Many of us love to hate Judas. We've probably even thought he got what he deserved for betraying Jesus. Whether you hate him or not, Judas had a God ordained purpose in Jesus' life and ministry.
To understand this, we need to look at how Jesus responded to Judas, whom He knew was about to betray Him in the most heinous fashion. In Matthew 26:50 NIV we find Jesus calling Judas "friend." 50 Jesus replied, ‘Do what you came for, friend.’ In Hebrew, the word for friend is "Chaver." This is how Jesus refers to Judas, whom Satan had entered into.
Now, contrast this to what Jesus says to Peter in Matthew 16:23 NLV. 23 Then Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are standing in My way. You are not thinking how God thinks. You are thinking how man thinks.” These are harsh words for someone who was in the inner circle of a very close friendship with Jesus. Peter said what he said to Jesus out of love for Him. Peter did not want to see Jesus die, but He didn't understand God's ultimate plan.
So, what would make Jesus refer to one of His best friends as "Satan" and the disciple that is betraying Him as "Friend."? It all comes down to the will of God. Jesus was obedient to the will of His Father. We have much to learn from this truth. He did nothing without knowing that it was the Father's will. That alone should preach to all of us!
Jesus was and is our example for how we are to live, treat others, pray, minister to people, and serve God. He said we would be persecuted just like He was. He said the world hated Him and would treat us the same way. He is our pattern and our blueprint to follow.
Just as He had friends who needed correcting when they stepped out of God's will, so it is with us. Just as He had someone sent to betray Him in order to fulfill the Father's will, so it is with us. There is a connection here for us all to get. Further, Jesus led the way so we would know how to behave when the same things happened to us.
It was God's will for Jesus to be betrayed and go to the cross to die for all of our sins. If Peter could have stopped this (and we know how hard he tried), we'd all be lost. As painful as the whole process was (from the betrayal of a friend, to the 39 lashings, to the cross and an agonizing death), it HAD TO happen! The beauty in all of it is that God's plan for the redemption of all of humanity was hidden in the betrayal and death of Jesus.
So, now this is the important question for us. What is God's will for you and for your life? What is your path? Is it that job? Is that the person God says you are supposed to marry? What is the Father's will for your life Dear One?
Is it possible that the very ones who have hurt us the most in this life were meant to put us on the right path? What if your Betrayer's kiss was ordained to be the very thing to put you in perfect alignment with the Father's will? What if it's out of the pain and the hurt that something beautiful is the result? Is it beauty for ashes as the Bible tells us?
Makes you think differently about all those who've hurt you over your life, doesn't it? Love interests, best friends, parents, siblings, pastors, teachers, and so on... It's those that are closest to us that have the ability to hurt us the most. It's not our enemies.
The key is in your response to it all. Are you thankful for the Judases that God has sent into your life to bring about the Father's perfect will for you? Do you embrace their betrayal or reject it? Think about it. These betrayals of Judas are the keys to our breakthroughs. The quicker we can retrain our brain to accept this as something that is actually good for us, the faster we'll break through!
Remember, Jesus is our example. So, think about it as He would. He called Judas "friend."
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