It's the Little Things

Lk22:3-6
"Then Satan entered Judas Iscariot, who was one of the 12 disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren't around."

Rarely do people set out to be the villain in a story. Being the hero or protagonist is much more admirable. So how does a person become the antagonist, the loathed bad guy or bad girl? It happens, probably in most cases, very slowly and subtly. One decision after another is made to compromise convictions, to bend the rules ever so slightly and to hug the shadows just enough so as to not be exposed. Then before you know it, darkness takes hold and it's grip is difficult to break free from. Is this what happened to Judas?

We know that in the beginning of Jesus' ministry he was chosen as one of the 12 apostles, men who were given the privilege of actively participating in Jesus' work (Mk3:14-19) He started out at the top. Only 12 individuals in all of human history had the honor of being in this elite group. The Son of God was his mentor and he could pick His brain any time he liked. He witnessed things that multitudes of people would give their lives to see. So what happened? What went wrong?

I believe it was the little things that took him out, or rather initiated his downfall. It says in John 12:4-6 that he was the group's treasurer and that he often secretly kept some of the apostles' money for himself. Maybe in the beginning it was just a coin or two. Maybe he felt justified in doing this since he wasn't making any money tagging along with this religious radical day after day. Who knows. All I can do is speak from personal experience. When I decide to compromise in some small way it inevitably leads to compromising in bigger ways, if left unchecked. Through that process my heart grows darker and harder until finally I am only a shadow of who I once was. On the surface, however, my fateful metamorphosis may not be apparent. In Luke 22:22-23 Jesus proclaimed that one of His favored few was a traitor. Not one of the other 11 men had any idea it was Judas. To them, he was just another devoted follower. Appearances can be so deceiving.

What if Judas had been open with the guys about his indiscretions? How would that have changed the course of his life? How would it have changed history? I doubt that in the beginning of his friendship with Jesus he had any idea he would ultimately betray him. This is a cautionary tale about what secrecy and unconfessed sin can do to our lives. So if you will excuse me, I need to call a good friend. I have some confessing that I need to do.