A Wasted Life

“And as they did eat, He said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray Me.”  Matthew 26:21

The day before Jesus was to be crucified was an extremely busy day.  As I thought about all the things Jesus wanted to accomplish in the last 24 or so hours, it made me think about my last 24 hours on earth.  If we knew that by this time tomorrow that we would take our last breath, how would we spend this time?  Would we warn people about their condition before a righteous God?  Would we make amends with those with whom we have been estranged?  It is definitely a sobering thought.

There were things going on apart from Jesus and His disciples of which Jesus knew, but His disciples did not, except for one, Judas Iscariot.  This one disciple, I suppose out of greed, went to the chief priests and offered for money to identify Jesus so that they could have Him arrested.  They agreed to give him 30 pieces of silver for his help.  I am reminded of courtroom television shows in which the victim or witness is asked to point out the defendant to identify him or her as the perpetrator of the crime for which he or she is being tried.  The religious leaders recognized Jesus as the One whom they desired to eliminate, but I suppose they needed a bonified witness, one who had intimate knowledge of Jesus, in order to make their case.

As the chief priests plotted to build a false case against Jesus, He continued to carry on as if everything was normal.  He dined with a friend who as a leper.  During the meal, a woman anointed Him with precious ointment, but His disciples complained as if it was a waste of money.  Jesus rebuked them because her good work was a symbolic anointing for His future burial.  It was after this when Judas went to the chief priests to offer his services to them.  That evening Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover.  While they were dining, Jesus revealed to them that one of them would betray Him.  I can imagine the look of shock on their faces.  Judas left the supper to do his dirty work, but the other disciples didn’t know that it was Judas who was the betrayer.  They thought that Jesus had sent him on a errand (John 13:29).

I believe that the entire time that Judas was acting in secret, Jesus was willing to forgive him.  Had Judas repented and not done this act of betrayal, Jesus would have forgiven him.  I also believe that had Judas truly repented to Jesus even after he had betrayed Him, Jesus would have still forgiven him.  Judas did express remorse for his deed, throwing the silver coins back at the chief priests.  This is just speculation, but I think that Judas had no idea what the religious leaders were actually planning to do to Jesus.  I think possibly that Judas thought that Jesus might be banished from Israel or maybe locked up for awhile.  I don’t think that he realized that the religious leaders planned to kill Him.  I think that is why Judas couldn’t live with what he had done.

But why Judas?  Did God put it in his heart to do the betrayal?  No, God doesn’t put evil into anyone’s heart.  However, God does know a person’s heart.  He knows what man is capable of, and since man has free will, God uses the deeds of man, whether good or bad, to fulfill His purpose for His kingdom.  Judas was a highly privileged man who had been given a blessed opportunity to walk with the King of kings and Lord of lords for three plus years yet wasted his life and eternity for 30 pieces of silver.  Next time: the agony in the garden.