Daily Devotion

 

Before we come to the fate of the traitor, Judas, there are some things we may notice in this scripture. For the Jew, the Sabbath was entirely a day of rest when all work was forbidden, and a Sabbath day's journey was a little more than half a mile. It is also interesting that Jesus' brothers are here with the company of disciples. During Jesus' lifetime, they had been among His opponents (Mark 3:21). It may be for them, as for many others, that the death of Jesus opened their eyes and stabbed their hearts as even His life could not do.

 

We are told that the number of disciples was about 120. That is one of the most uplifting things in the New Testament. There were only 12 pledged to Jesus and it is very unlikely that any of them had even been outside the narrow confines of Israel. If ever anything began from small beginnings the Christian Church did.

The greatest interest of this passage is the fate of Judas. What exactly the Greek here means is uncertain, but in Matthew's account, we are left in no doubt that Judas committed suicide (Matthew 27:3-5). It must always be a matter of wonder why Judas betrayed Jesus. I have found at least five possibilities.  

 

(1) It has been suggested that Iscariot means man of Kerioth. If it does, Judas was the only non-Galilaean in the apostolic band. He may have felt like the odd man out and became so embittered that he did this terrible thing.  

 

(2) It may be that Judas turned king's evidence to save his own skin and then saw the enormity of what he did.  

 

(3) It may be that he did it simply out of greed for money. It was the most dreadful bargain in history.

(4)It may be that Judas came to hate Jesus, and Jesus knew this. So, he was driven to destroy the one who knew him for what he was.  

 

(5) It is the likeliest of all that Judas never meant Jesus to die but betrayed Him with the intention of forcing His hand. If that was so, Judas had the tragic experience of seeing his plan so wrong, and in bitter remorse, he committed suicide. However, it may be, Judas goes down in history as the blackest name among men. There can never be any peace for the person who betrays Jesus.