by By Erick Muriithi
Judas is one of the infamous figures in Christendom. Even folk who have little knowledge of scripture have something to say about Judas. He is famous for his betrayal of Jesus. Then for suicide! Judas is a traitor who died by suicide. Today we explore the contribution false religion to the suicide of Judas Iscariot.
Mathew 27:3-8
Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” 5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
The sorry traitor
The condemnation of Jesus was so unjust that even greedy Judas could not stand the heinousness of his action.
Judas was a thief — he had been stealing from the treasury of Jesus (John 12:6). Yet the condemnation of Jesus prompted the son of perdition to think clearly about his actions. The traitor knew Jesus was innocent, but had not paid heed to this while betraying Jesus. Such is the horrible nature of sin. It makes brutes of us.
Eventually, Judas was sorry for his actions. The ugliness of his sin became clear to him and he dumped the money he had been paid by the Pharisees to betray Jesus. What comfort is money and possessions to a burning conscience?
We could say of Judas as Paul said of himself, ” All things I consider dung!” For that was the state of the sorry traitor.
The money he had in his hands could not suffice to calm the pangs of his conscience.
Let t us from this, ponder the horrifying nature of sin.
The indifferent pastor
Here was Judas, a sinner broken by his own sin, crushed under the weight of a burning conscience. He came, seeking redemption for his crime. Throwing the proceeds of his crime to the floor, he hoped for healing balm from these men. They were the priests. They were to make atonement for his sin; speak the kindnesses of God to the poor heart of Judas.
But what did they say to him? “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” Rightly did Jesus say of these men, that they move across land and sea to win a single convert, but after which they make him twice a son of hell as themselves (Mathew 23:15).
The Pharisees had a guilty sinner right in front of them, and what did they say? See to it yourself! Deal with it Mr Judas, that is no concern of ours! Pitiless indifference. Apathy. Such was the immeasurable cruelty of their hearts.
This was what Jesus had said about the false shepherds: “A hireling sees the wolf coming and runs because he has no concern for the sheep.”
What a contrast there was between these and Jesus. Jesus turned to the thief on the cross and said to him, “You shall be with me in paradise,” the exact opposite of these blind guides of the blind.
Such is the trend of all false teachers and peddlers of a false gospel. “See to it yourself!”
The field of blood
What was the end of this evil religious system? A field of blood. False religion has a bloody end. Judas went and hanged himself. There was no hope for this sinner but to plunge himself to the depths of hell. False religion is the very beginning of hell to the tormented sinner.
And what was the response of the coreligionists? They bought a field of blood with the money. They realized that they had broken the law, but chose to reassure themselves by buying a potter’s field. They dumped the money.
False religion led to the blind self assurance of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and to suicidal despair.
The answer in the cross
The only answer to this problem is not a field of blood or a gallows, but the cross of Christ. The only hope that Judas would have had was the cross. There, innocent blood was shed to wash away the sins of the guilty. And how do we know this? Because there was another Judas, a man with blood on his hands, a man who oversaw the killing of Christians, and who by the grace of the crucified Jesus, planted churches and wrote one third of the new testament. The man Paul. He had this to say about Jesus:
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood —to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:21-26
What does God say to the returning sinner who says, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood”?
He says, “It is of concern to me. I have seen to it myself. Here, I have provided my son as a sacrifice for you. Your iniquity is taken away and your sin atoned for. Behold! The wounds of my dear son. See his pierced side. See his agony upon the cross. See my love for you, that I gave my son to die for you and reconcile you to me. Forsake your evil ways and turn to me. For I will abundantly pardon. You are forgiven. Here is a perfect righteousness for you.”
False religion thus has a bloody end, while true religion has a bloody beginning.
