Judas Iscariot is to this day the most despised of all the disciples because he became a traitor. That is why he is in last place in all the lists of the apostles. Wherever we encounter him in the Gospels, we also find a reference to the fact that he became a traitor. He committed the most terrible and sinful act that a single person has ever committed. He betrayed the perfect, sinless, holy Son of God for a handful of money.
The story of Judas is dark and gloomy and reminds us how far a person can fall. The other disciples loved Jesus more and more. The longer they were with Him, the stronger their love for Him became. With Judas, it was the other way around. Like the other disciples, he had three years of fellowship with Jesus, but his heart grew harder and harder until he betrayed Jesus. The other eleven disciples are a great encouragement to us. Judas, on the other hand, is a great warning to us.
Name and origin
The name Judas actually has a beautiful meaning: “the Lord leads.” But because of this betrayal, the name Judas always evokes negative thoughts. It was not the Lord who led him but the devil.
His surname was Iscariot. Some Jewish translations mention “Judah from K’riot.” His surname or epithet refers to his hometown and means “man from K’riot/Kerioth” (according to Rienecker). The city of Kerioth was in Judea. Judas was the only disciple from Judea, while all the other apostles came from Galilee.
Follower of Jesus and then dissociation from Him
It is obvious that Judas had already followed Jesus even before Jesus chose the twelve. This applies to all disciples, including Judas. But why did he follow Him?
He lived at a time when most Israelites were waiting for the Messiah. When he heard about Jesus and saw His miracles, he must have thought that this was the true Messiah. He gave up everything and followed Jesus like the other disciples. He continued to stay with Jesus even when many others left Him.
Judas was probably a young, zealous Jew who hated the Romans and hoped that the Messiah would defeat all enemies and re-establish the kingdom of Israel. He saw that Jesus possessed power like no other, and this attracted him. He hoped for an earthly kingdom. He was probably less interested in the spiritual and emotional side. No, he followed Jesus in the hope of becoming powerful and rich himself. These were probably his motives.
When he began to understand that Jesus would not establish an earthly kingdom, his heart hardened more and more. To hide his increasing hardening and disappointment, he was a hypocrite. He was an excellent hypocrite. No one but Jesus realized what was going on in his heart. Jesus already called him a devil in John 6:70-71, while they were in Galilee. At that time, Judas was already disgruntled. He did not accept Jesus’ spiritual kingdom and did not believe.
Greed and hypocrisy are the sad features of his character. One of the clearest examples of his love of money is described in John 12 when Mary poured out a precious anointing oil on Jesus’ feet. This really upset Judas, and here we also find the comment that he was a thief and helped himself to the money that was donated. His betrayal also reveals a main motive that drove him to take this step. Money! He came to the rulers, and the first question was: “What will you give me?” That drove him on. He was greedy!
As he was a hypocrite, he was able to hide his true identity well. For example, he covered up his greed by appearing to care for the poor. In the next example, he was present at the Last Supper shortly before Jesus’ death and pretended that nothing had happened, even though he had already met with the high priests and discussed how he was going to betray Jesus. He had his feet washed by Jesus and even asked: “Is it I?” when Jesus said that one of them would betray Him. None of the disciples had the slightest idea that Judas would be the betrayer.
Betrayal and death
In the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus often stayed with His disciples, where Judas had also always been present, he betrayed Him. And how he betrayed Him – with a kiss! That wouldn’t have been necessary, as Jesus Himself came out and said: “I am He.” But Judas was so filled with evil and so hypocritical that he kissed Him anyway (Matthew 26:49).
Kissing is a sign of love, affection, respect, and intimacy. Judas, on the other hand, used a kiss to betray Jesus. He addressed Him as “Rabbi” and betrayed Him at the same time. This only made His deed worse. He was hypocritical to the end.
Even in this situation, Jesus remained loving and kind to Judas. “Friend….” Here you can hear Jesus’ deep compassion. He loved him, just like the others, but Judas rejected His love. This rejection brought him eternal death – by suicide.
What we can learn from this
It is the darkest and most terrible story in the Bible, and yet it is there. It was written down through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is there to warn us.
1. Do not play with sin. Judas played with sin. It began harmlessly and ended terribly.
2. Do not despise the grace of God. Judas knew about the grace of God. He heard the invitation: “Come to Me, all you….” He understood what it was about, but he consciously rejected it.
3. You too are going into eternity. Judas walked step by step towards his eternal destruction. You are also going to eternity. Where are you going? To eternal darkness or to eternal light?
No one has to end up like Judas. No one has to spend eternity in hell. There is another eternity. That is where God will be, where there is no sin, where God will wipe away all tears from our eyes – that is heaven. The way there is Jesus Christ! He invites you today. Please accept His offer!
Eduard Albrecht
Eppingen, Germany
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