As I was reading Mathew chapters 26 and 27, where the chief priests and the elders schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill Him. I realized that out of all the people they could have selected for the job, Judas Iscariot, a member of Jesus’ inner circle, volunteered to help. What’s even more interesting is that Jesus told Judas he would betray Him (Matthew 26:25), but Judas was so locked into his plan that Jesus’ warning seemed insignificant. It’s not like Jesus tried to hide the truth from Judas as if He feared Judas would know. The thing is, Judas already agreed to get the job done, and Scripture says, “From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Him over” (Matthew 26:16). Now, let’s consider this from a human’s perspective. Even though none of these actions should be tolerated, let’s say Judas lied about Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, privately or publicly denied Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, or he was told to steal something from Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Although none of these actions are acceptable, I would rather a fake friend lie, deny, or even steal from me than to set me up and sell me out for 30 pieces of silver. To agree to have someone else’s life taken away for 30 pieces of silver is to say that 30 pieces of silver are much more valuable than them. This also makes me think: if money were what Judas desperately needed, would Jesus refuse him if he had asked for money? I believe Jesus would have given him more than he needed and other things he didn’t even think he needed. For instance, Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a crowd of 5,000 men plus women and children. I believe he also fed those in His inner circle, making sure they had what they needed too. Therefore, Judas’ betrayal not only proves that he didn’t care about Jesus’ life but also about everybody else who was benefiting from Jesus. Thus, we can say that Judas didn’t even care about himself because Jesus was good to him too. Furthermore, in Matthew 26:27-28, during the last supper, “Jesus took a cup, and after He gave thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say, ‘Drink all of you except Judas Iscariot.’ So could it be that Jesus told all of His disciples, including Judas, to eat the bread which represented His body and drink the fruit of the vine which represented His blood for the forgiveness of their sins to prove that He still didn’t count Judas out, though He knew what he was going to do. I wonder if when Jesus said to him in verse 50, ‘Do what you came for, friend,’ He intentionally called Judas friend because He was still trying to get his attention about the grace available to him. If Jesus could heal the ear of the servant’s priest that was cut off by one of His disciples, a man we could have considered an enemy, how much more compassion could He have had for Judas, whom He called friend. I believe Jesus wanted Judas to know that He is still his way of escape despite what he’s done. And if you allow me to go even further with this, I can say that I used to believe that Judas’ betrayal was a must for Jesus’ crucifixion, meaning Judas had to do this for crucifixion to take place. Then, these questions came to my mind, and I’d like to share them with you: Do we honestly think that if Judas didn’t betray Jesus, this would have prevented Him from dying on that cross for our sins? Do we think that if the priests and elders didn’t find someone to betray Jesus, they wouldn’t find another way to kill Him? And do we think God couldn’t let someone else from the crowd betray Jesus?
I don’t believe the idea is that God specifically picked Judas to be the one among the disciples to perish because Scripture says that He does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9); and that’s the reason why Jesus came into this world in the first place. So, I believe part of the reason why it happened is that Judas had already counted himself out. Isn’t it interesting that despite all that Judas saw and heard from the Master Teacher Himself, none of what He witnessed of Jesus moved his faith? In trying to gain the world, Judas lost his life. “For what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16: 26).
May I say to you that the saddest part of this story was not even the betrayal itself because Jesus had already decided to give up His life for our redemption before the foundation of this world, so He would have died anyway whether he was betrayed or not, accepted or not. God is too wise, too smart to let the weight of redemption depend solely on someone’s betrayal. And that is why even what He planned for our lives cannot be prevented or stopped by people’s betrayal. Therefore, the worst part of that story was when Judas listened to others’ opinions about His sin rather than Jesus’ opinion. Please allow me to explain: In Matthew 27: 3-5, it says that Judas was seized with remorse and attempted to return the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. So, up until that point, Judas thought that the problem could be fixed. This makes sense because at that time Jesus was already bound but not dead. Judas even declared to the chief priests and elders that he had sinned and betrayed innocent blood; even then, Judas wanted to repent and tried to fix the mess. Now, notice things shifted in verses 4 and 5. The text says that after Judas told the chief priests and elders that he had sinned and betrayed innocent blood, they replied to him, “That’s your responsibility”, and if I were to make it more direct, it’s like they said to Judas, “What do we care? It’s your fault. Our job is to encourage you to sin, not to save you from it, so you are on your own and you better deal with it yourself.” Their harsh response to Judas made him forget that Jesus was still the door of escape. This also shows us that it is possible to be under Jesus’ teaching, watch Him move mountains, and our hearts remain untouched by His love, kindness, forgiveness, and power. After all, Judas had seen and heard all that Jesus had done; I mean, Judas saw Jesus forgiving people of their sins; Judas saw how Jesus set people free from condemnation, such as the woman at the well and the woman caught in the act of adultery, and Judas even saw Jesus raising people from the dead, yet he still believed that it was over for Jesus and himself. He allowed his regrets and what others said about what he did to condemn him; therefore, he threw the money in the temple, went away, and hanged himself. Judas had forgotten that Jesus said He would rise from the dead on the third day, and Judas had forgotten that during the last supper, when Jesus had given the disciples the bread and the fruit of the vine for the forgiveness of their sins, Jesus did not skip him but also gave him His body (the bread) to eat and His blood (the fruit of the vine) to drink.
It is easy to see how bad a person Judas was, how horrible it was for him to betray His Savior, but it is also easy to miss how ill-prepared Judas was for what was coming, even after Jesus warned him about it. The truth is, Judas was exposed to spiritual bread daily, coming directly from Jesus’ oven. Judas was there when Jesus miraculously fed the 5,000, then the 4,000; he was there when Jesus healed multitudes and forgave their sins. However, Judas only allowed others to benefit from what he could have benefited from as well. I believe it is important for Christians to know and carefully examine what we are given in Christ. His sacrifice is truly the greatest gift. In Christ, we can come out of anything, and no sin, regardless of its name, can keep us bound. This also means that when sin has a grip on you, and you want to be set free, the first thing to do is invite Jesus in through prayer and fasting (honestly ask Jesus to help you with the problem and be specific about it). Next, believe He can set you free from it; then wait for His instructions because He shall surely come through for you; and finally, (I want you to read this part a little slower): “Do what He asks you to do.”
Purpose in your heart to choose God’s instructions and strategies over yours!
SCRIPTURES
“Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him. For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life.” Romans 5:9-10
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us all from sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:7-8