Judas: The shocking reflection in the mirror.
Dearly beloved, today we are gathered to once again explore the life and times of those who have gone before us, and implement obtainable lessons from their lives in our own personal work with our Lord and Savior. This time, we encounter the story of the most hated man in Christendom, and in a shocking uno reverse of reflection, understand why we should be careful not to throw stones as those who live in glass houses.
So, every year we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the blessed foundation of our faith in the finished, redemptive work of Christ and before we get to the testimony, we usually have to walk through the test. As one who was born and raised in the Catholic church, I can tell you that the walk I’m talking about here isn’t necessarily figurative, as trekking begins on the first day of Lent with the Stations, and culminates at the Passion of Christ on Good Friday. But essentially, every believer takes a mental and spiritual journey through the events that led Christ to the Cross. And there’s simply no way to do that without recalling the events that took place at the garden of Gethsemane. The events that sealed the fate and faith of mankind, but also altered the course of one man’s eternity forever.
I know you don’t like Judas, and he’s the betrayer and he’s evil, and he’s the one who chose money over Jesus, Jesus o, and all whatnot, but simmer down with your placards and listen for a while. And if you don’t even know who Judas is, but you “identify” as Christian, you might want to pull up a chair and join us, because today’s Bible study day. But before we begin, I’d like to put this out there. I think that men are really simple creatures. Give them food, companionship and a purpose, and they’re satisfied, really. Their problems aren’t plenty, and they can be bosom friends with someone for years and not even know their true name, because they pick up friends like nobody’s business. The apostles don’t seem to be any different from the rest of their gender though. 12 men, 1 God, for 3 years. No quarrel, no wahala. Just trekking from pillar to post to preach, open one blind eye here, raise one dead man there, eat small bread and fish, and call it a day. Simple life, abi?? And they were literally living it, jolly good fellows, all of them.
Now Jesus Himself, fully God and fully man, used His own hand to pick His apostles (Mark 3:13). It wasn’t like He didn’t know them, didn’t see their hearts, didn’t know exactly what each one of them was capable of. Mind you, He chose them after praying all night (Luke 6:12-16), and this is the Word Himself so He definitely knew that Peter had a temper and was impulsive, that Levi (Matthew my dear, relax) was working for their version of PalmPay, and that Judas had the potential to do What I Ordered Vs What I got (which he eventually did). But anyways, He still picked them. Why, you ask? Why would God Himself intentionally pick imperfect men to walk and work with Him? Well, I can’t presume to know what He was thinking, but I’ll tell you what I think. I think Christ chose those disciples, not because they were better than everyone one else, but because there’s literally no perfect person. None. Not a single one of us is perfect, no matter how much makeup you use or the number of abs where your stomach is supposed to be. But then again, I’m not sure Christ needed them to be perfect. All throughout Scripture, God had made a point of choosing clearly “imperfect” people to do mighty things in His name. Take Moses for instance, a stammerer with a temper and self esteem issues. Or Joseph, who didn’t know that it’s not everything you tell people. Or even fine boy David, that forgot himself once he saw woman outside. None of these men were perfect, not even close, but like He did with the disciples, they became literal examples of how God qualifies the called instead of the opposite.
But back to Br Judas.
I think it’s really interesting how not a single one of the Gospels report how Jesus met Judas, and all of them that described the choosing of the disciples mention him last on the list (Mark 3:13-19, Matthew 10:1-4, Luke 6:12-16). Luke even went as far as adding “traitor” to his description of Judas in Luke 6. Talk about a long memory, right? John didn’t even bother listing anything, but he made it clear that Jesus knew who was going to betray Him (John 6:64), and that’s interesting, because I don’t think even Judas knew he was going to do that to anyone, much less Jesus Himself. In John 6:70&71, Jesus foretells the betrayal of Judas, although he doesn’t name him. At that point, Judas had been entrusted with the money box that they had, and had already started giving in to the temptation of his greed. We can clearly see this in his reaction to Mary’s anointing of the Lord in John 12 (1-6, Mark 14:3-6). But here’s what I want to point out. How many of us are any different?? Judas was taking from what had been entrusted into his care, even though he was literally breathing the same air as the One who owned it all. And it’s really easy to point fingers and call him a cheat and a thief, but how many times have you “altered” the figures on your tuition fees? Or “redesigned” your results? Or “edited” the truth to fit in or avoid trouble? How many times have we prayed in the morning and stolen at noon? Not necessarily money, but someone else’s time or energy, or even that person’s peace? How many times have we claimed to have the Spirit of God in us, and yet, acted completely contrary to the workings of this same Spirit???? Sounds really familiar now, huh? But I need you to understand that this isn’t condemnation, it’s an important call to realise that while, yes Judas did terrible things and crowned them with something even worse, you are also capable of doing terrible things and have done so already.
You know how certain things don’t seem to be big deals anymore? Well the world has done a really thorough job of normalising sin, and it’s all well and good for you to do what you do, but what it’s someone else, we’re ready to stone them with concrete. Well here’s a question for you: what’s the difference between you and Judas? I can literally feel you recoil in wounded Christianity and personal vindication. But it’s okay, really. Just think about it for a few minutes. He was human, and guess what? So are you. He made bad, terrible decisions, and tbh, so have you. Granted, your decisions haven’t killed anyone physically (hopefully, in Jesus name), but you’ve also hurt people. You claim to be the righteousness of God, but Judas walked the earth for 3 years with Christ Himself, and still chose to go astray. He’s proof that anyone, anyone at all, can fall into the enemy’s hands when they entertain their weaknesses. But that’s where God’s mercy comes in.
Judas stole, plotted with the enemies of Jesus to betray his Master for money (Matt. 26:14-16, Mark 14:10, Luke 22:3-6), carried out his plot (John 18:1-11, Luke 22:47-48, Mark 14: 43-46), and then chose the quickest way out to avoid dealing with the truth of what he had done (Matt. 27:5). But before he hung himself, Judas did something interesting. For someone who obviously loved money like he did, I find it very significant that Judas returned the money to the chief priests and elders (Matt 27:3&4). It tells me that he could find no satisfaction in the fruit of his labour, because let’s be honest, it took a lot to plan the ambush at Gethsemane. It’s not like he just drove to the junction to pick soldiers up and took them to Jesus. But he couldn’t even be pleased with his gains because he was so guilty and remorseful. Does that not sound familiar too?? When you’ve done what you wanted to do but it doesn’t even feel like you thought it would? Or you’ve gotten what you wanted but you don’t feel good about it anymore? Yeah, I bet that’s even more disappointing than the actual actions that led you there.
The worst thing Judas did though, as far as I’m concerned and what many people have done today, was decide his fate for himself. He decided he had gone too far to return, he decided to choose despair and condemnation because he couldn’t fathom that there was any other option available to him. Again, a completely human reaction, and though it was hugely birthed from a place of utter guilt and despondency, there was also a sprinkle of pride in there. Because although Judas had just spent the last 3 years of his life physically experiencing the truth and wonder of Christ, he still believed that his life was his. He hadn’t surrendered, and I think this is the main difference between him and Peter. Peter also made mistakes, not as bad, but mistakes nonetheless. But in his own remorse, he still chose surrender to God and that’s why he sought mercy. But Judas did not. And many people today have done the same thing. Maybe not going as far as he did in killing themselves, but they’ve turned their hearts from God because they believe there’s no way He would ever forgive them. Some people have intentionally chosen lives apart from God from the mistaken impression that He needs you to be righteous before you come to Him. Some others have decided to continue going through the motions of religion but they know within themselves that they’ve given up on an eternity with God because they’ve made mistakes and they don’t think mercy can still cover them.
Regardless of who you are or what you’ve done, I have great news for you. There’s still a way. One Way, actually. One Chance, and one Hope for you. But to get there, you’ll need to do a couple of things. Well, more than a couple. But don’t worry, we’ll walk through it together and they’re really easy to do too. Firstly, you have to be honest with yourself about your mistakes and decide that you need to start living differently. That’s what we call repentance, a genuine sorrow for the life you’ve lived in ignorance or stubbornness and the decision to not continue like that. Next, and this is the best part, give it all to Jesus. Everything. Your life, yourself, all that matters, give everything to Christ. Acknowledge what God has done for you in Christ Jesus, decide that He’s Lord over all that concerns you and receive the gift of salvation. And that’s it. Seriously, that’s all you need.
Remember that God’s mercy will always be greater than our mistakes, and the greatest expression of that mercy is in Jesus Christ. It’s never too late to decide to build on the Solid Rock. It’s never too late to start again. You’re never too gone to be loved by God. Guess what? Even in your mistakes He loves you, He just knows that you can be so much more, do so much better. He just wants you to choose right, for yourself. He knows that there’s more to you than the past, and why wouldn’t He believe that? After He’s the one who made you. So if the One who formed us looks at you and sees good, how can you look in the mirror and see anything else??
You’re not Judas, but you are human. We all make mistakes, and we’ve all sinned. But what differentiates us from Judas (thank you Jesus!), is that we know our Father is always willing to forgive us when we repent genuinely. Always. So now, you get to choose.
I leave you with Moses’s proposal to the children of Israel;
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live…”
(Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV)
I really, really hope above all things that you choose life today.
Calvary blessings from my heart to yours,
Gabrielle…
