MATTHEW 26:14-16

Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

TO PONDER

So today is Wednesday of Holy Week. It's a bit difficult to pinpoint exactly when Judas makes up his mind to hand Jesus over to the Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious council that ruled the temple in Jerusalem), but by Matthew's account, either some time on Tuesday or Wednesday seem likely.

It's easy for us to sit back and label Judas the 'bad guy' in the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus, and not without good reason; but today I want to encourage us all to look a little deeper and imagine ourselves in the story.

If you read the earlier parts of Matthew 26, you will see Jesus doing some things that Judas really disagrees with; particularly when it comes to letting the woman anoint Jesus' feet with the expensive perfume. Judas, as keeper of the purse for Jesus and his disciples, saw the act as a waste of financial resources - something that could have provided significant financial aid to Jesus' ministry or alternatively for the poor - who Jesus had been encouraging people to care for in his recent teaching.

Judas only saw part of the picture. He missed the fact that Jesus had been saying for weeks that his time was coming, that his earthly ministry was coming to an end. Judas simply had failed to understand the bigger piucture and so he took matters into his own hands to make things go the way he thought they needed to go. I'm sure he never expected tat Jesus would let himself be taken to the cross and killed - I'm sure that he fully expected Jesus to 'save himself' as so many people at the cross called out for Jesus to do. All Judas probably thought he was doing was giving things a nudge in the right direction.

How often do we do the same thing? We pray and ask God to help us with things in life, but then when his answer disappoints us or comes in a different form than we expected, we just take matters into our own hands. We might well say, "yeah, but my doing that doesn't result in someone being killed." However, that's exactly the point - our impatience, our desire to take control and not trust the way God works things out is exactly what led Jesus to the cross.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please help me to remember that while I may not have been in the garden while you prayed, or been with Peter in the courtyard while you stood trial, that it is still my selfishness and sin that nailed you to the cross. Please help me not to judge the sin and wrongdoing I see in others as any worse or different than the sin in my own heart. Thank you that you went to the cross for me. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle