his Master out for thirty pieces of silver! Nothing can make that right except Jesus' love and forgiveness. The fact that Judas took his life for betraying Jesus indicates that he missed the whole point: Jesus died so we don't have to die in our sin.
While Peter got the message, received forgiveness, and was called back into ministry, Judas could not see beyond his own horrible deed. He couldn't see the Lord's victory over death. He couldn't see the Lord's love for him. He couldn't see the possibility of forgiveness. He couldn't see beyond his own horrible failure.
Incredibly, Jesus called one of his greatest opponents to be his missionary to the Gentiles when he confronted Saul on the road to Damascus. What a shame that Judas died as a traitor when he could have been welcomed back home as forgiven son.
Today's Prayer
Holy God, I must confess that I am often tempted to hate Judas. What he did to your Son and my Savior is unconscionable. But in my heart, I find myself mourning for him today as I think you did. To be so close to the Savior and miss salvation, to be so close to the seat of mercy and die unreconciled, to see Jesus' compassion and kindness and yet bring such a cruel and self-inflicted fate is tragic. Help me to be an agent of your mercy so that those around me who have had horrible moments of failure can find their way back to Jesus, and to you! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Today's Verses in Context
Early the next morning, all the leading priests and older leaders of the people decided to kill Jesus. They tied Jesus with chains. Then they led him to Pilate the governor. They gave Jesus to Pilate. Judas saw that they had decided to kill Jesus. Judas was the one that gave Jesus {to his enemies}. When Judas saw what happened, he was very sorry for what he did. So he took the 30 silver coins back to the priests and the leaders. Judas said, "I sinned. I gave you an innocent man to be killed." The Jewish leaders answered, "We don't care! That's a problem for you, not us." So Judas threw the money into the temple. Then Judas left that place and hanged himself. The leading priests picked up the silver coins in the temple. They said, "Our law does not allow us to keep this money with the temple money, because this money has paid for a man's death." So they decided to use the money to buy a field called Potter's Field. This field would be a place to bury people that died while visiting {in Jerusalem}. That is why that field is still called the Field of Blood. So the thing happened that Jeremiah the prophet said: "They took 30 silver coins. That was how much the Jewish people decided to pay for his life. They used those 30 silver coins to buy the potter's field, like the Lord commanded me."
— Matthew 27:1-10 (ERV)
 | God With Us:
365 Devotionals from the Gospel of Matthew
By Phil Ware
Join the author of the Gospel of Matthew in God With Us, a devotional that will immerse you in exploring the glories of Immanuel. The book uses one short passage each day and follows the Gospel text from beginning to end. Each day's passage is followed by a brief Reflection to open up the day's Scripture and a Prayer to show how the verses challenge you to live for Jesus. |
Comments on "So Close and Yet So Far Away":
Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
Get Phil's book God With Us featuring 365 Devotionals from the Gospel of Matthew.
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So the son left and went to his father. "While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. The father felt sorry for his son. So the father ran to him. He hugged and kissed his son. The son said, 'Father, I sinned against God and have done wrong to you. I am not good enough to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Hurry! Bring the best clothes and dress him. Also, put a ring on his finger and good shoes on his feet. Bring our fat calf. We will kill it and have plenty to eat. Then we can have a party! My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!' So they began to have a party. —Luke 15:20-24 (ERV)
—1 Tim. 1:12-17 (ERV)
—2 Pet. 3:9 (ERV)
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