Destiny or Choice
As we go through this Maundy Thursday,
it is but natural to think about Judas Iscariot. I was thinking
deep and hard about Judas and would like to share a few things I discovered
through my meditation.
I usually try to find out the meaning
of the names and here’s what I found. The word Judas, as referred in the New
Testament, comes from the Greek word Judas and Hebrew word
Judah. The latter comes from the Hebrew root yada meaning “to
give thanks aloud, praise”
Judah the son of Jacob and father of
the tribe that was known by that name (Gen 35:23) called Judas in NT (Mt
1:2-3). Judas Iscariot, Greek Iskariotes meaning “inhabitant of Keriot” derived
from the Hebrew ‘Ish’ means 'man' hence “man of kerioth”.
One interesting finding is that
all the disciples of Jesus except Judas were from Galilee, a very
fertile area. Kerioth, from where Judas hailed, was west of the Dead Sea. Judas,
therefore, as the only person not from Galilee, must have felt like an
outsider. He would have thought of himself not belonging to the group. Today,
if we have people of one community in one organization, chances are they will
communicate with each other in their language. A person not belonging, not
sharing a common background, may not be able to share the jokes, culture,
practices of the group. Perhaps, Judas also felt that way.
Action of Lord Jesus
Jesus, being sensitive to these group
dynamics, creates a structure for acceptance of Judas. Judas, a non-Galilean is
given a position of Trust. He is made the treasurer of the Mission of Jesus. In
so doing, Jesus communicates to Judas – I trust you. I
have chosen you and I will include you in the group. I have confidence in you
Judas, so disciples, please accept him.
Given this context, let us examine two
words which lead to Good Friday. The first is Temptation and the next
Betrayal.
TEMPTATION: Act of tempting, enticement
and allurement. Given below is a perspective from the Bible Dictionary.
Definition of Temptation
(1.)
Trial; being put
to the test.
(2.)
It is generally understood as the enticement of a
person to commit sin by offering some seeming
advantage. The sources of temptation are Satan, the world and the
flesh. The nearest to a definition of
the process of temptation from within is
given in James 1:14 But each one is
tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
(3.) Satan tempts us to
every kind of evil and lays snares for us, even in our best actions. He lays inducements before our
minds to solicit us to sin. Hence Satan
is called that ‘old serpent’, the devil,
and ‘ the tempter’, ( ‘Now when the
tempter came to Him’ Mathew 4:3).
Unger’s Bible Dictionary
BETRAYAL : To deliver or expose to an
enemy by treachery or disloyalty; to be unfaithful in guarding , maintaining.
[Middle English bitrayen : bi-, be- + trayen, to betray (from Old French trair, from Latin tradere which
means to
hand over.
- Betrayal is to be unfaithful
Let us go further and look at these 2
words.
While giving into temptation, one gives
away oneself. In betraying, one not only gives away oneself, but also another. Therefore
in betrayal one is being unfaithful to another.
Judas was trusted by Jesus. Jesus had Faith in Judas, who in turn was unfaithful to Jesus.
We get hurt when friends, people
with whom we share affection and trust, betray us. Don’t we lose sleep? Jesus
would have felt the same. We feel terrible when people we love are unfaithful
to us. We have a faith, a faith in Lord Jesus. When we are
unfaithful to Jesus, in truth we are betraying him.
Here are some questions
which would be on your minds as you read this. Did Judas have to betray Jesus?
Did he have a choice? Some people say that it was destined for Judas to betray
Jesus and there was nothing he could do about it. Psalm 109 clearly
outlines what would befall the person who betrays the Lord
10 May his children be wandering
beggars; may they be driven [d] from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor
seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labour.
12 May no one
extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.
13 May his
descendants be cut off,
their names blotted out from the next
generation.
Certainly Judas and other disciples would have read this
Psalm and were aware of the consequences of betrayal.
We may think it is destined. Pause for a moment and let
us explore the Acts of Jesus to understand
the Character of Jesus and the
Character of man.
1) Judas was the Treasurer of the Mission of Christ. He was exalted
to a position of Trust even though he was not a Galilean.
2) Jesus tells his Disciples at the last supper, "One
of you will betray me." ( John 13:21). What does this mean? Jesus is appealing
to the Intellect and conscience of Judas. "Judas, do you really want to do
it?" Judas had the option. He could have turned back even then. Even
though you are on the path of destruction you can still turn back.
3) The master, in all humility, washes Judas’s feet as
well. In so doing he appeals to Judas' conscience, "Will you still betray me?" Jesus is demonstrating that to be king, you
have to serve. In order to be glorified, you have to be humble. Judas will you
still betray a man who is humble? Judas had an option to come back into
communion with the Master. Further in John 13-10 Jesus
answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his
whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of
you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that
was why he said not everyone was clean.
4) In the Passover, the Sop is given first to the person
who’s loved. Jesus is appealing to the Heart of Judas. Judas – I love you. And
I want you to be saved. Would you still attempt to go through the night? The honour
and love Jesus gave Judas was of no avail. Judas chose not to forsake the
Pharisees.
5) Lastly, at the garden, Jesus asks the soldiers, "Whom
do you seek?" “Jesus of Nazareth,” they say, to which Jesus answers “It is
I”
This answer communicates - Judas it's
not too late to turn back. Jesus identifies himself so there is no need for
Judas to identify him. Jesus gives another opportunity. But Judas chooses to go
ahead since Satan was total control.
John 3:17 says, for God did not send
his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved.
There was more hope for the thief on
the cross than Judas. He acted on his own free will. He had an option, but
chose to reject and betray a friend and saviour.
We also have options and opportunities.
How do we use them?
See the beauty of the character of
Christ. He understands that ‘despite you knowing me, you will betray me, however, I
will not let that knowledge influence my own character. In spite of all
the things you may do, I will still love you and save you’.
Satan cannot attack when you are in communion with God
Pharisees couldn’t attack
and capture Jesus, as they were afraid of the crowd. The Pharisees were scared
that people will revolt... they were delighted at the betrayal opportunity.
What does that mean?
Satan cannot attack you. You are
invincible when in communion with God. Attack is only possible through
temptation and betrayal.
Behaviour of Disciples
Let us now shift gears from Jesus and
look at ourselves. What do you think of the behaviour of the disciples in
the passage from the Bible?
17When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18While
they were at the table eating, Jesus said, "What I'm about to tell you is
true. One of you who is eating with me will hand me over to my enemies." 19The
disciples became sad. One by one they said to him, "It's not I, is
it?"
If your father were to announce in the family that one of
you will betray him, what will be your response? If your spouse or
close friend were to say that you will betray him/ her what would be your
response? Would you say, could it be me?
Jesus made this statement to the disciples and the
response to the question is, “ It's not I' is it?” This response can
come from a person who is really not confident and sure of himself or herself. This
statement of Jesus made each and every disciple think for himself.
The response is at a deep and personal level.
If at this Lenten time Jesus were to
say one of you will betray Him, what will your response be? There are three
key aspects here:
1. Do we have the courage to
say affirmatively it is 'not me', rather than question 'could it be
me?'
2. If you question 'could it be me?' then
there is a need for us to increase in our faith and fellowship with Jesus.
3. Finally the potential to betray is in
each of us. We need not look down on Judas. He took thirty pieces of silver
whereas we might do it for 30 Rupees as well.
Why 30 pieces? – If
the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty
shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned.
You can look at the contempt Judas had
for Jesus by accepting the money paid for the accidental death of a
slave by bull. He thought of Jesus as a slave and sold him to the Bulls (high
priests) for a deliberate death.
Position of Trust
When you are in a position
of Trust what happens to you?
You are vulnerable. You are more
susceptible to temptation.
Satan entered Judas after
the last Supper(John 13:27). In today’s context it could be just after our Holy
Communion.
We need to be aware of ourselves when
we are in God’s chosen position.
When we see the tragedy of Judas, we
get to see the character of Satan, who enters
with our consent and leaves at his will. Satan enters you in the wilderness
of your life and leaves you in a wilderness. What does this mean? When you are
alone with nothing to tempt you Satan enters you.
Satan went into Judas and left him
alone with his guilt. Judas was alone when he died. He died without
witnesses.
Jesus says … Here I am! I stand at
the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with
me. Rev 3:20
Hebrews 13:5 says, Keep your lives free
from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you; never will
I forsake you."
May the presence of the Living Christ be
always with you.
Emmanuel David emmydavid@gmail.com
