Learning from Judas

"Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd" (Luke 22:3-6 ESV).

Which door did Satan use to enter Judas? The answer is the door of greed and coveteousness. As we see in other gospels Judas was always greedy for gain. You will recall that he once chided a woman for "wasting" expensive perfumes on Jesus. Then we read, "He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it" (John 12:6).

This routine "helping himself to what was put into it" created a doorway for the evil one to enter and do something that even Judas probably wouldn't have imagined himself doing. Many people believe that Judas was an evil spy the whole time he was with Jesus. But he was probably just like the others who marveled at his teachings, performed miracles in his name, and eagerly desired the kingdom to appear. But his strong desire for other things created pathways for Satan to enter into his life, and enter he did. 

Indeed, enter he always will. 

What Judas was doing when he stole from the bag was communicating "I don't trust God to supply my needs, therefore I will act to secure my own future by stealing." In other words, his faith in God didn't involve every area of his life. If it did he wouldn't have stolen, and he wouldn't have created a doorway for Satan. But since the opposite of faith is fear, and fear is the devils calling card, it was like throwing blood in a shark infested body of water. They will certainly seek out the source, and have their way with it. 

This is why it is crucial to view salvation (read discipleship) as something that involves our entire lives, and to view Jesus as one who is interested in each area of human life, from small to great. Because if we only see him as being concerned with the big pictures of our lives, we will inevitably leave small doorways for Satan to enter in. But if we see him as being capable of guiding us, even in the seemingly insignificant areas of our lives, then we will not only close the doorways that Satan might use, but we will open ourselves up to receive more and more grace to live a godly life. 

We do a disservice to ourselves when we make Judas into a demon on two legs. (Look at paintings of the 12 disciples, it is always easy to spot Judas. He is typically darkened, halo-less, with a look of connivance on his face.) In our attempts to make him inherently evil we remove the possibility of learning from him. But he provides a great lesson that needs to be shouted from the roof tops. Here it is: To follow Jesus means to present your entire life to him. It means to seek to live in each area of your life the way that he would if he were you. By doing so we "give no opportunity to the devil" (Eph. 4:27). And our lives begin to get wrapped up into, and take upon the likeness of, Jesus Christ our Lord.