In my daily devotions I have been reading about the disciple named Judas Iscariot. He is the most despised disciple because of his betrayal of Jesus. When the disciples’ names are listed in the Bible, his name is always listed last. It is interesting to notice that his name means “Yahweh leads.” This might imply that his parents might have hoped and prayed for their son to be a godly man, a man who submitted himself to God’s leadership. Yet as we know, Judas was led by Satan to betray our Lord.
Judas Iscariot was blessed with an opportunity that only a handful of people enjoyed, to live his life daily in the physical presence of Jesus. He witnessed Jesus’ miracles, listened to His teaching, and shared his every moment with Jesus. And to think that he was so physically close to Jesus and yet he still chose to betray Him. Although Judas was afforded more opportunities to follow Jesus than most people, we know that he chose to betray Him for thirty pieces of silver. What a tragedy!
How can a man who was so close to the Savior be led by Satan to betray Him? The answer is simple. Judas failed to recognize the wickedness of his own heart. No matter how involved we may be with our Lord’s work, we also run the risk of being led astray if we fail to acknowledge the deceitfulness of our hearts. Judas followed Jesus throughout His earthly ministry, yet Judas never submitted his heart to Him. Like Judas, we can go through the motions of being in a saving relationship with Jesus, and still never submit ourselves to Him. Think how horrible it would be to be so close to Jesus, yet have our hearts so far away from Him. As we live our lives for our Lord, let’s be careful to check the condition of our hearts. Let’s be careful that we do not make the same mistake as Judas by allowing ourselves to be deceived and used by Satan. May our names always bring glory to our Father!
I look forward to seeing you Sunday!
