It was the night of the arrest of Jesus as Judas betrayed Him. The man who once loved Jesus, betrayed the man that he loved because he loved money more than Jesus. He had lusted after mere treasures and would die that day, even though he could not take the silver with him to the grave.
When Judas lusted after silver,
he had a demonic impulse strike him. He never thought about the guilt from sin,
but only about the joy of lustrous metal. Like the woman long before, it was
the bright object that attracted her. Adam’s woman lusted after the ‘Bringer of
Light’ — Lucifer — with no notice of the devilish image within him. Judas saw
the silver before him, but missed the fact that the Devil was in Satan. He was
blinded by the bright object in the same manner as Eve.
To this day, even many Christians
see the Light of God, but fail to see that demons control them. Unlike Judas
who had Satan within, devils cannot be in Christians, but their thoughts
can move freely from the world to their minds as they present lust as more precious
than the reward of Jesus.
How did those things come about? “Entered
Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve and he
went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray
him unto them.” (Luke 22:3-4). However, it all started before that!
“There came unto Him (Jesus) a
woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His
head, as He sat at meat… for they said, ‘This ointment might have been sold for
much, and given to the poor’” (Mat 26:9).
It was not merely coincidental
that the valuable ointment was believed to be more valuable than Jesus. The only
person of note who became irate at wasting ointment on Jesus was Judas Iscariot
(Mat 26:14). Before that, Judas was called the ‘friend of Jesus.’
Where is that written” you ask? David
wrote about this future occasion, “Yes, mine own familiar friend, in
whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread, has lifted up his heel against me”
(Psalm 41:9).
(That also satisfied the actions
of the Serpent from Gen 3:14).
David, from the past; the future
was revealed. God inspired David to see his ‘son’ (in a genealogical sense), die.
Just as God got into the mind of King David, Satan got into Judas via his mind.
With that said, God communicates to Christians in thought and so does
Satan and his demons.
Judas marveled that they wasted
ointment on the feet of Jesus. His ‘god’ was not Jesus but things like ointment
and silver… things with intrinsic value.
As a façade. Judas used the poor
to accuse Jesus of waste. He seemed to worry about the poor as if Jesus
did not. He presented himself as more empathetic than Jesus and had the
audacity to call his ‘Master’ out! Of course, the ointment could be exchanged
for money to enrich their treasures; and that was the real worry for Judas.
Churches that need money even in
this age, if given money exceeding their needs; it usually causes trouble. Just
as Judas seemed to care about that early ‘church’ wasting money, it was more
about him losing power over their fates.
Judas was perhaps highly esteemed
not because he loved Jesus, like John the beloved, but because he controlled
the purse. Their success would be measured by their ‘bank account.’ The love of
money, as the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10), undermined the foundation of the
Church before the Church was ever built, ironically on the prophets and
apostles (1 Cor 12:28). In modern times, money remains the foundation of the false
church because the love of it is in the minds of those who use the Church to
make a name for themselves.
Even today, money makes some Christians in the Church superior to others! James saw the problem early in the Church; he wrote:
For if there come unto
your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also
a poor man in vile raiment; and you have respect to him that wears the gay
clothing, and say unto him, “Sit you here in a good place;” and say to the
poor, “Stand you there, or sit here under my footstool: are you not then
partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? (James 2:2-4)
The woman who anointed the feet
of Jesus with expensive ointment was tender inside. She saw that Jesus was
worth the extravagance, even at their expense! Judas was mean inside, thinking
that the Savior of mankind was not worth a few asses (assessments in Roman
terminology).
Judas lusted, then Satan entered
him. It was Satan himself who presented the lust for Judas to savor. Satan and
his demons are limited in time and space, but they have powers that humans do
not have.
Paul wrote that before that time they
walked “according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephes 2:2). Paul implied that Satan gets
into people by their thought processes, and since he is ‘Prince’ of it, infers
that demons can do that as well. The spirit of Satan dwells in the disobedient
because of demonic thought transmission. Christian do not have devils in
them, but when lust leads to sin, the thoughts of devils are controlling them.
Why else would habits be so hard to break? Because evil thoughts are ingrained in
the mind.
Judas did not grant permission
for Satan to enter in. When Satan saw the gleam in the eyes of Judas at the
thoughts of money, there was a hole in the mental fabric for Satan to slip in.
Lust is the mental passport for demonic control, and the Prince of Demons knew just
when the hole expanded enough in Judas’s mind, that he rushed in, unobserved by
most.
Luke saw Satan enter Judas.
Matthew failed to see that perhaps because his mind was different as a tax
collector. Money had become ordinary for him, so that may be the reason that he
missed it!
John saw Satan enter Jesus. He
saw the real murderrd because he was the beloved of Jesus, and the one who most
loved Him. Best friends detect dangers and warn their friends. Judas had been
the ‘familiar friend’ of Jesus, according to the Psalm, but after Judas
betrayed Jesus, John became the most familiar friend.
‘Friends’ of Jesus were those who
loved Him enough to leave everything to follow Him. Judas did that as well. Judas
loved Jesus, and if he had not betrayed Him, Judas would be in heaven.
Satan ‘pulled the trigger’ so to
speak, but Judas allowed that to happen. The word ‘betrayed’ is so significant
but often missed. Betrayal (paradidomi in the Greek) is treachery. The
Hebrew word means “to hurl”
Although a friend of Jesus who
had longtime affection for Him, Judas committed apostasy by casting Jesus aside
for other things. He was eternally secure and safe from the wrath of God but
quite unsafe when he became intrinsic friends of Satan by allowing Satan close
to his heart.
That you are eternally secure, regardless
of who you trust, is a lie from the Devil. Judas, the familiar friend of Jesus,
dropped Jesus like a hot potato, although Jesus still loved him!
Judas still presented himself as
a familiar friend. In those days familiar friends kissed each other and that
remains common in eastern societies even now.
And forthwith he (Judas) came to Jesus, and said, “Hail,
master;” and kissed Him. And Jesus said unto him, “Friend, for what have you
come?” Then came they and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. (Mat 26:49-50)
Note that Judas and Jesus were mutual
friends. Indeed, Judas probably had no animosity toward Jesus, and Jesus
nothing for Judas except friendship, just as Jesus addressed him. Note that
Jesus never cast out Judas, but Judas fell away from the Savior.
If killing Jesus would put a stop to
Christianity, as the mob assumed, then Judas would have been their hero. He did
make a name for himself, but a bad name. If the death of God had ended
Christianity, then everyone thereafter could do as they pleased, rather than obey
God. Obedience is metricized by agape-type love — goodwill; Yahweh
(Jesus), “showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my
commandments” (Exod 20:6).
Jesus continued to love His familiar
friend turned Adversary. He still called Judas, “friend,” knowing
full-well that Judas would betray Him.
Like Judas, those who seem to be the
most loving and kind, could be the most demonic. Do they see Jesus as a ‘friend’?
Indeed, they might! Think about this: Being a friend to Jesus is so often more
about what Jesus can do for you!”
For Judas, Jesus could have saved him,
but Judas sold his soul and his safety from Satan for a few pieces of silver. Jesus
sealed Judas when he called Him to follow Him all the Way to the Cross. Judas
came short of the glory of God when he was so close to salvation, but not all
the way there. So long as he trusted Jesus for his fate, that satisfied Jesus,
but when he trusted wealth more than Jesus, Judas hurled his own soul to the
Devil.
This was meant to be all about betrayal
and falling away, but it is about friendship and false images as well.
Most of us present ourselves as Christians
when we arrive smiling Sunday morning at the church building. For myself,
oftentimes my smile hides my treachery; treachery because each sin
undermines God. I listen more to the silent voices of lust from the thoughts of
demons than I do about Who it is that I come to worship.
I maybe even arrive dressed down as a
common man. Indeed, I am by nature common. Others come dressed as important
men and women. They may be even more common than you or me! Wearing expensive
apparel is worthwhile in the same manner as the expensive ointment… if it is
used to glorify Jesus. If it is to glorify or to exalt us, then the
expense is worthless! All that money can buy, or money itself, is worthless in
Paradise, and it soon came to mind to Judas that the thirty-pieces of silver would
be nothing more than ‘pavement’ in heaven.
There is much to think about concerning
the events around the Last Supper, even whose last supper it was. When Judas
betrayed Jesus, indeed, it was his last supper! When Christians
(followers of Christ) fall away, that moment will be their last supper
in communion with Jesus.
Judas ate the Last Supper unworthily,
and for us that means, that if we eat and betray, or even deny, at the same
time; that is unworthy, and is as if crucifying Jesus afresh (Heb 6:6).
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