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Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. (Matthew 26:14-16, New Living Translation)
This year, during Lent, I have been writing about the various disciples who Jesus had called to follow Him. Just like Peter, Andrew, Matthew and the others, Jesus chose Judas Iscariot to follow Him. Did Jesus know from the very beginning that Judas would be the one to betray Him?
But Judas Iscariot, one of his
disciples—the one who would betray him—said, “That perfume was worth a fortune.
It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared
for the poor, but he was in charge of the disciples’ funds and often dipped
into them for his own use! (John 12:4-6, Living Bible)
This passage from John makes it sound like Judas always cared more about himself than he did for others. I’d still like to believe, though, that Judas started out just as devoted to Jesus as the rest of the disciples.
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
Leaning back against Jesus, he asked
him, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered, “It is the one to
whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then,
dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As
soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, “What you are
about to do, do quickly.” But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this
to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him
to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As
soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. (John 13:21-30, New
International Version)
Sometimes, though, I notice that the rest of the disciples had their faults as well. I mean, really how many times does Jesus have to tell them what was going to happen to Him? And how many times did they not understand what Jesus said?
And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of
the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs.
They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. The
traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one
to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” So Judas came straight to Jesus.
“Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.
Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and
do what you have come for.”
Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested
him. (Matthew
26:47-50, New Living Translation)
But the reality is that no matter what Judas was like when he started following Jesus, he made a pact with the devil. And even though his guilt caused him to hang himself, I wonder if he truly asked God for forgiveness and if, at that last moment before he tightened that rope around his throat, he accepted Jesus as his Savoir.
No matter what you have done in your life, there is no sin that God won’t forgive. You need only to ask for forgiveness and turn your life over to Him, knowing that Jesus died to take away all of your sins.
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