BETRAYED BY A KISS

BETRAYED BY A KISS

Matthew 26:47–50 NKJV

47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” 49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.

The Hebrew word for worship, shachah, which means “to bow down or prostrate oneself.”

We talked about the worship of the golden calf during the Exodus, where we find the word proskuneo, which is used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), and which means “to kiss like a dog licking a man’s hand.”

It has been surmised that Aaron had erected the golden calf and the Israelites were worshipping it in this manner, by bowing down and possibly kissing it on the mouth,

Because they had learned it in Egypt

It is known that ancient Egyptians worshipped an agricultural deity in this way.

Needless to say, a kiss is a very intimate, personal action.

It can be entirely positive or an expression of corrupted motives.

This is why, when the disciple Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, his action seems much worse than it already was.

In appearance, Judas was showing honor to his Lord (as a person might do in worship).

In reality, he was handing Him over for death.

Judas, thinking that Jesus would be hard to find and that the disciples who were with Him would put up a fight, had brought a band of soldiers, armed and carrying lanterns, to arrest Him.

Judas failed to understand so much about the Lord.

The fact is a kiss was not even necessary, because Jesus clearly told the soldiers who He was:

John 18:3–5 NKJV

3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.

King James Version Chapter 26

49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

Hail, master was a usual compliment among the Jews.

Judas pretended to wish the Lord Jesus continued health while he was aiming for His destruction!

It makes me think of other stories in the Word about compliments of this kind—

Joab, for instance. Joab pretended by a kiss to inquire tenderly after the health of Amasa, but then he thrust him through with his sword (see 2 Samuel 20:9-10).

These kind of kisses are like false worship, and the rewards are never good.

“JUDAS” = “PRAISE”

The meaning of the name Judas is “thanked, admired, praised”—in a word, praise.

Another way of thinking of it is that Judas’ very name essentially means “worship.”

Somehow, he chose to use a distinctly worshipful action as a signal for betrayal.

His kiss was corrupt, a weapon of destruction.

In that day it was customary for disciples to kiss their teacher upon meeting him; their kiss was a sign of respect and honor.

However, Judas’ kiss of betrayal was a sign of disrespect and dishonor.

To make matters worse, the Greek verb indicates that Judas kissed Jesus repeatedly, not only once, but multiple times.

As it turned out, Judas fulfilled the words of Isaiah, which he must have heard Jesus quote:

Matthew 15:8–9 NKJV

8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

Earlier, Judas had scorned the worshipful kisses of others.

Do you remember how Mary of Bethany lavished her affection and honor upon Jesus?

Six days before the Passover Feast, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived.

(Lazarus is the man Jesus raised from the dead.)

There they had a dinner for Jesus.

Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus.

Mary brought in a pint of very expensive perfume made from pure nard.

She poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet, and then she wiped his feet with her hair.

And the sweet smell from the perfume filled the whole house.

Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ followers who would later turn against him, was there.

Judas said,

John 12:4–6 NKJV

4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

John 12:6 ESV

6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.

In an act of pure love and worship on her part, Mary used a large amount of very costly ointment to anoint Jesus’ feet.

It would have required a year’s wages from a common laborer to purchase the ointment.

Like King David, Mary had determined not to give the Lord that which cost her nothing (see 2 Samuel 24:24).

This act of worship infiltrated the atmosphere of the house with its powerful fragrance and became a story that has been spread around the world (see Matthew 26:13).

Yet who opened his mouth to publicly criticize this beautiful act of worship, which the Lord Himself was commending?

Judas.

MERCHANDISING THE ANOINTING

While John recorded the earliest utterance by Judas in the New Testament (quoted in John 12), Matthew recorded his final words: “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4 NRSV).

Both passages make it clear that Judas was a thief and was in the habit of stealing money from the common purse, which had been entrusted to him.

I find it interesting that the Greek word for bag or box (found in John 12:6) is glossokomon, which originally meant a small case in which mouthpieces for wind instruments were kept.

For me, this is a profound connection. Usually the only person who would have carried that kind of bag was a musician.

Possibly at one time Judas had been a player of wind instruments, and possibly Jesus chose him for his worship ability.

As stated before, Judas’ name means praise, and here now we see that he was reported to keep the group’s money in a musician’s “gig bag.”

Therefore, you could say that he was merchandising his anointing—giving up the thing he was created to do (praising God) and instead treasuring money, even stealing some of it for his personal use.

When we read about Satan’s rebellion and fall in the book of Ezekiel, we see how Satan, too, pridefully merchandised his anointing:

Ezekiel 28:16 KJV

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

This anointed cherub whom God created to rule by worship betrayed the Lord by using his gift for his own personal gain.

I get very concerned about the merchandising of preaching and worship in the Body of Christ.

I understand the necessity of budgets and finances for the operating expenses of the ministries of preachers and worship leaders,

and I realize that sometimes products should be made available for purchase that strengthen believers’ walks with Christ.

On the other hand, I believe that it dishonors God for preachers and worshippers to take what they have been created to do and to merchandise it or promote it for sale.

Our gifts and talents are not for sale!

Yes, the Lord provides for those who minister through our gifts and talents, but if we allow pride and the lust for money to move us to a place of commercializing our anointing we commit the great sin of betrayal!

I am amazed at the groups and preachers who have set prices on their ministries.

Sometimes I wonder if some preachers and singers have ever read what the Bible states:He called his twelve followers together and got ready to send them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. This is what Jesus commanded them:

Mark 6:7–11 NKJV

7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. 10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”

Matthew 10:15 NKJV

15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

If they were not supposed to take money, then it means that they had to trust God to provide for their ministry.

It worked; their ministry was highly successful, and they received adequate provision every step of the way.

KISS THE SON

Judas, the musician and praiser,

betrayed Jesus with the kiss of worship

by honoring Him with his lips and dishonoring Him with his heart.

How many times have you and I come to worship services only to go through the motions of worship without really entering in with our hearts?

Are we not, on some level, guilty of Judas’ sin?

Are we honoring God with our words of worship but failing to engage our hearts?

Are we expressing heartfelt love for the Lord in our worship?

If you have failed in this area, it is not too late to repent and

ask the Lord to forgive you for betraying Him with the kisses of worship.

Here’s a final word on the subject:

Psalm 2:12 NKJV

12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.