Jesus Kept Judas Around

My brother pointed out that when Jesus said, “One of you will betray me,” the disciples all asked, “Is it I?”

They didn’t all say, “Oh—must be Judas! His miracles never did work.”

Apparently, he was a disciple in good standing at the time of Jesus’s betrayal. (Yes, writing later, John mentioned that Judas had been a thief, helping himself to their common purse (John 12:6). But at the time of Jesus’s death, apparently they didn’t know that. Or perhaps they didn’t equate some petty theft with betrayal.)

Switching stories for a moment.

In college, I was hanging out with my mentor Wendy one day. We talked about how her neighbor would come in and help himself to … something. Meals, perhaps.

I said, “Do you feel taken advantage of?”

She lived on minimal support, and I was genuinely curious—here was a fellow coming to eat her precious food!

(In full disclosure, let me now note that I ate her food every time I went over. Maybe that seemed different to me because I was invited, and not just a stray neighbor? In any case … I was 19. Don’t judge me too harshly.)

She said—and this was one of the most stunning statements I had ever heard to that point—“Oh! Maybe. But I’m not sure that the point of life is to avoid being taken advantage of. Maybe it’s okay to be taken advantage of for the gospel to advance.”

Something to think about.

Switching stories again.

I read an interview with a man who had a business failure. Afterwards he had so much self-blame. “I should have seen it coming. I missed some warning signs. I had too much faith in people. I was naive. It was kind of my own fault.”

Now I have no reason to doubt his analysis. He probably did miss some warning signs.

But think about this in light of the two stories, of Wendy and of Jesus.

Maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world to be taken advantage of.

Jesus kept Judas in the ranks.

Judas, the keeper of the money, who was robbing the purse.

Judas, the betrayer.

Jesus, after his resurrection, didn’t go around with the harsh narrative, “I should have seen it coming. I missed some warning signs. I had too much faith in people. I was naive. It was kind of my own fault.”

He was full of resurrection glory.

Maybe the point of life is not to go through unscathed.

Maybe it’s okay to hope for the best in people and sometimes suffer loss.

Maybe the eternal metrics measure in other ways.

Maybe we needn’t focus so much on what we’ve missed, or what was taken.

Maybe celebrate progress and breakthrough and learning and faithfulness.

Jesus, thank you for being our perfect example. Thank you for being so perfect in every way, for treating every person who came to you with perfect love. And thank you for the record that some people withstood your love, but that you still loved them. We want to be more like you. Teach us, Lord. We bless your holy name. Amen.

May you stand perfect and complete in all the will of God,

Amy Joy

P.S. Wendy’s husband Don wrote a lovely book on the “black verses” in the gospels. Not the red verses, where Jesus teaches, but the black verses, the stage directions. How did people respond to what Jesus said? God in the Flesh—if you’re looking for a book to read, it’s a good one.

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