If only Judas had known how severe the outcome would be for the Lord, he would not have dared to betray Him. He simply assumed they would arrest Jesus, rebuke Him for teaching the crowds, intimidate Him a little, and then let Him go. But what happened turned out to be much greater than he expected—they went on to beat Him, mock Him, and ultimately kill the Lord by a shameful and painful death.
Because of the greed for money, he did not realize that he had already been used to fulfill Satan’s purpose. Without eyes to see far ahead, he found himself as a special instrument of the devil. The small fire he lit, thinking it would only burn paper, ended up burning down an entire forest. That’s why, in the end, he regretted what he had done, when he saw that it was only his small kiss that had led the Lord to the cross. When he saw that just thirty pieces of silver had brought about such disgrace and suffering… when he thought the Lord would be taken and then released safely, but in the end, He was stripped and crowned with thorns… It became clear that this was all beyond what they had agreed.
Mark 14:44–46
“Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: ‘The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested Him.”
Verse 44 says, “lead Him away under guard…” But where they took Him, they went to torture, humiliate, and kill Him—completely contrary to what Judas had expected. And it was all because of entering into a covenant with sin.
In the end, Judas said these words:
Matthew 27:3–5
“When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. ‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’ ‘What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.’ So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.”
There are a few things we can learn from this… You can sell your salvation for something small, but in the end, you may not realize it could bring about great destruction later. You have already believed in Jesus, but then you give in to the temptation of fornication—so you go and lust after a woman and think to yourself, “I will just repent afterward.” But the day you meet her, someone else sees you and follows you all the way to the house you’re going to, and there you are caught in the act… and pictures are taken and spread on social media… “A certain pastor or believer caught with another man’s wife…” How would you feel that day?
You thought it was just a small fire you had lit, but you didn’t know it would turn into a blaze that would shock the entire city. And it’s the same with every other sin—we may see it as having small consequences here and now… but after committing it, that’s when we realize how big it really is.
Therefore, we must be extra careful with everything. Judas’ example is enough of a lesson for us… Let us be watchful so we don’t also find ourselves deceived by Satan and end up crucifying Christ a second time with shame and suffering. And at the end of the day, we fail even to return to where we left Him.
Hebrews 6:4–6
“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit… if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.”
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