What Tribe was Judas Iscariot from:
Ministry of Judas vs Ministry of John the Baptist
There is a distinct and contrasting pattern between the ministry of Judas and the ministry of John the Baptist. Judas (aka Jesus’ traitor) no doubt at one time had a degree of love and faith in Jesus, perhaps he once said:
“I will serve Jesus in this way, I will manage his ministry money, I’m good at managing money. I will do what he asks of me with the money and I will take some and give to the poor. In this way I will honor him with my ‘talents’.”
But you never read Jesus asking him to do this, perhaps it was only a permissive thing.
Similarly, a close look at the ministry of Peter before the cross, shows he had the same tendency as Judas. His natural extroverted ‘gift’ of persuasiveness seemed to be a hindrance to his surrender to Jesus. It seems that Satan was able to use Peter’s ‘gifts’ to try to control Jesus. Notice that Jesus never said “I need a fire-ball, a bold powerful personality to preach, I want Peter“. He never said “I need someone good with money to manage my ministry money, I want Judas”.
Jesus taught total surrender, total repentance, total abandonment of the former life to begin again.
“And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.””
– Mark 8:32-33 NASB
I think that if Peter were coming up today, with his gifting’s and extroverted zeal he might be quickly promoted. He might find himself without divine intervention ‘in charge’ of a mega-church or denominations before the age of 30. Sadly, I think many ministry consultants live by the same philosophies as this.
Not once in the New Testament are we asked to bring our natural gifts into our service to Jesus Christ. Instead, Jesus asks us to abandon all and follow him. Jesus then infills us and distributes to us his very own life and with that life new spiritual gifts.
The gospel we read from the NT teaches that when we come to Jesus we surrender everything of ourselves. The good with the bad, we DIE, our good and talented parts and our miserable sinful parts. They are all parts of the same old wineskin and same filthy rags to Jesus.
We are no longer living out our lives.
As far as God is concerned when we come to Christ we are no longer alive. Baptism in water symbolizes our death…then rising up to our new life within the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Even our natural talents, the “gifted” parts of us, need to die. Especially if we have confidence or have been accustomed to rely on them. If God can kill everything of us, then he personally can live in us by the spirit. More of Jesus and less of me, “He must increase and I must decrease.”
John the Baptist and the apostle Paul had the ministry philosophy of total surrender and death to the old man.
We are “crucified with Christ”, and “it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me.”
Jesus said “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”
– John 12:24-26 NAS
“Hate his life in this world.” Why are so many of us teaching the opposite of this as we ‘evangelize’ with our hyper-positivity gospels of ease and pleasure? When did evangelism become a ‘raise your finger in anonymity at the end of my sermon then join my worship band with that talented voice of yours’? It did NOT, that philosophy is not from Jesus Christ.
What about you, is yours similar to the ministry of Judas? Are you ministering (and being taught to?) by the pattern of Judas? out of your own talents and greatness? or by the pattern of John and Paul, “more of Jesus and less of me” and “I die daily”?
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