Of all the people in the Bible, you may be wondering why I would choose to ask some burning questions of Judas? We learn from people’s triumphs and wins but we can also learn from their mistakes and failures.

It’s so tragic to me that someone who was one of Jesus’ closest friends, who walked with Him, talked to Him, learned from Him, saw Him perform miracles and was loved by Him also betrayed him. Betrayal among friends isn’t new, but Judas’ friend was… JESUS.  How? Why?

From the moment he plants a kiss on Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas Iscariot sealed his legacy; to be remembered as one of history’s most famous traitors.

When he identified Jesus to the authorities, Judas set into motion the events that became the foundations of our faith: Jesus’s arrest, His trial, His death, and eventually His resurrection. The Bible offers very few details about Judas’ background, all four gospels of the New Testament name him among Jesus’s 12 closest disciples, or apostles.  He witnessed all the details of Jesus life along with the other disciples. So what happened?

According to the book of John, Jesus told His disciples during the Last Supper that one of them will betray Him. Don’t you think when He said that, if it were you, you’d be sweating buckets, darting your eyes and taking as many washroom breaks as possible? Did he look for a way to escape? When they asked who it would be, Jesus said “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” He then dipped a piece of bread in a dish and handed it to Judas, identified as the “son of Simon Iscariot.” After Judas received the piece of bread, “Satan entered into him.” (John 13:21-27). Yikes! Imagine how he must of felt? How did he get to that point? Satan doesn’t enter people without permission.

The story tells us that Judas then went on his own to the priests of the Temple, the religious authorities at the time, and offered to betray Jesus in exchange for money—30 pieces of silver. He’s been accused of being greedy, easily influenced by Satan and John speaks about him stealing from the fund they used to support Jesus’s ministry.

Whatever his motives, Judas led soldiers to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he identified Jesus by kissing Him and calling him “Rabbi.” (Mark 14:44-46) According to the Gospel of Matthew, Judas immediately regretted his actions and returned the 30 pieces of silver to church authorities, saying “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” When the authorities dismissed him, Judas left the coins on the floor and committed suicide. (Matthew 27:3-8).

Judas’ betrayal, of course, led to Jesus’s arrest, trial and death by crucifixion, after which He was resurrected, a sequence of events that brought salvation to humanity. So while it was awful, Judas was a key player in the events that happened next.

I think Judas decision to betray Jesus is a lesson for all of us.  We may not like to think this but perhaps any of us could have made the same decision.

We don’t just wake up one morning and decide to stop going to church or stop praying and reading the Bible. It’s a slow progression, one decision after another. One more Sunday you decide not to get out of bed and worship with the family of God. One more morning you choose to scroll instead of talking to Jesus. One more decision you make without asking the Lord what He thinks. One more word is said that offends you and you decide not to forgive. One more time of  surrendering to that habitual sin. One more Christian letting you down. One more day of spending on yourself instead of giving to God’s kingdom. Slowly, step by step, decision by decision the relationship turns to religion and  you wake up and your heart is no longer longing for the presence of God, no longer wanting to be in the Word, no longer wanting to sacrifice, no longer wanting to care about others. Because this can happen so slowly, you may not even realize how far you’ve strayed from your first love. That vibrant relationship has turned to a set of duties that you aren’t wanting to keep. Thankfully, God is merciful, loving, forgiving and patient with us, but we have to remember, return, repent and repeat the things we know we should do.

Revelation 2:1-5

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven gold lamp stands:  ^‘I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for Me without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love Me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to Me and do the works you did at first.'”

I wonder, is this what happened to Judas?

My five burning questions for Judas.

1.  How long before you betrayed Jesus did you realize your relationship with Jesus was diminishing?

2. What was your most treasured moment with Jesus when you were following Him?

3. Was the cost of following Jesus greater than you anticipated?

4. When you regretted what you did, did you remember that Jesus really loved you?

5. Did you let offence take root in your heart?