Nothing about the heart of Judas was ever bent toward God. There was never a time when he had good intentions and then gave way to sin nature. Judas betrayed the Lord as a result of the greatest need in human history: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Here’s a little snack: The answer to one of Christianity's greatest questions is as hard to swallow as the thought to ask the question. And the answer is yes, Judas was in fact a chosen vessel for the setting in order of life’s most wicked sin… the murder of Jesus Christ.
Sitting at the dinner table in the home of Martha, Judas was one of the privileged among the Lord’s chosen disciples. John’s 12th Gospel chapter does not tell us of all who were present at the dinner, but it is clear that the list of notable participants included Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Judas. Oh to have had such luxury bestowed upon us- to sit with the one who had been resurrected from the dead and enjoy the presence of the Power that resurrected him. All the while, Judas couldn’t keep his mind off the bag filled with Lord’s money.
As Mary poured both her heart and a vessel of costly perfume on the feet of her Lord that she might wipe them with her hair in ridiculously humble adoration, the heart of Judas was revealed. John tells us in verse 6 that Judas was a thief, and that he stole regularly from the bag of money.
The knowledge of Judas’ heart should not come as a surprise to us. As students of God’s Word, we have already read John’s account to the predetermined heart of Judas. The latter verses of John 6 speak boldly to this decreeing. Verse 64 says, “But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.” In that same chapter John reveals who it is that Jesus is speaking of: “Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot [the son] of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”(verses 70-71)
What is so amazing about the scene in Martha’s home is that such hideous sin could be known in the presence of such glory. Think about it. Present in the same room as resurrection power sits the heart of Satan. While one is bowed prostrate in humble worship, another is plotting wickedness. And what is even more amazing is that Jesus knew the heart of both Mary and Judas. May this be a reminder to us the next time we gather together- that God knows the heart of us all.
Judas was in fact the chosen vessel of wickedness that would unleash the world’s most wrathful evil ever known to the flesh of man. Jesus was the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world; and nothing about this plan was produced on improvisation… not even the heart of Judas. It was this heart, the heart of wickedness, that set in order the most glorious event in human history. It’s hard for us to swallow this pill of the knowledge of God’s sovereignty. That God could have, in some way, known before hand that Judas was capable of such wickedness. It is an even harder pill to swallow to know that God ordained it. And yet, the good pleasure of the Lord resides in both the Gospel of God’s Son- in glorious splendor, and the wickedness of a desperately evil heart- in utter depravity.
That Judas was a chosen vessel of dishonor does not change the fact that we are chosen vessels of honor. In fact, this truth only enhances the splendor of God’s glorious good news. May we rejoice today that the Gospel was made possible to us, NOT despite the act of Judas, but rather through the act of Judas. In other words, no matter how sinful the heart of any man, God’s grace and love prevail… to the glory of God!
Pastor Mike Carmody
No comments:
Post a Comment