Unlimited: Judas Plots His Betrayal | Good News Unlimited
Unlimited: Judas Plots His Betrayal
Jul 11, 2024 1859
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So, he watched for an opportunity to hand him over (Mark 14:10–11,NIV).
We all know the story of Jesus, and we know that his time of ministry doesn’t have an easy ending.
And now the time has come. One of Christ’s own provided the trigger for the final events in the ministry of Christ.
Why did Judas do it?
For Judas to betray Jesus, it must have meant that he was disappointed with him in some way. I wonder what he was disappointed about.
Perhaps it was the way in which Jesus stubbornly refused to fulfil the prophetic timelines in which the Jews believed. Perhaps it was the repeated times that Jesus refused to allow the people to make him king. Perhaps Judas through that Jesus needed his help – a little nudge – in doing what Judas thought a Messiah should do.
Or perhaps Judas betrayed his Lord because of the way that Jesus bothered him and pricked his conscience. Perhaps Judas decided that the world-view of Jesus, with his infinite mercy and compassion for the unworthy, just didn’t fit his own. Perhaps he simply couldn’t stand sheer goodness of Jesus any more. Perhaps he found Christ’s character and teachings to be a constant rebuke to his own self-centredness, greed, and pride.
We may never know why Judas did it. Instead let’s think about our own lives.
There are many ways in which we spiritually hand Jesus over to his enemies: many ways in which we betray him.
– Eliezer Gonzalez
Eli’s Reflection: Take some time in prayer to repent and confess your sins. Do what Judas failed to do: Allow Jesus to fill your heart with his forgiveness and grace.
