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Then he appointed twelve of them and called them his apostles. They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach, ... Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). Mark 3:14,19 NLT
The history of the nineteenth and twentieth century’s contains numerous stories of men and women who formed their own religious cults to make a fortune from gullible souls. Judas had dreams of fame and riches as grand as those of any charlatan. And he saw Jesus as his sure ticket to achieving them.
From the first time he “borrowed” a little money from the apostles’ fund to the moment he pocketed thirty pieces of silver, Judas was looking out for his own best interests. When he objected to a woman’s lavish outpouring of perfume on Jesus, for instance, it wasn’t because Judas really cared about the poor. What Jesus saw as an act of worship, Judas calculated as a loss of funds to pilfer.
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and began predicting His sufferings, Judas counted the cost—and decided to cash in while he could. With ease, Satan entered Judas’s heart and propelled him to cut a deal with the leading priest and then plot a way to betray Jesus.
Even when later Judas was filled with remorse, he never turned back to God in repentance. He simply regretted the tragic turn of events and took what appeared to be the easiest way out.
Prayer: Lord, transform me. Unlike Judas, I do not follow You out of selfish, ulterior motives.
The history of the nineteenth and twentieth century’s contains numerous stories of men and women who formed their own religious cults to make a fortune from gullible souls. Judas had dreams of fame and riches as grand as those of any charlatan. And he saw Jesus as his sure ticket to achieving them.
From the first time he “borrowed” a little money from the apostles’ fund to the moment he pocketed thirty pieces of silver, Judas was looking out for his own best interests. When he objected to a woman’s lavish outpouring of perfume on Jesus, for instance, it wasn’t because Judas really cared about the poor. What Jesus saw as an act of worship, Judas calculated as a loss of funds to pilfer.
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and began predicting His sufferings, Judas counted the cost—and decided to cash in while he could. With ease, Satan entered Judas’s heart and propelled him to cut a deal with the leading priest and then plot a way to betray Jesus.
Even when later Judas was filled with remorse, he never turned back to God in repentance. He simply regretted the tragic turn of events and took what appeared to be the easiest way out.
Prayer: Lord, transform me. Unlike Judas, I do not follow You out of selfish, ulterior motives.
