Bible Story of the Day: Judas

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Bible Story of the Day

Scripture is the story of Jesus, from Genesis to Revelation. There are over 400 prophecies and representations of Jesus in the Old Testament alone. The Old Testament pointed forward to the coming Christ, and the New Testament points back to Jesus. The Bible is a record of redemption through Jesus Christ who conquered sin and death when He died on the cross and resurrected three days later. The New Testament was written almost 2000 years ago. Some of the Old Testament was written over 4000 years ago. The Bible Story of the Day not only shows Jesus throughout scripture but shows how scripture is relevant to our lives today. Seeing Jesus in scripture is a major step into understanding who our God is, and how He impacts and affects our lives in every moment. I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your mind to understanding the verses and how they affect your life and gives you a better understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will post a link to the chapter that each passage is from, so that you can read further on your own.

Judas

Psalm 55:12-15

For it is not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
¹³ But it is you, a man my equal,
My companion and my familiar friend;
¹⁴ We who had sweet fellowship together
Walked in the house of God in the throng.
¹⁵ Let death come deceitfully upon them;
Let them go down alive to Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst. (NASB).

Where is Jesus and What Does This Mean to Us?

David wrote this passage when He was the king, but was on the run for his life, because of Absalom’s attempt to overthrow David and take rule of the kingdom. David was heartbroken because the one that betrayed him was a close friend. The betrayal cause everyone in the city of Jerusalem to turn against David. David stated that if it were an enemy, then he would have expected being attacked, but being from someone close made it worse. David spoke condemnation over this “friend”, because there is only evil in the heart of someone that would do such things.

This powerful passage replicates the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Judas was one of the 12 Disciples, chosen by Jesus. They spent three years together, travelling, ministering, eating, sleeping, and fellowship together. They were together every day for three years and shared all the experiences of life together. In the end, none of that mattered to Judas, because he sold out his friend for 30 pieces of silver. The betrayal of Judas turned the city of Jerusalem against Jesus, and they begged for Jesus to be crucified.

What does this mean to us? The parallels of David’s situation and Jesus’ situation are uncanny. Although I have not been persecuted or sold out like these two; I can certainly relate to the pain felt by being betrayed by someone close. We expect someone that dislikes us to do us harm, but it is much worse when they are close to us. Judas did not believe Jesus was who He said He was despite having been with Him for 3 years. Judas made a poor decision, to say the least. We typically think about when others hurt us, but what about all the times we have hurt others? When have we been the Judas in someone else’s life? I know I have hurt others in my life, and I would bet you have as well at some point. The betrayal does not have to be as grave as Judas and Jesus to be painful to the other person.

Why do I mention this? Because we must understand grace and forgiveness. If we do not understand that we can be just as nasty as the next person, then we do not fully understand our own situation. We then sit in a spot of pride thinking everyone else “needs Jesus”, but we don’t. the truth is; we all need Jesus. We all need grace and forgiveness. David wanted his betrayer to go to hell. Jesus never said such things. I cannot tell you whether Judas will end up in Heaven or Hell, but I can tell you that even though He betrayed Jesus, Judas could have repented, been forgiven through the grace of God, and would be fully restored by Jesus. The most important point of this story is that if Judas had a chance to be forgiven and be shown grace by Jesus then so do we. We all can receive the grace of Jesus and live under His forgiveness as if what we had done never happened. Turn from those ways, accept Jesus’ forgiveness for your sins, and forgive others that sinned against you since you were first forgiven, and live a life under the grace that only Jesus can provide. Live guilt free.

Resource

www.biblegateway.com