A Crook In Every Staff

Matthew 26: 14– 16

Every staff has a crook

14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So, they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

If you have been going through the Gospel of Matthew with us then you know that I like to check out the other Gospels to see if they also report the same incident. So, there are other written reports and they are:

Luke 22: 1 – 6, “1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Mark 14, “After two days was [the feast of] the Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put [him] to death. But they said, Not on the feast [day], lest there be an uproar of the people. And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard [it], they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.”

John 11, “Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” 49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. 53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples. 55 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 56 Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” 57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.

Misconduct on the part of anyone who is involved in your business or ministry is unfortunately a reality. Due to the fact that one apple will spoil the whole lot those individuals who are in charge of a organization must take preventive measures to prevent the misappropriation of funds. I know that you understand that in many cases just one occurrence can cause great harm to any successful venture.

A couple of warning signs to keep a watch out for is;

1. Being evasive or difficult to reach

2. Secretive on funds received and disbursed

3. Great delay in approving purchase orders

4. Secretive in financial statements

5. Delivers excuses instead of timely information

6. Never takes any time off

7. Complains of other expenses but not their own

8. Envious of other person’s financial success

Today we are going to see some of these warning signs being played out by a member of our Holy Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s select leadership called Apostles.

In our last study we see that the overflowing love and generosity of the woman contrasts vividly with the behavior of Judas. Here was one of the chosen twelve whose heart was so hardened that he would sell The Son of God Jesus Christ for far less than the woman had sacrificed out of love for Jesus. She had sacrificed on His behalf the equivalent of a year’s wages. Judas would sell Jesus for what in comparison was a pittance. While she was identifying herself with our Lord Jesus fully in the light of His coming death, Judas was trying to find a way out of his commitment to the Lord Jesus for his own financial advantage.