Judas Iscariot: the Man
Welcome
back as we begin to go deeper into our study of lessons we can learn from Judas
Iscariot. If you’ve not read the
introduction post to the series Judas Iscariot: the Man, the Mistake, & the
Message, I encourage you to go back and do so before continuing.
In
my last post, I gave you a little recap of some of the main points the Bible
tells us about this man’s life, and I mentioned that Judas was the keeper of
the Twelve’s money bag. Judas was in
charge of the funds. But what I didn’t
mention is that Judas had a money problem.
Let’s
take a close look at the passage of Scripture when Jesus was anointed at
Bethany just before the part in the story when Judas agrees to betray
Jesus.
It
was afternoon in the city of Bethany, the hometown of Jesus’ friends Lazarus,
Martha, and Mary. The late sunlight
scorched down upon the dirt streets outside, hardening it like clay until it
cracked, but inside the house of Simon the Leper, dinner guests sat about a
table. It was cool indoors out of the
heat of the day and all were in good temperament. Lively conversation was exchanged around as
dishes of food were passed from hand to hand while Martha’s willing hands
voluntarily helped with the meal preparations.
It was a grand feast. Among those
at the table sat Lazarus and the twelve disciples. And at the head of the table was the most
important guest of all, the guest of honor… Jesus.
Toward
the end of the meal, Mary stole away from the kitchen where she was working
with her sister and brought forth a pint of pure nard, the dearly expensive
perfume she had secretly admired on the wooden shelf of one of the stores in
the village for so long. Entering the
dining room of the house where the men were reclining around the table,
satisfied after the meal, she made her way to the head of the table where one
of the men sat. But he wasn’t just a
man. Mary knew that.
Quietly
she took a seat on the earthen floor at his feet, her favorite place. To just sit and listen to his words. But this time she sat not to listen but to serve. She had heard that Jesus had predicted his
time of death would come, and though she knew not when, something within her
told her she should wait no longer to show her love and gratitude for the man,
the friend of her family. So with heart
beating fast and fully conscious of all of the eyes turned upon her in wonder,
she broke the alabaster jar she carried in her hands and poured its contents on
Jesus’ feet. The rays of sunlight
shining in from the windows fell across his wet feet as the light dappled
patterns across the floor on which Mary sat, and drawing her long hair forward
from beneath her head covering, she bent and began wiping his feet with her
hair. The brittle leather of his sandals
grew soft again, infused with the perfume as her hair passed over them.
The
men reclining around the table still looked on, and silence lingered in the
room at her action. No one spoke at
first, not even Jesus. But at the far
end of the table, one of the twelve disciples watched critically, the woman’s
beautiful display of humility hardening further his calloused heart. As she began wiping Jesus’ feet with her
hair, he could finally take it no longer.
“Why this waste?” he objected indignantly. Judas rose to his feet as he spoke, motioning
to the woman seated at Jesus’ feet. “Why
wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” But his heart was not thinking of those in
need but of the money the perfume had cost.
At
his angry voice, Martha appeared from the kitchen, dishtowel in hand, and
listened from the doorway while Mary’s cheeks burned hot with embarrassment,
and in shame, she bent her head to hide the painful blushes, keeping her gaze
lowered to Jesus’ wet feet.
But
then Jesus spoke, and at his voice, all turned their eyes upon him. His words had a way of commanding attention. “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her?” he confronted the
disciple. “She has done a beautiful
thing to me. The poor you will always have
with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me,” he reminded
them all. “She did what she could. It was intended that she should save this
perfume for the day of my burial. She
poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial,” he explained. “I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is
preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory
of her.”
And at the
conclusion of his words, all was silent again.
No one ventured to speak. Not
even Judas dared to further protest with a contradiction. But as he glanced around the table at the
faces lowered to the leftover scraps on their plates in the uncomfortable
moment, humiliation caused his face to flush and resentment arose. He quietly took his seat again without a further
remark, but in his heart, anger burned against the man at the head of the
table. Over and over in his memory, he
replayed the man’s public rebuke of him, boiling, seething, as he nursed the
wounds of his hurt pride. But he spoke
not another word.*
The Gospel of
Matthew tells us that the disciples were indignant and questioning the woman’s
action; the Gospel of Mark tells us that some of those present were the
ones upset over the anointing and rebuking the woman harshly. But it’s in the disciple John’s account that
we learn that the woman anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume was Mary and that
the protestor was Judas Iscariot. It’s
also in his account of the event that we’re told of Judas’s money problem, and
his later actions concerning the payment he accepted for betraying Jesus
confirms this statement. Take a look at
John 12:6: “But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray
him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about
the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to
help himself to what was put into it.” Like
I said, a serious money problem. Judas
seemingly was a lover of money.
When we think of
a “lover of money,” we oftentimes think of a tight-fisted miser, a cheapskate,
a get-rich-quick money-grabber. But a
love of money doesn’t always come in the form of an Ebenezer Scrooge. More often, it comes so subtly, we don’t even
recognize its existence.
Judas’s comment
reveals materialism. He was thinking
more of the cost of the perfume than of the spiritual significance of Mary’s
action. We live in a very selfish world,
don’t we? Black Friday, the day after
Thanksgiving, was a stark reminder to me of this truth. Hectic running about Christmas shopping, big heaps
of brilliantly-wrapped packages piled high, the credit card being swiped left
and right… it’s all come to be accepted as the “mood” of the season. But Christmas isn’t about a “mood”; it’s
about a spirit, and that spirit is the celebration of the greatest Gift of
all. And that Gift wasn’t a thing- it
wasn’t an iPhone 5 stuffed in a fuzzy red stocking. It was a person- a Baby; it was mercy, grace,
salvation… love. Hope for all
mankind. The best things in life aren’t
things. Materialism isn’t what life is
about.
The Bible has a
lot to say about the love of money. I
encourage you to look the word money up in your Bible encyclopedia if
you have one or if not, to look on Google for Bible verses about money. Here are just a few. Some are well-known; others I had never
encountered before. “Whoever loves money
never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his
income. This too is meaningless.” (Ecc
5:10) “For we brought nothing into the
world, and we can take nothing out of it.
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into
many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and
destruction. For the love of money is a
root of all kinds of evil. Some people,
eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs.” (1Ti 6:7, 9&10) “Keep your
lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God
has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” (Heb 13:5)
Sometimes a love
of money can present itself in disguise though.
Judas’s comment sounded perfectly natural and his reasoning logical. He had a good point. So what was wrong with his objection? The heart behind it. His motive was wrong. Although the basis of his protest- concern
for the poor- was valid, he had the wrong perspective. Sometimes a love of money can disguise itself
beneath the cloak of good intentions and legitimate concerns. First Samuel tells us that “The Lord does not
look at the things man looks at. Man
looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1Sa
16:7) Clearly, motives are important to
God, so therefore, should we not take care to evaluate our motives and judge
them honestly according to His Word?
Furthermore, in
the Gospel of John, remember we’re told that Judas “did not say this because he
cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he
used to help himself to what was put into it.”
But whose money bag was that? It
was Jesus’ and his twelve disciples’.
The money they used for their ministry.
Therefore, essentially, Judas was stealing from Jesus. How many times I wonder though do we rob from
Jesus, keeping for ourselves what belongs to Him. In reality, all we “own” belongs to Him. But, true, like the hottest media devices on
the market, some areas are more frequently abused than others. Robbery occurs more commonly in some areas
than others, like tithes and offerings for example, service, praise, time with
Him even… a trip-up point in my own life, I admit, amidst those busy days and
full schedules.
And lastly, Mary
wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair. First
Corinthians says that a woman’s long hair is her glory (1Co 11:15), and yet
Mary used it to dry Jesus’ feet. In
contrast to a materialistic heart like Judas’s, we see that a humble heart like
Mary’s is prized and applauded by Jesus.
In addition to monetary gifts, do we go above and beyond in our giving
to Christ? Are we willing, friends, to
sacrifice our own pride and glory for His service?
In this holiday
season particularly, it’s so easy to get caught up in the rush of our
self-centered, materialistic world, but let’s guard our hearts against the
contagious Judas outlook. Money isn’t
necessarily bad; it’d be difficult in our world to survive without it. God understands that, but the Bible does say,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” (1Ti 6:10) Note though that it doesn’t say it’s the root
of all kinds of evil, as the verse is often misquoted, but only a
root. Still it’s a root though. Let’s rid our hearts from any sprouting seeds
of greed that are about to germinate into a rapidly-growing weedy system. The love of money is easier to exterminate
before it finds ripe soil in a materialistic heart. Sadly, it found its way into Judas’s heart
and, as we’ll see, impacted the entire course of his life.
“No one can
serve two masters. Either he will hate
the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and
Money.” Matthew 6:24
*A note of clarification: as I expounded
the few verses of Scripture into the narrative above, I took some
liberties. The Bible does not give us
minor details nor does it describe for us the emotions of the people involved
in the story of Jesus’ anointing at Bethany, but in this narrative and likewise
in those in succeeding posts in this series, all facts expressly stated in the
Bible will never be distorted, nor will there ever be any dialogue other than
that which has been written in the biblical account. I encourage you to read the passage for
yourself in Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:1-11, and John 12:1-11. I combined the accounts of all three in the
narrative.
** Note: Looking for some new Christmas
songs to help you get in the Christmas spirit and align your focus on the true
Reason for the Season? Check out two of
my favorites: The Night Before Christmas by Brandon
Heath and Asleep In the Hay by Jonny Diaz.
Also, many of
you will remember my former project horse Sterling, whom I was training and had
used as an illustration in my blog posts Lesson from Sterling, Thoroughly
Thoroughbred, Out of Control, and Time to Say Goodbye. You’ll also remember from Time to Say
Goodbye that Sterling had been sold back in early October to a family with
triplet daughters. I had said then that
“people pass in and out of lives every day… or sometimes, animals.” Well, Sterling has passed back into my life
again. After rearing or taking off with
one of the girls- we’re not sure exactly what happened- the girl fell, received
a minor concussion, and Sterling was returned to the farm. Fortunately, the girl is fine now. This past Wednesday though, a week from
today, I chose to ride him again and resume my training of him. Am I crazy?
Maybe so. :) It reminds me of
God’s grace and makes me so thankful though that His love is great enough to still
embrace us even when we rebel against His will.
Okay, that was a bonus devotional.
On another note,
as I post this, my parents and I are off again, this time driving down to
Florida for our annual family Christmas gathering. I’m looking forward to happy times with family
and making good memories and pray you all are taking the time to enjoy quality-time
with your loved ones this holiday season as well, blog-readers.
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