Читать книгу The Acts of the Apostles - William Barclay - Страница 15

THE FATE OF THE TRAITOR

Acts 1:12–20

Then they made their way back to Jerusalem from the hill which is called the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, about half a mile away. When they came in, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James were there. All of them with one united heart persevered in prayer, together with certain women and with Mary, Jesus’ mother and with his brothers.

And in these days Peter stood up among the brethren and said – the number of people who were together was about 120 – ‘Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David about Judas who was guide to those who arrested Jesus, because he was one of our number and had received his allotted part in our service. (This man bought a piece of ground with the proceeds of his wicked deed; and he fell headlong and burst asunder and his bowels gushed out. This became a well-known fact to all those who lived in Jerusalem so that the piece of ground was called in their language Akeldama, which means the place of blood.) For it stands written in the book of Psalms: “Let the place where he lodged be desolate and let no one stay in it.” And: “Let another receive his office.” ’

BEFORE we come to the fate of the traitor Judas, there are certain things we may notice in this passage. For the Jews, the Sabbath was entirely a day of rest when all work was forbidden. A journey was limited to 2,000 cubits, and that distance was called a Sabbath day’s journey. A cubit was eighteen inches; so a Sabbath day’s journey was rather more than half a mile.

It is interesting to note that Jesus’ brothers are here with the company of the disciples. During Jesus’ lifetime, they had been among his opponents (Mark 3:21). It may well be that for them, as for so many others, the death of Jesus opened their eyes and penetrated their hearts in a way that even his life could not do.

We are told that the number of the disciples was about 120. That is one of the most uplifting things in the New Testament. There were only 120 pledged to Christ, and it is very unlikely that any of them had ever been outside the narrow confines of Palestine – but these 120 ordinary men and women were told to go out and evangelize the whole world. If ever anything began from small beginnings, the Christian Church did. We may well be the only Christians in our shop, our factory, our office, in our circle of family and friends. These disciples gallantly faced their task, and so must we; and it may be that we too will be the small beginning from which the kingdom in our area of life will spread.

The great interest of this passage is the fate of Judas. What exactly the Greek means here is uncertain; but in Matthew’s account (Matthew 27:3–5) we are left in no doubt that Judas committed suicide. It must always be a matter of speculation why Judas betrayed Jesus. Various suggestions have been put forward.

(1) It has been suggested that Iscariot means man of Kerioth. If it does, Judas was the only non-Galilaean among the apostles. It may be that he felt himself the odd one out and grew so embittered that he did this terrible thing.

(2) It may be that Judas became an informer to save his own skin and then saw the enormity of what he had done.

(3) It may be that he did it simply out of greed for money. If he did, it was the most dreadful bargain in history – for he sold his Lord for thirty pieces of silver, which was the equivalent of a little under six months’ pay for the average worker.

(4) It may be that Judas came to hate Jesus. From others he could disguise the evil intentions of his heart; but the eyes of Jesus could penetrate to the inmost corners of his being. It may be that in the end he was driven to destroy the one who knew him for what he was.

(5) It may be that Iscariot is a form of a Greek word which means a dagger-bearer. The ‘dagger-bearers’ were a band of violent nationalists who were prepared to undertake assassination and murder in a campaign to set Palestine free. Perhaps Judas saw in Jesus the very person who could lead the nationalists to triumph; and, when he saw that Jesus refused that way, he turned against him and in his bitter disappointment betrayed him.

(6) It is likeliest of all that Judas never meant Jesus to die, but betrayed him with the intention of forcing his hand. If that is so, Judas had the tragic experience of seeing his plan go desperately wrong, and in his bitter remorse he committed suicide.

Whatever the reason for his actions, Judas goes down in history as the most wicked name of all. There can never be any peace for anyone who betrays Christ.