What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?What are you wiling to give me if I hand Him over to you?
Matthew 26: 15 (NIV)
Scripture: Matthew 26: 1-16
Human nature is give me, give me, give me. Judas asked, “What do I get for betraying Jesus?” Judas may or may not be getting a bad rep. This devotion looks at who Judas Iscariot was and what we know about why he betrayed Jesus.
Who Was Judas?
Some Bible scholars think Judas was a member of the Sicarii, a splinter group of the Zealots, whom we would call terrorists. He was probably looking for a military Messiah (and he wasn’t alone).
To read Was Jesus Supposed to Be a Military Messiah?, click the button below.
Judas wanted Romans driven out NOW. He wanted the kingdom of Israel reestablished TODAY. Love for country could have been the motivation, but it could have just as easily been desire for freedom.
Judas may have been disillusioned when Jesus didn’t pull out the sword — especially after the triumphant entry. Sunday built up his expectations only to have them dashed during the week.
To read How Quickly the Crowd Changes, click the button below.
Betrayal
It was Judas’ idea to betray Jesus. Judas went to the chief priests, not the other way around. I had forgotten that. I thought the chief priests and leaders went to him .
Would it be easier to understand if the chief priests came to Judas? It would make it feel like less of a betrayal.
But that is not what happened. Judas was the instigator. But we don’t know why!
The thirty pieces of silver Judas received lead many to think that he was greedy. Maybe, since he was the treasurer for the group.
But Judas didn’t ask for money. He just asked what they would give him. You would think if he wanted money, he would have come right out and asked for it and how much.
Thirty pieces of silver was the going rate for a slave. Don’t you think, if money was the object, he would have asked for more than that? Jesus was supposed to be Someone important. He wouldn’t go for the slave rate.
Luke 22:3 and John 13:27 identify the cause of the betrayal as Satan. Even if greed or political affiliation played a part, this is probably the root cause. Isn’t it usually?
Satan has always wanted to defeat God. What better way than to use a friend to sink the dagger in Jesus and derail God’s plan?
What Do We Know?
We do know three things about Judas: Judas was a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth. He was paid money to betray Him. After Judas had betrayed Jesus, he repented. Matthew 27: 3-5 tells us how he tried to give the money back.
Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t say that Judas returned to God and asked for forgiveness. He may have. We just don’t know.
What we have to realize is that God’s plan was accomplished in the end exactly how He intended. Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins. Judas was the path He used.
What Does That Mean to Us?
I think we can sometimes be like Judas in we don’t recognize God for who He is. We want to put Him in our box. We have to understand and control — most of all control.
But God is in control. Proverbs 19: 21 says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (ESV). Things are going to work out the way God has planned.
Sometimes, we ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit. But yet, we think we are following Him when we are just going through the motions of worshiping Him. We have to step down and put a God first. We have to clear ourselves of the noise of this world and hear His still, small voice (I King. 19: 12).
We have to remember that God’s ways are not our ways (Isa. 55: 8-9). We have to listen closely to hear Him. Remember, in the last paragraph we talked about still, small voice? We have to praise Him wholeheartedly.
At times, we do not recognize God is working in our lives. He isn’t following our game plan, so we think He has left us to our own devises.
God is still there. It is His plan for our lives (Jer. 29: 11) that we are following — even when we exercise our own free will and make poor choices. He knew we would make the wrong decisions and worked the plan accordingly.
There are times we say and do things that hurt others. We may or may not do those things intentionally, but the hurt still happens. We have to try to make things right. We have to try to restore the relationship.
We sometimes think being a follower of Christ will mean we get great rewards. We think we will have smooth sailing in life with huge monetary gains.
Doesn’t always happen that way, does it? God allows situations to happen that grows us into the people we need to be.
God does use us — just as He did Judas — to further His kingdom. We may scratch our heads because we don’t see how that is actually going to further His kingdom. But He always works things for His good (Rom. 8: 28). Wow.
God. It is difficult for us to think that You intended for Judas to betray Jesus. But really, You didn’t. You intended that sin never enter this world. When it did, You found a way to redeem us. We shudder that someone who had been with the Master Teacher that long could go that far off course. But it was Your plan. Judas fulfilled the mission You had for him. We just thank You. We have all known the betrayal of a friend. Jesus does, too. Thank You that He can comfort us. Amen.
What do you think about Judas? Scoundrel or misunderstood? Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you have not signed up for the email providing the link to the daily/weekly devotions and the monthly newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.
Pingback: The Gift of the Holy Spirit – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: How Can We Heal This Land? – Seeking God with Elaine