WISDOM WEDNESDAY

What can I say about Judas Iscariot? He was one of the twelve disciples, the one who betrayed Jesus. His father’s name was Simon. He was the treasury for the Lord’s ministry, which lets us know he was not an imbecile. You would think that Matthew would have handled the money because he had been a tax collector. Judas was a theft. That’s it. Scripture does not reveal much more about Judas or his background. Commentators have suggested many possibilities to explain Judas’ character: Love of money; jealousy of the other disciples; fear of the inevitable outcome of the Master’s ministry, an enthusiastic intention to force Christ’s hand and make him declare himself as Messiah, a bitter, revengeful spirit which arose when his worldly hopes were crushed and this disappointment turned to spite and spite became hate, all these motives have been suggested. I don’t know. What is clear is to me is that Judas was a self-serving thief. He was stealing funds from the Lord’s money box, which shows he was full of greed. He did not care about the poor. Judas was not in tune with Jesus, rejecting the Lord’s message. To the poor, Jesus preached the gospel. And for the needy, Jesus taught that we should go out of our way to help them. The scriptures do not state why Judas betrayed Jesus. However since he was paid its possible the only reason was for the money.

 Two things I know; One, Judas went against the teachings of Jesus’s by stealing, which left an opening for satan to enter. And two, Jesus knew that the devil would possess Judas and use him to accomplish satanic objectives. Jesus knew that ultimately His battle was with the evil one. On an occasion well before His final trip to Jerusalem, He implied that the devil would be involved. Jesus said, “one of you is a devil.” Jesus also said at the Last Supper, “woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Because Jesus came to die for us and none of this was a surprise to Him, you may ask did Judas even have a choice? Yes he did. God always gives us a choice. Adam and Eve had a choice. Acts 1:25 says that Judas went “to his own place,” the thought being the place of his own choosing. So it is not that Judas was foreordained from eternity past to go to hell, without opportunity to be saved. Instead, he chose to reject Jesus and suffer the consequences of any person who rejects the Savior.

 I can’t comprehend how Judas walked with Christ three years, heard Him preach day after day, and witnessed  Him live by what he preached, and still betrayed Him. We can learn something from Judas. We cannot go to church Sunday after Sunday, and sometimes Bible study through the week and think that our mere presence there will keep God pleased with us. We must put into practice what we learn from God’s Word. We must be doers of the Word, not just hearers, or just like Judas, we leave an opening for satan to ease in. If you have experienced betrayal from someone close to you, you know it is disappointing and very painful. Sometimes you want to get revenge. But think about this, after Judas betrayed Jesus, the devil thought he had won. The demons just like the religious leaders probably threw a victory party. Yea, party over here! However, in three days, God raised Jesus from the dead. We may have a Judas on our job, at school, in our family and yes, even in church. No worries, because God will take care of the Judases of life. Our business is to be faithful as long as He gives us breath and energy to serve! Please read today’s scriptures in FOOD for the SOUL. Much Love…