Judas had a promising ministry like the rest of the disciples. He was among the twelve men sent out by Jesus on a gospel mission, equipped with power and authority to heal the sick and cast out devils. You can gauge their enthusiasm as they filed in their report after the mission. As our text indicates, however, he had a miserable ending. He returned the money he had made from betraying Jesus before taking his own life. What was the problem with Judas? The same thing we had postulated in our previous meditation. The first wrong move is the hardest, if you break through that you may be on a free fall.

“Here is the emphasis again: conquer sin when it first beckons. Stem the tide of evil while there is hope. Yielding once may create the momentum for more.”

Let’s check Judas’s pedigree. We understand that he was the treasurer and had helped himself freely from the common purse. He eventually gave himself out when he criticized the woman who anointed Jesus with precious ointment. “But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.” (John 12:4-6 NKJV). The point here is that Judas did not begin with betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. He had greed that was not dealt with. He had love of money warring in his heart and did not contain it. It was only a matter of time before he went for something more sinister to satisfy his unbounded appetite for money. Here is the emphasis again: conquer sin when it first beckons. Stem the tide of evil while there is hope. Yielding once may create the momentum for more.