From My Daily Reading #19

Passion Week: Wednesday

The Wednesday before Jesus was arrested and crucified is often called silent Wednesday, because Jesus, knowing “His hour” was close, withdrew from the crowds in preparation through rest and prayer for what was to come.

However, not everyone was silent, and it is believed that on this day is when Judas began to make plans to betray Jesus, for what later is to be revealed as 30 pieces of silver, or also known as the purchase price for a slave.

The how and why someone who claimed to believe in Jesus coul suddenly turn in such a way that he would betray the very one he claimed to believe in and love, has been debated for nearly 2000 years. But there are lessons in the answer that can be applied to us today.

In some respects the answer is very simple and is given in these very verses.

Satan had entered into Judas - From the beginning Satan has opposed God at every turn. Satan wrongly believed if he could kill Jesus, he would thwart God’s plans. But Satan in his error, only succeeded in accomplishing the plan of God to redeem the lost sinners that Satan had stolen away.
Anyone not Indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can be Indwelt by Satan, and even believers (while not able to be possessed by Satan) can be misled and manipulated by Satan as Judas clearly was.

But also from the humanity side there are possible reasons that Judas might have betrayed Jesus that we can apply to ourselves.

It may have occurred to Judas that Jesus was not yet going to build an army and throw off the Roman oppressors and inhabitors that many Jews believed the Messiah was going to come and accomplish. - How easy it is for us today, to turn away from God, because he does not DO what we think or desire Him to Do.
Perhaps Judas thought, that by causing Jesus to be arrested, He would force Jesus hand into action of freeing himself and thus proving to the religious leaders as well as the rest of Israel, that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. - Often times we believe we can manipulate God (although we would never call it that) through our holiness or actions. Yet God has a plan that He will see through and is not motivated by our actions no matter how “godly” they appear to be. Believing we can motivate God by our actions is at least arrogant and and best legalism. We submit to His actions and are to be motivated to action by His love for us, not the other way around.

Regardless of Judas reason, or lack thereof; and that it simply was that he was controlled by Satan ultimately is irrelevant. He did betray Jesus who was innocent of any wrong doing and the only perfect sinless man that has ever lived. Which in turn served the purpose bringing Christ to the cross, where He would lay down his life willingly as our payment for the debt of our sin, fulfilled the will of God.

Can you imagine the look on Satan’s face when he saw the empty tomb of Jesus and he realized that despite his best laid plans to oppose God, his actions only served to seal his own defeat and destruction.

One last lesson here from the story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. It may seem that God’s plans have failed, and that Satan and evil are winning in your life. But just wait, and you will see that God’s will, will always be accomplished.

May we seek to be obedient to the will of God and be a part of the carrying out of his will in our lives.