Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This week as we once again look at the life and character of the apostles of our Lord we focus our attention on the one who epitomizes the suffering of Jesus. It is Holy Week, and today is the day we remember the betrayal of Jesus, His arrest, and the beginning of His suffering for us! Judas Iscariot was the one disciple who at the end of his life brought no glory to Jesus. The story of Judas is one of the most tragic ever recorded. As the Scriptures record the listings of the apostles, Judas is always placed last. There is little wonder to this, for he is best known for his infamy.
Down through the ages the treachery of Judas has been regarded as the most loathsome deed ever committed. His name has become a symbol of treachery and betrayal. Children shudder to think of what he did to Jesus as the Bible story is read. No mother would give her son the name Judas, just like the name Jezebel is disregarded for use with a daughter. Jesus rightly said, “It would have been better for him if he had never been born.” Throughout history writers and artists have attempted to portray the deed and suffering of Judas. Dante in his Divine Comedy places Judas at the lowest level of hell. Suffering for his deed with the punishment reserved for Satan and those like him. Judas suffers as one who is an outcast, banned and shunned even in the caverns of the damned.
The facts concerning Judas’ life tell us a little about him. He was called Judas “Iscariot.” This literally means, “a man of Kerioth” which was a town in Southern Judah. Even the town Judas was from has passed out of existence. Judas was the only one numbered among the twelve who was not a Galilean.
Judas was a “disciple” of Jesus before he was an “apostle” of Jesus. Little is known of Judas’ early encounters with Jesus. We do not know if Judas was a follower of John the Baptist as Andrew and Philip had been. We do not know if he just happened to hear Jesus preaching and chose to follow Him. It is clear to see from hindsight that Judas did not follow Jesus with a heart totally devoted to Him. His love for money and his desire for political solutions to the nation’s problems would later come back to haunt him. He was a double minded man, loving the Lord with only part of his heart. What we do know is that after spending all night in prayer, Jesus called His disciples together and from among them chose twelve to be Apostles, and Judas was one of those chosen.
Jesus must have seen qualities and capabilities in Judas which moved Him to select Judas as an apostle. As an apostle Judas was empowered along with the other eleven to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and even cast out demons. This should teach us something about our Lord. In the absence of deep faith in his own heart, Judas was used by God to work grace in the hearts of others. Used by God in spite of his sin! This could and can be said of each of us.
Judas was the treasurer for the band of apostles. This spoke well of how others viewed his character. The apostles felt they could trust him. An honored position became part of his downfall. John tells us plainly that Judas was a thief and used to steal what was given to him to keep. His greed only grew. His love for money became stronger than his love for the Lord. Sparked by the “waste” of the costly perfume used to anoint Jesus, Judas strikes a bargain to betray Jesus.
It is interesting to note that there is only one time in all of Scripture where we are told that Satan personally entered into and possessed a person. The account in found in Luke 22.
Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes were trying to find a way to put Him to death, since they were afraid of the people. 3 And Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who belonged to the number of the twelve. 4 And he left and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he was to betray Him to them. 5 And they were delighted, and agreed to give him money. 6 And so he consented, and began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him to them away from the crowd.
Satan now controlled this one called an apostle of Jesus Christ. His heart was now hardened as thirty silver coins called to his heart. After the Lord’s Supper in instituted by Jesus and there is discussion among the disciples about who would be the greatest, a discussion which must have grieved the heart of Jesus, the words are spoken by Jesus to Judas, “What you do, do quickly!”
With a kiss Judas seals his own end. Having betrayed Jesus, Judas feels there is nowhere to turn. It is ironic that as Jesus hung bleeding, nailed to the cross to pay the price for all sin, even Judas’ sin of betrayal, Judas himself sought comfort in a rope. Judas committed suicide! What a tragic end to such a promising beginning.
If we are to learn anything from this fallen disciple during this week, it is this — None of us is above betraying our Lord. Judas spent three years with Jesus and yet was led away captive by sin. Each of us, if we take our eyes off Jesus, could suffer the same fate. However, unlike Judas, we need to understand that this is the very reason Jesus came into this world. He came to suffer and die that we might have the forgiveness of all our sin. When we sin, we do not need to despair like Judas. We have somewhere and someone to go to. We go to the cross. There we see Jesus, His suffering, His pain, His LOVE! We flee to Him when we are in despair over our sin, and He takes it from us and speaks to us of forgiveness and life. We know what Judas lost sight of, Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Sinners like us!
Blessings as you prepare for Easter,
Pastor Russ
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This week as we once again look at the life and character of the apostles of our Lord we focus our attention on the one who epitomizes the suffering of Jesus. It is Holy Week, and today is the day we remember the betrayal of Jesus, His arrest, and the beginning of His suffering for us! Judas Iscariot was the one disciple who at the end of his life brought no glory to Jesus. The story of Judas is one of the most tragic ever recorded. As the Scriptures record the listings of the apostles, Judas is always placed last. There is little wonder to this, for he is best known for his infamy.
Down through the ages the treachery of Judas has been regarded as the most loathsome deed ever committed. His name has become a symbol of treachery and betrayal. Children shudder to think of what he did to Jesus as the Bible story is read. No mother would give her son the name Judas, just like the name Jezebel is disregarded for use with a daughter. Jesus rightly said, “It would have been better for him if he had never been born.” Throughout history writers and artists have attempted to portray the deed and suffering of Judas. Dante in his Divine Comedy places Judas at the lowest level of hell. Suffering for his deed with the punishment reserved for Satan and those like him. Judas suffers as one who is an outcast, banned and shunned even in the caverns of the damned.
The facts concerning Judas’ life tell us a little about him. He was called Judas “Iscariot.” This literally means, “a man of Kerioth” which was a town in Southern Judah. Even the town Judas was from has passed out of existence. Judas was the only one numbered among the twelve who was not a Galilean.
Judas was a “disciple” of Jesus before he was an “apostle” of Jesus. Little is known of Judas’ early encounters with Jesus. We do not know if Judas was a follower of John the Baptist as Andrew and Philip had been. We do not know if he just happened to hear Jesus preaching and chose to follow Him. It is clear to see from hindsight that Judas did not follow Jesus with a heart totally devoted to Him. His love for money and his desire for political solutions to the nation’s problems would later come back to haunt him. He was a double minded man, loving the Lord with only part of his heart. What we do know is that after spending all night in prayer, Jesus called His disciples together and from among them chose twelve to be Apostles, and Judas was one of those chosen.
Jesus must have seen qualities and capabilities in Judas which moved Him to select Judas as an apostle. As an apostle Judas was empowered along with the other eleven to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and even cast out demons. This should teach us something about our Lord. In the absence of deep faith in his own heart, Judas was used by God to work grace in the hearts of others. Used by God in spite of his sin! This could and can be said of each of us.
Judas was the treasurer for the band of apostles. This spoke well of how others viewed his character. The apostles felt they could trust him. An honored position became part of his downfall. John tells us plainly that Judas was a thief and used to steal what was given to him to keep. His greed only grew. His love for money became stronger than his love for the Lord. Sparked by the “waste” of the costly perfume used to anoint Jesus, Judas strikes a bargain to betray Jesus.
It is interesting to note that there is only one time in all of Scripture where we are told that Satan personally entered into and possessed a person. The account in found in Luke 22.
Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes were trying to find a way to put Him to death, since they were afraid of the people. 3 And Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who belonged to the number of the twelve. 4 And he left and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he was to betray Him to them. 5 And they were delighted, and agreed to give him money. 6 And so he consented, and began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him to them away from the crowd.
Satan now controlled this one called an apostle of Jesus Christ. His heart was now hardened as thirty silver coins called to his heart. After the Lord’s Supper in instituted by Jesus and there is discussion among the disciples about who would be the greatest, a discussion which must have grieved the heart of Jesus, the words are spoken by Jesus to Judas, “What you do, do quickly!”
With a kiss Judas seals his own end. Having betrayed Jesus, Judas feels there is nowhere to turn. It is ironic that as Jesus hung bleeding, nailed to the cross to pay the price for all sin, even Judas’ sin of betrayal, Judas himself sought comfort in a rope. Judas committed suicide! What a tragic end to such a promising beginning.
If we are to learn anything from this fallen disciple during this week, it is this — None of us is above betraying our Lord. Judas spent three years with Jesus and yet was led away captive by sin. Each of us, if we take our eyes off Jesus, could suffer the same fate. However, unlike Judas, we need to understand that this is the very reason Jesus came into this world. He came to suffer and die that we might have the forgiveness of all our sin. When we sin, we do not need to despair like Judas. We have somewhere and someone to go to. We go to the cross. There we see Jesus, His suffering, His pain, His LOVE! We flee to Him when we are in despair over our sin, and He takes it from us and speaks to us of forgiveness and life. We know what Judas lost sight of, Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Sinners like us!
Blessings as you prepare for Easter,
Pastor Russ
Recent
Archive
2025
January
2024
February
May
June
August
September
October
2023
January
March
May
June
Categories
no categories
No Comments