JUDAS ISCARIOT’S MOTIVATION??
“If I am no use to your kingdom, then I am nothing!’
This retort from The Chosen’s Judas is not found in the Bible. It is part of the “illustrated sermon”/visual Bible commentary” creative artistry of The Chosen scriptwriters. And like every extrabiblical word, phrase, sentence, sermon illustration spoken by preachers, written in hymns, proclaimed in advertising slogans, etc., it must be evaluated as to its coherence with what is explicitly written in the Bible. This cry of despair by Judas in The Chosen is a case in point.
Motivations are every bit as subject to moral critique as actions. Jesus was very plain about that. People sometimes do good things for evil motives–predators “grooming” their victims, for example, or “religious folks” making displays of philanthropy to gain the applause of the crowds and achieve some degree of control or influence over people or to extort money from people because of their presumed “special connection with God” (often mislabeled as “the anointing”).
Have you ever wondered why Judas betrayed Jesus? “The Devil made him do it! Pure and simple!” you say? Well, I suggest that the answer is neither pure nor simple. Neither is it a purely academic exercise. It has life changing implications for every soul on the planet.
That Judas followed the pre-crucified Jesus along with (and as long as!) the rest of “The Twelve” is clear from Scripture. Like nearly every sect within Judaism, Judas (along with nearly every other Jew) believed that The Messiah would be a military conquerer who would defeat the Romans and set up the (earthly) “Kingdom of God” that would be ruled by the Jewish religious hierarchy.
Moreover, Judas believed that this kingdom would operate in the same way EVERY OTHER EARTHLY KINGDOM from the beginning of time has operated, namely, by POWER, force, coercion. We know “the drill”: Ruling POWERS make laws. Then they devise systems that reward those who follow the laws and punish those who don’t. All well and good, right?
Well, NO! You see, even when laws are “for the common good,” enFORCING them will at best protect potential victims from their abusers; it will not change the criminal mind or hardened heart. For those bent on taking advantage of others, at best it will achieve begrudging compliance to avoid paying fines or to keep out of jail. That is the way of ALL earthly kingdoms. And THAT is the “Kingdom” that Judas expected (historically and biblically).
BUT Jesus preached a “Kingdom of God” that turned the world upside-down! This “Kingdom” is not so much GEOGRAPHIC (territory obtained and held by power—what Judas expected!) or ETHNOGRAPHIC (limited by power to a specific people group or groups—Jews, as Judas expected) or what we might call “DINERO-GRAPHIC (wealth obtained and held by power, freedom from Roman taxes and restrictions—as Judas expected!). If James and John sought the places on the left and right of Jesus when He “[came] into his POWER,” how much more Judas. Surely Judas was enamored with the idea of being in a position of POWER in God’s kingdom—with all that his understanding of earthly kingdoms entailed! That, most likely, is why he followed Jesus. To put it baldly, he was “in it for the money.”
BUT Jesus did not come to deliver the Jewish people from Roman oppression so they could set up their own power-oriented kingdom and force everyone to follow the Jewish way of life! That had been tried and failed under the Hasmonean Dynasty. No! Jesus came to deliver ALL people from their rebellious, self-justified self-centeredness. In short, He came to deliver all people from SIN! And “sin” is in essence rebellion against God and, more specifically, rebellion against God’s “playing rules.”
The reason people do not submit to God and His “commands” (He’s very serious about this!) is that they DOUBT that it is in their best interest to do so. They FEAR that they will miss out on what will bring them peace, joy, satisfaction, etc. They think that God is “out to get them” (i.e., punish them!), when, ironically, He in fact is “out to get them” (meaning: win their love and affection and draw them into relationship with Him). BIG DIFFERENCE!!
Doubting, fearing, misunderstanding God’s nature and intentions all leave humans stiff-kneed and self-centered. And no amount of POWER can change that. Only a vivid demonstration of self-sacrificial love can melt a heart that has been hardened by doubt, fear, and misunderstanding. And THAT is precisely why IN LOVE Jesus left the realms of glory, laid aside the prerogatives of deity (omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, Heavenly splendor) became incarnate in an ordinary, even less-than-handsome(!) human body (Jonathan Roumie, notwithstanding), lived a sinless life, gave freely of his time and his resources (healings through the power of the Holy Spirit, teaching about God, etc.) so others could live in loving relationship with God and each other, and then suffered an agonizing, excruciating, humiliating death on a Roman cross in payment for the sins of every human who puts her/his faith in Him and submits to Him as her/his Lord.
Now when this BILLBOARD demonstration of God’s love, mercy, and grace captures our tear-filled eyes, it turns confusion into clarity, doubt into assurance, fear into faith and melts our hardened hearts. And when our hearts are melted because we finally see God for Who He REALLY is, we willingly bend our knees in joyful, hopeful submission to the Lordship of our loving Savior Jesus Christ. THAT is the way of God’s Kingdom! NOT COERCION, but a costly demonstration of LOVE!
Where is Judas in all of this? Judas had no reason to doubt that Jesus had power. He had seen too many miraculous deeds come about through Jesus’ Spirit-prompted, Spirit-empowered hands. Was it really too much of a stretch for him to believe that Jesus could come back from the grave?
I would suggest that it wasn’t that Judas didn’t believe that Jesus COULD come back from the grave; it was that he didn’t believe that Jesus WOULD submit to the humiliation of the cross.
The idea of a crucified Messiah was not even an infinitesimal blip on Judas’s radar screen (Cf. Deut. 21:23). The same was true for the apostle Paul and indeed every other person in Judaism. And nothing short of SEEING the resurrected Christ with one’s own eyes would have convinced him (or ANYONE!) that the historical Jesus was/is in fact God’s unique Son and promised Messiah. Indeed, Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, and unique appearance to Paul in His post-ascended, fully glorified state on the road to Damascus was the grandest surprise party in human history! Unfortunately, Judas did not stick around for the party.
Hymn writer Ray Overholt wrote:
“He could have called 10,000 angels, to destroy the world and set Him free;
He could have called 10,000 angels, but He died alone for you and me.”
Judas most likely reasoned similarly, “If Jesus WAS the Messiah, He WOULD have called 10,000 angels to destroy the Romans and set the Jews free!” He simply had no framework for understanding why the Messiah would “[die] alone for you and me”—and especially in such a humiliating way. That is NOT the way leaders lead! IMAGE IS EVERYTHING!! Displays of power, wealth, status, political “connections”! These are the paths to SUCCESS!
NOT SO with the kingdom Jesus taught and brought!!
Scripture is clear the Judas was a thief, stealing money from the disciples’ moneybag. Finances played at least some role in his act of betrayal. Power, prestige, and position almost certainly were his underlying motivations for following Jesus. Unfortunately, Judas does not hold sole proprietorship over these sinister motivations.
Lest anyone see this as crass, self-righteous “finger-pointing,” let me affirm that NO ONE is immune from these temptations, and quite likely EVERYONE is affected by them. It’s only a matter of degree. But that is not an acceptable excuse. We owe it to our Father and to those in our ministerial charge to invite the Holy Spirit (and human accountability partners!) to “see if there be any wicked way in me” and follow it with immediate repentance wherever and whenever repentance is warranted.
Unlike worldly kingdoms that are exclusively geographic, ethnographic, and “dinero-graphic,” God’s Kingdom is CARDIO-GRAPHIC, because it literally gets to the heart of the matter. While it is true that POWER can bend the most rebellious knees, the problem is not with our KNEES. The problem is with our HEART. Kingdoms can beat people into (outward) submission, but that will not quell (inner) rebellion. If someone is being “brow-beaten” with manipulatory, finger-pointing condemnation, you can be sure the spirit of the perpetrator is NOT the Holy Spirit. God does not rub our sin in our face; He knows our sin has already covered our entire body. Instead, God comes to us with a soap-sponge and offers to clean up our mess.
Earthly kingdoms focus on people’s relationship to “stuff”; God’s Kingdom focuses on people’s relationship to GOD, which in turn governs how we will relate to ALL PEOPLE. LOVE is at the heart of the matter. Jesus summed up all of God’s “commandments” into two: (1) Love God; (2) Love (all!) people. Love means putting the welfare of others before one’s own. If every single person did that, it would literally be Heaven on earth (and it WILL BE!). God loves us and wants us to have Heaven on earth. That’s why He COMMANDS us to love others–so that everyone will experience Heaven on earth.
Putting others first creates a world in which EVERYONE experiences the warmth, affirmation, and the joy of loving and being loved. But putting others first involves submitting to others, sacrificing so their live can be enhanced, and even suffering (sometimes to the point of death), and these traits do not come “naturally.” Self-centeredness, self-protection, self-preservation is the natural bent; other-centeredness is the supernatural empowerment.
Self-centeredness manifests itself in abuse, taking advantage of people, using others for personal gain. All earthly empires use their power in the form of threats, intimidation, and punishment to keep self-centeredness from producing retribution on a scale that would lead to the extinction of the human race. But all worldly empires are living testimonies of their failure to produce utopia. Only GOD’S KINGDOM will deliver on that promise!
As Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father!! He Who dwells in Heaven!! Let your NAME (nature, character, purposes) be upheld as THE standard!! Let YOUR kingdom come! Let YOUR will be done, as in Heaven, so also on earth!!
