Think about how many people have had such a negative effect on the events of their world that their names have become so synonymous with betrayal or destruction. Few would consider naming a child with their names. The names are used to insult others. How many can you think of?
The name that most would put at or near the top of this list is Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. The man who followed Jesus for around three years as one of the band of friends identified as the disciples and sold out his leader for a bag of money.
There are a number of speculations about how Judas got to the point of betrayal. Theories about Judas’ motives and hoped for results continue to be hazarded by theologians and lay people. But no matter what the motives Judas was working under, the results were not positive. Jesus would suffer humiliation, beatings and crucifixion. While Judas would commit suicide and forever be known as the chief of histories betrayers.
Today, we do not use Judas as a proper name and yet it appears that there is some of the betrayer within each of us.
We can deny it! We can come up with excuses! We can swear to it on a Bible! It doesn’t change the fact that every one of us has acted the Judas role in our lives more than once.
Even if you profess to be a Christian, a follower of Christ, you should not think yourself immune. Remember Judas was a follower of Christ! Peter was one of the closest followers of Christ and he too denied being so during the darkest night of Jesus’ earthly life.
We all sin. We all fall short. We know we are saved by the Grace of God and the faithfulness of Jesus. We may feel like we have it figured out because we attend church on Sunday. We are not committing murder, rape, or adultery. We are volunteers within our community. We give of our time and money when it is convenient or because we are in the habit.
BUT!
When we put ourselves before the teachings of Jesus; we are Judas!
When we let our self-righteousness become a wall that shuts out others from experiencing the Grace of God, we are Judas!
When we make our comfort the mission of the Church of Christ, we are Judas!
When we force others to meet our personal criteria for what we think a follower ought to be, we are Judas.
When we feel that God has let us down because God owes us better, we are Judas!
When we demand our own way instead of listening for what God is calling us to, we are Judas!
Judas lives in us! Accept it! Jesus knows it! And loves us, forgives us and continues to give us another chance.
I was once asked what Jesus would do if he met Judas. I believe that Jesus would forgive Judas and invite him to return to his place in the group. I believe that because Jesus did that for Peter, for me and for you.
Still we continue to have our Judas moments!
May your Judas moments be fewer as your grow in faith. May you recognize Judas moments in others and follow the example that Jesus gives us.
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