LESSONS FROM JUDAS

ISCARIOT
LESSONS FROM JUDAS
ISCARIOT

DESMOND OSAFAMEN IDIAGBONYA

© 2021 by Idiagbonya Desmond Osafamen

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—
electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—
except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the
prior written permission of the publisher. Published in Benin City, Edo
State, by

MOSCOTECH Limited Inc. promotional use. For information, please e-

mail: [email protected]

Scripture quotations noted KJV are from THE KING JAMES VERSION.

Scripture quotations noted NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW

INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible

Society.

Scripture quotations noted AMP are from THE AMPLIFIED VERSION.

ISBN 811-0-8145-4296-72 (pbk)

1. Goodnews Mission library—christianity

2. Blazing Youth Initiative library—NGO

 DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to the Almighty God, the Source of creation and the
giver of life.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My appreciation goes to the Almighty God for His wisdom, knowledge

and understanding bestowed on me. This book became a reality
because of His Grace.

Special thanks to Pastor Increase Edokpolor, Pastor Sam Chiaka, Apostle

Terry Osasere, I am grateful for your timely contributions.

I would also like to thank my baby Vera Edokpaigbe for her patience
during the course of writing this book, my mum Maria Idehen for her
moral support during the course of writing this book.

I am grateful to my siblings, cousins, relatives, friends and Blazing Youth

Initiative (BYI) for their contributions and encouragement.

Many thanks go to the writers of the various materials consulted during

the course of writing this book, most especially Pastor Sam Chiaka
(Daily Facebook Write up), Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep
Believing Ministries, Master Ministries P.O. Box 31976 Tucson, AZ
85751-1976, Wayne Jackson: Christian Courier, Andrew Wommack.
 CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter One
Judas Iscariot Described

Chapter Two
Predestination and Foreknowledge

Chapter Three
Judas' Intention

Chapter Four
Resist the devil

Chapter Five
Heaven or Hell
 PREFACE

I will start by quoting 1 Cor. 10:6,11

6
"Now these things are examples (warnings and admonitions) for
us not to desire or crave or covet or lust after evil and carnal
things as they did.
11
Now these things befell them by way of a figure [as an example
and warning to us]; they were written to admonish and fit us for
right action by good instruction, we in whose days the ages have
reached their climax (their consummation and concluding
period).
12
Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands [who feels sure that
he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm], take heed lest he
fall [into sin]".
(1Cor 10:6,11-12 Amp)

A lot of people learn much of what they know today through personal
experiences. At one point or the other, we might have learnt things by
experience. If you live through the hard lessons of your own mistakes, it
cool way to admonish other because you will be talking out of
experience, however, there is a better way.
According to the opening passage, Apostle Paul said in that all the
things written in the Old Testament were for our example, that we
might learn through them.

It is always far better and wiser to learn through the mistakes of others
than through our own. Because there are some mistakes we make and
might not live to tell the story in the end.
God’s intention isn’t for us to learn in the hard way, He expects us to
learn from the mistakes of others.

These things were written for our instruction. Judas Iscariot is one of
those Bible characters that many of us overlooked, yet the lessons that
can be derived is enormous.
Through scripture, we will be able to see the life of Judas and his
impact
 CHAPTER ONE
JUDAS ISCARIOT DESCRIBED

Judas Simon Iscariot was a disciple and one of the original Twelve
Apostles of Jesus Christ .
His name is often used synonymously with betrayal or treason.
The name "Judas" (Ὶούδας) is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew name
Judah ( ‫ יהודה‬, Y e hûdâh , Hebrew for "God is thanked"), which was an
extremely common name for Jewish men during the first century AD,
due to the renowned hero Judas Maccabeus

Selection of Judas Iscariot

Judas was selected just the way other disciples were selected. In fact,
scriptures shewed that before being selected, Jesus had already prayed
all through the night (Luke 6:12-13).
In the account of Saint Matthew Gospel (Matthew 10:2-4)

2
"Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first,
Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the
son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
 3
Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican;
James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was
Thaddaeus;

4
Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
Judas was one of the selected disciples. Held the position of a
treasurer".

“Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was
telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give
something to the poor” (John 13:29 NIV).

Where The Greed Started

So Judas was actually holding a vital leadership position in Jesus'
ministry. This ordinarily would have proven that he was a trusted
fellow. Because, the office of a treasurer must be given to someone
that is financially disciplined, But this wasn’t the case.
I bid to differ my view from the popular notion about Judas.
Judas loved Jesus humanly speaking, he also abandoned his family just
to follow Jesus. The problem Judas had was the loved of money.
Judas was not an adulterer
He wasn’t a fornicator.
He had no sexual problems
He was not a drunkard nor a chain smoker
He was not a murderer
He didn’t have issue with anger
He was not a kidnapper
He wasn’t a cultist
None of the above characters were recorded to describe Judas in the
scripture

However, his major issue was MONEY

Jesus had warned several times earlier that they were to abandon their
worldly ambitions if they must follow Him.
Jesus admonished the disciples that they couldn’t serve God and
Mammon (money) at the same time but Judas didn’t listen.
Judas ignored all that Jesus told him because he had plans, and
ambitions to be somebody rich and he hoped following Jesus would be
the best opportunity to accomplish such goal.

So many of us are like Judas today, we think through our commitment

to God’s work will eventually make us rich, some of us even go the
extent of monetizing the Gospel of Jesus. Some can go the extra mile of
using gimmicks to collect money from gullible church members.

In 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (KJV)

9
“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and
into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in
destruction and perdition.

10
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows”

So it all began with the love of money and it ultimately led o his
destruction.

Unchecked Ambition
The inability for Judas to restrain and examine his ambition led him into
negative lifestyle of stealing.
He started to steal from the money bag that was placed under his
charge as a treasurer.
 “This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was
a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein” (John
12:6 KJV).

So he was already secretly stealing and helping himself from the money
bag. So as he continued to steal, his heart became more hardened and
immediately lost control over his heart, this made satan to enter and
exit his heart at will.

After a while, he was no longer satisfied with the money bag. Just like
every thief, he started to strategize in order to hit it big. So Greed made
him begin to plan and this eventually led him to betray Jesus.
 CHAPTER TWO
PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE

The question that usually arise when talking about Judas Iscariot is
whether he was predestined to betray Jesus or not?
Was Judas just a mere toy that was controlled from above to act as
scripted in heaven?
Or was Judas act a mere stage play between Jesus, God and even Judas
himself?

Before we can attempt the above questions, for the sake of clarity, it is
important to explain the meanings of predestination and
foreknowledge.

PREDESTINATION: it simply means the act of determining beforehand.

That is, God's will beforehand about a particular thing or person which
the person or thing has no control or choice over. Something that has
been destined to happen to someone regardless of the person’s actions
or intentions.

FOREKNOWLEDGE: it simply means having an awareness of something

or an event before it happens or exists. Knowing beforehand.
Having examined the meaning of predestination and foreknowledge,
the question that arise from our conscious mind is: Was Judas
predestinated to betray Jesus?
Before answering this question, let’s quickly refer to scripture.
Mark 14:21 (KJV)

“The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to

that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for
that man if he had never been born.”

From the above scriptural verse, it is obvious that he was not

Predestined to betray Jesus. Prophecies have gone forth that Jesus will
be betrayed, the scripture said woe to him through whom it will
happen, it was not like Judas was Predestined.
For Judas to be predestined to betray Jesus would automatically make
Judas not accountable for his actions, after all, he wasn’t in control of
his actions.

Few weeks ago, I had a conversation with my very good friend and
pastor ( Pastor Increase), These were the words he said “If you look at it
very carefully with regards to Jesus' dealings with his disciples, Peter
seemed to be more vulnerable to Satan, at different times, Satan spoke
and acted through Peter. We see Jesus rebuking him.
 22
Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far
from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

23
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan:
thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things
that be of God, but those that be of men. (Matthew 16:22-23
KJV).

But Judas never saw such many occasions as Peter did.”

From the aforementioned, the statements stands to be very true, and
as a matter of fact, Peter was much more closer to betraying Jesus than
Judas because Peter was closer to Jesus than Judas.
So Judas wasn’t Predestined at all, it has already been said from time
immemorial that someone would betray Jesus, anybody could have
been used. What Judas did was to simply made himself available for
satan to used.

What lesson can we draw out from here?

We must always remain watchful and at alert because the devil is
always actively seeking those to devour
 “Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and
cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams
around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to
seize upon and devour”. (1 Peter 5:8 Amplified)

No one has absolutely immunity over Satan’s tricks, if you yield yourself
to Satan, even if you are the Bishop of the universe, you will utterly fall.

11
“Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and
they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the
world are come.

12
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he
fall”(1 Cor 10:11-12 KJV).

We must take heed as believe lest we fall like a prey to the teeth of the
devil.
As a believer, you can choose to make yourself available for Satan’s use
or choose to resist the devil.

Judas could have resisted the devil, but chose (from his actions) to fulfill
the negative prophecy.
So we can conclude therefore, that Judas was not a puppet under the
control of God to betray Jesus nor was he and actor who just played his
role according to the script God gave to him, Judas was fully responsible
for his actions by yielding to the devil as an instrument of betrayer.

Though Jesus foreknew Judas as the disciple who will eventually betray
him, but God never predestined him to betray Jesus, he only made
himself available.
 CHAPTER THREE
JUDAS’ INTENTION

What was Judas' intention before he decided to take such careless and
reckless action?
I pondered on this question, until I found a suitable answer.
Judas has witnessed on several occasions how Jesus had escaped death,
not once, not twice
In the books of Luke and John (KJV)

28
“And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things,
were filled with wrath,

29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto
the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might
cast him down headlong.

30
But he passing through the midst of them went his way,
 John 8:58-59

58
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am.

59
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself,
and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them,
and so passed by.

John 10:39

"Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of

their hand”.

Here, we can see it clearly that Judas has a first hand information about
who Jesus really his, He was a die hard master, very tough and dogged.

Then Judas conceived a very clever strategy, he must have thought of

this: just as Pastor Sam Chiaka puts it “the Pharisee and leaders of the
Jews are actively looking for Jesus to arrest him and bring down his
ministry.
So I will strike a deal with them. If they can pay me a million naira
(estimated value of 30 pieces of silver), I will simply help show them
where Jesus is and identify him. Jesus will slip away from them as usual.
So I have my master back and I will also make money. My master will
not know that it was me who told them his whereabouts, and even if
he did, he'll still forgive and forget anyway."

What a brilliant idea! He must have thought or conceived.

The reason for Judas' action was anchored on what he witnessed
because a number of times they had tried to kill Jesus and He slipped
away from them miraculously.

Turning the Tide

So Judas’ expectation was that Jesus would simply escape again as
usual.
Unfortunately, this time, Jesus didn't escape. He was captured, and
tortured.

Judas, seeing the severe torture Jesus went through, his conscience
pricked him, heavy guilt enveloped his heart and he became depressed
and sad.

In the pool of lamentation and heavy guilt, he realized that he had

committed great sin against God and his master Jesus, so thought of
returning the money to the Jewish leaders and went to commit suicide.
 3
"When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was
condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty
pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.

4
“I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

5
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he
went away and hanged himself" (Matthew 27:3-5 NIV)

Judas couldn’t bear the shame, he must have thought: “ the only way to
end the shame of betraying my beloved master is to end my life” and so
Judas committed suicide.
 CHAPTER FOUR
RESIST THE DEVIL

Very often we hear people say “The devil made me do it.” Such
statement didn’t start today, even Eve shifted the blame of eating the
fruit on the serpent (satan) in the garden of Eden. Gen 3:13c

"The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”(ESV)

As I have earlier mentioned, we are all vulnerable to the wiles of the

devil, in order to overcome the tricks of the devil, we must resist him.

What does it mean to “resist the devil”?

To resist the devil simply means to withstand, fight against, strive
against, or oppose the devil's tricks and temptation to sin. Resistance
can be a defensive or offensive.

7
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you”(James 4:7 KJV).

God’s word has given us instructions, that when we resist the devil by
standing our ground as believers, the devil will certainly flee or run
from us.
So it is the responsibility of everything believer to resist the devil, we
must not make ourselves available for satan’s use.

How do we resist the devil?

According the verse mentioned above (James 4:7), one way to resist
the devil is to “Submit yourselves therefore to God”
When we sincerely submit ourselves into God, we are indirectly
submitting ourselves under the authority of the Almighty God, if this is
done, the devil will surely run away from us.

Another way to resist the devil is found in same James 4:8a(KJV)

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you”
To draw near to Jesus doesn’t mean God is not in you nor God has
gone far away from you. As a matter of fact, you can be physically close
to someone yet in terms of fellowship you are totally far away from the
person.
So when scripture says draw new to God, it means cultivate a healthy
and unbroken relationship with God. Create an atmosphere of
intercourse between you and your maker, when this is established, you
automatically resist the devil.

We can also resist the devil by putting on the whole armor of God.
Ephesians 6:11-17(KJV)
11
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil.

12
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places

13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may
be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand.

14
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of wicked

16
 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God”:

From the above verses, Apostle Paul carefully outlined the weapons for
resisting the devil. When we put on these weapons, we will surely
overcome the wiles of the devil.
Among all the weapons mentioned above, something is stroking about
the last weapon called the “sword of the spirit” which is God’s word.

All other weapons are for defense, however, the Word of God is the
weapon of attack, it is an offensive weapon, that once used properly on
satan, he flees immediately. Satan trembles at God’s word.

Finally, I will submit with this note that not all sins can be resisted,
some are better fled than resisting. One of such sins is sexual sin, let
me be particular about fornication.

To flee means to run as though you are in danger; to escape quickly or

to disappear quickly from danger.
The Bible never admonished us to resist fornication, we are not to
resist fornication, we are to flee fornication.
 1 Cor 6:18a (KJV)
“Flee fornication”

The reason for this is that, no man is a superman, in a bit of resisting

fornication, you might fall into the abyss of fornication.
Joseph understood the concept of fleeing, when he met with Potiphar’s
wife, he didn’t resist the devil, he didn’t cast and bind, he didn’t even
had confidence in himself, all he simply did was to flee (run quickly to
save his life).

When we practice these steps, God’s grace is able to keep us from

falling.

24
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy”. (Jude 1:24 KJV).
 CHAPTER FIVE
HEAVEN OR HELL

Another question that needs to be address about Judas Iscariot is his

final eternal state.
Is Judas Iscariot in Hell or Heaven?
Before we examine this question, it is very important to examine
whether Judas Iscariot repented from his sin or not.
In Matthew 27:3 ( KJV and NIV)

KJV:
"Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was
condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty
pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders",

NIV:
"When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was
condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty
pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders".

KJV used “repent” while NIV used “remorse” does this mean that Judas
repented?
Before we answer this, let’s refer to the original language that was used
( note that the new testament was written in Greek and Aramaic).

The word “repent” or “remorse” is from a Greek word

“metamelētheis” this word is gotten from two Greek words
“meta” and “meló” which means to regret an action, to feel bad about
an action taken.

Having understood that, we must know that there is a clear cut

difference between feeling remorseful and repenting. You can feel bad
about an action yet you haven’t repented. Repentance comes from
hearing and believing the Gospel of Christ; which is the death, burial
and resurrection of Christ, this in turn causes a change of mind in the
life of the hearer.

According to Pastor Increase “Obviously Judas did not repent from his
sin because before the resurrection of Jesus Christ he had already
committed suicide.

The word “Repentance” is a change of one's heart as a result of

believing the gospel, it's not being sorrowful or feeling bad for one's
action.

When He realized what he did was wrong he won’t have killed himself,
killing himself meant he was still in unbelief, so being sorrowful wasn't
unto change of mind, He only acknowledge the fact that he has done
something wrong but that's not what repentance is all about”.

We can safely conclude that Judas never repented from his sin, he only
felt bad about the sin and because of the shame and guilt, he
committed suicide. Ending his life was another sin he committed all
together.

Committing suicide was an actual of unbelief, that is unbelief on the

sacrifice of Christ, not believing in the redemptive work of Christ that
would have saved him.
In order for a sinner to be saved, he must believe in the Gospel of Christ

1
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I
preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye
stand;
2
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain
3
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4
 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures:”
(1 Cor 15:1-4 KJV).

In the case of Judas, he never stayed long enough to witness the

resurrection of Christ which would have guaranteed his salvation.
Now back to the question.

Is Judas Iscariot in Hell or Heaven?

Since Judas didn’t repent from his sin, we can conclude that he is surely
not in heaven.
It should be noted at this point, that Judas' sin was less grievous than
Peter's (I am not trying to grade since as sin is sin). Peter's case was
worse than Judas. Peter literally DENIED Jesus, as in he never knew
Jesus. You know when I watch the movie that depicted Jesus' acts, I
keep laughing each time it got to the time peter denied Jesus, he was
rubbished before a damsel.

“Peter’s sin was a high treason and punishable to eternal

condemnation” (Pastor Increase), to make matter worse, peter even
went back to fishing, what an insult and disgrace to Christendom.

“Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him,
We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship
 immediately; and that night they caught nothing” (John 21:3
KJV).

Yet, the difference between Peter and Judas is that (despite the fact
that Jesus prayed for him in Luke 22:31) Peter waited to see what will
come of him after Christ's resurrection. Peter later believed the Gospel
as Jesus taught them after His resurrection (Luke 24:25-53).

What can we learn from this scenario?

We must learn to be patient in whatever situation we find ourselves.
Patience is indeed a virtue that is very hard to come by nowadays.

Another thing we must learn is that, no matter the weight or

magnitude our sin might look, Christ has already paid for it. No sin is
too big or too small that Jesus' blood can’t erase.
It was for that very sin He came to die for.
 FINAL NOTE

You might be reading this right now, and you have been wondering,
how can Jesus forgive my sin, I have done so many atrocities and
abominable things, I have killed, fornicated, done several abortion, and
so on, Christ is calling you today unto repentance.

He loves you (For God so loved the world that He gave Jesus), He knows
all your flaws and He his calling you to come just as you are, He will
cleanse you from all iniquity and make you as white as snow.

Isaiah 1:18(KJV)
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”.
 RECEIVE JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR

Choosing to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is the most
important decision you’ll ever make!

God’s Word promises, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans10:13).

By His grace, God has already done everything to provide salvation.

Your part is simply to believe and receive.
Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Savior. I
believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your
Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!”

The very moment you commit your life to Jesus Christ, the truth of His
Word instantly comes to pass in your spirit. Now that you’re born again,
there’s a brand-new you!
Please contact me and let me know that you’ve prayed to receive
Jesus as your Savior or to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I would like to
rejoice with you and help you understand more fully what has taken
place in your life. Welcome to your new life!
ABOUT THE BOOK

The book "Lessons From Judas Iscariot" was written to draw out vital
Biblical lessons we can learn from Judas the disciple that betrayed our
savior Jesus. Judas Iscariot is often overlooked yet, there is a great deal
of lessons one can learn from.

It is always far better and wiser to learn through the mistakes of others
than through our own. Because there are some mistakes we make and
might not live to tell the story in the end.
God’s intention isn’t for us to learn in the hard way, He expects us to
learn from the mistakes of others.

Lessons from Judas Iscariot is a book that opens ones eyes to learn
from the mistakes made by Judas and to apply same knowledge in our
daily Christian living.
Let’s Relate!

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/desmondderekglover

WhatsApp: 08136429672

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Desmond Osafamen Idiagbonya is an

alumnus of the prestigious University
of Benin.
He is currently studying Msc
Economics in University of Benin,
Benin City. He is a passionate writer
both academics, inspirational and
spiritual books.
Desmond is a motivational speaker,
academic coach, leadership mentor.
A teacher by calling whose passion is
to see the youths and teenagers come into their full potentials and also
help to reveal Christ in all their endeavors.
He is the President and Founder of Blazing Youth Initiative; a Non
Governmental Organization (NGO) and a "not-for-profit" youth
development organization and pioneer of Education, societal values,
within Nigeria. Founded in January 3rd, 2021 which geared towards
repositioning youths and teenagers for maximum productivity in the
society.

For enquiries, you can contact the author via 08136429672

(WhatsApp also)
Facebook: Desmond Derek Glover
Email: [email protected]
OTHER BOOKS BY SAME AUTHOR

Economics Grenade.

Integrated Economics question bank.

Weapons of the Achiever

Dream Again