Listen:  121.5

After many disciples had stopped following the Lord because of His teachings, the Lord asked the twelve disciples if they would also go away.  We read in John 6:67-71, “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?  He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”  Peter declares to the Lord, “we believe and are sure that thou are that Christ, the Son of the living God.”  The Lord corrects Peter by telling him that although He had chosen them all to be His disciples, one of them did not believe that He was the Christ.  One of them was a devil.

Did the Lord know Judas’ heart?  He certainly did.  Romans 8:27 speaks of the Lord Jesus as being the one who, “searcheth the hearts.”  1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that, “…the LORD looketh on the heart.”  Because He is God, the Lord Jesus knows the hearts of all men and He certainly knew the heart of Judas.

What did the Lord mean by saying that Judas was a devil?  Simply that Judas portrayed the same characteristics of Satan: he was a deceiver, a thief, and a murderer.  Let’s look carefully at the Lord’s announcement to His disciples that one of them would betray Him.  Mark 14:18-19, “And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me. And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?”  What a grand deceiver Judas was.  No one suspected that he would be the one to betray the Lord.  Although he had never fooled the Lord, he had certainly deceived the other disciples.

Was Judas a thief?  He certainly was.  Let’s read John 12:3-6, “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?  This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”  Having the bag meant that Judas kept the money for the disciples.  The disciples trusted Judas enough to be the treasurer of the group.  Yet, in hindsight, they realized that Judas was a thief.

Was Judas a murderer?  Absolutely.  Mark 14:10-11 says, “And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.”  For thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave, Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus into the hands of these ungodly chief priests.  Of course, we know that the Lord was crucified through the instrument of Judas’ betrayal.

So, we see that the Lord Jesus sees and knows the hearts of all men.  He knows my heart and he knows your heart.  He knows that I have received Him as my savior.  2 Timothy 2:19 tells us plainly that, “…The Lord knoweth them that are his.”  He knows if you have received Him as your savior.  He knows if you are saved or not.  If you have never put your faith in the Lord Jesus, I encourage you today to receive Him as your savior before it is eternally too late.  You cannot afford to put it off until tomorrow.  Proverbs 27:1 says, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”  Accept Him as your savior today.  (121.5)