Judas

Judas was a disciple of Jesus.  He was called and chosen by him. But Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas was a devil and would betray him.  (John 6:64,70)  As I’ve been thinking on Judas, these are some of the things God has shown me…

•Judas objected to Mary anointing Jesus because the oil could have been sold and given to the poor.  The truth was Judas was the keeper of the money box and was skimming money off the top for himself.  (John 12:3-8)  Jesus knew this but we don’t know that he confronted him or stopped him. We know it was exposed at some point because the disciples wrote about it.  

•Jesus kept bringing truth to Judas and kept bringing things to the Light.  He uncovered who would betray him at Passover.  (John 13:21-26)

•Jesus withheld nothing from Judas!   When he sent the twelve out, he gave them power over demons and power to heal the sick.  (Matthew 10:1-4).  Did Judas work under the power of the Spirit…or was he a false prophet—covering up that he wasn’t working under the power of the Spirit but of Satan?

•It wasn’t obvious that Judas was a betrayer.  When Jesus told his disciples that one of them would betray him, they all asked, “Is it me, Lord?” (Matthew 26:22)

•Judas called Jesus rabbi (teacher).  But he wasn’t committed to him or to learning from him.  (Matthew 26:25)

•Judas partnered with the religious leaders to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver—less than $500—and with a kiss. (Matthew 26:14-15,49)

•Judas looked for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to the religious leaders. (Matthew 26:16)

•Judas was filled with remorse over selling Jesus out and took the money back to the religious leaders and went out and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5). 

Apparently, days later, the limb broke and Judas fell and his bloated body exploded.  Acts 1:18 says he fell headlong and his intestines gushed out.  

•Jesus shared wine and bread and taught his disciples some deep truths after Judas left that fateful night.  He prepared them for his death.  Judas was not included.  

I think there’s so much to learn from how Jesus interacted with Judas.  Will we have betrayers who call themselves Christians in the church?  Yes.  Will there be false prophets who perform miracles? Yes. Will it be obvious they are false?  No!  God will continue extending grace, light, and truth to them—and so can we.  Should we expose wrongdoing?   Jesus exposed Judas’ stealing at some point, but he exposed his betrayal openly and in the moment.  But following Jesus’ example, the disciples all exposed Judas in their writings—for both.  I think the disciples didn’t suspect Judas because Jesus had called him!   And because they were all called, they expected him to have the same heart they did.  But we are told to “test the spirits” of others. (I John 4:1)  

We will always have toxic people—people willing, and even eager—to betray us. Jesus gave Judas every opportunity to change.  But he also didn’t allow him to control situations.  He told Judas to be quiet when he was condemning Mary for anointing Jesus with oil. 

 Jesus gave us Judas to learn how to handle a devil in our midst.