The Word This Week
Matt 26:14…
Have you ever considered what eternal life is worth to you? What price might you put on it?
In the case of Judas Iscariot, his price was 30 pieces of silver. He exchanged his eternal life in heaven for that amount.
Can you imagine?
It is very difficult for us to fathom rejecting Christ, especially after walking with Jesus for three and a half years as Judas Iscariot did, hearing all the teaching, and seeing all the miracles. Judas had known His love personally, and sensed the touch of His hands, and looked into His eyes. Judas had heard Jesus’ laugh, and he knew the sound and the tone of His voice. Judas knew His gait when He walked, and His character of serving others, especially His disciples – but even His enemies. He had known all a man could know of Jesus from spending the time His disciples had spent together with Him during those heady days of seeing the massive crowds drawn to Jesus in Galilee at the beginning of His ministry. He had seen those same clamoring crowds reject Jesus when Jesus taught difficult sayings. He had watched Jesus go toe to toe with religious leaders on many occasions, but most recently a scathing rebuke of all of them in the Temple courts as they had interrupted Jesus teaching those who had come to hear from Him.
Something happened along the way. Judas apparently lost sight of the value of Jesus’ ministry for others in exchange for what Jesus could do for himself. And amazingly he ended his life siding with the corrupt religious leaders Jesus had so strongly and publicly rebuked.
It is difficult to imagine what was going through Judas’ mind and heart as he sought the opportunity to assist those wicked religious leaders in having His faithful Savior arrested – which Judas had to know would lead to Jesus’ death. Many people have offered suppositions for why Judas did what he did, but the only clear answer is because it served the purpose of God, and it fulfilled scripture.
Judas made himself a byword of the worst of humankind in his betrayal of Christ. He forever stained the name ‘Judas,’ which had been a heroic and very popular name in Israel up to that point in time.
In summation of Judas’ life – and something each of us need to very carefully consider about ourselves – Jesus said, “It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
Anyone who rejects the love of Christ would have been better off with non-existence than rejection of the love of Christ.
Pastor Bill
Have you ever considered what eternal life is worth to you? What price might you put on it?
In the case of Judas Iscariot, his price was 30 pieces of silver. He exchanged his eternal life in heaven for that amount.
Can you imagine?
It is very difficult for us to fathom rejecting Christ, especially after walking with Jesus for three and a half years as Judas Iscariot did, hearing all the teaching, and seeing all the miracles. Judas had known His love personally, and sensed the touch of His hands, and looked into His eyes. Judas had heard Jesus’ laugh, and he knew the sound and the tone of His voice. Judas knew His gait when He walked, and His character of serving others, especially His disciples – but even His enemies. He had known all a man could know of Jesus from spending the time His disciples had spent together with Him during those heady days of seeing the massive crowds drawn to Jesus in Galilee at the beginning of His ministry. He had seen those same clamoring crowds reject Jesus when Jesus taught difficult sayings. He had watched Jesus go toe to toe with religious leaders on many occasions, but most recently a scathing rebuke of all of them in the Temple courts as they had interrupted Jesus teaching those who had come to hear from Him.
Something happened along the way. Judas apparently lost sight of the value of Jesus’ ministry for others in exchange for what Jesus could do for himself. And amazingly he ended his life siding with the corrupt religious leaders Jesus had so strongly and publicly rebuked.
It is difficult to imagine what was going through Judas’ mind and heart as he sought the opportunity to assist those wicked religious leaders in having His faithful Savior arrested – which Judas had to know would lead to Jesus’ death. Many people have offered suppositions for why Judas did what he did, but the only clear answer is because it served the purpose of God, and it fulfilled scripture.
Judas made himself a byword of the worst of humankind in his betrayal of Christ. He forever stained the name ‘Judas,’ which had been a heroic and very popular name in Israel up to that point in time.
In summation of Judas’ life – and something each of us need to very carefully consider about ourselves – Jesus said, “It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
Anyone who rejects the love of Christ would have been better off with non-existence than rejection of the love of Christ.
Pastor Bill