New Testament · New Testament
Judas Iscariot
“As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, 'What you are about to do, do quickly.'”John 13:27
Biography
Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus and served as the group's treasurer. He betrayed Jesus to the chief priests for thirty pieces of silver — the price of a slave — and identified him in Gethsemane with a kiss. When he saw that Jesus was condemned, he returned the silver in remorse, then went and hanged himself. His story is one of Scripture's most sobering — a man who walked with Jesus for three years yet chose silver over the Son of God. Yet his betrayal was foretold in Scripture and became part of God's redemptive plan.
Spiritual Lesson
Judas is Scripture's warning that proximity to Jesus is not the same as commitment to him. He heard every sermon, witnessed every miracle, and still chose self-interest over surrender. The difference between him and Peter — who also failed Jesus — is not the depth of failure but the direction of sorrow: Peter's sorrow led him back to Jesus; Judas's led him away. Repentance is not about the size of what we did but about where we turn.