3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
In our verses for today we find Judas, one of the twelve, sadly selling his soul to Satan for mere silver and I may add, his actions coming as no surprise to our Savior. We find the following in the prayer that Jesus prays for His disciples prior to His arrest:
12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. John 17:12 (NIV)
Never being a true sheep of the Shepherd, Judas’ character was made manifest through his actions – he had a love of money which superseded his love for the Lord. Scripture gives us this insight into Judas’ true make-up:
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:4-6 (NIV)
Judas being one of the disciples was not one with them in nature but rather only in number. He discouraged this pious action of sacrifice under the mask of charity when all the while he was just a common thief.
“Here is worldly wisdom passing a censure upon pious zeal. Those who pride themselves in their secular policy, and undervalue others for their serious piety, have more in them of the spirit of Judas than they would be thought to have. Here is charity to the poor secretly made a cloak for covetousness.” Matthew Henry
John gives us the following insight on turncoats such as Judas:
19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 1 John 2:19 (NIV)
“It is an dreadful consideration that one of the apostles proved to be one doomed to destruction. No man’s place or name in the church will secure him from ruin, if his heart is no right with God.” Matthew Henry
It is so interesting to me that Jesus, knowing exactly who would betray Him, treated Judas no differently from the rest – even to the point that all of the disciples questioned who Jesus was referring to when He told them one would betray Him:
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me." 22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. John 13:21-22 (NIV)
This should not come as a surprise as some of the last words Jesus spoke from the cross were of forgiveness – pointing to the fact that He was not only a Messiah but a forgiving One, loving those He came to die for whether they acknowledged Him rightly or not:
34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34 (NIV)
“There is a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea.” Frederick William Faber
“Love Him totally who gave Himself totally for your love.” Claire of Assisi