We have a lot to learn from the arch villain, and nemesis of Jesus, Judas Iscariot, who even fooled his fellow disciples. There are people in the Bible that are the paradigm of evil, as well as an exemplar of virtue, not to mention the paragon of character Himself, Jesus-- otherwise, we wouldn't know what to think about when we contemplate ourselves in light of God. The fact is: Some people are bad examples and some good, but all our examples, just like some are vessels of honor and others of dishonor. The Bible pulls no punches, it tells it like it is and doesn't gloss over the evil when it happens or paint a pretty picture--that is evidence it is a true portrait without spin or bias like historians of the time were wont to be.
The Bible's main message of salvation in Christ is that we are all sinners and in need of salvation, and that no one is too far out there to be saved if they repent (cf. Is. 1:18). For example, consider the king Manasseh, who was probably Judah's most wicked, and yet he finally repented and knew that the LORD was God. Judas' sin was not so bad that it was not redeemable, even though Jesus did divinely prophesy that it would be better had he never been born. Remember: Jesus knew he was not going to repent and never did believe in the first place (he was a devil from the get-go).
We need to see the Judas in all of us, just like Robert Louis Stevenson saw Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in himself. We are all totally depraved and every part of us is infected with evil--if evil were blue we would be all blue. Our hearts are evil--i.e., our emotions, our wills, our intellects. We can't think straight, we have wrong or bad feelings (that we shouldn't go by), and we have a disloyal, unwilling, and rebellious spirit or will. We are not all as bad as we can be, but as bad off as we can be--this is God's perspective, not ours (humanists still believe man is basically good and even deify him).
Can any Christian honestly say that he has never betrayed someone or been interested in ulterior motives that may be financially rewarding--everyone wants a friend with benefits nowadays. If we were one of the 12 would we have loved Judas? He is in the Bible for a reason, and not just to despise or look down on. This is why there is a Judas plot or conspiracy in all of us--even Peter said, "It is I?" in conviction. There is a latent Judas in all of us.
Judas was in it to cash in and had no real spiritual ambition or interests. The Word doesn't fully divulge his motives, the disciples, in fact, never saw it coming; but I would judge him as the opportunist in the motley crew or band of 12. I believe that when he appraised the situation as only a spiritual empire or kingdom, and that they might have to go to their deaths following him, he wanted out, but out in an honorable way (to himself)--to save face, you might say. We all have to pick sides and cannot forever remain neutral when it comes to Christ's beckon call on our soul's allegiance.
Judas was surely a likable and trustworthy fellow that gain the approbation of his peers and this shows that personality should be discounted when it comes to spiritual competence and faithfulness and how much God can use a person. He was the one in charge of finances and this showed a high level of trust from the others not to mention Jesus whom he likely ingratiated and kissed up to. Remember that Satan was tempting Judas and we are probably have never been so tempted and are not in a position to judge (only Jesus knows all the criteria of judgment).
Judas ultimately chose his own way over God's way. We are all guilty of doing our own thing! "I did it my way" is a familiar philosophy today and everyone wants to be their own lord and run their own life, not giving up its ownership to God. Choosing our way is choosing death. And the choice is between life and death that God gives us ("...Behold I set before you the way of life and the way of death," says Jer. 21:8). Jesus had claimed to be "The Life" just as Thomas a Kempis famously said, "Without the way, there is not going, without the truth, there is no knowing, and without the life, there is no living." One of the biggest lessons in life and one of the facts of life is that we have to realize we don't know everything and do a lousy job of running our lives, with no input or counsel from people wiser than us. There is a principle: Education is going from an unconscious to a conscious awareness of our ignorance.
Judas failed in his scheme and realized it too late. He was filled with remorse (which isn't good enough and this means he was sorry about the consequences of his actions, but probably still justified himself (2 Cor. 7:10 says the sorrow of the world produces death). We need to be more than sorry or have regrets; we need to come clean and do a 180, a U-turn, or about-face--facing up to our wrongdoing. In contrast, Peter's sin of denying the Lord was equally bad, but he truly repented and owned up to it and believed Jesus could forgive him. Judas had absolutely no faith in the Lord and didn't think Jesus could ever forgive him of his dastardly deed.
Why did Jesus even give the invite to the Passover Meal? Then again why did He even choose him? Because Jesus loves the worst of us (cf. Eph. 3:19) and gives us all the opportunity we need to repent and it is us who gives up, not Him. The invite shows us that we should extend invitations to those who are searching and are even enemies whom we are commanded to love, in the hope that we will be able to reach out to them somehow--bless those who cannot pay back! Jesus knew he was a devil from the beginning by divine knowledge from the Father, but He knew the Scriptures had to be fulfilled too.
This was a wake-up call to the disciples to show that they can be fooled and to make them all the more aware of charlatans, quacks, bogus friends, sham believers, and false prophets under the guise of good (for even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light). Doesn't it show Jesus' patience and love when he even honored him to the end by serving him the bread first--even saving him face as he left in case he changed his mind? (Jesus knew all things were possible with God.)
Jesus is looking for disciples who love Him and are after His own heart like David. Judas had no love, except for his own ambitions and plans, being a materialistic person who wanted to sell Jesus out to get "something" out of the deal and take sides. We all have let Jesus down and his example is in Scripture to warn us that our old Adam has the tendency to "sell out" or "cash in" and take advantage of people or even manipulate them as we love things and use people, rather than use things and love people. When you are this way, it only means that you are short-sighted and don't have a grasp on eternity or see life in light of eternity. Things won't last, but people and relationships will! Judas died with no relationship intact.
All in all, when push comes to shove, we must ultimately and willfully love the ones least worthy of it--they may even be more "un-lovable" than our enemies (cf. Jude 22,23)! In conclusion, let's concur that Judas had no one to blame but himself and that is the way it will be at the Great White Throne Judgment. Soli Deo Gloria!
The Bible's main message of salvation in Christ is that we are all sinners and in need of salvation, and that no one is too far out there to be saved if they repent (cf. Is. 1:18). For example, consider the king Manasseh, who was probably Judah's most wicked, and yet he finally repented and knew that the LORD was God. Judas' sin was not so bad that it was not redeemable, even though Jesus did divinely prophesy that it would be better had he never been born. Remember: Jesus knew he was not going to repent and never did believe in the first place (he was a devil from the get-go).
We need to see the Judas in all of us, just like Robert Louis Stevenson saw Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in himself. We are all totally depraved and every part of us is infected with evil--if evil were blue we would be all blue. Our hearts are evil--i.e., our emotions, our wills, our intellects. We can't think straight, we have wrong or bad feelings (that we shouldn't go by), and we have a disloyal, unwilling, and rebellious spirit or will. We are not all as bad as we can be, but as bad off as we can be--this is God's perspective, not ours (humanists still believe man is basically good and even deify him).
Can any Christian honestly say that he has never betrayed someone or been interested in ulterior motives that may be financially rewarding--everyone wants a friend with benefits nowadays. If we were one of the 12 would we have loved Judas? He is in the Bible for a reason, and not just to despise or look down on. This is why there is a Judas plot or conspiracy in all of us--even Peter said, "It is I?" in conviction. There is a latent Judas in all of us.
Judas was in it to cash in and had no real spiritual ambition or interests. The Word doesn't fully divulge his motives, the disciples, in fact, never saw it coming; but I would judge him as the opportunist in the motley crew or band of 12. I believe that when he appraised the situation as only a spiritual empire or kingdom, and that they might have to go to their deaths following him, he wanted out, but out in an honorable way (to himself)--to save face, you might say. We all have to pick sides and cannot forever remain neutral when it comes to Christ's beckon call on our soul's allegiance.
Judas was surely a likable and trustworthy fellow that gain the approbation of his peers and this shows that personality should be discounted when it comes to spiritual competence and faithfulness and how much God can use a person. He was the one in charge of finances and this showed a high level of trust from the others not to mention Jesus whom he likely ingratiated and kissed up to. Remember that Satan was tempting Judas and we are probably have never been so tempted and are not in a position to judge (only Jesus knows all the criteria of judgment).
Judas ultimately chose his own way over God's way. We are all guilty of doing our own thing! "I did it my way" is a familiar philosophy today and everyone wants to be their own lord and run their own life, not giving up its ownership to God. Choosing our way is choosing death. And the choice is between life and death that God gives us ("...Behold I set before you the way of life and the way of death," says Jer. 21:8). Jesus had claimed to be "The Life" just as Thomas a Kempis famously said, "Without the way, there is not going, without the truth, there is no knowing, and without the life, there is no living." One of the biggest lessons in life and one of the facts of life is that we have to realize we don't know everything and do a lousy job of running our lives, with no input or counsel from people wiser than us. There is a principle: Education is going from an unconscious to a conscious awareness of our ignorance.
Judas failed in his scheme and realized it too late. He was filled with remorse (which isn't good enough and this means he was sorry about the consequences of his actions, but probably still justified himself (2 Cor. 7:10 says the sorrow of the world produces death). We need to be more than sorry or have regrets; we need to come clean and do a 180, a U-turn, or about-face--facing up to our wrongdoing. In contrast, Peter's sin of denying the Lord was equally bad, but he truly repented and owned up to it and believed Jesus could forgive him. Judas had absolutely no faith in the Lord and didn't think Jesus could ever forgive him of his dastardly deed.
Why did Jesus even give the invite to the Passover Meal? Then again why did He even choose him? Because Jesus loves the worst of us (cf. Eph. 3:19) and gives us all the opportunity we need to repent and it is us who gives up, not Him. The invite shows us that we should extend invitations to those who are searching and are even enemies whom we are commanded to love, in the hope that we will be able to reach out to them somehow--bless those who cannot pay back! Jesus knew he was a devil from the beginning by divine knowledge from the Father, but He knew the Scriptures had to be fulfilled too.
This was a wake-up call to the disciples to show that they can be fooled and to make them all the more aware of charlatans, quacks, bogus friends, sham believers, and false prophets under the guise of good (for even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light). Doesn't it show Jesus' patience and love when he even honored him to the end by serving him the bread first--even saving him face as he left in case he changed his mind? (Jesus knew all things were possible with God.)
Jesus is looking for disciples who love Him and are after His own heart like David. Judas had no love, except for his own ambitions and plans, being a materialistic person who wanted to sell Jesus out to get "something" out of the deal and take sides. We all have let Jesus down and his example is in Scripture to warn us that our old Adam has the tendency to "sell out" or "cash in" and take advantage of people or even manipulate them as we love things and use people, rather than use things and love people. When you are this way, it only means that you are short-sighted and don't have a grasp on eternity or see life in light of eternity. Things won't last, but people and relationships will! Judas died with no relationship intact.
All in all, when push comes to shove, we must ultimately and willfully love the ones least worthy of it--they may even be more "un-lovable" than our enemies (cf. Jude 22,23)! In conclusion, let's concur that Judas had no one to blame but himself and that is the way it will be at the Great White Throne Judgment. Soli Deo Gloria!