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Don’t lose sight of the fact that Judas Iscariot didn’t set out on his journey to follow Jesus with betrayal on his mind. He followed Jesus because he truly believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah. He “believed” in Jesus. He was an “early adopter” and supporter. He wanted to get in on the “ground floor” of Jesus’s eventual rise to power. It is important to understand, at the outset, that Judas never envisioned he would betray Jesus. Rather, Judas envisioned he would be a part of His trusted circle – maybe not as close as Peter, James and John – but certainly close behind. After all, he was the keeper of the treasury for Jesus and the disciples.
Judas believed that Jesus had seen his financial skills and abilities, and would place him in an important position on His leadership team when the day arrived for His reign as King. Judas “trusted” that Jesus would enable him to be successful and achieve his personal desires of life – those of position, possessions and power. Therefore, on the short-term, he was willing to sacrifice all of those things. He was willing to wander the Judean wilderness with Jesus and the rest of the disciples. From his perspective, it was a good investment that would pay off in the end.
But as time went on and Judas witnessed one miracle after another, he was becoming impatient for the day that Jesus would declare Himself. At first, his impatience was subtle and subdued, but the night Jesus allowed Mary to waste that expensive perfume and pour it over His head and feet, Judas couldn’t contain his exasperation.(1) If Jesus was going to rise to power, He needed to be more discerning in the best ways to utilize financial resources. He needed to call upon His trusty advisors – like Judas – to give Him counsel. He couldn’t just leave it up to the “riff-raff” to make their own decisions. Those funds could have been invested much more wisely – and Judas could probably have done so in a way that also enabled him to derive some amount of personal gain for himself as well. But that would never happen if Jesus was going to allow things to occur in such an “unconstrained” way.
What’s more, Jesus entered into Jerusalem with the people shouting His accolades in every corner of the city. This was the largest crowd that had ever been in Jerusalem at one time. Many, if not most of them, had come to see Jesus. If there was ever a time for Jesus to declare Himself, this was it!(2) And yet, Jesus was showing no sign that He was moving in that direction, and Judas became more and more frustrated. At that moment, blinded by his own selfish ambition he decided to take things into his own hands. Over the prior years, his ambition had been just the foothold that Satan needed to occupy Judas’s thoughts, and his decision to now “take things into his own hands” opened the door for Satan to take full control. And let’s not forget – Satan is a crafty liar! We can only imagine the convincing “self-talk” that Satan was speaking into his ear to encourage him in his folly.
Judas had witnessed the failed attempts of the religious leaders to entrap Jesus. Time and again, he had seen Jesus outsmart them, out-maneuver them, and outwit them at every turn. The religious leaders were just the pawns that he required for his plan to force Jesus to show His hand. The leaders wanted to arrest Jesus, so if Judas could help them do that, Jesus would have to declare His authority and establish His Kingdom. That would be the game-changer – Jesus would be declared King – and Judas would finally achieve all that he had been working toward. In his mind, this was the time. This was the week! So off he went to find his “unlikely” allies, to convince them to go along with his plan.(3)
As Jesus would later declare, “Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there every day.”(4) But the religious leaders were afraid of the reaction of the crowd. They knew that they could not take action in the light. They knew that whatever they did, it had to be done clandestinely and in the cover of darkness. (Just a quick reminder for you and me: Satan never works in the light. Darkness is his greatest ally! As a matter of fact, Jesus said the night He was arrested, “This is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.”(5)) So imagine the delight of the religious leaders when one of Jesus’s own disciples approached them to discuss the best way for Jesus to be arrested. These unwitting allies all savored their own craftiness.
There’s more to talk about, but we’ll stop there. Let’s bring it back home to us. i doubt any of us are contemplating entering into an agreement to betray Jesus. We “believe” in Him. Like Judas, we “trust” Him for what we are certain He will do for us. We have come up with some great plans for ourselves, and certainly Jesus will enable those plans to come to fruition. He loves us. He wants the best for us. And surely, we know what’s best!
At the very moment that idea has entered into our mind, we are on the road to betrayal. That’s where our selfish ambition will always lead. Selfish ambition will corrupt the truth of God, distort the ways of God, and betray the Son of God.
How do we keep from sliding down that slippery slope? By continuing to surrender our will to His. By daily surrendering our selfish ambition. And by continually submitting to His Lordship. He knows what’s best. He knows how to accomplish it – and He will do so. His plan is perfect, and His timing is perfect.
He’s called us to deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow Him. The cross He would have us carry – and anything and everything we may encounter by taking it up – is not about us – it’s all about His redemptive and perfect plan for His glory!
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This post is adapted from Taking Up The Cross, chapter 27, entitled “The Traitor’s Consent”. This fifth book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print and for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy.
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(1) John 12:1-11
(2) John 12:12-19
(3) Luke 22:3-6 Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus, so they could arrest Him when the crowds weren’t around.
(4) Luke 22:53
(5) Luke 22:53b
Copyright © 2021 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
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