what made Judas tick?

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26:14-16 ESV)

Judas is an enigma, and many have sought to understand why a disciple so close to Jesus would so decisively betray him. (Peter denied knowing Jesus, but Judas actively betrayed him.)

What motivated him? We see it in this one phrase, "what will you give me...?" John noted (John 12:6) that Judas was in charge of, and would skim from, the disciples treasury.

It seems so crass, so low, that for money -- 30 pieces of silver to be exact -- someone who had followed Jesus intensively for three years would just chuck it all and sell a friend to the authorities. He just cashed out his investment of time and relationship with the Lord, turned it into cold cash, and became a turncoat.

When he realized what he did, he took his life. (Like Peter, couldn't he have come and asked for forgiveness? Why didn't he trust that Jesus could, and would, make it right?)

Here's the core of his belief, and it is closer to us than we might imagine: "what will you give me..."? For Judas, being a disciple and following Jesus meant personal benefit primarily. Money seems to have been his "personal benefit of choice." It could be fame, pleasure, security, family stability, power, health, or whatever.

We all have some self-interest in following Jesus, but if that does not diminish over time and be overtaken by a love for Jesus for his own sake, then we are in danger of becoming judas-like.

I've seen this so often in ministry, and in myself: If God doesn't give me __________ , then I'm out of here. Most of us will flex a bit, or flex a lot, when God gives us contrary things. But all of us, I'm afraid, have some areas that if God severely disappoints us, we are really tempted to cash out and take our chips elsewhere.

"If my kids don't turn out right... if I don't have enough wealth or health... if I am deeply humbled... if I lose a loved one... if I don't get what I want out of it all... then I want out!"

"What will you give me?" is the question of those who serve Jesus primarily for the sake of personal benefit, and not for the sake of him who, in himself, is infinitely good, glorious, beautiful, and wise.

He deserves to be loved, not betrayed.

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the defender and he

one-liners

Here are 25 of my favorite one-liners from comedian Steven Wright: 1) I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize. 2) Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back. 3) Half the people you know are below average. 4) 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot. 5) A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. 6) All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand. 7) The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. 8) OK, so what's the speed of dark? 9) How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink? 10) If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something. 11) Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 12) When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. 13) Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now. 14) I intend to live forever ... So far, so good. 15) If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? 16) Eagles may soar, but weasels don'

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