One of the more instructive events of Passion Week centered around the tormented mind and soul of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus to the Jewish leaders during that time.
Based on what we read in Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, Judas was a pretender. He attached himself to the group of disciples (there is no record of Jesus directly calling him to "Follow Me") and eventually was numbered as one of The Twelve, that inner circle of disciple closest to Jesus.
In the four synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), several uncomplimentary descriptors are used to describe him:
John 12: 6 "thief"
Luke 6:16 "traitor"
John 6:70 "devil"
Luke 22:3 possessed by Satan
John 17:12 "son of destruction"
We have no direct testimony in Scripture as to the true motivations of Judas Iscariot. However, based on what we are told by others, we can conclude that at the very least Judas' motives for hanging out with Jesus were selfish. At the very least, he was avaricious, a lover of money more than a lover of God. We read in John 12:1-6 the story of the woman anointing Jesus with precious, costly ointment, and Jesus' reply that she was anointing Him for His burial. Judas' reaction to this selfless act by the woman was telling. He wanted to know why a different gift was not given, why the woman did not simply contribute the price of the ointment to the group's treasury. John plainly states that Judas would "help himself" to the group's funds. His avarice again comes into play as He "sells out" Jesus to the chief priests of the Sanhedrin.
However, I believe that there was a deeper layer of darkness in Judas, to which we should give our attention. His avarice was merely a symptom of a deeper problem, his self-centeredness. Judas wanted Jesus to be whom Judas wanted Him to be, the liberator who would deliver the Jews from Roman rule. And though this is not stated, I wonder if Judas, realizing Who Jesus was, turned Him over to the authorities in some misguided effort to "force His hand". Judas had seen Jesus doing miracle after miracle. He realized that Jesus certainly had the supernatural power to overthrow the Romans. Yet, day after day, Jesus did not act like the conquering hero Judas so desired. Jesus was not a Zealot, those outlaws who schemed and plotted (and often acted) to overthrow the Romans. Judas did not want to worship the Savior Who Was; he wanted to worship a god of his own making.
Surely Satan was in possession of Judas. Judas was listening to Satan's lies. No doubt Satan tried everything to put a stop to Jesus, even including using Judas to try to thwart God's eternal plan. Satan, however, is not omniscient, as is our Father God and our Savior, Jesus. By using Judas, Satan was used by God to carry out the very plan he tried to stop. Our God is amazing!
Did you know that there are Old Testament prophecies which foretell the choices made by Judas Iscariot?
One is Psalm 41:9 - - -
"Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me."
As Jesus sat at The Last Supper with his disciples Jesus speaks of this. See Matthew 26:21-15, Mark 14:18-21 and John 13:18-26.Two others are Jeremiah 32:6-10 and Zechariah 11:12-13, both of which Matthew alludes to in Matthew 27. Matthew points out the parallels between Judas' "blood money" being used by the Jews to purchase a potter's field and how the price and use of the blood money fulfills these two Scriptures. Although Matthew alludes to what was spoken by Jeremiah, Zechariah came along later and wrote down more specifically what Jeremiah had spoken.
Another verse from the Psalms (109:8) condemns the evil man (and that certainly applies to Judas). Luke, writing in Acts 1:17-20, attributes this verse to Judas.
"May his days be few; may another take his office."
After the suicide of Judas, the remaining 11 disciples elected another man, a faithful man, to take Judas' place among The Twelve.So, why do I refer to Judas as a "cautionary tale"? Jesus stated in Matthew 26:24-25 that "It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." That should be enough right there, but it is important that we understand the foundational evil of Judas' actions.
Do you remember the time that Jesus called Peter "Satan"? When Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!" Look at Matthew 16:21-23.
21From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
What Peter had done was to express a fervent desire to oppose the will of God. Whether in shock or disbelief or horror or what, Peter was making himself a hindrance to Jesus and to the furtherance of God's plan.
We never do that, do we? Whether consciously or not, set ourselves up in opposition to God and His plan? Surely none of us has ever wanted something that was contrary to the plan of God! Certainly none of us has ever barreled forward with our plans without first praying and seeking the will of God! I say this "tongue in cheek", Brothers and Sisters, admonishing myself most of all.
In all things, let's seek to follow the example of Christ. A couple of days ago I wrote about His declaration from the Cross: "It is finished!" Look back at John 17:4 when He prayed,
"I glorified you on earth by completing down to the last detail what you assigned me to do."
I love John 17, Jesus' prayer for His followers, including us! Do you realize that, as He prayed this prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, after He had sweated drops of blood in agony, He already had "prayed through" what He was going to do. He already had affirmed in His heart what He was going to do. This is why He prayed for the Father to glorify Him with the very splendor He possessed with Father before this world began! He saw Himself as having "finished" this work. Between Him and Father, the "deal was sealed" then and there, because this was God's plan when the foundations of earth were laid. There was nothing splendorous about Jesus's scourging, crucifixion, death and burial! Jesus was seeing past all of that to the glory that would be His once again, on the other side.
Regardless of our own visions of what should be, let's "hunker down" and resolve to glorify God and our Savior by embracing His plan and by completing, down to the last detail, what He assigns us to do. Let's resist the temptation to set ourselves up in opposition to God and insist upon our own way. Such is the path to ruin and destruction. Let's walk in a higher way...resplendent!
Father, please forgive me when I either intentionally or unintentionally betray You and Your kingdom through my attitudes, words and actions. I know that the secret to glorifying You is to draw near to You through prayer and through study of Your Word, so that my heart is brought into closer alignment with Yours. May it be so, Lord! In Jesus' name, amen.
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