Saturday November 11th, 2023
« A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones »
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders.
4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”
5 Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.
6 The leading priests picked up the coins. “It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.”
7 After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners.
8 That is why the field is still called the Field of Blood.
The type of sorrow that Judas Iscariot experienced is undesirable.
I pray that you will not experience such sorrow in your life, in Jesus’ name.
Peter’s sorrow s seen as godly because it led t repentance while that of Judas Iscariot is ungodly because it led to his death (2 Corinthians 7:10).
When a person thinks he or she can outsmart the Lord, the result is ungodly sorrow.
What makes people think they can outsmart God is greed and materialistic tendencies.
1 Timothy 6:6-8 GWT says
6 A godly life brings huge profits to people who are content with what they have.
7 We didn’t bring anything into the world, and we can’t take anything out of it.
8 As long as we have food and clothes, we should be satisfied.
Judas Iscariot obviously had allowed greed to establish and grow within his heart.
It was recorded in John 12:6 that he had been stealing from the purse Jesus asked him to keep.
The greed then grew to the extent that he decided to the Lord Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver.
He probably imagined that he could swindle the Jewish leaders.
Judas probably expected that Jesus could not be arrested because he had witness Him escaping from the hands of the Jews before (Luke 4:28-30).
Judas however came to know the import of what he had done when he realized that Jesus surrendered Himself to be arrested and was condemned.
This made Judas very sorrowful. Matthew 27:3 – 5 CEV says:
3 Judas had betrayed Jesus, but when he learned that Jesus had been sentenced to death, he was sorry for what he had done. He returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and leaders
4 and said, “I have sinned by betraying a man who has never done anything wrong.” “So what? That’s your problem,” they replied.
5 Judas threw the money into the temple and then went out and hanged himself.
This type of sorrow however is ungodly as it led to despair, frustration, regret and eventually suicide.
Some Christians today also exhibit ungodly sorrow- not for committing sin, but for getting caught,
this kind of sorrow does not lead to genuine repentance but rather dries up the bone as we read in our memory verse today.
May this never be our portion, in the mighty name of Jesus.
Prayer focus – father, please don’t let the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and pride of life drown me in ungodly sorrow, in Jesus’ name.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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