Why was Judas Iscariot chosen as the son of perdition? Among so many men in Israel, why did he become the traitor of Jesus? The prophecy had already announced that someone would raise their heel against the Messiah and betray Him (Psalms 41:9) – but someone needed to fulfil this condition. The “cap” fitted in Judas.

On the night of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus stated that one of the disciples would betray him (Matthew 26:21-25). Judas asked: “Rabbi, is it I?”. And Jesus replied: “You have said it.” Soon after, Judas went out and looked for the chief priests, who were looking for a way to arrest Jesus. He didn’t question them or defend the Master. On the contrary, he offered to surrender Him.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. (Matthew 26:14-16)

Thus, Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. From that moment on, he began to look for an opportunity to fulfil the betrayal.

Judas Iscariot’s profile

The Gospel reveals the character of Judas. He was greedy, calculating and always sought to take personal advantage. Even before betraying Jesus, Judas had already shown his love for money. The Gospel of John reports that he stole from the offering bag, for which he was responsible.

People deposited their offerings to support Jesus and the disciples. Still, Judas appropriated part of them (John 12:4-6). When Mary poured a costly perfume at Jesus’ feet, he criticised: “What a waste! This perfume could be sold to help the poor.”

But his supposed pity was fake. Judas didn’t care about the poor: he regretted not having kept the value of the perfume.

The spirit of Judas today

This spirit of Judas still acts in the world. It manifests itself in criticism of those who do something for God. When someone uses their own resources to build a temple, make an offering or carry out a work of faith, soon those who say: “What a waste! This money could go to the poor.”

However, these same people don’t do anything to help anyone. They only know how to criticise. Just like Judas, they point the finger at those who show sincere faith and devotion.

Man of exchange

Judas was not a man of faith, but a man of exchange. He always asked: “What will I gain from this?”

This is how many live today: waiting for someone – the government, the boss, the church or the family – to give them something. These people trust in money, the god of this world, because they don’t know the true God, the owner of gold and silver.

Those who have life with God trust in the source of wealth, not in wealth itself. Those who live far from God trust only in gold and silver.

Two spirits in conflict

In the world, there are two types of people:

Those who want to give and those who only want to take.

The question is: do you follow the example of Jesus or that of Judas?

Watch the full message in the video above, and if he helped you, share it to help more people.

https://www.universal.org/renato-cardoso/post/por-que-judas-foi-escolhido-para-trair-jesus/