Lessons Learned from
the Betrayal of Judas

Written by:
John Gouda
St. Mary Church
Atlanta, GA


Perhaps one can learn some lessons from analyzing why Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus. Specifically, this short essay will hypothesize 2 scenarios concerning thoughts of Judas that may have cumulated in his betrayal. Then, it attempts to point at the specific flaws in Judas' thoughts that we probably repeat in some form or the other. Ultimately, it attempts to draw some practical lessons from the mistakes of Judas.

The Holy Bible does not mention too much about the personality of Judas. We learn that Judas loved money and was a thief (John 12:6). Interestingly, the fact that Judas committed suicide after the Crucifixion of Christ suggests that Judas felt deep remorse for his deed. Alternatively, it could suggest that Judas thought that the Lord Jesus Christ was not going to be crucified.

One can imagine the following scenario for his betrayal. Judas witnessed many instances in which the Lord Jesus saved Himself from the hands of the Jews. (John 8:59). Maybe Judas thought that the Lord Jesus would save Himself from the Jews all the time including the instance of Judas' betrayal. The end result of this strategy is the following. The Lord Jesus Christ is fine; Judas made some money; and the chief priests were scammed.

This scenario is motivated by Judas' love for money and his willingness to lie and cheat to get it. There are some lessons that we can learn from this.
    1. Love of money is blinding.
    2. You never know how big the results of a lie could get.

But you know that the results have the potential to be very bad. In Judas' eyes, betrayal of the Son of God was reduced to the scam of chief priests. The latter does not sound as bad, especially since the chief priests are considered the enemies of Judas. If Judas had the right vision, he would not have done that.

Here is a more interesting scenario. Many of the contemporaries of the Lord Jesus thought that the Lord Jesus was the Savior sent by God to deliver the Jews from the Romans. The Lord's many miracles probably deepened the idea that He was in a good position to defeat the Romans. Perhaps Judas shared this belief. Perhaps Judas wanted to force the Lord Jesus to start a "revolution" by putting Him between 2 choices: death or fighting a war.

These are only a few lessons that are taught from within Judas "Betrayal of the Lord." Did Judas actually love the Lord Jesus Christ? Possibly Judas loved the Lord, but initially not more than his love for money and earthly wealth. In the finality of the events, Judas learned a remorseful lesson. Love of money should not be first in one's life nor should it destroy another ONE'S life.