Judas Iscariot

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Death and Resurrection of Jesus, The Servant

Mark 14:10,11 NIV
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

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A question that has popped into my head several times over the years is, "Why would Judas want to betray Jesus?"
And in asking this questions, it's quite easy to overlook the fact that Jesus chose Judas to be His disciple.  We may also forget that while Judas betrayed Jesus, all the disciples abandoned Jesus at one point.  All 12 of the disciples shared a persistent misunderstanding of Jesus' mission.  They all expected Jesus to do something He wasn't called to do in the natural; while Jesus was focused on the greatness purposed supernaturally.  When Jesus kept talking abut dying, they all felt varying degrees of negative emotions.  They didn't understand this mission that was doomed to fail in their opinions.  The difference between Judas and the other 11 disciples is that they were able to learn and mature from their mistakes.  Judas, on the other hand, chose to commit suicide instead of trying out the hope that comes from seeking forgiveness.

I don't think we ever learn the true motivation behind Judas' betrayal.  Judas was a man of money, he was the treasure of the crew; head of funds.  It was what he was good at, or Jesus wouldn't have placed him in the position.  But Judas allowed his gift to be perverted; it's clear that money was part of his motivation to betray our Savior.  He allowed his desires to place him in a position where Satan could manipulate him; and Judas accepted payment to set Jesus up for the religious leaders.  And as we've read before, it was a whack payout at that!

But how many of us do this?  We allow ourselves to compromise our faith and relationship with Jesus; for something of this world worth, something worth absolutely NOTHING.  Jesus - He is worth everything!
In betraying Jesus, Judas made the greatest mistake in history.  But the fact that Jesus knew Judas would betray Him doesn't mean that Judas was a puppet of God's Will.  Judas made a CHOICE.  God knew what that choice would be and confirmed it.  Judas didn't lose his relationship with Jesus; rather, he never found Jesus in the first place.  Judas is called "the one doomed to destruction" (John 17:12) because he was never saved.  Judas was just hanging around saved people; and definitely reaping the benefits on the outside - but he was missing that foundation and growth crucial for the inside.

Judas does us a favor if he makes us think a second time about our commitment to God and the presence of God's Spirit within us.  Are we true disciples and followers, or uncommitted pretenders "doomed to destruction"?  We can choose despair and death, or we can choose repentance, forgiveness, hope, eternal life and consistent development.


PRAYER: LORD Almighty, You know the desires that live within us.  You can confirm for us today, what we've already set on our hearts to do in a week from now.  Father, I pray that our desires are lined up with Your Will.  I pray that pretending is not a part of our nature and we're being absolutely real with you, and with one another.  We're not here to impress man.  We're here to love You.  So I pray that we wholeheartedly come to You, with everything.  Trusting that You honor those who diligently seek You.  You honor those who come to you for refuge, protection , forgiveness - and actually mean it.  LORD, receive the offering of our lives today, as the individuals saying this prayer today are committing to You right now in this moment.  Crying out to You.  Giving You their all.  Even for those, who think that they are all good with You.  May this serve as a reminder that it is always good to renew and refresh our commitment to You.  Evil plans and motives leave us open to being used by satan for greater evil and I rebuke this door from even forming in any of us.  The consequences of evil are so devastating that even small lies and little wrongdoings have serious results.  I rebuke these deceptive roots, presenting themselves as harmless.  Let us not walk blindly in foolishness.  Your plan LORD, and Your purposes are worked out even in the worst possible events and decisions.  May this truth restore the broken-hearted and hopeless.  Today, may we reclaim our lives back - every part of it - to spend every day moving forward, worshiping You.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.