In Zechariah 11:12-13, a portion of a beautiful Messianic prophecy, we read, “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear.  So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.”  And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: and a goodly price that I was prised at of them.  And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.”  The betrayal of our Lord Jesus for the price of a servant who had been gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32) was prophesied.  Someone would betray the Savior.  That brings us to the apostle whose name has become synonymous with traitor, Judas.

What type of person would become the central figure in the betrayal of our Lord?  The scriptures give us some insight into his character. In John 12:3-6 we find, “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.  Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?  This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”  While indicating a concern for the poor and less fortunate, Judas was in fact a thief.

We see this love of money manifested in a most horrific way.  In Matthew 26:14-16, we read, “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?  And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.  And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.”  So with malice of forethought, Judas waited for the right time to present itself to betray his Lord and Master.

At the Last Supper, as Jesus and his apostles were gathered in the upper room, Jesus announced to them, “Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me” (Matt. 26:21).  What type of man would join his voice with the other apostle and say, “Master, is it I?” as Judas did in verse 25, having already made the agreement to do just that with the chief priests?  Only one of a devious and sinister nature could do so.  Later, that same night as the act of betrayal was being carried out, Judas identified the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane by saying, “Master, master” and kissing him.  My heart aches to think of Jesus saying to this man, “Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48)

In Matthew 17:1-5 we are told, “When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: and when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood.  And they said, What is that to us?  See thou to that.  And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, departed, and went and hanged himself.”

Was Judas forced to do what he did?  No, he had the disposition to do it, but also the freedom of choice.  It was not God choosing and manipulating this man to betray His Son.  Luke 22:3, John 13:2 and 27 all indicated that Satan took advantage of this man’s lack of character and influenced him to perform his heinous act.  Yet, even having done this infamous deed, Judas still could have been forgiven and been a stalwart follower of Jesus.  Peter denied the Lord, but when confronted with the reality of his sin, he went out and wept bitterly.  His life from that point on was a life of service.  Judas had the same opportunity, but he went out and hanged himself.  Recent efforts have been made to portray Judas as a sympathetic character.  He was not - he did what he did by choice.

                                                Greg Litmer

GOD HATES IT

Division is a thing to be despised by Christians, for it is hated by the Lord.  Men are often proud of the divided state of what they call Christendom.  Many who on the surface deplore division will encourage it.  Billy Graham, for example, will engage in campaigns which include several parties of Protestantism.   This is done to give the appearance that they are seeking for unity. On the other hand, when people come in response to his preaching, they are advised to go to the counselor of the denomination of their choice.  Hence they have agreed among themselves to divide.

Our greatest concern, though, is forces and elements of division in the body of Christ.  Very few, perhaps none, of the errors believed and opinions held by brethren have been the sole cause of division and factions.  The division occurs when those who hold the error seek to force the opinion, its endorsement, promulgation and practice upon those who do not believe it. When those who do not believe it stand firmly in their refusal to accept, teach and practice it, they are excluded by force or conscience from the ranks of those who hold the error.

The premillennial theory found its way into the minds of brethren.  They were told that if they held the opinion to themselves that fellowship might continue.  They were not willing to do this, however.  They went about teaching it publicly and privately, thus calling for the support and endorsement of it by all Christians.  The result of their unrelenting effort was a break in fellowship.  Even then, some who held the opinion did not press it upon others, and remained in fellowship with brethren who did not hold the theory.

                                    Robert Welch