Scriptures tell us…. “WOE” is not a good thing!
Mark 14:21 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.
Most of the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel used the term “WOE” frequently; the Blue Letter Bible website tells us that “woe” OR “woes“occurs 107 times in 98 verses in the KJV. Jesus used the term “WOE” 8 times in Matthew 23
WOE is generally the precursor to God’s Divine Judgement! Especially in the Old Testament, God says WOE to the inhabitants of Jerusalem when they worshiped Idols, the Philistines recognized WOE unto them when they had stolen the Ark of the Covenant, Job also stated that sin leads to WOE and in Revelation…WOE, WOE, WOE is a familiar phrase when the Angels declare the wrath of God.
The following are some definitions and uses of WOE:
The Dictionary of Bible Themes categorizes the uses of the word woe in the Bible: “Woe as an exclamation of judgment on others,” Woe means “grief, anguish, affliction, wretchedness, calamity, or trouble.” “Woe as an exclamation of misfortune on oneself,” “Woe as an exclamation of sadness over others,” “Woe may give way to forgiveness, comfort, and deliverance” Zondervan, 1999).Matthew 26:23–25 “The Son of Man goes, even as it is written of him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
Anyway you look at it, it was a desperate time for the man Judas or as Jesus referred to him as “a devil”.
John 6: 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
Matthew 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew 27:3 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,
Judas returned the 30 pieces of silver back to the chief priests when he heard that Jesus was condemned; he realized that he’d betrayed innocent blood.
Romans 3: 10-18 As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
“Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Destruction and misery are in their ways;
And the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Mark 14:21 is a clear reference to Judas and what was to follow when Judas betrayed Jesus. A man who’s destiny was to be intertwined with and is integral to “the story of salvation of us ALL when Yeshua shed His blood for our atonement and died on the cross for our sins”.
It’s not my place to say whether or not Judas is in Heaven or Hell and to be sure I’m not advocating for Judas, just like YOU and ME, he has only one advocate – Jesus – Yeshua. However, like all of us, he had the freedom to choose good or evil. Obviously Judas chose evil!
The purpose of this blog is to wake us up to the fact that consciously or unconsciously we are all guilty of judging our fellowman. If we go to the Scriptures, we find Jesus’s words and also in a letter to the Romans written by the Apostle Paul speaking to this matter:
Matthew 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged.2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Luke 6:37-38 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Romans 14:10-12 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
We all need to think twice before we take it upon ourselves to judge someone when ultimately we have NO RIGHT to make a judgement. We have only “ONE JUDGE” and he knows the content of our hearts. He alone only knows whether or not there is “true repentance” and He alone can judge fairly.
Judas had been able to hide his deceit from the other Apostles, but Jesus knew his heart and when Mary, the sister of Martha anointed him with fragrant expensive oil, Jesus knew why Judas was making a fuss about it:
John 12:5-6 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, 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 bag, and bare what was put therein.
During the “Last Supper” before Jesus was crucified as the Passover Lamb, He stated clearly that there was one who was eating with them that would betray Him.
When Judas left Jesus – Yeshua and the disciples at the last Supper, he went to the Chief Priests to seek payment or reward for the betrayal of Jesus.
Matthew 26:11-14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
Matthew 26:21-25 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? 23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
Admittedly, there is NO ONE more guilty of shedding innocent blood as Judas was, it’s beyond us to think that we know whether or not, Jesus – Yeshua will intercede for him.
I’ve heard it said by some that Judas was a “pawn” in the scheme of the plan of God, but I prefer to believe that God does not use us as pawns, but as with His faithful servant Job, God will allow Satan to work his wiles on us, but only to a point and ultimately, we have been given the freedom to choose whom we will follow.
John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Jesus ~ Amazing Grace! 