TEEN TREE 
OF LIFE
JUDAS ISCARIOT
Part 1
January 14, 2018
BEFORE we begin, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, take a moment to name your sins to God the Father. This will allow you to be filled with the power of The Holy Spirit as you read this booklet (EPH 5:18 & 1JO 1:9). IF YOU HAVE never believed in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have that opportunity right now. Simply tell God the Father that you are believing on His Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you make that decision, you are now a believer and will always be a child of God! When you die, you will spend eternity with Him forever in heaven! (JOH 3:16 & ACT 16:31).
Judas Iscariot was from Kerioth which made him the only non-Galilean that Jesus chose to be an apostle. He was the only one from Judea and probably the sharpest of the twelve. That’s why he was appointed treasurer. But, never be impressed by the sharpest person in a group. Don’t always think that the brightest is the best. What you should pay attention to is character and attitude – not intellectual ability. Our Lord does not grade according to intellect; He looks at the heart.
Judas was called the son of perdition in JOH 17:12: “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.” Perdition is a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unpenitent person passes after death. Quite a title! To be the “son of perdition” means that Judas is a man identified with eternal destruction and whose destiny is the Lake of Fire. The word “perdition” is also used for the antichrist in 2TH 2:3: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [perdition]…”
Notice above in JOH 17:12, what Our Lord says: “not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” Why is that important? If Judas was a believer and he perished, then our Lord did not fulfill the Father’s Will. But Judas was NOT a believer, so he perished. This idea is taught in JOH 6:38-39: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”
You may have wondered if Judas was saved. It’s an obvious curiosity. Let’s look at JOH 6:64-71: But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.
When Jesus says, “One of you is a devil” – it reveals His Omniscience. This is just like when He revealed His Omniscience to Nathanael in JOH 1:47-48: Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
ACT 1:24-255 says something very interesting about Judas: “And they prayed, and said, ‘Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two Thou hast chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’” This verse teaches us that it was not that Judas was foreordained from eternity past to go to hell without an opportunity to be saved. Instead, he chose to reject Jesus Christ and will suffer the consequences of any person who rejects the Savior.
Judas held the position of treasurer in the Ministry of The Lord Jesus Christ as we learn in JOH 12:1-6: Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer [steal a little bit at a time] what was put into it.” Matthew might have been the obvious choice to handle the money needed to sustain the Lord’s Ministry because he had been a tax-collector and was well-acquainted with money matters. However, Judas was the treasurer Our Lord chose from the group of apostles indicating that Judas was no imbecile. He knew the ins-and-outs of collecting, managing, and spending money better than the others, including Matthew.
Now let’s look at Judas’ character traits as reflected in JOH 12:1-6. As we read, JOH 12:6 reads: Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor… Let’s be real: Judas didn’t care about the poor. He was a hard-hearted man, too concerned with feathering his own nest while others, less fortunate, suffered around him. He was a thief, pilfering funds from the Lord’s treasury, which tells us that Judas was full of greed. Judas was not in tune with Jesus and rejected His Message. Judas did not welcome that message, nor did he want to help the needy. The comment from John that Judas was a thief is intended to stress Judas’ greed. In JOH 12:1-6 (above), he didn’t see the beauty behind the woman’s using the expensive ointment on Our Lord’s feet; he only saw it as a missed opportunity to line his pockets. Hia motive was cloaked under a deceptive plea that the money could be given away to the poor. He was not only greedy and envious but also a liar!
LUK 22:1-3 tells an interesting story: Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people. And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. No other expression – “And Satan entered into Judas” seems adequate enough to explain Judas’ wicked fall. It began with greed, disappointment, and jealousy. His soul had become damaged by indulging in these dark, troubling sins. Then he became crazier with the imaginary loss of the “300 pence” which he thought he might have had a chance to steal (see JOH 12:1-6 above). After that Judas hears the now undisguised announcement of Our Lord that He would not only be rejected but also crucified: As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”(MAT 20: 17-19) And also there was the growing sense that he was becoming distasteful to his Master and his fellow apostles who may also have known that he was stealing from Our Lord’s Ministry. All of these things created the perfect vessel for Satan to enter in.
{to be continued}