JESUS AND THE JUDAS ERROR

Luke 6:16 KJV 

…And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

Dear Believer,

We all know Judas betrayed Jesus. It must have been a very painful thing for Him to see Judas walk out into the night, knowing he was going to bring his enemies. And it must have been terribly painful to see Judas give him that kiss of death while calling him master. (Matthew 26:49; Luke 22:48)

We must ask, why did Jesus permit the presence of a traitor on his team? A cursory read of parts of the gospels that made reference to Judas makes it plain that Jesus knew (at some point at least) that Judas would betray Him. Why did Jesus retain the betrayer?

Some people believe that Jesus wanted Judas to betray Him. Some believe Jesus committed an error in judgement in the matter of Judas. Some even believe Jesus didn’t know what was going on and the writers of the gospels only attributed prescience about the matter to Jesus after the fact.

Judas’ act of betrayal teaches all of us a great lesson, and here is it. God has given each of us the power to make moral and spiritual choices and then bear the consequences. Each person will ultimately determine their eternal status.

This is also true of present day betrayers. They make their own choices. If you are betrayed, don’t blame yourself for the error of a traitor.

Judas didn’t start out as a betrayer. Jesus prayerfully picked him along with eleven others to be with Him as disciples and apostles. (Read Luke 6:12-17). So, Jesus didn’t just randomly choose the disciples; He prayed and was led by the Holy Spirit.

That is to say, the holy Spirit chose Judas. 

When Jesus gave power to the disciples to go about announcing the Kingdom of God and heal the sick, Judas was among them. He had experienced the power of God just like the rest. (Read Matthew 10:1-4)

Judas  was a man with a noble name which means ‘Jehovah be thanked.’ His name was noble, but he ended ignobly.

Jesus did not make a mistake in choosing Judas. The belief that Judas was chosen so that he could betray Jesus has taken the omniscience of God too far. Every single one of the disciples of Jesus was a potential betrayal. Satan tempted every one of them, but Judas was the only one who let his greed get the better of him. Jesus prayed for them against the temptation of Satan. Still they must make their choice. (Luke 22:31-32)

Jesus persuaded Judas and appealed to him, but Judas’ love of money was stronger than his commitment to Jesus. And that is the problem with many Believers today. They love God, but they love money more than God. When the chips are down, a man goes with the strongest love of his life. In the case of Judas, it was money. What will it be in your own case?

The life of apostle Judas teaches us that the call and the choice of God do not guarantee spiritual success or the fulfilment of divine destiny. If you don’t cooperate with God, you may jeopardize your destiny.

My message to you today is simple. As you rejoice in the love of God and his grace upon your life, make sure that you live to please Him and not yourself. Judas made it all about himself and not Jesus. He later realized that when a man offers himself to Satan to use, even if it’s only on one occasion, Satan uses and then dumps him. 

Judas, not God, determined the destiny of Judas.  God called him, but he listened to the devil’s voice.

It is my prayer that you will end well.

Pray about this, and have a blessed day.

Your friend,

Deon.

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