Judas Iscariot. The mere name brings up images of betrayal, deceit and death. He was a traitor. Walking side by side with the Lord, yet, when it mattered most , he turned his back. He was greedy. Had his own agenda. These are all the things we say in reference to Judas, right? Now, let’s be honest: God doesn’t rate sin (that’s a human trait, by the way) so it’s not as though he gives different categories to all that Judas did wrong. He doesn’t get a 7 for being a thief, a 5 for being self-serving, a 10 for being a traitor. God cannot look upon sin in any form. That’s why Jesus Christ came, died, to redeem us. God sees Jesus when he looks at you. He sees the ultimate sacrifice. So, let’s start off with Life Lesson #1
Stop comparing sin because you generally use yourself or your behavior as the measuring stick! Because of the self serving nature of humans , if we have done it, God’s grace is made perfect in our weakness. If it’s something we would not do, cast them into a lake of fire.
Judas walked with Jesus. Saw all the miracles heard all the preaching. Saw all the lives being transformed. He was called by Jesus to be a disciple! He was actively involved in ministry and given remarkable spiritual gifts (Luke 9:1-2). Jesus anointed him, along with the other disciples, with the ability to cast out demons and heal the sick. Life Lesson #2.
Active involvement in ministry is a good thing, but is not, in and of itself, a guarantee of spiritual health. Man looks at habits, God looks at hearts.
Satan was able to enter the heart of Judas because of unconfessed sin. Not the sin, but an unwillingness to come clean. Satan doesn’t have the power to make you do wrong. We have a sinful nature that relishes in doing the opposite of what God would have us to do. The enemy can’t force you to embrace that nature, but he will capitalize on it. Judas was stealing money that was being collected for the work of the ministry. In Mark 12, the story is recounted of some of the disciples becoming angry over a woman anointing Jesus’s feet with expensive perfume. Check your motives! When something bothers you, check your heart to figure out why. After Jesus chastised them for their indignation, Judas left and went to meet up with his co -conspirators. Life lesson #3
Guard your heart and be aware of the connection between your heart and your motives. Because of unconfessed sin, more sin was compounded in Judas’ heart. An unguarded heart is an opening for the enemy.
Let’s face it: Judas gets a really bad rap! He made terrible choices, one bad choice after the other. Yet, there are teachable moments in each of our lives. Much like Judas, we all have betrayed Jesus. I don’t mean when we lived in “the world”. I’m talking about right now. Whenever we present a version of ourselves to the world that doesn’t align with who God calls us to be, we’ve betrayed Jesus. When we are mean and hurtful to others, stingy with grace and mercy, when we bully people with the word instead of using it as the mirror for self reflection and transformation God intended it to be, we have betrayed Jesus. When we take pride or ownership of all that God has blessed us with, essentially denying his underserved favor in our lives and situations, we have betrayed Jesus. Maybe we have more in common with Judas than we would care to admit. We quote the scripture that reminds us that, plain as day, we really aren’t that different than Judas. Romans 3:23 tells us ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Newsflash: All is you, me, every single person. But it begs the question: Do we really believe it? If we view Judas negatively without recognizing the treachery in our hearts, the self ambition and need for public recognition and validation in our own hearts, do we really accept that at the end of the day, all we are is a sinner saved by grace, through faith, so that none of us can boast??
The most unfortunate aspect of Judas’ story to me is that it ended like a Greek tragedy. Unable to reconcile himself to what he had done, he took his own life. Things could have ended so differently. Judas is a prime example of what happens if you don’t have a right relationship with Jesus. Judas was remorseful. His conscience(soul) was overwhelmed by what he had done (setting Jesus up) however pride made him believe he could fix his own heart by trying to give the money back to his co-conspirators. He tried to “undo” the mistake he made all by himself. Isn’t that just like us, though? Trying to make things “right” we hide away. Usually, if we recognize how badly we have sinned, the first inclination is to put some distance between us and God. We stop attending church, stop reading the word, stop praying. Please don’t misunderstand. The church or church attendance saves no one however, God sees the real posture of our hearts and sees the “why” behind what we do. Because of guilt, shame and ultimately pride, we separate ourselves from things and people we associate with God. Fearing rejection, we don’t want to admit that we have sinned, missed the mark, made a mistake. Or, we blame others for our shortcomings and run away. Church hopping disguised as church hurt. If Judas would have admitted to Jesus what he had done, how different his story might have been. The truth of the matter is that Jesus came here to die. He was going to be crucified regardless. His death gave us life. Jesus died because he chose to die, he loved us that much. However, Judas died because he didn’t really know Jesus. How well do you know Jesus? Do you know him well enough to know that he’s a redeemer of the lost, those that fail, even the ultimate betrayal? God allows sin to draw us closer to him, not drive us away.
Judas could have been like Peter. Peter failed Jesus, miserably. He denied him in fear. Yet, realizing his mistake, he came back, took up his cross and kept on walking. Be encouraged today! Not because you have fallen, but that you serve a God who wants to pick you back up, betrayals and all. The same grace and mercy extended to Peter was available to Judas, if he had only grasped hold to it.
Will you???
The Pursuit 