“Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?’ And they covenanted with him and weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.”
STRONGS HEBREW/GREEK ORIGINS
“Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me to betray (paradidomi: give over, deliver up one to custody to be judged and condemned, give up) Him to you?’ And they covenanted (histemi: stand with, set, established) with him and weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.”
SUMMARY
Then one of the twelve disciples, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to deliver Jesus to you to be judged and condemned?” And they stood with Judas and gave him thirty pieces of silver.
MEDITATION
Today, within the American evangelical movement, people seem to be trying so hard to portray their innocence and how “good” they are. Most attend church services, defend and support their denomination, listen to Christian radio, dress well, live accomplished lives in the natural and do their best to be seen as all around excellent people. It seems to be forgotten though who we are without Christ (or perhaps even more especially who we were before regeneration). It’s in this place I’d like to discuss today’s passage. Here we see the well-known account of this man Judas, one of Jesus’ closest friends. Judas was of course hand-picked by Jesus Himself to be one of His disciples but turns out to be His betrayer for a bag of money.
STRONGS HEBREW/GREEK ORIGINS
“Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me to betray (paradidomi: give over, deliver up one to custody to be judged and condemned, give up) Him to you?’ And they covenanted (histemi: stand with, set, established) with him and weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.”
SUMMARY
Then one of the twelve disciples, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to deliver Jesus to you to be judged and condemned?” And they stood with Judas and gave him thirty pieces of silver.
MEDITATION
Today, within the American evangelical movement, people seem to be trying so hard to portray their innocence and how “good” they are. Most attend church services, defend and support their denomination, listen to Christian radio, dress well, live accomplished lives in the natural and do their best to be seen as all around excellent people. It seems to be forgotten though who we are without Christ (or perhaps even more especially who we were before regeneration). It’s in this place I’d like to discuss today’s passage. Here we see the well-known account of this man Judas, one of Jesus’ closest friends. Judas was of course hand-picked by Jesus Himself to be one of His disciples but turns out to be His betrayer for a bag of money.
Was Jesus stunned when this occurred?
Of course few would argue that Jesus was taken by surprise whatsoever in this.
In fact, after we’re done thinking on how evil Judas was and how horrible what
he did was, we may want to take a step back and be silent. Why? Because Judas
is you and me. You see, it would do us good to ponder on the depths of the
reality that Jesus knew well in advance of Judas’ future actions. When He
called Judas. When He sat with Judas and ate. When Judas took part in the
miraculous events of Jesus’ life. When they sat together and discussed the
plans of the Father. Even when Jesus knelt down in the dirt and washed Judas’
feet. All the while, Jesus knew…. yet He still
called him.
Fast forward to today. Jesus knows your deepest secrets, hurts and sin. He
knew it all when He called you and He knows it all today. Yet He calls and He
says, walk beside Me. Follow Me. You and I too have been betrayers of the One
Who is holy and pure. May we never forget this in this ever-increasing age of
Christian pride and masks of false-perfection. The King of all Kings knelt down
to wash our feet as a servant of all, even unto death. Today, embrace the
overwhelming love that you’ve been given for there is absolutely none greater.
The King of all became a lowly servant. Even for a betrayer and liar like me.
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