Letters to the Family of God

Dear Friends,

External behavior is never a pure reflection of a person's internal growth and actuality.

For a long time, Judas, one of the original Twelve disciples, was a student and a friend of Jesus. He lived with Jesus and the other disciples for three years. He traveled with them. He ate with them. They talked together about the Kingdom of God and learned how to pray from Jesus and with Jesus.

Judas listened to Jesus' sermons more than most. He received personal instruction and was personally selected by Jesus as one of the original disciples. He kept the money purse for the team. He saw His miracles; he saw the Father provide for their needs; he saw love, true love in action.

Externally Judas seemed sound. Even at their final meal together, none of the disciples were thinking, Judas is the one! (John 13:28-29) Which serves as a warning that wolves can look and just about sound like sheep.

At this point, a reasonable question would be, knowing that Jesus knew all things, why put Judas in charge of the money? He could have chosen Nathaniel, in whom there was no deceit. (John 1:47) John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. (John 21:20) Or Levi, who was a financial numbers guy. (Luke 5:27)

It is impossible to say exactly why, but what we can say for certain is this—external behavior is not a pure reflection of internal growth. In the three years Judas was part of the disciples, he mostly said and outwardly performed in the right way. He proclaimed the Gospel. No mere human around the table at the end suspected him. How stunning it must have been to learn the news that Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

Therefore, the worst thing about Judas was not that he stole money, as bad as that is. It was not even that he sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, as horrible as that is and reads. The worst thing about Judas was he was unwilling to repent. If he cried out for mercy, mercy would have been his. All he would have needed to do was trust the words of Jesus in the very sermons that he had heard Jesus preach. Judas heard many times Jesus had come to die for sin, therefore, repent and believe. Judas never did. That was the worst thing about him.

Judas died in his sin and disgrace because, as the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” (Romans 10:11) In the end, Judas did not trust in Jesus; he trusted in himself.

Loved ones, we all like sheep, have gone astray. A story like this is like standing on the highest of mountains—only then can you see the Gospel and our sin in perspective and rightly. The weakness we hate in our own weakness is a blessing. It drives us into the arms of one we wouldn't have sought if we thought we were OK on our own. It's not the absence of sin that marks the Christian but the grieving over it in such a way that they turned to Christ in repentance and faith trusting that His righteousness and His righteousness alone is enough—always. Have you repented?

Grace and peace.

Pastor Joe