When we look at Matthew chapter 10, Judas Iscariot is included among the twelve disciples. The Lord gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits and to heal every disease and every weakness. In other words, Judas Iscariot also received that power. Nevertheless, he ended up becoming a man who met a miserable end.
Human emotions are relative. When everyone is equally poor, one does not even think of being unhappy, but when all the people around are wealthy and only I am poor alone, the misery feels far greater. Blessing is more joyful when one enjoys it alone, but disaster is difficult to endure when one suffers it alone. This is because mental suffering is added on top of physical suffering.
Among the twelve disciples of Jesus, the only one who fell away was Judas Iscariot. He was not merely excluded from the rank of apostles but became a man who fell under eternal curse. While the other disciples became great apostles who laid the foundation of the kingdom of heaven, Judas betrayed his Master and met a miserable death. As Jesus said, he became “a man for whom it would have been better if he had not been born” (Matt. 26:24). Thus the name “Judas Iscariot” became an eternal symbol of betrayal.
Seeing that Judas was entrusted with the finances of Jesus’ group, he must have appeared outwardly to be a trustworthy person. Perhaps for this reason, when Jesus said, “One of you will betray Me,” no one suspected him. But deep within his heart, greed was dwelling. When Mary poured very expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, Judas said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? (John 12:5). However, Scripture states, “He said this not because he cared about the poor… but because he was a thief” (John 12:6). Though he spoke as if he cared for the weak, greed was already lurking in his heart.
Among sins, there may be none as persistent as greed. Many people followed Jesus and then left Him, but Judas followed Jesus for three years and endured hardships together with Him. Yet at the very last moment, he fell because of greed. Achan was the same. During the forty years in the wilderness, many people complained, worshiped idols, and opposed Moses, but Achan did not join them and endured the wilderness life to the end. However, just before entering Canaan, he fell because of greed. In this way, greed is a sin that follows a person persistently until the very last moment, and it is the most fearful sin that can follow even to the gate of heaven and drag a person down.
Judas fell not merely because of greed. There was a more fundamental problem, namely, that he was not born again. For three years he lived with Jesus, heard countless precious words, came into close contact with the Lord’s holy character, and witnessed astonishing miracles with his own eyes, yet despite all this he was not changed. Peter clearly knew who the Lord was and confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16), but Judas, to the very end, never came to know the Lord. When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and said, “You are clean, but not all of you” (John 13:10), He was referring to Judas. He was a man who had not been born again. The apostle John saw in Jesus “the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), but Judas, though hearing the same sermons and witnessing the same miracles, did not see the divine radiance that flowed from the Lord. In the end, his greed was merely the fruit of an unregenerate heart.
Judas was in a more blessed position than anyone. The prophets of the Old Testament longed all their lives to see the face of the Messiah even once. Simeon held the infant Jesus in his arms and confessed, “My eyes have seen Your salvation” (Luke 2:30), saying that having seen the Savior, he could now die without regret. But Judas lived with Jesus for three years, heard His voice directly, and witnessed His miracles before his eyes. Yet even in such a blessed position, he did not recognize the Savior. He saw the Lord with his physical eyes, but in reality he did not see Him. This is what happens when one is not born again.
If one is not born again, even when hearing the Word, one does not understand, and the eyes of the spirit do not open. Therefore, anyone who is not born again can become like Judas. This is why there are people inside the church whose spiritual eyes are not opened. Thus, the first thing a Christian must seek is regeneration. When Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” the Lord said, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17). This means that only when God opens one’s eyes by the Holy Spirit can one see the truth. When the Holy Spirit opens the eyes, only then does one come to know who Jesus is and see the divine radiance that flows from Him.
The words of the apostle Paul to the Ephesian church are applicable to people that experienced the grace of regeneration:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, and that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of the strength of His might (Ephesians 1:17-19).
For the AI-generated song version of this lecture, check Give Me a Heart Made New.