March 8
Num 10:1-11:23 | PS 51:1-19 | Prov 10:31-32 | Mark 14:1-21
Judas Iscariot has become synonymous with traitor. In fact, his name goes down as one of the great villains of history, like Adolph Hitler. But we should not miss certain things about him. He chose to leave everything in order to follow Jesus. He was one of Jesus’ apostles who was sent out two by two to preach about the kingdom, do miracles, cast out demons, etc. So, something went wrong along the three years that he was following Jesus. We must all be careful we don’t make a similar mistake. He misunderstood and mischaracterized the Son of God. He wanted Him to be the construct he had fashioned in his own mind. Disillusioned of who He truly was, this follower turned traitor. How many people do we know fall in love with Jesus only to turn their backs on Him the moment they don’t get what they want, when their prayers don’t turn out as they want them to. This is why being in a daily relationship with Jesus, being in His Word, is not simply a good choice, but is essential.
We know from John’s account that the woman anointing Jesus is Mary from Bethany, and the one complaining about the waste of money was Judas. We read in Mark 14:3-5, “And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.” It appears that Judas wanted the Jesus at His second coming, destroying the enemies as a conquering King, not the Jesus at His first coming, the One who came to die for our sins, to provide salvation and entrance into heaven. So we then read in Mark 14:10-11, “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.” And as the saying goes, “the rest is history”.
We know that Judas went on to lead the party against Jesus to enable His arrest, then regretted his decision and eventually he hung himself. What a sad ending to one who started out so eager to follow Him that he left everything to do so. David, started so well, but then in a moment he started a downward trajectory which involved an affair with Bathsheeba and the murder of Uriah, her husband. But we read of David’s heart of repentance in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.” How would Judas’ story have ended if instead of hanging himself, he cried out for forgiveness and repented. To all of those who once followed God but have lost their way, your story has not yet ended. Have you mischaracterized God? Have you turned your back on Him? You now have a choice, and God gives you free will. You can either continue on your path away from Him like Judas or you can turn back into His loving arms, like David.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: