Jesus chose twelve disciples. One of them was Judas Iscariot. Iscariot is Greek for ‘a man of Kerioth’. Kerioth is no longer in existence but it was a city in Judah south of Jerusalem. The rest of the disciples were from Galilee, which lay north of Jerusalem. He must have been trusted in the beginning because he was their treasurer. Luke 8:3 points out that wealthy women contributed to the support of Jesus and his disciples. Because of this, it was necessary for someone to be in charge of the money and Judas was chosen.
Judas’s love of money was his undoing. John points out in John 12:6 that Judas was a thief. This was when Mary was anointing Jesus’ feet with oil. Judas complained that the money should be for the poor. John apparently knew that Judas had already succumbed to greed.
Jesus preached many times about the love of money. It makes one wonder if some of those times were specifically for Judas’s benefit. Judas didn’t hear it obviously. His focus wasn’t on what Jesus was teaching. Focus is important. If one focuses on God it follows that God focuses on them. Malachi 3:16 tells that those who revered the Lord and spoke together often were written in a book of remembrance. That was the subject of the sermon today.
Copies of the sermon are always available and we would love to send you a CD of it. They are free. Call (4l7)543-6219 to get a copy. Have a God-blessed, God-inspired, and God-filled week.
