WHY WAS JUDAS THE ONE?

WHY WAS JUDAS THE ONE? Judas Iscariot has always bothered me. Jesus personally chose twelve men. They walked with Him, ate with Him, watched the miracles, heard teachings nobody else heard and saw things most of humanity would give anything to have witnessed. Eleven became Apostles. One sold Him for thirty pieces of silver. Why Judas? First, something interesting about his name. “Iscariot” most likely comes from the Hebrew אִישׁ קְרִיּוֹת, ish Qeriyyoth, meaning “man of Kerioth.” Kerioth was a town in the territory of Judah. “And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron, which is Hazor.” Joshua 15:25 KJV So Judas wasn’t an outsider to Israel. Quite the opposite. He was likely a Judean. What makes him unusual is that he may have been the only Judean among a group overwhelmingly associated with Galilee. Maybe that made him feel somewhat different from the others. Maybe not. The Bible never blames geography for what Judas did, so we shouldn’t either. Scripture gives us something much more revealing. Judas had a secret life. John tells us that Judas controlled the disciples’ money and was stealing from it. “This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” John 12:6 KJV Think about that. Judas was stealing from Jesus Christ while traveling with Jesus Christ. He could listen to the Sermon on the Mount and rob the ministry afterward. That tells you how frighteningly good the human heart can become at compartmentalizing sin. Then came Bethany. Mary poured expensive ointment on Jesus, and Judas complained that it should’ve been sold and given to the poor. Sounds righteous. John exposes him. He didn’t care about the poor. He wanted access to the money. Soon afterward Judas went to the chief priests. “What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?” Matthew 26:15 KJV That sentence tells you plenty. Judas didn’t ask whether betraying Jesus was right. He asked what it paid. Then something even darker happened. “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.” Luke 22:3 KJV Notice the progression. The betrayal didn’t begin when Judas kissed Jesus in Gethsemane. Something had been rotting long before that night. Secret theft. Hypocrisy. Greed. A heart living inches from Christ while quietly moving further away from Him. Eventually Satan found a door that Judas had been leaving open. Jesus trusted him with the money bag. The disciples apparently trusted him too. When Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him, the room didn’t immediately turn and stare at Judas. They asked, “Lord, is it I?” Matthew 26:22 KJV Nobody knew. That may be one of the most disturbing details in the entire story. Judas looked like an Apostle. He traveled like an Apostle. He ministered alongside Apostles. He heard the right doctrine and had the greatest Pastor who ever lived. Jesus even washed his feet. Jesus knew from the beginning. “For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.” John 6:64 KJV That verse gives us the real problem. Judas was close to Jesus physically without ever truly believing in Jesus. Proximity isn’t faith. Church attendance isn’t faith. Ministry isn’t faith. Knowing Christian language isn’t faith. You can spend years around the things of God while carefully hiding the one thing you refuse to surrender. Judas didn’t betray Christ because he came from Kerioth. Kerioth may explain why he was different from the other disciples geographically. His heart explains everything else. And perhaps the most terrifying lesson Judas leaves behind is that you can fool everyone sitting at the table except the One sitting across from you. #MoreJoyMinistries