifc ted to Judas and the in that Jud as h,ad in hi heart toward his ma ter. Hi actual control by Satan i tated here as well as hi5 final de tiny. In Zechari,ah 11: 12-13, the 30 piece of silver are mentioned as the amount that Judas received for the betrayal of Jesu . The use of the 30 piece of silver for the purchasing of the potter field is also foretold. All of the e things cou]d not have been futfilled without Jesus calling Judas to be numbered wi~h the dis– ciple . Thu then J esus said on the eras "It i finished · ' it was not that redemption alone had been made complete but al o that all had been fulfilled to the very last word. Scripture fulfilled In John 19:28 we read, ' 'After thi Je u knowing that all things were accomp]i hed that the Scripture might be fulf iiled aith, 'I thir t.' " How wonderful to ee the sovereignty of God operating through a free moral agent, even Juda , that the Scripture might be fulfilled. The ..:,econd rea on for the Lord calling Juda may not be a clear and will be open for di cu ion. I believe however, that Judas called Jud as to how li''"' today how high a degree of morality and outward righ teou ne a natural man can at- · tain under direct Satanic control. Until hi betraya l of Chri t, the world could find nothing to condemn Jud a for. He never denied Chri t a Peter Did. Hi action never gave any hint a to hi unbelief a did Thoma . When Je us wa about to go to Beth– any to corne to the aid of Lazaru who ha<.1 bec11 ill, he wa~ ren1inded that tl1e J cw , i11 lhal area were eek- • (Con't. on Inside Back Cover) THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST