Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.
3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude. Luke 22
This is the day in the Christian calender when we remember Judas approaching the priests and promising to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. I have mixed feelings about Judas..... I suppose that's what he is there for in the story. To provoke deep and searching questions.
The passage above says that Satan entered Judas........ Im supposing that Judas had a choice in that matter. Satan doesnt get in unless we let him in - Judas made a conscious decision to go with the voice which was telling him to sell out, just as Eve did right back at the start. Satan always hones in on our weak points in order to gain a foothoold. With Eve it was the doubt she already had in her mind about what God had really said. With Judas it was politics and economics - he was always really more interested in money than in godliness, and power rather than peace.
Im sure that Judas managed to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. Im sure he believed that if Jesus's hand was forced He would declare His kingdom and get on with ousting the Romans. He had seen enough miracles to know that Jesus could get Himself out of any trouble. He had already walked away from a crowd wanting to throw Him over a cliff. He had faced down the Pharisees with clever arguments so many times. There was no way Jesus wasnt going to come out on top this time.
On the other hand Judas was always the odd one out in the group of the disciples. He wasnt called by Jesus like the others had been, he just sort of turns up. He doesnt understand the heart of Jesus - as the treasurer he is always more concerned with the finances than the bigger picture. He scorns Mary for pouring out her expensive ointment on Jesus's feet because he can see how the money would have been better spent. he is a social activist not a worshipper. He doesnt recognise that Jesus is worthy of lavish praise above all else.
Am I guilty of this too? Is the church more concerned with operating foodbanks than worshipping Jesus?
Controversial? Yes of course. Im sure we can do both. But if it comes down to a choice between the two the worship of Jesus is always going to be the more valuable thing to do. Because, as Jesus says, the poor we shall have with us always and God is always concerned to look after them. He has the hairs on their head numbered and has promised to meet all their needs. Our job is first and foremost to worship Jesus. To pour out our lavish, extravagant, wasteful worship over His feet. Judas didn't get it.
Not only was he not a worshipper but he didnt trust the plan. He thought he could manipulate Jesus, speed up the process, give God a helping hand . Been there, done that, got the t shirt. :-) Of course God knew and had it all worked into the plan - as He always does. He doesnt need our help and He often isnt doing things the way we think He should. But if we can learn anything from Judas it's that plotting to get our own way doesnt end well.
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