The Man Who Kissed Heaven's Door & Went To Hell

By John Stallings


It is said that when Leonardo da Vinci was painting his masterpiece, The last Supper, he needed a sitter for the figure of Christ. 


He finally found a man in one of the churches of Rome of fine character & fine features who agreed to sit for the painting.

He then looked for models for the disciples. Years went by, gradually the picture progressed, more faces were added, until one remained—Judas Iscariot.

Leonardo had a vision of what he wanted. He went into the backstreets of Rome, where he finally found a beggar on the streets with a face so villainous he shuddered everytime he looked at it.

He paid the man who sat for Judas’ likeness & when he was finished, Leonardo asked his name. - “Pietro Bandinelli,” he replied, “Fifty years ago I sat for your picture of Christ.”

Obviously sin had taken its toll in the life & on the face of this man. Sin is progressive. No sinful act is just a simple sin. Unless we repent, sin becomes a stepping-stone that leads us deeper into rebellion against God.

I’ll be candid; when I read the story of Judas Iscariot I feel a level of revulsion & disgust that I don’t feel when I read the stories of any other traitor in history.

The actions of traitors like Brutus, Booth, and Benedict Arnold pale into insignificance when compared to Judas. He didn’t betray a nation, an emperor or a president, he betrayed Jesus Christ, one third of all God is who came to earth so that all people—including Judas himself-could be saved from their sins & experience the love of God in a personal way.

Have you noticed that many of the alleged murders who are currently in the news have something in common? They don’t look like murderers. Once in a while one will appear that we can look at & just see the hate dripping from them, but it seems to be rare these days. Even the people who are close to these accused criminals can’t believe they’re guilt of what they’re accused of because they never saw their violent side.

Dante drew a word picture of the circles of hell & put Judas at the very deepest point---the epitome of evil. Over the centuries people have shunned even the shadow of Judas. From what I’ve heard people the world over will only name their pigs after Judas.

BUT WHAT SORT OF PERSON WAS JUDAS?

The very name Judas comes down the centuries as a tragic figure that is synonymous with treachery & deceit. Why is it that twenty centuries later we still feel contempt for Judas but a contempt that’s mixed with confusion about why he acted as he did? If he’d been a simple traitor/ low-life/ scum-bag, why didn’t he just take his money & run? Why did he return the money & then hang himself? What do we know about him? He doesn’t say much. He seems to be slightly nervous & jumpy & definitely very secretive.

At first glance, Judas didn’t look like a traitor. Judas got a good start in life. Even after he came to be part of the twelve, he must have had a good honest face because he was trusted with being the treasurer of Jesus’ & the disciple’s meager finances.

We can infer from reading the New Testament that Judas had no obvious vices. He didn’t have a bad past, like Matthew the tax-collector. Most of the other disciples were known for some weakness prior to following Jesus. Thomas was a skeptic, Peter was famous for impulsiveness, & James & John were known as “sons of thunder,” but, at least in the early years nothing uncomplimentary is said about Judas’ character.

Judas was a man of great promise, there can be no doubt of that. Jesus saw qualities in Judas that could be mightily used in the Kingdom of God. Think what we will, Judas was called to be an apostle, called to follow Jesus & called to be one of those who’d lay the foundation of the church.

Let’s be real. The more we learn about Judas, the more he suddenly begins to be alarmingly human, alarmingly like us; a mixture of complex emotions, hopes, fears, sins & failings. Not at all the devil, but a sinful man, & more than we’d like to confess, like the rest of us. Of course at some point the devil entered into Judas.

WHY WAS JUDAS SO MYSTERIOUS?

In the early days of Judas’ tenure with the Lord, you’d have been proud to have him as a member of your church. He seemed to be a model citizen. The Bible never gives us a hint that he was in any way a problem to Jesus. He was never pushy as were James & John & we hear nothing of his making rash statements & boasting like Peter. He seemed to be quiet, businesslike, self-possessed & respectable. Yet the perplexing truth is he of his own free will chose to sell out the Messiah…the only Son of God!!! As the old saying goes, “You never can tell.”

Why would Judas follow Jesus in the first place? How could a likeable, respectful man like this with such a good beginning spend three years in the company of Jesus Christ & then do what he did? I mean, he listened daily to Jesus’ teachings…he saw Him work His miracles. He let Jesus wash his feet at the last supper. Judas was right there to hear Him teach, preach & tell parables. He saw Christ’s’ compassion, the healings & diverse miracles. He helped pass out food during the feeding of the 5,000 & was there to see Lazarus raised from the dead. He was even sitting in the boat when Jesus calmed the stormy sea.

…but then he betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver.

One thing that seemed to trigger Judas was-- he saw what he thought was a waste of money when Mary poured a pound of expensive perfume on Jesus' feet so he “went off the reservation.” He tried to cover it by saying the money should have been given to the poor but John tells us he was just greedy. He'd already been skimming off the top of the Disciples' treasury & wanted his share of the loot. When his betrayal plan came to fruition, he even went so far as to arrange a signal by which he would identify Jesus as one customarily greeted his rabbi, with a kiss.Jesus said-I am the door of heaven..so in that moment Judas kissed heaven's door. How could he, why would he do this?

I’ve heard people say that Judas was predestined to betray Jesus. I don’t believe that for a minute. If Judas was predestined to do this deed then he had no choice & we’d be wrong in blaming him for doing something over which he had no control. It would be an odd & capricious God who’d predestine a man to such a fate & then condemn him for eternity for simply fulfilling his destiny. This violates everything I know about God & everything the Bible teaches about Him. Ezekiel 33:11 God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked…& in 2 Peter 3:9 he says- He’s not willing for anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance.

No, just like you & me, Judas had free choice. He had just as much possibility of becoming what the eleven others became as he had of becoming history’s best-know traitor. Judas wasn’t doomed from birth but was doomed by his own choices.

WHAT WAS JUDAS’ MOTIVE IN MAKING THIS HORRIBLE CHOICE?

If a prosecutor hopes to win a conviction then he has to offer a reasonable motive for why the defendant did it. A jury expects to hear why the accused committed the crime. Am I right? Call it what you may, we human beings expect some rational explanation for an individuals behavior.

Why do you suppose Judas did it? How could he do such a thing? After all, the Bible is very explicit; it was Judas who sold Jesus out. He had a choice. All the four gospel writers hold him responsible for his decision & they agree he wasn’t a patsy or a pawn or forced to betray Jesus.

Even at the last hour it seems that Jesus was holding the door open for Judas not to go through with the terrible arrangement. His motive to betray Jesus has long fueled speculation & conjecture & imaginative attempts to explain his reasons & motives.

WAS IT JEALOUSY?

More evil is done behind the cloak of jealousy than the world could ever dream. I’ve heard people say,-“Me? Jealous? Why there’s not a jealous bone in my body!” Maybe not- but there’s an awful lot of jealous flesh hanging on those bones. As a pastor I’ve heard people admit to things that would make a drunken sailor blush but I’ve never heard a person admit to jealousy. The hardest thing for an individual to do in this life is admit their true motives, & I think that’s the case because so often the motive for our actions is a pathetic, petty little jealous spirit.

Judas was from Kerioth, a village in southern Judea, so he was the only Judean in the original 12. Maybe this made him feel like the odd-man out. Judas was definitely not one of the inner circle with Jesus like Peter, John & James. It’s not difficult to imagine that Judas slowly grew jealous & embittered because in his opinion the Galileans had a higher place of authority than he.

“The outsider complex” has caused many people to go off the deep end. This complex causes people to feel left-out & that can lead to some strange behavior. From what I’ve read & heard, the main reason the teens in Columbine High School did what they did was the feeling of being estranged from everyone else.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

When people say, “Its not about the money, what they are really saying is “It’s about the money.” During a dispute over money, people will often bring great righteous principles into the discussion, but in reality the fact is they are hung up about money. They will try to say with a straight face, “You know, it’s not just about the money here, there’s right & wrong to consider,” but in reality the bottom line is…….money!!!

Many a family that was once a close knit unit has been shredded in battles over disputed inheritances. Money will do it when nothing else can. If the heartbreak of a divorce or death wasn’t enough, the bloodbath & bitterness over money & divided assets will finish the job in fine fashion. The corrupt love of money is a powerful & terrible motivator. Just think of what people will do for money.

Consider the impact of money on our political woes in America at the present moment. Business leaders have gone along with immoral & unethical decisions & greedy stockholders demanding higher profits. This ought to get our attention. This ought to concern us very much.

Judas was most likely the son of a poor peasant & had never had the opportunity to handle money & it was a heady experience to feel those drachmas jingling in the money bag. Maybe Judas said to himself, “Hey, I’ve gone to some degree of trouble for these guys & these Galileans don’t appreciate me… they really owe me a few bucks at least.”

I read somewhere that banking officials say that 60% of the individuals who regularly handle money take money at some point. I’ve heard dozens of stories over the years about the men who count churches offerings being caught pilfering money. Judas’ position as group treasurer not only provided him with the irresistible temptation to have “sticky fingers” it also provided him with the opportunity. Thirty pieces of silver wasn’t all that much money but it probably represented more than was in the entire disciples’ treasury.

It’s possible if not probable that greed & the feeling of being an outsider played a big part in Judas’ act of betrayal & gave the devil the opportunity to tempt him, but I think the biggest causative factor was….

JUDAS’ DISSATISFACTION WITH THE DIRECTION OF JESUS’ MINISTRY.

There was a great movement who wanted, with good cause, to drive the Romans from Israel so that their national glory could be restored. It’s probable that from the get-go Judas expected Jesus to lead an insurrection against Rome & set up His own earthly kingdom. Jesus definitely had the power & ability to do this & Judas knew it. He joined the disciples when he saw Jesus’ power demonstrated & he saw this as an opportunity to fulfill his dreams for Israel.

Judas sincerely believed that Jesus was the culmination of all the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah who would deliver Israel from bondage & make it the head of all the nations. Judas may have read all the prophecies, but ignored the passages that spoke of the suffering Messiah. He hopped on the disciples’ bandwagon with the anticipation & expectation the he’d be in the inner circle of the coming kingdom.

I believe the seeds of Judas’ betrayal plans were most likely conceived after the feeding of the 5,000. After that miracle, the people wanted to crown Jesus king of Israel but Jesus stopped them, foretelling his death on the cross.

JESUS BROUGHT OUT HIS ‘CANNIBAL SERMON.”

Just when things were looking up,& the momentum was there to catapult Him up into power, He goes & pulls out the strangest sermon anyone has ever heard. He says, unless you eat my flesh & drink my blood you have no life in you. John 6:56

I can imagine Peter seeing the people leaving & he comes to Jesus & whispers, “Now, Lord, the multitudes are leaving like rats from a sinking ship. Why don’t you pull out that sermon you preached the other day on happiness or something, anything except this strange new sermon about people eating your flesh & drinking your blood. The folks don’t understand it & as a matter of fact neither do I.”

But Jesus continued to speak about the cross. When Judas saw Him offending the leaders of the Jews & he saw the growing opposition of the Pharisees toward Jesus, Judas knew that his dream was fading so he took matters into his own hands.

Judas didn’t have much more patience. He’d been waiting for three years for Jesus to act…to use His great powers to run Rome out of Israel. His impatience led him to something he later regretted.

It’s entirely possible that Judas didn’t think Jesus would allow Himself to be arrested. He was going to manipulate Jesus into a corner & make Him fit into his plans but it all went disastrously wrong. Judas must have been horrified. He made a terrible mistake & feels he must hang himself as a failure.

Maybe we should ask ourselves if we’ve ever made plans & expected God to just follow us. Do we ever ask ourselves if what we do fits in with what God might expect from us?

Because of Judas’ attitude toward the Roman occupation of Israel, he began to see Jesus as a Cause not The Christ. His self involved, self-focused attitude caused him to miss Jesus’ main mission & that was to die for the sins of the entire world. Like so many people he couldn’t see that money wouldn’t give him what he wanted & in the end would lead him to do something that brought him unbearable guilt & shame.

Jesus said—You can’t serve God & money.

He didn’t say, you can’t serve God & the Devil. The reason He said it that way is that mammon or money is the God of this world. If a person isn’t worshipping the Lord you can be sure they are money worshippers.

Judas is a perfect example of the fact that sin always tricks us. As James 1;14 says—Sinful desire causes us to be dragged away & enticed. Satan will always package things in such a way as to appeal to our natural desires. He is a master at hiding the fact that yielding to the desire will eventually bring us sorrow & grief as it certainly did Judas.

Are you ready for a real shocker? Judas’ biggest sin wasn’t his betrayal of Jesus. His biggest mistake was that he didn’t repent & receive forgiveness from the Lord.

There’s not a lot of difference between what Judas & Peter did on that fateful night. Both of these disciples sank to an unbelievable low. It was indeed a bad night for them both. Each in his own way totally forsook Jesus. Yet one died & the other lived. One was lost & the other was saved. What was the difference? Peter repented & Judas didn’t. Yes Judas felt great remorse for his sin but remorse alone isn’t repentance. Judas should have gone to Jesus but instead he went back to “religion,” or the religious leaders & religion won’t save us will it? Religion was what got Judas in trouble in the first place.

If Judas had only waited for a few days instead of hanging himself, if he had asked for forgiveness, if he’d had gotten the revelation of what the cross was all about like Peter did, when the resurrected Jesus came back, instead of calling Peter’s name alone, He’d have called for both Peter & Judas.

Dear friend, this is something the world needs to hear. God can & will forgive any sin, but only if we ask Him to do so. As Jesus said,

--Unless you repent, you too will perish.—Luke 13:3

Blessings,


John