Disciples of Jesus – Judas Iscariot

1. Disciples of Jesus –Judas Iscariot – 5th January 2017
“Jesusasked him, “Judas,areyou betrayingthe Sonof Man witha kiss?”(Luke 22:48).
JudasIscariot,the traitor,was the son of SimonwholivedinKerioth of Judah.He betrayedJesusfor
thirtypiecesof silverandafterwardshangedhimself asstatedin Matthew26:14-16, “Thenone of the
Twelve—the one calledJudasIscariot—wentto the chief priests 15
andasked,“Whatare you willingto
give me if I deliver himover to you?” Sothey countedout for himthirty pieces of silver. 16
From then on
Judaswatched for an opportunitytohand himover.”
Judas,the man whobecame the traitor,is the supreme enigmaof the New Testamentbecause itisso
hard to see howanyone whowasso close toJesus,whosaw so many miraclesandheardso muchof the
Master's teaching, couldeverbetrayhimintothe handsof hisenemies. Hisname appearsinthree lists
of the 12 Apostles (Matthew10:4; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:19). It issaidthat Judascame fromJudahnear
Jericho.He wasa Judeanandthe rest of the discipleswere Galileans.He wasthe treasurerof the band
and amongthe outspokenleaders.
JudasIscariotis rememberedforone thing:hisbetrayal of JesusChrist.EventhoughJudasshowed
remorse later,hisname became asymbol fortraitorsand turncoatsthroughouthistory.Hismotive
seemedtobe greed,butsome scholarsspeculate political desireslurkedbeneathhistreachery.
The HebrewwordIshkeriyyoth(forIscariot) means"manof the village of Keriyyoth."Keriothwasabout
15 milessouthof Hebron,inIsrael.ItissaidthatJudaswas a violentJewishNationalistwhohadfollowed
Jesusinhope that throughHimhisnationalisticflameanddreamsmightbe realized.Noone candeny
that Judaswas a covetousmanand at timeshe usedhispositionastreasurerof the bandto pilferfrom
the commonpurse.There isno certainreasonas to whyJudasbetrayedhismaster;butit isnot his
betrayal thatput Jesusonthe cross-itwas our sins.Hisapostolicsymbol isahangman'snoose,ora
moneypurse withpiecesof silverfallingfromit.
JudasIscariot'sAccomplishments: One of Jesus' 12 disciples,JudasIscariottraveledwithJesusand
studiedunderhimforthree years.He apparentlywentwiththe other11 whenJesussentthemto
preachthe gospel,castout demonsandheal the sick.
Judas Iscariot's Strengths:Judasfeltremorse afterhe betrayedJesus.He returnedthe 30piecesof silver
the chief priestsandeldershadgivenhim. We canlearnthisfromMatthew 27:3, “WhenJudas,who
had betrayed him,saw that Jesuswas condemned,he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty
pieces of silverto the chiefpriests andthe elders.”
Judas Iscariot's Weaknesses:Judaswasathief.He wasin charge of the group's moneybagand
sometimesstolefromit.He wasdisloyal.Eventhoughthe other apostlesdesertedJesusand Peter
deniedhim,Judaswentsofar as to leadthe temple guardto Jesusat Gethsemane,andthenidentified
Jesusbykissinghim.
Life Lessons:An outwardshowof loyaltytoJesusismeaninglessunlesswe alsofollow Christinour
heart.Satan and the worldwill trytoget us to betrayJesus,sowe mustask the HolySpiritfor helpin
resistingthem. AlthoughJudasattemptedtoundothe harmhe haddone,he failedtoseekthe Lord's
forgiveness.Thinkingitwastoolate forhim, Judasendedhislife insuicide. Aslongaswe are alive and
have breath,it'snevertoolate to come to God forforgivenessandcleansingfromsin.Sadly,Judas,who

2. had beengiventhe opportunitytowalkin close fellowship withJesus,completelymissedthe most
importantmessage of Christ'sministry.
It's natural for people tohave strongor mixedfeelingsaboutJudas.Some feel asense of hatredtoward
himfor hisact of betrayal,othersfeel pity,andsome throughouthistoryhave consideredhimahero…
No matterhowyou reactto him,here are a few biblical factsaboutJudasIscariottokeepinmind:
 He made a conscience choice tobetrayJesus - Luke 22:48, “ Jesusasked him, “Judas,are you
betrayingthe Sonof Man witha kiss?”.
 He wasa thief with greedinhisheart - John12:6, “He didnot say this becausehe cared about
the poor but because he was a thief;as keeper of the money bag,he usedto help himselfto
what was putinto it.”
 JesusknewJudas'heartwasset onevil andthat he wouldnotrepent - John6:70, “Then Jesus
replied, “Have I not chosen you,the Twelve? Yet one of you isa devil!”. AgaininJohn17:12,
“WhileIwas with them, I protected them and kept them safeby that name you gave me.
None hasbeen lost except the one doomedto destructionso that Scripture wouldbe fulfilled.”
 Judas'act of betrayal waspart of God's sovereign plan- Psalm41:9, “Evenmy close
friend, someone I trusted, one who sharedmy bread, has turned againstme.” We can also
learnfromActs 1:16-17, “Brothers and sisters,the Scripture had to be fulfilledinwhichthe
Holy Spiritspoke longago throughDavid concerningJudas,whoserved asguide for those who
arrested Jesus. 17
He was one of our number andshared inour ministry.”
Believerscanbenefitfromthinkingabout JudasIscariot'slifeandconsideringtheirowncommitment to
the Lord. Are we true followersof Christorsecretpretenders?Andif we fail,dowe give upall hope,or
do we accept hisforgivenessandseekrestoration?