Apostles, Pt. 13: "Fool's Silver"

FOOL’S SILVER (LUKE 21:37-22:6)
The fight for the inclusion of books into the New Testament canon at the Synod of Rome in 382 produced few winners and many losers. The Christian leaders of the time accepted four gospels and rejected at least three dozen gospels. As befitting its name, the Gospel of Judas was one of the biggest losers. Experts agreed it was probably written in Greek in the second century, about a century and a half after Jesus’ death. Scholars also agree that the National Geographic version unveiled in 2006 was a Coptic translation dated to the fourth or fifth century.

Gospel of Judas was one of many Gnostic texts excluded by the church fathers but made a celebrity in the Da Vinci Code. The second century church leader Irenaeus mentioned the existence of the Gospel of Judas in 180 AD.
http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1594

The National Geographic manuscript claims that Jesus revealed “secret knowledge” to Judas, who is the hero, Jesus' most senior and trusted disciple and the only one who knows Jesus' true identity as the Son of God, and instructed him to turn Him over to Roman authorities. In the Gnostic text, Judas is given private instruction by Jesus and is granted a vision of the divine that is denied to other disciples, who do not know that Jesus has requested his own betrayal. Rather than acting out of greed or malice, Judas was just carrying out or following orders. (“Long-lost Gospel of Judas Recasts 'Traitor': USA Today 4/6/2006)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2006-04-06-judas_x.htm

The most revealing passages in the Judas manuscript begins with a typical Gnostic introduction: “The ‘secret account’ of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week, three days before he celebrated Passover.” The account goes on to relate that Jesus refers to the other disciples, telling Judas “you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.” By that, scholars familiar with Gnostic thinking said, Jesus meant that by helping him get rid of his physical flesh, Judas will act to liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within Jesus. In the diversity of early Christian thought, a group known as Gnostics believed in a secret knowledge of how people could escape the prisons of their material bodies and return to the spiritual realm from which they came. (“Gospel of Judas' Surfaces After 1,700 Years,” New York Times 4/6/2006)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/science/06cnd-judas.html?ex=1301976000&en=83f990ac468000df&ei=5088

No one likes to be accused of being a Judas. No parent wants to give his son that name. There is nothing positive about the name. So who is Judas? He is one of the greatest villains in the Bible. The Bible blurs his character by calling him “Judas, one of the Twelve” (Luke 22:3) and also “Judas the traitor” (John 18:5). He is the treasurer (John 13:29), a thief and a traitor (John 12:6, Lk 6:16). Just as the snake is the villain in the Old Testament, Judas is the villain and the snake of the New Testament, succeeding where the devil failed to “entrap” Jesus at the onset of Jesus’ ministry.

Judas is a more complex character than many thought. Who was Judas? Hero or villain? What was Judas’ sin? Was it impulsive or intentional? Did he lack money? Why did he regret later and hanged himself?

Your Company Determines Your Character
22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. (Luke 22:1-4)

Here are some of my favorite quotes on friendship:
“Money might make you wealthy, but friends make you rich.”
“Best friends are like diamonds, precious and rare. False friends are like leaves, found everywhere.”
“A friend will ride in the limo with you, but a real friend will ride the bus with you when then limo breaks down.”
“A new friendship is like an unripened fruit - it may become either an orange or a lemon”
“He who follows the crowd has many companions.” (German)
“You are known by the company you keep.”
George Washington said, “Tis better to be alone than in bad company.”
“Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.” (Benjamin Franklin)
“A true friend never gets in your way--unless you happen to be going down.”
Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616) Spanish novelist of “Man of La Mancha” fame: “Tell me what company thou keepst, and I'll tell thee what thou art.”
French poet Jacques Delille (1738 - 1813) : “Fate chooses your relations, you choose your friends.”
“A real friend will tell you when you have spinach stuck in your teeth.”
“A friend to all is a friend to none.” (Aristotle)
近朱者赤, 近墨者黑

Judas was at the wrong place with the wrong people and a wrong purpose. He participated actively in the discussion leading to Jesus’ arrest (v 4). What did Judas do? Navigating Jerusalem, the non-resident went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guards, discussed with them the betrayal, raising the issue of money. Judas was guilty of sleeping with his enemies; he associated with religious leaders who entertained thoughts of extreme jealousy, feared public opinion (Mt. 21:26) and corrupted religion with money. The chief priests violated their religious sand moral beliefs for political influence. The Greek word “get rid” (v 2) is translated elsewhere in the gospels as “kill” (Matt 2:16) and “execute” (Luke 23:32). No, they were not interested to hide, imprison or exile Jesus. They were immoral, hateful and murderous. How priests and scribes could conceive of murder is beyond me.

The fascinating thing was where Jesus and Judas were at this point. Where was Jesus? Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple. (Luke 21:37-38) If the priests had an ax to grind and a word to exchange, He was there. Jesus did not do a good job of dodging, avoiding or even shunning them.

Judas was perfect for the part because of his double minded nature, his conflict of interest and his involvement with both sides. Judas was not an innocent party to Jesus’ betrayal. The text begins with a worrisome problem and started on the wrong foot. It seems that Satan was front and center of Judas actions: The short sentence “Satan entered Judas” (v 3) occurs another time with Judas in John 13:27. Does that mean Judas was a robot, a puppet and a pawn?

One thing for sure is that the Greek word for the devil’s “entering” a man is inconsistent with Satan’s complete power over people in the other instances when the devil entered them. Satan did not have absolute control over Judas when he entered him, unlike the devil’s less fortunate victims. Satan had far less effect on Judas than on other men and even pigs. The evil spirit “entering” a man Jesus eventually healed caused him to be deaf and mute (Mark 9:25). On another occasion, evil spirits “entering” into pigs made them rush down a steep bank into the lake and were drowned (Mark 5:11-13, Luke 8:32-33). Judas, on the other hand, was rational, clever and strategic, not mad, brainless or possessed. He was foolish and crazy but not stupid or mindless. From beginning to end, Judas was in control of his feet, whereabouts and destiny.

Judas was in his right mind and at his calculated best when he chose to discuss with the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard how he might betray Jesus. “Discuss” in Greek is sul-laleo (together talk), coincidentally mostly used for Jesus’ transfiguration conversation and fellowship with Moses and Elijah (Matt 17:3, Mark 9:4, Luke 9:30). Judas did not bump into them unintentionally; he was there by appointment. He was involved in a long discussion, not a quick meeting. The chief priests were surprised by the visit from a stranger. The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people could not find any way to kill him, try as they would, and they were also afraid of the people. (Luke 20:19)

No wonder the chief priests were delighted. The word “delighted” (Luke 22:5) is understated for its regular translation of “rejoice” found 74 times in the Bible. In fact, the sour chief priests for the first time in the Bible found a reason to “rejoice.”

Your Character Determines Your Choices
5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. (Luke 22:5)

Once there was a millionaire, who collected live alligators. He kept them in the pool in back of his mansion. The millionaire also had a beautiful daughter who was single.

One day, the millionaire decides to throw a huge party, and during the party he announces, “My dear guests, I have a proposition to every man here. I will give one million dollars, or my daughter, to the man who can swim across this pool full of alligators and emerge unharmed!” As soon as he finished his last word, there was the sound of a large splash in the pool. The guy in the pool was swimming with all his might, and the crowd began to cheer him on. Finally, he made it to the other side of the pool unharmed.

The millionaire was impressed. He said, “That was incredible! Fantastic! I didn't think it could be done! Well, I must keep my end of the bargain. Do you want my daughter or the one million dollars?” The guy catches his breath, then says, “Listen, I don't want your money! And I don't want your daughter! I want the coward who pushed me in the pool!”

One thing for sure is that Judas had a choice; he was not pushed. Possessed or hypnotized people do not need money.

The Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10).

One thing consistent also about the devil is that he does not need money. The devil uses money for a moral advantage but he cannot use money for its material benefit; he uses money for emotional, moral and ethical reasons but not for physical or bodily needs. He cannot pocket, spend or keep money. The enemy is interested in people’s hearts, minds and feelings. He cannot use all the gold and silver in the world on himself - not even a penny; he specializes in turning people’s pocketbook, property or other possessions against them. Possessing pigs was more his kind of fun and style than possessing money. He cannot use money, he can only use greed. It is people who lust after money, betray others for profit and sell their soul to the devil to regret it later.

According to New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, the sum payable for Judas’ soul was equal to three months’ salary, which was also the compensation for a slave that had been killed (Ex 21:32). Apparently, it was enough to buy a large field for the burial of foreigners or strangers – plural (Matt 27:7). Mathew 26:15 tells us that Judas was not offered the sum of money but that he himself broached the question of money, asking, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” Note he did not ask for a religious position, for time to consider, ask “Why?” or “Why me?”

Yes, the chief priests and the officers were delighted and agreed to give him money (v 5), but that was their part. They did not go to Judas, but Judas went to them. They did not have to track him down, round him up, secure his services or ask for references.

Your Choices Determine Your Conduct
6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. (Luke22:6)

A minister received a call from a church that offered him a salary four times what he was receiving. Being a devout man, he spent much time in prayer trying to discern what God wanted him to do.

One day a friend met the minister’s young son on the street. “Do you know what your dad is going to do?” he asked. “Well,” replied the youngster, “Dad’s praying, but Mom’s packing!”

The Greek word for “consent” is “exomologeo,” a fusion of three Greek words: ex (out) + homo (same) + logos (word), which means Judas had the same opinion, viewpoint, persuasion. Judas was not arrested, tortured, forced to consent. He did not need a lawyer present, an emergency call or his rights read. The Greek word (exomologeo) occurs 11 times in the Bible. Besides “consent,” this is the same word for “confessing” God or sins (Matt 3:6, Mark 1:5, Acts 19:18, Rom 14:11, Phil 2:11, James 5:16), “praising” Him (Matt 11:25, Luke 10:21, Rom 15:9) and acknowledging Him (Rev 3:5). When you confess, you believe the same thing.

From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no one was present. The Greeks have two words for time, chronos (chrono-logy) and kairos. “Chronos” (chronology) is time in general but “kairos” is more specific, the latter would time as in “opportunity/time to do something.” The word for “opportunity” (v 6) is not only kairos, but eu-kairos, “eu” (eulogy, eugene) meaning “good.” This word occurs only twice in the Bible, the other time used by Matthew (26:16) to verify the conduct of Judas. Judas looked front and back, left and right, side to side time and again for a good (eu-) opportunity (kairos) to pounce and hand Jesus over when no crowd was present.

Judas had the motive, opportunity and choice. He watched Jesus like a hawk. Judas, however, fooled everybody for a long time, but his act could only go so far. Jesus predicted his own “betrayal” (v 4) without the mention of Judas before He was betrayed. In fact, in both instances Jesus said He will be betrayed into the hands of “men” or handed over to the “Gentiles” (Luke 9:44, 18:32). The culprit was still an open question and the blame had fell on “men” and “Gentiles” – plural - until arriving at Jerusalem, where Judas was tempted by money, riches and greed.

Acts 1:18 calls Judas’ money his “reward,” most noticeably and similar language used for Balaam’s profit and wages (Jude 11, 2 Peter 2:15). To be fair to Judas, all the texts in the Bible supports the idea that he was responsible for “betraying” or “handing him over” to Jesus’ enemies, but not killing Jesus. In the end Judas hanged himself when he realized the truth of the sayings: “When someone has you where they want you, they won't want you” and “When you get what you want, you don’t want it.”

Conclusion: Abraham Lincoln said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”
The Chinese said, “If a cow refuses to drink, you cannot force its head down.” The English has a similar saying: “You can lead a cow to water, but you can't make it drink.” Have you chosen your friends wisely? Are you upholding good moral character? Do you make God-honoring decisions?