Acts 1:12-19 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.” (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
We see in the above focus that all the disciples but Judas were still followers of Christ. In Jesus’ prayer about the disciples, He tells his Father that He kept all of them except the one whose heart was not receptive to his teaching: Judas Iscariot. Judas depicts a rebellious world. Even though exposed to Jesus’ teaching daily, his heart was worldly, centered on his own needs and desires. His walk with Jesus included stealing from money given to support Jesus' ministry. Because he kept the purse, he was able to embezzle the money unseen or unquestioned by others, but Jesus knew what he was doing. As a thief without a repentant heart, he was exposed to the works of the devil. Satan’s plan was to kill Jesus, to get rid of him for good. Therefore, Judas approached the chief priests and the teachers of the law with the intention of betraying the Lord. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. (Luke 22:2-6) Judas spent many nights at Mount Olives with Jesus, a place almost a mile away from Jerusalem. He knew Mount Olives would be a safe place for the authorities to arrest Jesus, for there would not be many of his followers there, probably only his disciples. To arrest Jesus in the Temple would be dangerous for the authorities because Jesus’ many followers might use violence to prevent Jesus’ apprehension. Of course, Jesus and his disciples were aware that the leadership of the Jews wanted him dead, but they also knew the Temple was probably a safe place to teach because of the Lord's many followers. Jesus openly riled the priests with his claim that their father was the devil because of their murderous hearts. He told them that Abraham could not be their father because their secret desire was to kill him, an innocent man, which would be a violation of the law of Moses they claimed to follow. Judas, as all the disciples, was aware of the Jewish leadership's intense hatred of Jesus. Consequently, his heart was eventually receptive to betraying Jesus for money. For a long time, Judas was part of Jesus’ inner circle for his own interests. Even though he was called to be separate from the crowd, he chose the world rather than fidelity to Christ. His carnal heart loved the world more than the Messiah. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:15-16) Thirty pieces of silver led to Judas' demise. In remorse for his betrayal, his life ebbed out in the Field of Blood.
Satan had his way with Judas. Judas’ ears were open to evil; consequently, he rejected God’s plan of redemption for mankind through Jesus. His spiritual eyes were darkened by his own self-interest. Even when partaking of the last supper with Christ, he could not accept Jesus’ words. The Lord was in the process of ministering to his disciples as a servant to them as He served each of them the bread and the wine. He broke the bread and offered it to them, just as He did after his resurrection to the two followers from Emmaus. As he served these two disappointed followers of Jesus, they realized that the Great Servant of all people, Jesus the Christ, was in their midst. Now we see at the Last Supper before the crucifixion, Jesus offers his disciples the bread of life and the wine. Both the bread and the wine are allegories that represent new life through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. No longer would people face the necessity of being right with God through works. Now salvation would be wholly through the works of Jesus, the Messiah of all people. In the Last Supper we see Jesus epitomizing his work as the Great Servant of all people. As He offers the cup of wine to his beloved disciples, He also tells them of the damage to anyone who does not receive the New Covenant in his or her life. “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. (Luke 22:20-23) Judas will leave that communion table with the devil’s plan in his heart. He will leave the Great Servant of all mankind with the intention to have him arrested. The devil had a deeper plan than just having Jesus arrested; he would have him killed by the hands of the leading Jews and Pilate. Judas might not have conceived of the final outcome of the Lord, his death on a cross. He might have thought that Jesus would just be arrested, held for a while in a prison. But the father of the Jewish elite, the devil, wanted Jesus done away with, for He was a threat to his control over people. And of course, for the Jewish leaders, He would damage their power over people and the deference they received from the community of Jews. Jesus and his name must be done away with forever.
After Jesus finished offering the elements, the disciples started to argue about who is the greatest among them. Jesus had just said that one of them would betray him, so they are postulating about who is the greatest among them, for that person would never betray the Messiah. A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. (Luke 22:24) It is interesting to note in this whole scene that by serving them, Jesus demonstrates who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God: of course, He is. As with all humans since Adam and Eve’s temptation to be as God, the temptation of being great is in the hearts of men and women. Some humans seek this worthiness aggressively and others passively. Jesus quells this argument by saying, In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. (Luke 22:25-27) Jesus says, but NOT HERE; I have demonstrated to you today who is the greatest: the one who serves everyone as I have today at this supper. If He, the Messiah, serves everyone, his followers should do likewise. We see this theme of servanthood of God to people in the Old Testament. God selected the rebellious, hard hearted Jewish people out of all the rebellious human beings of the world. The Jews epitomized the rebellion of humans to God’s control. However, for the wayward Jews, God's hand of protection was on them greatly because they carried his SEED through the loins of Abraham’s descendants. God’s servanthood is revealed to the Israelites by delivering them out of Egypt. He provides them continuous protection through the Holy Spirit’s presence: a cloud by day and fire by night. His miracles are many and his hand provided them Canaan, a land fully developed, a land of milk and honey. Otherwise, they are inundated by God’s servanthood presence. Yet, they failed to be thankful for God’s faithful and enduring love to them. They constantly hurt him by obeying, serving idols that are powerless to help them. They even chose to be under the control of a man, a king, and not God. Solomon warns them that if they reject the servanthood of God to them, they will fall into the hands of self-willed masters. This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his Slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” (1 Samuel 8:11-18) Such a heavy price for not having God in control of people's lives. As Jesus said, But not here! As the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city, they were left with a message to go into all the world and make disciples. They were to present the bread of life to people. They were to serve the cup of redemption to all people. The apostles were not to win the things of this world as Judas had tried. They were not to love the world or to try to gain recognition by their works. Instead, they were to usher people into the Kingdom of God. As they served, they would die in strange cities and foreign lands. They would count their lives as nothing, for they had met the greatest Servant of all mankind: Jesus the Christ, the Lord of all. Amen! Let it be so!
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