Gaylord Diaz's Blog

2. JUDAS’ DEAL TO BETRAY THE LORD

 Matthew 26:14-16, Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, {15} And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.  30 silver shekels is the equivalent of 120 denarii or roughly $21.60 today. The exchange rate, however, is not this accurate. As I pointed out earlier, a denarius is the amount of money that a common laborer made for a day’s work.  If we want to bring that denarius up to today’s standards, let’s suppose that a common laborer today makes $8 an hour and works 8 hours a day. A day’s wage, then, would be $64 and this, roughly speaking, is what an ancient denarius would be worth today.  Since 30 silver shekels is 120 denarii, then its real equivalent in today’s wages is $7,680. {16} And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

THE MISTAKE. The Scriptures do not come outright and give us the exact reason why Judas chose to betray the Lord. But judging by what he asked the chief priests, indications are rather strong that greed, or money, was what motivated Judas to betray the Lord.

Judas, as I said, had a sin problem. And this one sin, left undealt with, created more problems for him. One sin led to another. And the more sin is committed the more serious it becomes. The sin of thievery led to the sin of betrayal. The love of money now brought him into league with murderers. Judas’ love affair with money now goes beyond the realm of money: it will cost the Lord His life. The taking of money now involves the taking of a human life.

One sin left undealt with and unrepented of  leads to more sins. This is the problem with committing just one more sin. Just one more time. You don’t stop with just one sin. Just one more time. Sin is addictive. The more you sin the more you’ll continue to sin and the more addicted you become to it. Like any addiction, you can’t stop. And you can’t help yourself.  A sin addiction is, in reality, demonic oppression. You become the Devil’s slave. To do his bidding. To sin as often as he tempts and drives you to sin.

There comes a definite point in time, unknown to you, when your persistence in sin becomes an opened invitation or right-of-way where Satan comes insides you and oppresses, controls, or possesses you. Luke 22:3-5 tells us, Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. {4} And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. {5} And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.

Brethren, IF YOU SIN AND LIVE LIKE THE DEVIL, THE DEVIL WILL OPPRESS YOU AND YOU’LL COME UNDER HIS DEMONIC CONTROL. You’ll become his slave. And you’ll end up doing his bidding. You think you’re free. But you’re serving the Devil, he’s your master, and you’re doing what he wants you to do.

THE LESSON. Brethren, don’t maintain your love affair with sin because you’ll open the door to demonic oppression if you haven’t already done so. And once  that  door  is  open,  you  become  a  slave  to  Satan  and  THE ONLY WAY TO GET FREE FROM HIM IS THROUGH AN ACT OF REPENTANCE AND DELIVERANCE.

BRETHREN, YOU CAN’T ESCAPE THE DEVIL AS LONG AS YOU’RE IN LEAGUE WITH HIM! AS LONG AS YOU LOVE YOUR SIN AND CONTINUE IN SIN, THERE IS NO FREEDOM FOR YOU. FREEDOM WILL COME WHEN YOU TURN FROM YOUR SIN, GIVE IT UP, AND CRY TO THE LORD FOR FORGIVENESS AND DELIVERANCE.

Judas betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. By today’s standards, that’s about $7,700. Brethren, how much is a sin or a lust worth to you? How much are you willing to pay, and suffer, to enjoy the pleasures of sin? Are you willing to go to Hell for $7,700? Would you spend eternity burning and screaming in Hell’s fire for a measly $7,700?

Jesus asks us in Matthew 16:26, What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? This word exchange is an interesting one. It denotes equivalence. You ransom, trade, or exhange something for something else that’s roughly equal in value. For example, you wouldn’t trade a 2011 Honda for a 2000 Escort because they’re not worth the same; you’ll be losing out on the trade. You wouldn’t trade a $350,000 house for a dilapidated shack at the edge of town. When you trade or exchange, you want to get something of equal, maybe even greater, value than what you’re giving up.

This whole world with all its riches and wealth is not worth as much as the value of your soul! You may not see, understand, or agree with that right now. But, believe me, a moment in Hell will tell the truth: there’s nothing on this Earth that’s worth spending eternity in Hell. A trillion dollars, all the booze and drugs, all the sex and filth that this world has to offer; will mean absolutely nothing to you once you’re in Hell. All you’ll want is out. And if not that, you’ll crave a glass of water to quench your indescribable thirst or a massive dose of morphine to numb the pain you’ll feel every second of every hour of every year for time without time. No, my friends. There’s nothing worth more than the value of your soul.

What are you willing to do to escape eternal judgment and suffering in Hell? Here’s what the Lord wants you to do. (1) Confess your hidden sin or lust. (2) Repent of it. (3) Get delivered so that you’re no longer compelled to sin and no longer enslaved by that demon and lust. And (4) bring forth fruits of repentance and deliverance by living a holy life and abstaining from sin.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 3. Judas was determined to sin. And, unknown to him, he was setting himself up for the biggest regret of his life.