They’ll make me rich, he thought, but quickly dismissed the notion. This wasn’t about money, this was about putting things back in order — the way they should be. He would accept a small amount, a token payment for his role in this sordid mess, but that was all. And, after all, he was providing a service no one else could provide.
They’ll want to give me a place of honor in their council, bubbled up inside his mind. He would not allow himself to harbor such a thought. After all, he was no politician — he was above that. He was merely an entrepreneur standing at the crossroads of political upheaval. What was wrong with putting a few coins in the purse? In one sweep of his hand he would single-handedly squash civil unrest, restore status quo…perhaps a statue, albeit a small one, was in order.
He bent to tighten his sandals, considering his place in history. Fame, fortune…no. That was not it…that could not be the reason for his actions. If the powers that be desired to dress him like royalty and parade him around, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
“I will hold a place in history forever,” he muttered. The words hung in the air like prophecy. This notion he could not shrug away; it was the price one paid for greatness.
He stood, put on his outer garment, and prepared to go to dinner. There he would use all the cunning and guile God had blessed him with to do the job that needed doing. But before the feast, he’d pay a visit to the powerful and set the course of history. He took a deep breath, picked up his belongings, and reached for the door. Suddenly, a sour feeling of unrest swept over him, buckling his knees, swaying his resolve. His heart raced, his palms grew clammy, a thin line of sweat cropped on his upper lip.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death….” The scrap of a mostly forgotten psalm calmed him, quickened his resolve.
“I do this for the greater good,” Judas whispered, and walked out toward his destiny.
Text 1 John 2:12–19
I write to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, little children,
because you know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Don’t love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.
Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour. They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.
For Thought
- Antichrists: It’s a term we like to dress up with all types of seething evil, horns, and magical powers. But John sets the criteria for an antichrist: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the boastful pride of life. Even more frightening, John states that the antichrists will come from our own number. Let’s look at some scripture and examine some really good men who let rationalization cloud their relationship with God.
- Aaron (Exodus 32:1–35). Where did this priest of God go wrong?
- Gideon (Judges 8:22–27). Good heart, good intentions, good servant, yet he was responsible for placing a stumbling block before all Israel. What got to Gideon?
- Solomon (I Kings 11:9–13). Wisest man on earth, but guilty of great foolishness. What tripped up Solomon?
- Judas is probably the first name that comes to mind when we think of antichrist. What were some of Judas’s characteristics that led him down this path? (John 12:4–6)
- In our lesson text, John builds up the brotherhood with what sounds like a locker-room speech before discussing the antichrist. What are some of the ways he builds us up before warning us?
Water to Wine
- Let’s build on our strengths this week: Identify
- how your sins are forgiven;
- how you know Him who has been from the beginning;
- how you have overcome the evil one;
- how you know the Father; and
- how you are strong and the word of God abides in you.
- Focus this week on the things that build up this knowledge and strength.
- Identify some of the ways we can eliminate the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the boastful pride of life. Now here’s the difficult part: Bite the bullet and eliminate those stumbling blocks!
