Matthew 26:24 “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.”
The world uses religious holidays to cram what should be daily practices, into one day of the year. They watch The Passion of the Christ on easter (and cry) to show God they care – and move on. But God never asked us to cry and point our finger at His killer.
When The Passion of the Christ came out, everyone flocked to the theater to see it, but the Holy Spirit wouldn’t allow me to see the movie. He said that it was missing the essence of the cross. He said that it was missing the whole point of all the work on the cross and went too far emphasizing the blood and gore; because only one drop of His blood was needed for Him to become our sacrifice. He said it was the piercing that was relevant – not the beating.
“John 19: 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water”
Of course, Jesus’ death was brutal, but we are not to dwell on what the soldiers, the Jews or Judas did. We are to focus on what Jesus did and the importance of His death and resurrection for the redemption of our souls.
God will walk us through our personal crucifixion; and of course, our death will be brutal. But he doesn’t want us crying about how we were beaten and no one cared; He wants us to forgive and move on to be resurrected. He made a clear path to the cross to show us how it is to be done.
I still haven’t seen that movie…
judas was here
John 12:4-6 “Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, 5Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?6This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”
God always uses Satan to do the dirty work. Everyone whom God has chosen to use mightily in the kingdom will always have a Judas; but woe unto the Judas being used. Your Judas is only supposed to be for a season, but if you don’t take your cup, go to the cross, forgive Judas, die and be resurrected, he will hang around for what seems like a lifetime.
There will be pain involved because Judas is usually someone close to you like a parent, sibling, close family member or friend – someone who you should be able to trust. Your Judas will be a theif who will steal the life out of you. Judas will confuse you with a kiss. They usually hold the money bag and jingle it at everyone to show who is in control. They are greedy and refuse to give anything to the church. They sometimes hang-out with church people while criticizing the things of God. Judas instigates and turns everyone against you with drawn swords. When you ask what you’ve done wrong, no one can tell you; they’re just angry.
But instead of crying about who did what and getting stuck in bitterness forever, we need to fix our eyes on the resurrection – the getting up – and being changed into the image of God. A Judas experience is the only experience that is devastating enough to crucify us. But then we must forgive them and get up.
And when they come to the cross to break your legs, they should find that you are already dead. Like Jesus, instead of prolonging the abuse, just give up the ghost and move on to the third day – resurrection.
The bible says this of Judas:
Acts 1:18 “Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.”
