Sunday, November 15, 2020

Judas Iscariot

When the Romans took over the world, the Celtic’s Day of the Dead was moved around and purified a bit to become a more holy event – All Hallows Eve, which means “all the holy people” was celebrated on November 1. But what about the bad people, not “holy” ones?

[Enter Halloween stage left]

What made the “holy” ones different from the “unholy” ones? We should feel confident to say, "Decisions." Hebrews 5:12-14, “You need milk, not solid food! [Because you are] not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

Making good decisions is something parents should be teaching their children to do (Deuteronomy 6:7-8; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:1-4). When someone knows how to make good decisions, they can look ahead to see where that decision could lead them and determine if it’s good or not.

Judas made a decision that cost him tremendously: he betrayed Christ! But what else can we know about Judas Iscariot? Apparently, he was a businessman, since he was given the charge of the purse (the bank account).

In John 12:5-6, we read that it was Judas who objected to the woman anointing Jesus’ with expensive oil by saying, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” The next line paints a picture that will probably never be erased, “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” Was this an inspired description of Judas, or did Jesus call Judas to serve alongside Him just like the others? In Matthew 26:13 Jesus says of the woman anointing His feet, “Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” It’s Judas’s decision that would become his identifying mark forever!

In fact, most people don’t their child after Judas because of how bad his decision was.

We may not know much of him, and what we do know may be skewed a little because of the impact Judas’ decision had on all of the followers of Christ, but hopefully, we can see that Judas teaches us about the cost of our decisions, and the impact those decisions can have on others. Remember that all the apostles decided to follow Christ at one point. And in time, they all had to make other decisions about how long to follow Him, under what conditions, and whether or not they were willing to truly give all for Him. That’s true for us as well.

Remember Paul’s words to the churches of Galatia, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel…” (Galatians 1:6) They too were making decisions that made a negative impact on the body. It’s healthy to reflect on the life of Judas and ask what we can learn from his weakness? Our weaknesses have probably been the source of many acts of betrayal towards our pledge to Christ; thankfully God can provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:12-13), just as Jesus told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

The key? Don’t give up on Christ when it seems like He can’t help (perhaps Judas’s weakness) – that’s when He shines the brightest!

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