As we come to the end of the devotionals on the twelve apostles, I hope you have paid attention to the qualities of each and examined your own heart. Today, we look at one that I pray none of you can identify with. If you see some character traits that are yours, repent and change to be more like Jesus. Judas Iscariot is a well-known character in the Bible known as the traitor or betrayer. The name Judas means praise. Judas’ name is derived from the Hebrew word that is the same root for the tribe of Judah. It is the tribe that the Messiah would come from. This makes Judas’ betrayal even more absurd. Jesus’ betrayer came from His own tribe.
Jesus called Judas to be one of His 12 apostles. He was chosen to be the treasurer of the group. He was with Jesus and the other apostles for three years. He had been sent out to preach. He saw people healed, raised from the dead, and demons cast out. He had every advantage any other apostle would have had.
He believed in Jesus, but somewhere along the road to Calvary, he chose to betray Jesus. Note, it was his choice. Just because Jesus knew what he would do does not mean he caused it. Judas, like each of us, has a choice to reject or accept Jesus.
Some would say that Judas never believed, but I believe he did. In Matthew 10:1, Jesus called His twelve disciples, and before sending them out, He gave them, including Judas, power over unclean spirits to cast them out. In Matthew 12:24-25, Jesus was accused of being of the devil, and Jesus answered that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Jesus would not send out an unbeliever to teach about Himself. This would represent a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and Jesus would not send a messenger that was of the devil to speak on His behalf. This is contrary to what He taught.
Matthew 10:1 “And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”
Matthew 12:24-25 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:”
In John 12:4-6, Judas is upset when the woman breaks open her box of precious ointment to pour on Jesus. He said that the ointment could have been sold for three hundred pence. Jesus rebukes him, but it does not change his heart. The following phrase lets us know where his heart lies. The writer calls him a thief. He was greedy, and greedy people do whatever they can to feed their desire.
John 12:4-6 “Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”
Matthew 20:18-19 Jesus tells of His betrayal. Judas would have been present and would have understood what Jesus was talking about. Instead of repenting and turning back to his Master, he bolted into an attitude of greed. He was also disenchanted with Jesus not setting up an earthly kingdom. He puts his feelings into action.
Matthew 20:18-19 “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.”
Matthew 26:14-16 “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time, he sought opportunity to betray him.”
Judas was deceived by his own actions. He was so determined to do what he wanted, but he failed to calculate the consequences. Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified. Judas allowed Satan to enter into himself because he chose to follow his own desires and not God’s.
Luke 22:3-6 “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.”
Judas wished he had not after the arrest, but it was too late; the deed had been done. He tries to give the money back, but it is too late. He then goes out and hangs himself.
Matthew 27:3-5 “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Judas, according to all I can find, committed apostasy. Which means he made shipwreck of his faith, as Paul speaks about in I Timothy 1:19, and then he names two people who did this in verse 20. His life should be a warning to us all not to allow our faith to waver. We need to take care of sin when it happens. He did not become a betrayer overnight. Satan is cunning and will wait like a lion for his prey. Just like the Uncle Sam commercial for the Army, “He wants you!’
I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
The following verses show us what happened to Judas, and if we walk away from God and choose our own way, it can happen to us.
II Peter 2:20-21 “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
I Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”
