City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.”

Luke 22:3-6 ESV

Reflection

Judas was already on a bad path before he went to the chief priests, embezzling from the ministry’s fund for himself (John 12:4-6). Besides the prophetic fulfillment of God’s Plans (Psalm 41:9, Zechariah 11:12-13), why did Judas agree to turn his Teacher in to those who wanted Him dead? Maybe when Jesus told the people to pay their taxes to Caesar, he realized the One he followed was not going to be a political Messiah who would save them from Roman oppression as many expected Him to do (Luke 20:19-25). When expectation does not match the reality, disappointment ensues. It’s what we choose to do with that disappointment that shows who we are and what we value. Shortly after, Judas went to the chief priests to profit from His “downfall.”

Satan cannot force us to sin, we tend to give him too much credit for our less-than-godly behavior. He did not force his way into Judas’ heart, Judas allowed him to enter some time ago. Of course, the chief priests were glad of a mole, they were trying to put Jesus to death. Matthew 26:15 says they offered Judas thirty pieces of silver for delivering up his Teacher, fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 11:12-13. The thirty shekels of silver was the price of a slave gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32), in today’s money, it would be between $91-500. Judas was willing to trade in his Teacher for the price of a gored slave, that’s how little he valued Him. Then he, along with the chief priests, who knew of Jesus’ high popularity (Luke 22:2), looked for an opportunity to arrest Him in private.

Application

The idea of turning Jesus Christ in for money is unthinkable, but it was once unthinkable for Judas Iscariot. He made one ungodly choice after another until it was easy for him to exchange Jesus’ life for cash. Are you in danger of making similar choices? Andy Stanley says in his book The Principle of the Path, “Direction, not intention, leads to destination.” If you say you intend to have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ, but your direction leads to scrolling Instagram and social media all the time, the destination will not be a strong relationship with Jesus. We can intend all we want, but if the direction is opposite, it will lead to a less-than-ideal destination. Thoroughly assess your life and weed out what isn’t godly (Proverbs 22:3, Ephesians 4:27).

Prayer

Lord Jesus, let me choose You in all that I do. Lead me to the right paths and the right directions. In Your Precious Name I pray, amen.

Reference

Stanley, A. (2008). The principle of the path: How to get from where you are to where you want to be. Thomas Nelson.