What's Your Life Equation?

Judas.
Betrayer.
Whatever else his life was, that is the label he finished with.
If that was the final answer of his life, what were the factors of his life’s equation that added up to that end? And what should that equation consist of to end up as a follower of Jesus, instead of His betrayer?

I’d like to submit this as the Followers Equation:
knowing Jesus + listening to Jesus + worshiping Jesus + obeying Jesus= follower of Jesus.

So what do we know about Judas?
• He was one of the twelve apostles
• He was present for all of Jesus’ teaching—the parables, confronting the Pharisees, and how He would die
• He was present for all of Jesus’ miracles—healing, casting out demons, feeding the multitudes
• He was among those sent out by Jesus and given authority over evil Spirits
• He was in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm
• He was in the boat when Jesus came strolling along on the waves

There is no doubt that Judas knew Jesus was no ordinary man, and we also know he listened to His teaching. He literally walked with God. He heard it all. He saw it all. And yet, we can tell that his knowledge wasn’t very deep, and his listening didn’t bring him understanding, because it didn’t lead to worship.

When the woman poured the expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, Judas didn’t think Jesus was worth all that fuss. He thought the perfume should be sold and the money given to the poor. John tells us that the real reason was because Judas was the keeper of the money and often helped himself, which shows his lack of obedience as well. But was greed the primary motive to betray Jesus to His death?

Judas probably shared some of the attitudes of the other apostles:
• James and John wanted to sit at Jesus’ left and right in His Kingdom
• The disciples argued about who was the greatest among them, and on one occasion, they asked Jesus who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Don’t you think they expected Jesus to name some names—their names?)
• Peter vehemently opposed Jesus when He talked of His death. “Never Lord,” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

None of the apostles were exactly on the same page as Jesus. They were all expecting an earthly kingdom with Jesus as the head and all of them on slightly smaller thrones. But there was one difference between the eleven and Judas. Judas was an unreformed thief.

If a thief doesn’t get what he wants in life, he takes it.

Jesus wasn’t giving Judas what he wanted—position, power, money—BUT Judas was convinced that Jesus could. Forget all that talk about dying and serving…he just had to set Jesus up—force His hand.

It may have sounded very “right” to him, as Satan’s lies often do. I think he never expected the outcome. I think He never expected Jesus to let Himself be arrested. He took a gamble, and he lost. He would forever be known as the betrayer of the Son of God.

Maybe we are not as different from Judas as we’d like to think.

It’s possible to hang around church and churchy people and never really change—never really take ourselves off the throne in our mind.

It’s possible to know the Bible backwards and forwards and even experience miracles and use that to elevate ourselves.

It’s possible to say we’re following God, while we are really following our own agenda.

It’s even possible to convince ourselves that we are following God even though we’ve never asked Him what He wants us to do, where He wants us to live, or who He wants us to serve.

I’ve been thinking about my life’s equation. I need to think daily about my “final answer” and evaluate my motives and actions in light of the factors of the Followers Equation.

Because there are really only two possible outcomes: follower or betrayer.