Why Judas...

90 day NT challenge...: Wednesday was Luke 22 - 24, Thursday was John 1 - 3, and today is John 4 - 6.

Luke 22: 3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot,.... vs 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him...

The question today is *Why Judas*. On a very practical level what was the difference betweenJudas being tempted and Peter being tempted. Both of them failed. Peter was restored and Judas condemned. Well without knowing all the reasons we can certainly see that Judas had a particular weakness that eventually caused the most problems for him. Judas was greedy for money and a thief.

John 12: 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Money has a unique way of getting us into so much trouble if not handled properly. When our need (greed) for more money over rides our priorities and principles, assuming you had priorities and principles in place,  then you know there is a problem.

The only way to deal with this potential money/greed problem is to keep it from controlling you. Instead you control it and learning to be thankful and content with what you have and through giving. You can always work hard to earn more but do not break your priories and your principles to do so.

Judas from early on always had a problem with people treating Jesus generously with their money. And in the end Judas' condemning decision had some of it's motive in financial gain. I have tried my whole life not to make any decisions based on financial gain. Instead we can ask the question is this the right thing to do or is God giving me this opportunity. Financial gain can be a lure that has the potential of being deceptive.

You are a child of God. As a child of God you are God's responsibility. So spend time with Jesus every day, bring your tithe to God, sow your seed, be faithful to the house of God, work hard in your jobs and then trust that God has you in His hands.

PJ