(Bible Study - June 2000) The infamous part played by Judas in the betrayal of his Lord is all too familiar. We wonder how one who for so long had lived in intimate relationship with our Lord could commit so base an act.
Like the rest of the apostles, he was aware of the murderous intentions of the Jewish authorities. What makes his conduct so odious was that he took the initiative in the process of betrayal: "Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said, What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver" (Matt. 26:14-15 RV, as all quotes).
The chief priests, Annas and Caiaphas, would have difficulty in believing their ears, and they must have gloated over their good fortune. Mark, in his record of the incident, states that "they were glad" (Mk. 14:11), a fact which is confirmed by Luke (Lk. 22:5). The third gospel also tells us that "Satan entered into Judas" (Lk. 22:3, cf. John 13:27). This language is terse, but, alas, so eloquent.
Jesus knew Judas’ character
We remember that when Judas left the upper room, and disappeared into the darkness,
John, who was there, comments: "and it was night" (13:10). This detail is
in keeping with what Jesus said to those who had come to apprehend him: "...this
is your hour, and the power of darkness" (Lk. 22:53).
The Lord’s knowledge of the kind of follower Judas was goes back to an earlier time, when he said: "Did not I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil" (John 6:70). This must have caused some concern, if not consternation, among the twelve. The Lord’s comment would make them look into their hearts, and wonder whether they were the one to whom the Lord was referring. As for Judas, if he were in any sense a humble man, he would know that the Lord had him in mind.
Alas, humility was not part of his makeup.
In the upper room, during those final hours, when they were eating together for the last time, the Lord made a much more pointed comment: "Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me" (Matt. 26:21; cf. Mk. 14:18; Lk. 22:21). It is John who reveals that the knowledge of his coming betrayal was a source of anguish to our Lord: "...he was troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me" (13:21).
This revelation, understandably, came as a profound shock to the apostles: was it, indeed, possible that one of them could be guilty of so infamous an act? They asked anxiously, "Is it I, Lord?" (Matt. 26:21; Mk. 14:19; Lk. 22:23). They did well to put the question; it is an evidence of their humility. It is a question we should put to ourselves, for there are many ways of betraying our Lord. In the case of Judas, money was exchanged, and one wonders how many have sacrificed their allegiance to Christ in the pursuit of mammon, or social position.
Judas is dismissed
It would be very strange if Judas, hearing the others interrogating the Lord, did not
himself ask the same question. This he did: "Is it I, Rabbi?" (Matt.
26:25). We need to remember that by this time Judas had already made his approach to the
high priests (see Matt. 26:14) and doubtless he hoped that his perfidy would not be
unmasked. If he alone had not asked the same question as the others, however, suspicions
would have been aroused. Accordingly, he gathered up his courage to ask Jesus. By his
reply, "Thou hast said," (v.25) the Lord disclosed to the traitor that he
knew what he was going to do.
While the accounts in the first three gospels imply Judas left the company, they do not explicitly say so. It is John alone who records the actual departure (John 13:30). We must turn to him, too, for the record of the circumstances which precipitated Judas’ departure.
Peter, anxious to discover the identity of the traitor, moved the beloved disciple, John, to question the Lord. Jesus responded by giving a sign: the one to whom he would give a sop was the traitor. It was given to Judas.
While it is difficult to establish the exact sequence of events, it seems probable that the Lord had already answered Judas’ question, "Is it I, Rabbi?" By his reply, Jesus thus revealed that he was aware of the apostle’s evil design. That in itself must have embarrassed Judas. Furthermore, he would realize the meaning of the sop. After he became conscious that the Lord was aware of his intention, and had disclosed it to two leading apostles, his discomfiture must have been complete. By the expression, "Satan entered into him" (John 13:27), the evangelist indicates that Judas was now beyond redemption.
A strained situation had been created; accordingly, the Lord said to Judas, "That thou doest, do quickly" (v. 27). Clearly, Jesus would not have instructed Judas so to act unless he had known that nothing could turn Judas from his nefarious purpose. The departure of Judas would surely bring a sense of relief to our Lord. He could now embark upon those wonderful words which are preserved for us in John 13:31-17:33.
John knew the Lord
If the record of Judas’ departure is to be found only in John’s gospel, and
the manner in which the identity of the traitor became known to Peter, we can understand
why; John himself played a central part in the events. We take note, also, of a detail we
have already observed; he alone reports the distress felt by Jesus when he made the
announcement that there was a traitor among them. John was well placed to take note of the
Lord’s emotion; he was reclined in his bosom (John 13:23).
There is surely a lesson for us here: the closer we are to our Lord, the better we understand him, and thus we are better able to respond to what he requires of us.
Jesus’ treatment of Judas
It is good that we should reflect, if only briefly, upon the relationship of our Lord
to Judas, for it gives us some insight into the wonder of Jesus’ character. Among the
apostles, Judas was given a position of special trust: he was chosen, and it must have
been by the Lord, as the treasurer of the group (see John 12:6; 13:29). He thus must have
possessed special competence in money matters. Yet he abused his position of trust, for he
took from the bag (John 12:6).
Could there be anything more squalid? He doubtless thought that his petty thefts went undetected, but we can be sure that the Lord was fully cognizant of them. We have to reckon with the possibility that it was this knowledge, and his observation of Judas’ general behaviour, which prompted the Lord’s earlier statement: "Did not I choose you the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" (John 6:70).
This, as we have suggested earlier, could have revealed to Judas that the Lord was able to read his heart. He was thus given an opportunity to amend his ways. But the insight possessed by the Lord was not shared by the others for they had no inkling of the kind of person Judas really was. The Lord treated him in the same general way as he did the eleven. When, in the upper room, Jesus washed the apostles’ feet, he did not exclude Judas! It was, as we are well aware, in itself an act of supreme humility: he, the Lord washed the feet of his servants (see John 13:14). We cannot help wondering what was the effect upon Judas when his turn came. Perhaps, for a moment, his resolve faltered; if so, not for long. What should impress us is that in all this, the Lord’s conduct was not conditioned by the kind of person Judas was: in all circumstances, our Lord was unfailingly his humble, loving self, devoted to saving all who would respond.
We strain to follow Jesus
None came to know the Lord better than the former persecutor, Saul of Tarsus. Yet, in
great humility, the apostle could say, relatively late in his career: "Not that I
have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may
apprehend that for which also I was apprehended by Christ Jesus." In that word "perfect"
we detect an echo of Christ’s teaching: "Ye shall therefore be perfect, as
your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).
As we reflect ruefully upon these words, we realize how far short we still are of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us, then, resolve, like Paul, to press on to achieve the goal which our Lord set us, by word and example.
Tom Barling