Judas the Beautiful Tree

 

There is a small tree which grows in Southeast Asia known as the Judas-tree. From its branches grow gorgeous blossoms. The brilliant beauty of the crimson flowers attracts thousands of tiny insects which try to draw honey from their exquisitely shaped cups. But every insect that comes to rest on the edge of its blossom is overcome by a fatal drug which the flower-juice contains. The insect drops dead on the ground. The soft grass around a Judas-tree, is often littered with dead and dying insects.

In Acts 1:15-19 we read “Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”(With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called it…Field of Blood. “

The Apostles of Jesus founded the Church and set the gospel sailing for the “end of the earth” (Act 1:8). However, in the midst of that success there was one monumental failure, Judas Iscariot.  In all the three lists of Apostles in the gospels (Matt. 10:2-4, Mark 3:14-19, Luke 6:13-16) Judas name appears last and always there's a statement with his name about his being the betrayer of Christ

Judas was a common name meaning "Jehovah leads."  It might indicate that his parents were devout Jews who wanted him to grow up to step into the leading of Jehovah. But In spite of all the hopes of the parents who named him “Jehovah Leads”, Judas would become the most despicable man ever to live. He would take a position opposite God that was so severe.

Judas began as an outsider, he was Judean. He was the only member of the twelve disciples who was not from Galilee. Many of them knew one another. Some were brothers, others were coworkers. This meant that the others would not have known about his background. This enabled Judas to keep a low profile and camouflage his hypocrisy.

How did Judas end up as an apostle?  Was Jesus blindsided by him? No, Jesus knew exactly what kind of man Judas was from the very beginning. In John 2:23-25 we read that at the beginning of his public ministry many people saw Jesus’ signs and believed. But “Jesus knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person”.

In John 6, we read that when Jesus said “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life”, many of his disciples deserted him. Jesus asked the Twelve “do you want to leave too?” Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” He meant Judas, who  was later to betray him” (vv.54, 70-71).

Jesus knew every single thing that was going on all the way down the line. Even though he was fully man, he was still God. When Phillip brought Nathanael to Jesus, he said “here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit”. Surprised Nathanael asked “How do you know me?” Jesus answered “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Phillip called you”(John 1:45-50).

Judas was a very successful hypocrite. He played his part so well that no one but Jesus Himself knew that Judas was a pretender. One day Jesus told the disciples, " assuredly, one of you will betray me…and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I? (Matt 26:21-22). The other eleven had no idea who Jesus meant.  They had trusted him to a point of making him their treasurer.

Judas was one of the 12 physically, but not spiritually. He never really had a spiritual interest.  He was driven by ambition for position, power and wealth. Judas followed Jesus because he would lead him to the place he wanted to be. He was not following a Savior; he was following a Man he saw as a revolutionary. The Jews believed that the messiah would help Israel to gain independence from Rome.

Judas thought Jesus would establish a restored kingdom in Israel, and richly reward His followers. He had heard Jesus say “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28). One of those thrones and the wealth that goes with it would be his.

Judas was “one of our number and shared in our ministry”(Acts 1:17). He was chosen by the Jesus (Luke 6:13-16). He was close enough to Jesus at the Last Supper to be dipping bread with him in the same cup (Mark 14:20). He followed Jesus everywhere. He heard it all, saw it all, experienced it all. He listened to the parables of the goat and sheep, the man without a wedding garment, and the ten virgins.

Judas never embraced the spiritual kingdom of Christ. He was looking for a way to use Jesus to make himself rich. Judas kept the money that the little band collected as they traveled from place to place, and he was stealing from it (John 12:6). One day Judas complained, that an expensive oil should have been sold and not poured on Jesus. He would have stolen a portion of the money (John 12:1-6).

Judas became a guide to those who arrested Jesus (Matt. 26:47). He approaches the Jewish leaders and negotiates a deal to betray Jesus into their hands. Matt. 26:14-16 tells us that the price they came to was “thirty pieces of silver”. According to Ex. 21:32, this was the price of a slave; It was all Jesus Christ was worth to Judas! He betrayed Jesus for what amounted to almost nothing.

Luke 22:3 says that “Satan entered into Judas,” how are we to think about the will of Judas and the power of Satan? Judas was not an innocent bystander when Satan entered into him. Satan does not take innocent people captive. Satan has power where sinful passions hold sway. Judas was already evil, so the devil only used an evil heart  to accomplish his purpose.

Judas walked up to Jesus and gave him a kiss. This display of false love and affection for Jesus only makes his deed darker. After Jesus was arrested, the powerful influence Satan held over him subsided and he realized what he had done. He tried to return the money, but it was too late (Matt 27:3-4). Satan used Judas for his purposes and then discarded him like trash.

When Judas saw that he could not fix what he had done, he threw the money down in the Temple and he went out and committed suicide by hanging himself, Matt. 27:5. The money Judas left at the Temple was used to purchase a field where strangers could be buried, Matt. 27:6-10. Judas was the first person to be buried there. It was a tragic end to a tragic life!

It is so incomprehensible to us that anybody could be such close fellowship with Jesus and end up betraying Him. Judas had the rare privilege, given to only twelve men, of living and ministering with God incarnate. Yet driven by greed, he squandered inestimable privilege, betrayed the Lord and damned his soul to hell. Judas kissed the door of heaven but went to hell.

Judas left to go to “his own place” in Hell (Acts 1:25). Just as surely as there is a place called Heaven prepared for the saints of God (John 14:1-3), there is a place called Hell prepared for the devil and those who follow him (Matt 25:41).  Every lost sinner and every religious hypocrite will go to Hell when they die. Jesus expressly declared what the future doom of Judas would be, “it had been good for that man if he had not been born (matt 26:24).

The wicked character of Judas was influenced by one of the worst human passions. It’s remarkable that any man should have thought of making money in such a band of men; but avarice will show itself everywhere. There is no single human passion that has done so much evil in the church as this. There are people of avaricious character in the church today. Many will end up in Hell because of it.

When a certain Christian university in Kenya was carrying out research in an area, a small business man confided in them that he was planning to start a church. He had discovered that in one week preachers earn the amount of money that he makes in a month. There are ministers who like Judas have no interest in the kingdom of God, they are in the ministry for personal gain.

Wherever God's work is done, there are impostors like Judas. They disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve (2 Cor. 11:15). The weed and the tares sit together in church side and side. They go for successful missions together. Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” (2 Timothy 2:19).

The lost man can do anything the saved man can do, and he may even do it better. Judas was so caught up in the work of serving Christ, and seeing the fruit of that work, that he may have convinced himself that everything was right between him and the Lord. Jesus tells us that many will face God in that condition on judgment day, Matt. 7:21-23. No matter happens nothing can be compared to the value of your soul (Mark 8:36-37).

Are you genuinely saved or are you a Christian for other reasons? Jesus told his followers” “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for bread that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give you. For on him God the father has placed his seal of approval(John 6:25-27).

Are you a sinner expecting to get to Heaven because you are a church member? It did not work for Judas and it will not work for you. Sin may look bright, pleasant, and attractive to your eyes. It may appear harmless to indulge in . But lurking behind the pleasure of sin is a fatal poison.