Judas Was a Thief

by Hugh DeLong

What a glorious privilege – to be chosen by Jesus, the Son of God. He had the privilege of traveling with Jesus. He witnessed the confirming miracles that displayed Jesus as the Son of God. He was with the other apostles as they fulfilled the limited commission, which included the doing of miracles. He not only heard the Master preach to the crowds, but was also with him in private to talk, ask questions, and be further instructed about the Kingdom of God.
Jesus taught about God and ‘mammon’ in Matthew 6:24; the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12; the story of the Rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16; the parable of the sower and the deceitfulness of wealth in Matt. 13; and more!

Imagine being Judas, listening and observing all of this, and then stealing from your closest companions! Stealing what supported the very teaching Jesus was doing! Unthinkable? Judas's actions demonstrate the very warnings Jesus proclaimed!

Judas could have done better. He could have been generous and sharing. He could have prized the privilege of being an apostle. But he did not. He was a thief. During all this time, he was stealing from the disciples' common money bag. With that, it isn’t difficult to see how he was tempted to betray Jesus for money. He could have… but didn’t.

We aren’t privileged to be in the same position as Judas, but we are privileged to know Jesus' teaching and see how this love of money is deceitful and dangerous. In your relationship with money and worldly possessions, living in a country and time that affords so much opportunity for worldly wealth, how are you using it? Do not deceive yourself and just give the ‘expected answer’, but ‘examine yourself ’: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you?—unless, of course, you fail the test" (II Corinthians 13:5).