“His name was Judas, his Lord he did betray…
With a kiss upon His cheek, he gave his Lord away.
He was forgiven, but he could not bear the shame…
So he hung himself in the potter’s field-
Judas was his name…”
(from the song, “His name was Judas”)
Tradition states that the Apostles were eventually martyred, all except John the Beloved, who a natural death.
These great men of the early Church were some of the first missionaries and worked to spread the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. They met the end of their labors in various places- form Rome to Egypt, India to Ethiopia. They were martyred in horrible ways, yet it was for Jesus, and not for any crime that they perished and went to their reward.
The Apostles saw Christ’s ministry firsthand and were His closest friends. They were never the same after seeing His mighty works: the healing touch of His hands, the kindness of His voice, the wondrous love in His gaze, the agony of His Crucifixion, and the power of His Resurrection. The Believers in the early Church were so passionate about what they believed, that they would rather die than recant when they were persecuted.
Truly they,”Turned the world upside down.”
All except Judas. He was a failure. He was a classic hypocrite: he heard the Truth, but he never applied it to his life. When Jesus sent out the Twelve, He sent them two by two. Judas was among them, and no doubt he performed miracles, cast out demons and healed the sick. Yet nothing Judas saw and experienced affected his heart, he betrayed Jesus, and then in despair he went and hanged himself.What a sad waste of one’s life!
Friend, don’t be like Judas. Don’t let pride, greed, or laziness get in the way of accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. Believer, don’t let Satan hinder you from doing all you can for Jesus. There’s a world out there dying and they need to be told about Jesus Christ.
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