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From the beginning Judas was described as a "devil" and later in John 13:2 we are told the devil was motivating Judas to betray Jesus. Finally, in verses 21-27 we discover that Satan entered Judas. So Judas leaves the last supper. He meets the Jewish religious leaders and guides them to Jesus. When he meets Jesus, he betrays Him with a kiss (Luke 22:47-48). Later, after Jesus' death and return to life, the apostles seek the Lord to determine who should replace Judas (Acts 1:16-20). During the discussion, the following statement is made,
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. . . to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." (NASB) Acts 1:25 |
This passage says Judas made the decision on his own. Scripture predicted that Judas would do this.
Conclusion: Judas was the son of perdition. He was eternally lost and he committed a horrible sin. That is why he received the title son of perdition. He was not a Christian although He was one of Jesus' tweleve disciples. The Holy Spirit tells us that he stole money from Jesus and the other disciples (John 12:5-6). The verses above tell us that he never really loved Jesus. He was with Jesus for his own selfish reasons. He loved money more than Jesus. He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:15; 27:3, 9).
Some people are like Judas. They are in church. They go to church because their friends are there. They like the music and the funny pastor. Wow, is he a great speaker! They look real to everyone. They are really active and involved, but they are not real. That was Judas. He went everywhere Jesus and the disciples went. He might have even enjoyed the excitement and all the wonderful miracles. Just think! Judas saw Jesus' miracles. He heard Jesus' preaching, but he was not one of them. When Jesus told the disciples one of them would betray Him, the other disciples did not know He was talking about Judas. Judas looked real! Today, we need to ask ourselves, "Why am I going to church?" "Why do I claim to be a Christian?" "Am I a Judas?" Does my life have the marks of a Christain? |
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