Ep. 3: Judas the Betrayer | The Crucifixion of Jesus

It's Good Friday. One of the most painful moments happened in Jesus's day is when one of his friends, his inner circle, sells him out. He's Judas, infamous. He's one of the worst bad guys in the history of the world. But what if the story isn't that simple? What if there's more to this character who we've come to classify as merely a bad guy, just bad motives? When Judas sold out his friend Jesus, he was paid 30 pieces of silver. Eventually guilt overtook him to the point where Judas took that money and he threw it down. Now the priest who he had sold them out to grabbed that money up and they had to use it for something. So they ended up buying a field. The prophecy attached to this field was that no one would ever build on it again. I can tell you I've been to Jerusalem. The location of this field, you can stand in the center of the city today and you'll see buildings everywhere. Skyscrapers and homes and centuries and centuries of architecture piled on top of each other except for one place. This little field right in the heart of Jerusalem. What does that mean? It means there is power in this story. My friend Jen is gonna unlock that power for us right now. Judas. He was the one who betrayed Jesus. He was greedy. He was selfish. He handed Jesus over to the soldiers. That's how I know Judas. But I have to wonder, how did Jesus feel about Judas? The more I dive into the story of who Judas was, I realize he was a friend of Jesus. He actually traveled with Jesus for three years. He was one of the twelve disciples. So yes, he was greedy. He was selfish. He's the guy who skimmed money off the money box. But he also left his family and his career and his whole life to commit to this man, Jesus. He was in the big moments. He saw Jesus' miracles. He saw Jesus talking to the thousands. And he was in the little moments. He was in the little decisions of where they would travel and what they would eat. They were friends. And in this terrible moment of despair and fear and questioning, Judas made a choice and he betrayed his friend in the biggest possible way. He turned Jesus over for money. And as we see the story, Jesus is in the garden and Judas is coming. And if I'm Jesus standing there, and Jesus knew the whole time. He

knew what Judas was doing. He knew the plan. If I'm Jesus, I would have been like, out. You know, I'm prepared for you. You're not taking me. That's not what happened. Jesus was loving. Judas approached him and Jesus still gave him a chance. He said, are you going to betray me with a kiss? Jesus still wanted Judas. And as we know, the story goes on and Jesus is taken away by the soldiers. And Judas realizes he was wrong. He was wrong. And he actually went and tried to return the money and fix everything. And it wasn't possible. And the next thing we read about Judas is he's hung himself. He ended his own life because he knows what he did was so wrong. But what's crazy about the story is, Jesus never got angry with Judas. The whole time he still wanted him. He still loved him. He still cared about him. So the more I look at that story, the more I see my own story in there. There are times where I am like, all in with God. And I feel him and I believe. And then I feel him and I believe. And there are moments where I feel like I've been let down and out of anger and despair and frustration. I've made some really bad choices. And what I've learned is Jesus still wants me. He still loves me and he still wants me. And it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter what's happened to you. It doesn't matter what your past is. Jesus wants you. angry with you, he's not going to kick you out of the garden. Jesus still wants you and loves you. And that's what Judas's story is to me. He's a man who is a lot like me, who made some bad choices, but that Jesus still loved.