The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by
their duplicity. ~Proverbs 11:3
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound Him, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate, the governor. 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. “I have sinned,” he said, for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” So, Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. ~Matthew 27:1-5
“O what a tangled web we weave when once we practice to deceive.”
I’m always amazed when I realize how much Judas was trusted by his fellow disciples. He was even trusted with the money. John lets us know that it was discovered, eventually, that he was dipping into the funds for himself, (“as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:6B), but no one caught on evidently, while he was with them.
Another mystery: Jesus knew, and He did nothing. There are all these proverbs that we’ve been reviewing about how much God hates lies and dishonest gain. We just discussed two days ago that he abhors cheating. Cheating and lying and deceiving were going on right under Jesus’ nose, yet there is no record of Jesus rebuking Judas, or sternly warning him. He knew it all and He let it continue.
When I learn of someone not living with integrity, I’m often burdened with how to help them see the light. I wonder how the disciples would have reacted if they knew what was going on? They were already often fighting over things that they had no control over, such as who is the greatest in the kingdom. How would they have reacted if they had known what Judas was doing? How would they have reacted if they knew that Jesus knew, and He appeared to be doing nothing about it?
Jesus knew what He was dealing with. He knew that: “the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” He knew how it would end. He knows how it will end for us. The hard part for us, when we are aware of injustice that is not being exposed and dealt with, is walking in the now, in the not knowing everything, even though we think we do, and trusting His timing and justice now, before the end. The thing that ought to scare us is, if we think our sin is ok with God because he is not rebuking us, we’re probably wrong about that. He is just being patient.
Then, we contrast Judas’ duplicity with the integrity of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. They were not Jesus’ disciples directly, but they were seekers of truth who wanted to be fair and just in their dealings with everything. Their integrity guided them to at least care for Jesus’ body after His death. Some scholars, however, also suggest that they voted against the majority in the mock trial that caused His death. These were good men, seekers of truth. They were not swayed by the mob mentality of their peers. They sincerely wanted to honor God, respect His law, and do the right thing.
Nicodemus even sought out Jesus in the night to give Him a fair hearing without having to deal with the disrespect of his peers in the process. In his listening, he was able to consider, “What if I’m wrong? What if Jesus is right?” He must have shared his ponderings with Joseph and together, they let their integrity and fair mindedness guide them. As the Proverb states, “The integrity of the upright guides them.”
Poor Judas suffered alone for his duplicity. “So, Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:5) Joseph and Nicodemus, however, are remembered kindly for the grace and care they demonstrated toward our Lord. Isn’t it fascinating that an insider like Judas was the betrayer, and outsiders like Joseph and Nicodemus from the “enemy camp” of the Pharisees, turned out to be true friends! There’s a lesson there about how far we go in trusting “insiders” and being suspicious of “outsiders.” Our own integrity will guide us here.
Paull tells Timothy in his first letter to him, “The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious; and even those that are not cannot be hidden.” (1 Tim. 5:24-25) Just as Solomon is trying to do in the proverb for today, Paul was assuring his young friend that, even though we may not understand now, God is still in control and everything will be revealed for a just outcome in the end. We just need to hang on to that. Remember that the unseen is working beyond what we see now, and we need to stay focused on the path of integrity that God has laid out for us.
Prayer: My integrity is not my own. Lord, it is based on faith in You and Your Word. Thank You, Jesus, for drawing us in and making us Your friends. Strengthen us to live that out in our daily walk, even when we must stand up for Your truth against a deceived world system, and the people deceived by that. Strengthen us also to keep believing in You, even when our own circumstances make it difficult.
Song: I Will Walk by Faith
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound Him, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate, the governor. 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. “I have sinned,” he said, for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” So, Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. ~Matthew 27:1-5
“O what a tangled web we weave when once we practice to deceive.”
I’m always amazed when I realize how much Judas was trusted by his fellow disciples. He was even trusted with the money. John lets us know that it was discovered, eventually, that he was dipping into the funds for himself, (“as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:6B), but no one caught on evidently, while he was with them.
Another mystery: Jesus knew, and He did nothing. There are all these proverbs that we’ve been reviewing about how much God hates lies and dishonest gain. We just discussed two days ago that he abhors cheating. Cheating and lying and deceiving were going on right under Jesus’ nose, yet there is no record of Jesus rebuking Judas, or sternly warning him. He knew it all and He let it continue.
When I learn of someone not living with integrity, I’m often burdened with how to help them see the light. I wonder how the disciples would have reacted if they knew what was going on? They were already often fighting over things that they had no control over, such as who is the greatest in the kingdom. How would they have reacted if they had known what Judas was doing? How would they have reacted if they knew that Jesus knew, and He appeared to be doing nothing about it?
Jesus knew what He was dealing with. He knew that: “the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” He knew how it would end. He knows how it will end for us. The hard part for us, when we are aware of injustice that is not being exposed and dealt with, is walking in the now, in the not knowing everything, even though we think we do, and trusting His timing and justice now, before the end. The thing that ought to scare us is, if we think our sin is ok with God because he is not rebuking us, we’re probably wrong about that. He is just being patient.
Then, we contrast Judas’ duplicity with the integrity of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. They were not Jesus’ disciples directly, but they were seekers of truth who wanted to be fair and just in their dealings with everything. Their integrity guided them to at least care for Jesus’ body after His death. Some scholars, however, also suggest that they voted against the majority in the mock trial that caused His death. These were good men, seekers of truth. They were not swayed by the mob mentality of their peers. They sincerely wanted to honor God, respect His law, and do the right thing.
Nicodemus even sought out Jesus in the night to give Him a fair hearing without having to deal with the disrespect of his peers in the process. In his listening, he was able to consider, “What if I’m wrong? What if Jesus is right?” He must have shared his ponderings with Joseph and together, they let their integrity and fair mindedness guide them. As the Proverb states, “The integrity of the upright guides them.”
Poor Judas suffered alone for his duplicity. “So, Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:5) Joseph and Nicodemus, however, are remembered kindly for the grace and care they demonstrated toward our Lord. Isn’t it fascinating that an insider like Judas was the betrayer, and outsiders like Joseph and Nicodemus from the “enemy camp” of the Pharisees, turned out to be true friends! There’s a lesson there about how far we go in trusting “insiders” and being suspicious of “outsiders.” Our own integrity will guide us here.
Paull tells Timothy in his first letter to him, “The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious; and even those that are not cannot be hidden.” (1 Tim. 5:24-25) Just as Solomon is trying to do in the proverb for today, Paul was assuring his young friend that, even though we may not understand now, God is still in control and everything will be revealed for a just outcome in the end. We just need to hang on to that. Remember that the unseen is working beyond what we see now, and we need to stay focused on the path of integrity that God has laid out for us.
Prayer: My integrity is not my own. Lord, it is based on faith in You and Your Word. Thank You, Jesus, for drawing us in and making us Your friends. Strengthen us to live that out in our daily walk, even when we must stand up for Your truth against a deceived world system, and the people deceived by that. Strengthen us also to keep believing in You, even when our own circumstances make it difficult.
Song: I Will Walk by Faith
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