MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/7/2026
12:00 PM
My Worship
Time Focus: His
(Judas) Disillusionment
I will have to see how far I can get
in this section this morning, actually early afternoon, as there has been much
to do with taking care of my wife and her struggle with cancer.
“Judas’s initial excitement over
begin chosen as one of Christ’s twelve most intimate followers did not last. At first, as noted all of the Twelve had
shared the common Jewish belief and hope that the Messiah would be a political
and military deliverer. The other eleven
apostles eventually learned that Jesus had not come as the Lion of the tribe of
Judah (Rev. 5:5), but as the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. But as that became evident, Judas grew
disillusioned; his disillusionment turned to hatred; and that hatred motivated
Judas’s treachery. John’s gospel records
Judas’s downward spiral to ultimate disaster.
“John 12 opens with Jesus and the
Twelve in Bethany on the Saturday before Passover (v. 1). While they were at a
supper in the home of Simon the leper (Matt. 26:6), ‘Mary [the sister of Martha]
then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of
Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the
fragrance of the perfume’ (v. 3). This
was an extravagant act of unrestrained love on the part of Mary since the
perfume was extremely expensive, and must have shocked those present.
“Sputtering in outrage over what he
considered a colossal waste of money, Judas demanded, ‘Why was this perfume not
sold for three hundred denarii [a year’s wages for an average laborer] and
given to the poor people?’ (v. 5). But
Judas’s philanthropic concerns were merely a mask for his greed. ‘Now he said this, ‘ John explained, ‘not
because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he
had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it’ (v. 6). To see such
a large sum of money elude his grasp after years of disappointed hope
infuriated Judas, and he lashed out at Mary.
So convincing was his pious display of concern for the needy that others
present echoed his protest (Matt. 26:8-9; Mark 14:4-5). But the Lord came to Mary’s defense. ‘Let her alone,’ He commanded Judas (the verb
translated ‘let alone’ is in the second person singular) ‘so that she may keep
it for the day of My burial’ (v. 7). In
verse 8 the Lord reminded them all (the verbs and pronouns in this verse are
plurals) that if they wanted to help the poor they would not lack opportunity
since, He told them, ‘You always have the poor with you, but you do not always
have Me.’ But Mary had chosen to save
the perfume for this special occasion instead of selling it and giving the
proceeds to the poor.
“Judas was now at the
crossroads. His avarice and greed had
been unmasked by Jesus, and he could have humbly repented, confessed his sin,
and sought forgiveness. But the pride,
greed, and disillusionment that controlled his heart won out. Desperate to salvage something financially
for the wasted years he had spent following Jesus, ‘Judas Iscariot, who was one
of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to
them. They were glad when they heard
this, and promised to give him money.
And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time’ (Mark
14:10-11).
“That ‘opportune time’ came on the
following Thursday evening. Jesus and
the Twelve had gathered in the upper room for their final Passover meal
together. After giving the disciples a
remarkable example of humility by washing their feet, the Lord affirmed to them
that by faith in Him they had been made spiritually clean—except for the one
who would betray Him (John 13:10-11, 18).
The prophecy of Psalm 41:9 would be fulfilled that very evening. ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, ‘ Jesus solemnly
told them, ‘that one of you will betray Me’ (v. 21). Appalled, ‘the disciples began looking at one
another at a loss to know of which one He was speaking’ (v. 22). As noted
earlier Judas, the consummate hypocrite, had so completely fooled the other
apostles that no one suspected him.
Jesus designated Judas as the betrayer by dipping the morsel (a piece of
unleavened bread) into the common mixture of bitter herbs, water, salt, crushed
dates, figs, and raisins, and handing it to him (v. 26). To be given the morsel by the host was a
special honor; thus, the Lord showed kindness and compassion toward Judas to
the very end.
“But Judas spurned this final
gesture of love from Jesus, as he had all the previous ones over the previous
three years. With this ultimate
rejection, the day of salvation closed for him (cf. 2 Cor. 6:2) and divine
mercy faded and was replaced with divine judgment.” “(cf. 2 Cor. 6:2) “2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened
to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the
favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” “Judas was in essence
handed over to Satan (cf. 1 Tim. 1:20), who entered into him (v. 27).” (cf. 1 Tim. 1:20) “20
among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander,
whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” (John 13:27
) “Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to
him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: Let me just try and say what is going on in
my mind at this time after reading and studying this SD. A truly born again person can never loose
their salvation, as that is impossible because they were chosen from eternity
past. However as we look at what
happened to Judas we can learn from this situation that one can go over a line
when they will never be saved, and that is what happened to Judas, and remember
Judas did this on his own accord. My plead
is that if you are reading this SD and do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as
your personal Savior and Lord then do so this very moment as you don’t want to
follow the example of Judas as many, many have.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I am trust the Lord to have the
procedure that my wife will have tomorrow morning to be very successful, and
that the Lord will make it possible for her to get the full treatment and not
just part of it. This is a prayer
request, and I know the only way this can be done is if the Lord allows it to
happen.
7/7/2026
2:12 PM
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