I wrote the following article in 2001. I love this study on Judas and what Gods word revealed to me back then. It was published in several Christian magazines and variations have appeared on many websites. I hope you enjoy it and would love your feedback.
Why I Love Judas Iscariot
For the last 1900 years, many believers have placed Judas in a special category of evil. To sell Jesus into the hands of Israel's Priesthood is a sin most believers feel they would not be capable of doing. Most people seem to categorize sins. In doing so, it allows them to separate themselves from the worst of sinners like Judas. The Bible says the wages of sin is death and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
The purpose of this article is to raise Judas up from the false representation he has received from the self-righteous Christian and to bring down our self-righteousness to where we can look at the Judases of the world in the eye and be able to say, "I am the guilty one. I put Jesus on the tree of crucifixion. He died for my sins."
Facts about the History and Geographical Location of Judas
Judas is the Greek form of the Hebrew Judah, which means praise.
Iscariot means "man from Kerioth," a city in the Negev of the region in Jesus' day which was called Judea. Judas was the only one of the twelve apostles, the scriptures record, not coming from Galilee. Galileans were looked down upon by Judeans. Judea is where most of the priests lived since all the sacrifices had to be performed in Jerusalem.
The 30 pieces of silver was a small sum of money, the value of a slave (Exodus 21:32). ($15 according to the American Tract Society Dictionary). If Judas were really covetous and greedy, why didn't he barter for much more?
Jesus chose Judas, not the other way around. Jesus knew them before He picked them.
Prior to the betrayal, Judas' only recorded sin was stealing from the money box. The other eleven apostles had accounts recorded of them of sins which included unbelief, lust for position and power, not being mindful of the things of the spirit but of man, all the disciples left Him, Peter denied Him three times in one night, falsely condemning people to fire when Jesus said He came to save, etc., etc..
Judas threw the 30 pieces of silver on the ground in the "naos" (Holy Place) part of the temple (Matthew 27:5). Only a priest could enter that part of the temple. Even Jesus could only enter the courtyard because he was not from the tribe of Levi. This fact is very important.
Judas repented and made restitution (Matthew 27:3) then declared Jesus innocent and confessed his sin (Matthew 27:4).
All these things happened to fulfill prophesy that the Creator planned to be fulfilled at this time.
Judas was called "friend" (hetairos) by Jesus at the "betrayal" (Matthew 26:50). A word for friend indicating partnership, comrade, companion as opposed to "philos" indicating endearment. In other words, there was a partnership of some sort involved in this "betrayal."
Let us begin to weave all these pieces together and see if we can see some things we have never thought about before. Perhaps we can get a glimpse of the wisdom of our Father which will leave us amazed and a little more humbled.
In reading about Jesus in the New Testament, we must always keep in mind that He came to "fulfill the law." First, He fulfilled it by adding the Spirit back to it which the religious leaders had removed by their "letter keeping."
The next aspect of "fulfilling the law" dealt with eliminating laws added to Moses' law which had nothing to do with Moses. The Jews added thousands of laws which were impossible to remember or keep. Some of the laws added actually made it possible to break Moses law' for self gain. For example, when making an agreement, one had to face Jerusalem and say twice "Amen, Amen." If one said "Amen" only once, the agreement was not lawful and therefore could be broken. Knowing the "Law" at this point in Israel's history actually became profitable. Many foreign people were swindled by these kinds of acts.
The third way Jesus dealt with the Mosaic Law was to fulfill every type and shadow contained in all the sacrificial ceremonies. Many people were predestined to participate with Jesus in His fulfillment of these ceremonies. One of the leading participants in fulfilling these ceremonies and Scriptures was Judas. These laws can be seen on at least three levels.
The actual performance of them by Israel.
Seeing how Jesus would physically perform and fulfill them in the flesh.
Seeing the spiritual reality behind it all.
Most of us who have studied the scripture for any length of time know that Jesus was the "lamb of God," the "lamb slain before the foundation of the world." We know Jesus, the Innocent Lamb's blood, was shed for us that the Death Angel would "pass over" our house, that is, our life. But we have been very shallow in our studies and have not looked at how the Lamb was determined to be an "innocent lamb." We have looked to Pontius Pilate as the judge who determined whether Jesus was guilty of death or not, but Jesus had to fulfill the Laws of God, not the laws of Rome. The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus guilty, not innocent. They would not declare the lamb innocent. So how was Jesus lawfully determined to be the "innocent" Lamb? The answer: Judas!
As we begin to gather all these pieces together, keep in mind that Judas was predestined just as Jesus being born at this time was predestined. Jesus chose Judas knowing his purpose; that prior to Satan entering Judas, his sins were really not much different than the other apostles. Be very careful in how you judge Judas for as you judge, perhaps, so shall you be judged.
Inspecting the Lamb
As early as the Book of Genesis, there are references to proper sacrifices. All of these Old Testament sacrifices obviously pointed to the reality of Jesus Christ. I believe every sacrificial type and shadow will find it's reality wrapped up in Jesus Christ and His Body. This article will not deal with all of the types. We are concerned with the role Judas played and so we will have to stay focused as much as possible on Judas' role in prophesy being fulfilled.
Jesus was crucified in the Passover season. Did you know that a young goat was just as acceptable as a lamb? (2 Chronicles 35:7, Leviticus 22:19, Exodus 12:5). Somehow, due to our false teachings of the separation of the sheep and goats (derived from the parable in Matthew 25:31-34, 41), we have pictured the goat as an unclean animal. This is not so, at least according to Scripture. Many of our perceptions of the Creator and His Plan come from our religious traditions and not from the Scriptures.
In the original Passover, the lamb (or goat) was selected on the 10th day of the month of Abib (Deuteronomy 16:1) . This month was to be their first month since that was the month they were delivered from Pharaoh (Exodus 13:3-4). This lamb or goat was kept for 4 days and inspected to make sure it was spotless and without blemish. In subsequent Passovers, the Priest had to inspect the lamb or kid to make sure it was without blemish.
Most of you know all the ceremonies of Israel were types and shadows which were to point to realities which would come later on. While most believers are very unskilled in dealing with the Old Testament, they have received enough to know that Jesus Christ was the true Passover Lamb pointed to by the first Passover in Egypt and its commemorative Passovers which were to be kept each year by Israel.
The Passover lamb or goat pointed to the true Sacrificial Goat, Jesus Christ. Did you just get a little flustered? Yes, the goat represents Jesus just as much as the cute little dumb lamb. Remember, on the Day of Atonement, two goats were selected; one to be killed and the other to be set free (Leviticus 16:7). These also pointed to the work of Christ. This animal had to be inspected by the Priests. Jesus had to be inspected by the Priests! The problem was that the Priests of the temple declared Jesus guilty of blasphemy which was punishable by death! How could Jesus be the innocent lamb or goat if they declared Him blemished with sin?
Orthodox Christianity puts it in the hands of the true secular authority of Israel which was Pontius Pilate. He asked Jesus a number of questions and after doing so found that Jesus was not guilty of anything worthy of the death penalty (Matthew 27). He washed his hands of the whole affair and said he found no fault with Jesus and wanted to set him free. The people, prodded on by the priests, wanted Him to be crucified. Pontius Pilate made another attempt to free Jesus by using a tradition Romans used on special occasions. On certain important days they would release a prisoner as a sign of mercy or good will. Pontius Pilate gave Israel a choice of freeing Jesus, who claimed to be the Son of God, or Barabbas. Some ancient manuscripts called him Jesus Barabbas. Barabbas, in Greek, means Son of a Father or Master. Abba, in Aramaic, means father. So the choice presented to Israel was a very interesting choice. Which do you want freed...Jesus (which means God's deliverance) or Barabbas (son of a Father or Master). This is the scapegoat offering.
The people picked Jesus to be sacrificed and Barabbas to escape into the wilderness of humanity. At this point, Pilate ceremoniously washed his hands of the whole thing and turned the whole thing over to the Jews. He said "Ye see to it" (Matthew 27:24). The people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children" (verse 25).
Now dear reader, I want you to think through very carefully what we are about to discuss. It is vitally important for our witness and our ability to demonstrate the love of Christ. It is also vitally important to understand in order to rightly divide the Word. Honestly, in your heart, between Peter and Judas, who do you identify with most? For whom do you find more love, Peter or Judas? What about those Jews who yelled, "Crucify, crucify, let His blood be on our heads." Do you identify with them or despise them?
James 1:23-24, "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." Matthew 16:21-23, "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
Please note that the text does not say "Satan entered him" as with Judas (John 13:27). Jesus directly called him "Satan," which means adversary. Peter was unwilling for the dark side of the Word to be fulfilled. Death must precede life. Peter was not "mindful of the things of God." Trying to be the nice guy and saving Jesus' life was not the will of the Father. Jesus being betrayed, becoming the Lamb slain, being valued at 30 pieces of silver, and the purchase of the "field of blood" was "being mindful of the things of God."
Please get this one point. Peter was directly called "Satan." Satan had to enter Judas in order for him to fulfill the Scriptures (John 13:27). In other words, Judas was not capable of betraying Jesus by himself! He had to be taken over. Peter did not need the help of Satan to not be mindful of the things of God. It was perfectly natural for him. When Satan wanted to "sift" Peter, Jesus prayed for Peter. Why didn't Jesus just pray for Judas? Because Judas had to do what he did to fulfill Scripture that the redemption of the whole world from its bondage to sin might be accomplished! Judas was not a hearer only, as Peter was, but a "doer of the word." Not only was he a doer, but Jesus hastened Judas along to get it done. "What you are doing, do more quickly" (John 13:27). Judas fulfilled his purpose for being born.
Redeemed
We speak so often of the "Lamb who takes away the sin of the world." This takes us back to Exodus to the Passover lamb. Israel was to put the blood of a lamb older than eight days and less than one year which was unblemished on the door of their house. The death angel or God was going to kill every first-born male in Egypt. Only those houses marked with the blood would be "passed over." But the death angel was not going to kill everyone in the unmarked houses, only the first born males. Later on, we find out that the God of Israel wanted every male that opened the womb as His own, whether it be from the domestic animals, or people. The first-born male children of Israel had to be redeemed, that is, bought back. In other words, when they were born, they belonged to God. The parent had to purchase him back from the Levites for a certain price. A first born-male jackass, an unclean animal, had to be redeemed with a lamb. Money in this case was not accepted.
Our Father and His Son are not hypocrites. They live by the laws They set. Under the Mosaic Law, an owner of land and animals is responsible for what happens on that land. If he digs a pit and doesn't cover it and a neighbor's animal falls into it and dies, the owner of the pit is liable. If someone builds a house with a roof and doesn't put up a railing and someone falls off, you must flee to a city of refuge until the death of the High Priest.
The following Scriptures may not seem to fit this article, but they are very important. I cannot go into full explanation of all of this because it would take too much space. I hope the gaps will cause you to study this out for yourselves.
Exodus 21:28-32, "If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned."
Zechariah 11:12-13, "And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD."
Matthew 27:3-10, "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me."
The Creator of the Universe must abide by His own Laws. He created Adam, placed him in a place where he could be deceived by a Serpent which the Creator also created. Adam and all his offspring fell into a pit and all died. In Adam all died, including you. According to the Mosaic Law, the Creator was responsible for Adam's death and must make restitution. According to the Law, the owner of a beast that has been known to gore in the past, must die along with the beast. However, if a ransom price has been placed upon that man, he may be redeemed. The value the Priest of Israel placed upon Jesus was 30 pieces of silver, which Judas put into the temple. Lawfully, Jesus, who the Father gave all things to, and who all things are of, to, and through (Romans 11:36), must die because of allowing the serpent to kill Adam and his offspring, but Jesus was redeemed with the 30 pieces of silver. Not only that, but the 30 pieces of silver purchased the Potter's field, which became the "Field of Blood," which became a proper burial place in the land of Israel for foreigner, gentiles, that is non-Israelites. This "field of blood" was located in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, known as "Gehenna" to the Greeks and better known as "hell" in many misleading Bible translations, including the King James Bible. For those of you who want to translate Gehenna as "hell," you should know that Judas purchased that field called "hell" which the Potter's field is in.
Conclusion
Jesus came to fulfill the Law. I believe we are just beginning to understand what that is all about. I know I left many things out; there is just too much to cover. I just hope I have at least brought you to the place where you can look Judas eye to eye instead of down on him. If I have failed to do that, I hope I have cracked a few doors which at least will keep you from making a final judgment of Judas. I am trying to do this not so much for Judas' sake, but for your sake.
The next generation of so called Christians villainized Judas so much that Papias, Bishop of Heirapolis in about 140 A.D., claimed that Judas was so swollen that where a wagon could go through easily, he could not go through; nay, he could not even insert the mass of his head. His genital, were repellent and huge beyond all shamefulness. From his whole body flowed blood mixed with worms. According to this "Bishop" who claims to have known John, the apostle, Judas died in his own place, which, because of the stench, has remained deserted and uninhabitable to the present day. This kind of gross exaggeration to the point of lying is not unusual of Christian circles, ancient or present day.
To summarize, be careful where you place Judas. He did the will of the Father and fulfilled the Scriptures. Peter, who we all love, tried to prevent Jesus' crucifixion and was called "Satan" by our Lord. Peter, who was not mindful of the will of God, was restored. Was it not Jesus who said, ""For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:50)? Be careful about placing Jesus' brother, Judas, in Christendom's "hell." One day you may have to look up to Judas, instead of looking down on him. Peter denied him three times in one night while Judas declared Jesus innocent in front of the High Priesthood. Judas had a very important job in the Kingdom of God. For three and one half years, as a Priest he inspected the Lamb of God as an unbiased man. He was not "one of them" a Galilean. He was the outsider. He did his job perfectly. If Judas really wanted to mess things up, he could have agreed with the High Priesthood and called Him a "blasphemer" who claimed to be the Son of God when He really wasn't. But Judas declared the Lamb spotless and unblemished, the Perfect Passover.
Thank you, Judas, for not only being a hearer of the Word, but also a doer of the Word. Thank you, Judas, for giving the redemption money which purchased the Potter's field; a place for strangers in the land of Israel and the silver which speaks of the redemption of the family of Adam who sold himself as a slave to sin. You may not like how Judas got that money, but you should rejoice in what it did for you.
I hope these words have you stirring. I hope they have rekindled a desire to study the Scriptures more. Most importantly, may these words cause you to give more freely what our Father has so freely bestowed upon you. . . mercy. Is there more room in your heart for mercy for yourself? If there is, then there is also more room for you to have mercy on others, especially those vessels of less honor in our eyes. Lift up the Judases of the world to our wonderful Father who freely forgives, Who bestows mercy upon the undeserving.
Peace be upon you,
Dale
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