Who is Judas?

That's when Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot. He was one of the Twelve. (Luke 22:3, The Message Bible)

Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Not much is known about his past, but when he joined the disciples, he had enough previous business experience that he was elected to be the treasurer for Jesus’ followers. It seems odd to me that they needed a treasurer, but as it turns out, various people donated money to the Twelve, who in turn would give it to the poor and needy. The disciples didn’t need to use this money to support themselves; they were usually given food and shelter wherever they went. Judas, however, as the keeper of their money, managed to sneak some of it into his own pockets. This kind of greed caught Satan’s eye.

Why would such a man ever have become one of the chosen twelve disciples? Well, we like to think that Judas came to the Lord with the most honorable intentions and that Jesus made him one of his twelve closest followers based on that. But remember, God knows everything that’s going to happen well before it happens. He knows what is in our hearts before we even know it. I think that all of the disciples were chosen based on that, based on who Jesus knew they would become. Jesus knew before he even walked on this earth that Judas Iscariot would betray him and be the catalyst that led him to the cross.

Lord Jesus, help me to understand that the things that happened to you your last days on earth were not accidents, not bad twists of fate. Our heavenly Father knew exactly what these last hours were going to be like and yet He sent you to endure it on our behalf. Help us to understand what that kind of love means.

(From now until Easter, my Sunday blog will be taken from the book of Luke, looking at the last days to the last hours of Jesus’ life on this Earth. I pray that I can share something meaningful with you.)