Judas Among Us

I am reading through the book of John in my morning quite time and came across the verse where Mary (Lazarus’ sister) poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped it with her hair. I have always been amazed how often I can read a passage and get something new from it. During this reading I noticed the following lines of text (from the NASB version)…

“But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?’ Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”(John 12:4-6)

I always knew that Judas was going to betray Jesus, but for some reason I thought he was an OK guy who became possessed by the Devil at the last supper and then became evil. It never dawned on me that the whole time he was with Jesus he was evil, but this verse states very clearly that he was. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of my days as “Judas”. When I was in high school, I lived a double life. At church I was active in the youth group, sang in the youth choir, and was a member of our church’s Bible Bowl team. To people who knew me at church, I was a “good kid”. But then there was the life I lead at school. I cursed worse than most kids, wrote stories and poetry of death and mayhem and made cartoons about sex and drugs. I was just like Judas. Judas was one of the “Inner 12”. He ate, drank, and slept with Jesus Christ. Everyone admired him for is devotion to Christ, but there was an evil in him that would alter the course of his life forever. I give praise and glory to God for bringing me through those days into a new life with him that is “Judas” free.

So I felt prompted to ask….Are you “Judas”? I have seen a whole lot of people walk through the doors of the church and claim to be a follower of Christ, but come Monday morning they cling to the things of this world and turn their backs on things above. I’ve seen pastors raise a church up and then resign after having an affair with a member. Are you tithing? Are you “pilfering the money box”? God gives us everything and in return he only asks for a tenth out of gratitude. These are general questions for you who are reading. I don’t know where you are with your relationship with Christ. If you choose a similar path as Judas, the same fate could be in store for you. Maybe you won’t hang yourself on a tree, but you might be eternally separated from God and His love for you. I don’t wish that on anyone. May each of your days with Christ be “Judas” free.