What Can We Learn from Judas

Lately, I've been thinking about Judas.  Here is man who followed Jesus for 3 years, lived with him, heard his teachings, and witnessed His miracles.  Yet, his claim to fame is his betrayal of our Saviour.  How is it possible, being exposed to Jesus' divine light, that he could turn away and ultimately betray Him.  Was it fear? Was it the influence of Satan?  Or was it his love for money and power. 

Most puzzling is that he betrayed Jesus with a kiss, which at that time was sign of deep respect and brotherly love.  How hurtful it must have been for Jesus to be betrayed in this way by a loving member of his Inner Circle.  The Bible accounts that Satan entered Judas at the Last Supper (Luke 22:3).  Afterwards, Judas was "seized with remorse" (Matthew 27:3) when he realized that Jesus would be crucified.  Overcome with guilt, he gave the money back to the temple authorities and hanged himself.  A tragic ending filled with hopelessness.  

I do believe, however, that the story of Judas has some powerful life lessons for all of us.

Lesson 1: Deny Satan's Power

Judas was a vessel for Satan to use.  Maybe seeds of doubt about Jesus, or fear about knowing Him were planted in Judas' mind.  Or perhaps, his greed took over.  All of us have seeds of doubt and moments of weakness.  All of us feel fear and sometimes give in to our weaknesses.  Doubt and fear are the tools of Satan.  Once we recognize this, we can ask God for help.  Ask God to remove the fear and doubt and meditate on God's goodness, His grace, and His promises.  Doing this will quickly silence Satan.

Lesson 2: Accept and Forgive

We must accept responsibility for our wrongs.  This is the first step to change and transformation.  Once we say, "I was wrong", "I made a mistake", "I hurt you," then we can learn to make amends, to change our actions so we are expressing love instead of hate and hurt.  Most importantly, we must forgive ourselves so we can move forward and not live with self hatred.  Judas sat in remorse and self-pity.  He could not forgive himself for his betrayal.

Lesson 3: Always Live with Hope

In the end, Judas took his life.  He gave in to his feelings of hopelessness.  He had no hope.  As Christians, we must live in hope.  Jesus came to give us Hope.  He forgave our sins and gave hope to the weary and disheartened.  Satan's tool is hopelessness.  God's tool is Hope. We must remember, no problem is bigger than our heavenly Father.  What would have happened if Judas lived?  If he repented and spent his life atoning and praising Jesus.  What an example he could have been to others, that we can sin big sins, and still live in hope that God can transform our lives.  How powerful would that have been to all of us.

Judas is a symbol of our humanness and a warning of what can happen when we allow Satan to fill our minds and hearts.  We must always pray for God for protection.  Then we can live confidently and with hope.