Oh, Judas: Mark 14:10-11
God can use us, even if we are misguided in our intentions.
Judas is one of the most controversial people in the Bible. We don’t hear much about Judas prior to the crucifixion. We don’t hear anything about him after the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost other than needed to replace him. The rest of the Bible that follows the Gospels doesn’t mention Him with any significance. Those who taught after the resurrection didn’t make Judas into an object lesson and they certainly didn’t demonize Judas.
Judas meets with the religious elite and agrees to help them confront Jesus privately. He becomes their inside man and seeks an appropriate time to make the confrontation when the crowds won’t get stirred up. Money is to be exchanged.
The Greek word used for Judas’ action in these verses – and the respective locations in the other Gospels – is παραδίδωμι (paradidomi). This word is the prefix παρα, meaning “over” or “across,” and the verb δίδωμι, which means “to give.” Put these together and we get a word meaning “to give over” or “to give across.” If I am at my desk and a student asks to borrow a pencil, when I supply their need I have given it over.
The word is used over a hundred times in the New Testament, and in contexts apart from Jesus’ crucifixion it doesn’t make sense to translate this word as “betray.” Here are some examples. In Matthew 11:27, Jesus says “… all things have been handed over to me by the Father.” In Matthew 25:20, Jesus teaches the parable of the talents where a servant says, “… you handed five talents over to me …” As these examples demonstrate, translating this word to connote betrayal is unnecessary.
What is Judas doing, then? Like most Jews in Jesus day, Judas was looking for a Messiah to free the country from Rome. Judas likely believed Jesus’ divinely appointed power would allow Jesus to cast off Roman oppression. To do that, Jesus would need control of the Hebrew land to organize a rebellion. Thus, Jesus and the religious elite would need to be put in conflict with one another so Jesus could arise victorious. It is highly probable that Judas is trying to make such a confrontation possible. In Judas’ mind, he saw himself as furthering God’s plan by giving Jesus an opportunity to have such a confrontation.
Even if this is the case, Judas is still in the wrong. This would be a case where someone tries to be obedient, but instead gets the wrong message from God. Yet, even if Judas is trying to be helpful but in a misguided manner, God still uses him. Judas does create a confrontation between Jesus and the religious elite. Instead of that confrontation leading to the freedom of the Hebrew people from Rome, it leads to the offer of eternal life to all humanity.
God can use us, even if we are misguided in our intentions.
[As an aside, I think this is why the remaining disciples don’t feel the need to demonize Judas after the fact. It is clear that Judas was misguided, but it is equally clear that God uses this misguided action to create one of the most important outcomes known to mankind.]
