The Great Pretender Part 2 | John 13:21-30 | Allen Mashburn

We are told that Judas went to the religious leaders because he wanted to “betray” Jesus. Why would Judas want to betray Jesus after he had spent such intimate time with the Lord?

Like everyone else who followed Jesus, Judas thought that Jesus had come to do the work of the Messiah. They saw His miracles, His power over demons, Satan and nature. They heard the way He taught and saw the way He lived, and they believed that he was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.

Like the rest, Judas was expecting Jesus Christ to overthrow Rome and break the yoke of Roman oppression. He thought Jesus would deliver Israel, establish a restored kingdom in Israel, and richly reward His followers.

When it became apparent that Jesus was not going to do those things, Judas became disillusioned with the Lord. The other disciples slowly began to understand that Jesus was the Messiah, but they also understood that He would accomplish His mission in a way that they could not as yet grasp. Judas never came to that understanding.

Judas followed Jesus because he wanted power and money. He never embraced the spiritual kingdom of Christ. Why did he stay with Jesus? I think he was looking for a way to use Jesus to make himself rich. We must also remember that Judas kept the money that the little band collected as they traveled from place to place, and he was stealing from it.

So, part of the problem with Judas began with confusion as to the identity and ministry to Jesus. As time went on, he became disillusioned and what fondness he may have had for Jesus turned to pure hatred.