The scriptures indicate that Judas was a full participant of the ministry of Christ. They would have the opportunity to become His intimate companions. While the 12 disciples would witness and hear so many amazing things during their time with Christ, their primary purpose and privilege was to be with Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons…( Mark 3:13-15). Judas is first mentioned when Jesus called the 12 disciples unto Himself.Īnd He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. In fact, each of the gospel writers immediately upon introducing Judas Iscariot into the life of Christ gives him the epithet as betrayer/traitor. Frankly, he is only known for his betrayal of Christ. Judas’ decision to follow Christ is not documented in the Bible (for example,like Peter’s and Andrew’s decisions), so we are not given insight into when and how he began to be with Jesus. He was the son of Simon Iscariot and the only man of the 12 disciples from Judea (the other 11 disciples were from Galilee). Judas was personally selected by our Lord to be one of His 12 companions during His earthly ministry. Blessings, T.L.) INTRODUCTIONĪs we continue the Betrayed series, it is important for us to look at Judas Iscariot. Let’s proceed in a spirit of grace and humility as we each receive what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. His suffering is an example for us as we strive to be Successful Sufferers. I am prayerful that this series will give us strength to endure as we reflect on our Lord. These may not only be behaviors that have been perpetrated against us but we may even be exhibiting some of these characteristics ourselves in response to Christ, as well as others. In fact, I am hoping that we will see beyond titles and individuals and focus on characteristics.

( Author’s Note: While we will be exploring the Scriptures to understand how people responded to Christ, this is not meant to be a modern-day indictment on people who currently hold these positions.

Where was judas iscariot born