THE PERVERSION OF JUDAS ISCARIOT

We all know this disciple as “the Betrayer.”  He’s the “bad guy” in the drama!  As a result of his role, the very name “Judas Iscariot” is infamous the world over.  It has become synonymous with betrayal.  His very name is the antithesis of everything a true friend should not be.  The very utterance of his name is accompanied by guttural tones of disgust and disdain!  To call someone “a Judas” is the height of personal insult.  But it was not always that way.

As we have often seen from the Bible, name represents nature. So while the name “Judas” has become synonymous with betrayal, that’s not what the name originally meant. You see, the name “Judas” is the Greek form of the Hebrew proper name “Judah” – which literally means “praised.”  It was the name of the fourth son of Jacob – and from him we have the “Tribe of Judah” – which produced many Biblical heroes. It would be this tribe that the Messiah would come from as “…the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).  So “Judas” and “Jesus” were from the very same tribe!

There was a time then, when the name “Judas” denoted “praise and privilege.”  It was an honor to be called by that name.  And even after the events of the Passion of the Christ, that name was still popular and respected among the Jews. Look at a few examples:

• It is the name of one of the ancestors of Jesus (Luke 3:30).
• It is the name of one of the earthly brothers of Christ (Matthew 33:55).
• It was the name of a leading citizen of Damascus (Acts 9:11).
• It was the name of one of the leaders in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:23).

So the name “Judas” was not always a name of disgust and distain.  And for the “Judas” of our study, it was a name that meant “chosen by Christ… a follower of Jesus… a disciple… a trusted leader.”  How could the meaning of a name change so radically? How could that name become so inverted and perverted?!

Tragically, every great drama has a villain – and in the Passion of the Christ, Judas is it.  As the drama unfolds, we see him gradually become the very personification of the evil one. His inward and selfish devolution is almost imperceptible at first.  And while Jesus knew his true inner nature all along, the rest of the disciples did not have a clue!

No doubt Judas learned to play the role of disciple well. He was a “quick study.”  He was just like many of us in America today who learn how to be good “cultural Christians” – rather than a true disciple of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, as we watch the saga of the “rise and fall of Judas” on the stage of the passion, it should be a very sobering story for all of us! His name has come to symbolize his nature as the ultimate betrayer – who fell from praise to perversion.

The name “Iscariot” probably originates from ish Kerioth, or “a man of Kerioth,” which was a town in south Judah (remember his tribe?). So just like Christ was often referred to as “Jesus of Nazareth,” in the same way the betrayer is known as “Judas of Kerioth.”

Obviously then, Judas is the arch-villain in the Passion of the Christ. As we already noted, every good drama has a “good guy” and a “bad guy” – and this divine-human drama is the same. Jesus is not just a generic “good guy” – He is the incarnate “God-Guy!” And Judas is the arch “bad guy.”

Therefore, since Judas did not start out that way in this drama, let’s briefly bullet the things we know about him for sure from Scripture.

• He was chosen by Jesus:  Often when his name is listed, there is the accompanying phrase “…Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve.”  And usually he is always listed at the end of the naming of the disciples – followed by this defining epithet: “…and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him” (Matthew 10:4; Mark 4:19; Luke 6:16).

• He was the group treasurer: “Judas had charge of the money…” (John 13:29). “As keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6). This fact reveals a lot about the confidence that the other disciples must have had in him. You just do not entrust your money to someone you do not trust. You do not let a known thief hold your money, or carry the key to your safety deposit box.

• He pretended to love the poor. When Mary anointing Jesus with expensive perfume, we read this: “But…Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?  It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief…” (John 12:3-7).

• He increasingly became offended by the claims of Christ and his abrasiveness to the Jewish leaders: “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it? Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, ‘Does this offend you?…There are some of you who do not believe.’  For Jesus had know from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him….Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!’  (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray Him” (John 6:60-71).

• In disillusionment, he sought an opportunity to sell Jesus out: “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand Him over” (Mk. 14:10-11).

• He ultimately sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver:  “Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?’  So they counted out for him 30 silver coins…” (Matthew 26:14-16).

• Judas left the Passover celebration early in the evening to betray Jesus: “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray Me.’  His disciples stared at one another, at a loss…One of them asked: ‘Lord who is it?’  Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’  Then dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. ‘What you are about to do, do quickly,’ Jesus told him. But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out.  And it was night” (John 13:21-30).

• Jesus made a final reference to Judas in His high priestly prayer before His passion in the Garden: “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).

• After Jesus is arrested and beaten, Judas tries to reverse his betrayal:  When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. ‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’  ‘What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.’  So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:1-5). We further read from Doctor Luke that when he hanged himself “…he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out” (Acts 1:18).

• After Christ’s resurrection and before Pentecost, Peter said this about Judas: “He was one of our number, and shared in this ministry” (Acts 1:17).

• Before Pentecost, Matthias was chosen to take Judas’ place: “Peter said, ‘For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘May his place be deserted, let there be no one to dwell in it.’ And, ‘May another take his place of leadership’  Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection… Then they cast lost, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:20-26).

The “rise and fall of Judas” is a sad saga in the Passion of the Christ. As we watch his various brief stage appearances, we see him gradually move from discipleship to denial… from belief to betrayal… from opportunity to offense… from thanksgiving to theft… from devotion to disillusionment… from serving to suicide.  And like all falls from position and privilege, it did not happen all at once. It happened gradually over a three year period. The story of Judas reminds us of the cardinal spiritual principle: “No person falls suddenly.”  Every “fall from grace” is slow, gradual and almost imperceptible. It does not happen all of a sudden. It is the result of a thousand small compromises and concessions to the “world, the flesh and the devil.”  And in the process, we too “sell out” the Lord Jesus for a pitiful handful of the world’s silver and gold!

Truly, the story of Judas is a somber reminder of the deceit and deception that lurks in each of our hearts!  There but for the grace of God go each of us!  Each Lenten Season it is indeed a sobering experience to honestly contemplate where you have compromised your commitment to Christ and “sold out” for a little financial advancement.  Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver.  It was blood money.  We all have some sell-out point.  What’s yours?  How much of the world’s “silver and gold” have you gained this past year at the expense of your relationship with the Lord Jesus?  How have you advanced at someone else’s expense?  Whose blood is on your profit?  It is a sobering though!