____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ May 26, 1996 ____________________________________________________ Judas Iscariot by Tom Edwards -- The ``Black Sheep'' -- Though all of the Lord's apostles had failed Him prior to His ascension, it is with no doubt that Judas is the one often viewed as that infamous ``black sheep'' of the Lord's apostolic flock. We are appalled at even the thought of what Judas did. It was unloving, traitorous, and cruelly terrible for him to have betrayed the Son of God who mercifully strove to prepare people for the coming kingdom and did nothing but good wherever He went. -- The ``Twisted Version'' -- I once watched one of the Hollywood versions of the gospel story, in which Judas was depicted as doing the Lord a favor by turning Him over to the chief priests, elders, and Roman soldiers. Rather than a shameful ``betrayal,'' it was portrayed as Judas's way of giving the Lord another opportunity to prove Himself before these ``authorities'' by working miracles to validate His claims, deity, and innocence. Thus, Judas was simply helping to set up the Lord for this situation. Though this might be the version at the Box Office or on the TV screen, it is not the one that the Bible shows. Rather, Judas is described as having been a thief who was continually pilfering from the money bag entrusted to his keeping (John 12:3-6)--and nowhere is mention made of Jesus working great signs and wonders before His accusers during His trials in order to vindicate His innocence. Let us, therefore, beware of these Hollywood versions with their fictional embellishments and twisted portrayals and turn instead to the panoramic view of the Bible account for a clearer reception. -- Judas's Greed and Its Detriment -- It appears that it was covetousness that the devil used to lure Judas into this trap of sin. As the Bible teaches, ``But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang'' (1 Tim. 6:9,10). In view of this, let us not merely reflect upon Judas and his mishandling of the treasury; but what about us ourselves? Have we today been guilty of stealing from the Lord by holding back from Him that which we should have been putting into His ``money bag''? Or how often today have churches actually been guilty of embezzlement, by using that ``money bag'' for their own purposes--which God does not authorize--rather than for His? The contribution that is to be given unto the Lord on the first of the week (1 Cor. 16:1-3) is limited to how it can be used--not for secular or social purposes; but for evangelism, edification, and benevolence to needy saints. When it is used however, for recreational facilities--for ``fun, food, and frolic''--and for anything else that God's word does not authorize, it is a mishandling of the Lord's money and a sin. How many Christians have turned dishonest because of a love for wealth? The Bible condemns the thief, the swindler, and the covetous person. These shall not enter into the eternal kingdom, unless they repent and obey the gospel (Eph. 5:5; 1 Cor. 5:11). Some people, however, have stooped mighty low and ruined themselves because of their greed for material prosperity. Through Amos, God had rebuked His people for having sold ``the righteous for money and the needy for a pair of sandals'' (Amos 2:6). When I lived in Danville, Kentucky, from 1978 to 1984, my landlady was telling me of the time when her house had caught fire. She had desperately tried to save as many of her possessions as she could before it would all be consumed in the blaze. Grabbing an item or more, she would run out to the backyard with it, and then dash back into the house to retrieve some additional belongings. The story of someone losing their possessions, their memorable items, and having to start all over again is a sad one; but what made this story even more pathetic was the greedy, heartless souls who had been waiting outside and running off with this dear lady's possessions that she had been carrying to the backyard to salvage. Not even the fires of her house and her pitiful condition could warm the cold hearts of these ruthless thieves who, without compassion, robbed from her of what little possession she attempted to rescue. In the book of Ezekiel, God rebukes the false prophets who ''...for handfuls of barley and fragments of bread...'' had profaned the Lord to His people by putting ``to death some who should not die'' and keeping ''...others alive who should not live'' (13:19). How ugly greed can be! and what terrible things it can lead to. Apparently, this was Judas's problem: he loved mammon more than he loved God (Matt. 6:24). -- The Meaning of ``Betray'' -- As we think about the atrocity Judas committed in betraying Jesus, it probably makes us feel spiritually ``superior,'' for we have never been guilty of the same--or have we? Have you ever considered that one of the definitions for the word ``betray'' means to ``prove faithless to''? Since this is so, when we become unfaithful towards God's word, we are also guilty of ``betraying'' our Lord. The Hebrew writer speaks of those who had become Christians, but then willfully sinned against God (specifically, by forsaking the assembling of the saints). He says of them that they have nothing ``but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment'' to look forward to. They are described as having ``trampled under foot the Son of God'' and have ``insulted the Spirit of grace'' (Heb. 10:24-31). What worse description could even be said about Judas's own conduct and fate? Before we direct all our indignation toward Judas and his betrayal, let us examine ourselves to see whether we are not also guilty of having betrayed our Lord by not always doing what He has commanded us. This is not to say that we justify or condone Judas's action; but it is to remind us that if we spend all our time thinking about other people's sins, perhaps we'll be guilty of overlooking our own. As you have probably found true in your own experience: often times what others accuse us of are blindly unaware that they have the same problem or guilt in their own lives--and maybe even more so. -- ``Biting the Hand That Feeds You'' -- To say that Judas showed ingratitude is definitely an understatement. The Old Testament prophesied, ``Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread has lifted up his heal against me'' (Psa. 41:9). How do we know this pertains to Jesus and Judas? By allowing Jesus Himself to point this out to us: ''...but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, `He who eats My bread has lifted up his heal against Me''' (John 13:18). But before we scowl too much at Judas, have we ever been guilty of turning against the Lord after He had done many things for us? In Luke 17:11-19, the account is given of the ten lepers who had been miraculously healed of their dreaded disease--but only one came back to give thanks to Jesus. Have we often taken our own blessings for granted as well? Do we sometimes turn our backs on God--even though He has blessed us so many ways throughout our lives? Are we ever ingrates? Let us not be guilty of ``biting the hand that feeds us'' by ignoring the commandments of the Lord. -- The ``Sign'' and Superficial Service -- What was the sign that Judas used to indicate to the Roman soldiers which one Jesus was? It was that customary expression that was often used in those days to greet one another--the kiss. And for the Christians, this greeting was to be a ``holy kiss'' (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20). But for Judas, it was far from ``HOLY''--nor was it even a genuine greeting of affection. Rather, it was filled with greed, insincerity, and deception--a mere false portrayal of friendship and loyalty. It was a ``kiss of death.'' In like manner, to observe the commands of the Lord in a mere perfunctory way--or just ``going through the motions''--does not emanate from the heart, and falls far short of being genuine and pleasing to the Lord. How often the scribes and Pharisees had been guilty of this very thing: they honored God with their lips, but their heart was far away from Him (Matt. 15:7,8). We, too, can become guilty of the same when our purpose for obeying God is not based on pure motives of the heart. Some do so to please others--rather than the Lord. Others do so to be better thought of in the community and to improve their business. These should not be the reasons. -- The Best Motive -- We considered recently at church three ``good'' reasons why a person would want to obey God: 1) to avoid hell, 2) to gain heaven and its rewards, and 3) because God commands us, and it is the right thing to do--so we are, thus, motivated by our love to obey Him. Out of these three reasons, the last, by far, is the best reason of all to serve. -- Judas's ``Repentance'' vs. Bible Repentance -- Judas, after realizing the wrong he had done, felt terribly sorrowful (Matt. 27:3-8,9,10). He must have been blinded at first by his greed. Sin has a way of appealing to us, to sometimes cause us to forgot all consideration. We become caught up in the temptation until we land back down on the ground of reason and sensibility, regretting the wrong direction in which we had yielded. When Judas finally came to himself, he realized the shameful crime he had committed. Unfortunately, he went out a hanged himself. Though he was sorry for what he had done, it was not a godly sorrow that can lead to Bible repentance. Many people can be sorry for wrongs they have committed. But why are they? Some are sorry because they got caught--not because of the crime itself. Others might be sorry and even change their ways by turning from the wrong; but Bible repentance involves more than merely being sorry for sin and/or turning from the wrong: one must also turn to the right, and that is done by turning to the Lord through faith and obedience to the gospel. There are actually two different Greek words translated as ``repent'' in the King James Bible: metamelomai and metanoeo. The first term expresses a feeling of care, concern, or regret; it deals with the emotional aspect of repentance. Whereas Matthew 27:3 speaks of Judas having ``repented himself'' in the KJV, this is rendered as, ``he felt remorse,'' in the New American Standard Bible. ``Remorse,'' of course, denotes a deep and painful regret for wrongdoing; compunction. But, as pointed out above, Bible repentance involves more than merely feeling sorry. Paul showed the Corinthians that godly sorrow is not repentance--but it can lead to it (2 Cor. 7:8-11). The second Greek word (metanoeo) is used in passages, such as Matthew 3:2, in which John the Baptist declared, ``Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'' (See also Acts 2:38 and Luke 13:5.) This word means more than merely feeling sorry for sin; it denotes ``to change or turn, to go in a new direction.'' It is a word of action! Just as we see with the prodigal son: he came to his senses, realized his situation, turned from his pathetic life, and returned to his father to make things right (Luke 15:11-24). This is what we must also do in Bible repentance: realize we're wrong, turn from our sins, and turn to God in heaven by submitting to His will for salvation. -- A Final Word -- May we, in our own lives, not become guilty of proving ``faithless to'' the Lord as Judas had done. He did so for 30 pieces of silver--but, sadly, how often has God's people betrayed Him for even less today? maybe for just a few moments pleasure? for just a selfish ambition? for just a foolish whim? Whatever it might be, nothing could ever make unfaithfulness to the Lord worthwhile. As Jesus says in Mark 8:36, ``For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?'' To betray the Lord is the worst thing you could ever do--to not only God, but also to your own self. Let us, therefore, not follow in the path of Judas; but, rather, allow Jesus Christ to lead us from this world to His heavenly realm in glory. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@wwd.net ________________________________________