Judas = reckless behavior
What comes to mind more
readily with the mention of "Judas" is… betrayal. The writer, Mark,
states, "Judas went to the chief
priests in order to betray him to them."
But why? What caused this
reckless behavior from one of the disciples?
When it comes to getting
the scoop on Judas Iscariot, not much is known. He was a man of Kerioth, which
meant unlike the other disciples he wasn't a Galilean. Entrusted as treasurer
for the group, he pilfered from the purse on occasion (John 12:6).
Pilfering indicates greed
and insecurity.
What else though? What was
swirling around in the head of Judas that pushed him over the edge?
Luke paints a picture of
Judas with a dark stroke -- that Satan entered this disciple.
Was it that simple though?
"Satan entered Judas." End
of story?
Judas made a conscience
choice to betray Jesus. To make such a decision would indicate something dire had
built up inside this disciple.
In the previous nine
verses in Chapter 14, the writer could've easily told the story as follows: The
chief priests and scribes sought a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.
Judas went to the chief priests in order to betray Jesus to them. When they
heard it, they promised to give money to Judas, which sealed the deal.
But that wasn't how the
whole story was conveyed. The piece about the chief priests and scribes is a bookend,
as is the piece about Judas deciding to betray Jesus. Between the two is the
anointing at Bethany.
While certainly
important that the unnamed woman's action was shared, was her recklessness the root
cause for Judas' decision?
Did it boil down to money?
In Judas' mind, 300 denarii was thrown away, which a few coins could've lined
his pockets and eased his own needs. For three years, he had wandered here,
there and beyond, following Jesus, living by the kindness of strangers,
scraping by. Was that the way the followers of the Messiah should live?!?
Was Judas jealous he
wasn't part of the "inner circle"? Jesus kept "favoring"
certain disciples, but Judas was never included in the mix. When he spoke up
against the waste caused by this woman (as mentioned in John 12:4-5),
guess who was called on the carpet?
A key statement by Jesus
follows the action of the woman and scolding of Judas, "She has anointed my body beforehand for its burial."
Once again, Jesus said he would die. Was that the way it was to be for the Messiah -- to
die? Was that the way it was to be for Israel -- to remain under the rule of
Rome? Because if the Messiah died, the Promised Land wouldn't be restored to
the Jews.
Maybe Judas didn't want
Jesus to die. Yes, going before the Jewish authorities would line his pockets
with a few silver coins. No one would know about that if all went accordingly
to his plan.
Yes, turning Jesus over to
the chief priests and scribes would cause friction with his fellow disciples. They
would forgive him if all went accordingly to his plan.
Someone needed to do
something. Jesus' head wasn't on straight. If he were forced into action, Jesus
could conquer his enemies and restore the land to the Jews. Jesus would be the
Messiah of victory as destiny had been foretold!
A battle raged in Judas.
He wanted Jesus to be as he saw him.
Basically, Judas was saying to Jesus, "Follow me. I know better than you.
I know better than God."
Yet… how different are we
from Judas? Do our own dreams ever cloud how we think? What about jealousy? Do
our ambitions trump love and loyalty? Does money weaken our will to make the
right decision? What desires of ours have overridden spirituality?
NEXT
"My body; my
blood"
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