Judas’ Salvation and Judah’s Sacrifice
God is calling my heart to share how cut-off branches are grafted back into the tree of life, and Judah’s Sacrifice is one of those branches. This is the story of how Judas Iscariot supposedly betrayed Christ. He probably did not realize there are multiple ways Judas’ very own righteousness actually saved him.
Judas has been ostracised and forgotten as a disciple, but we need to invite him back to the Body of Christ (Matt 5:44-48). The reason for Judah’s demise and rebirth begins in Genesis and continues to unfold through Revelation.
There are a few rules to be saved. First, he must have faith in Christ. He cannot do that if he is hung on a tree or cross. Second, someone must be called by name, like Lazarus. Third, they must know their crime so they can ask for forgiveness. Fourth, someone must testify for them. I’ll address all of these things in this series of posts.
Judah’s Background
The first point I will make is that the elasticity of time in the Bible is important. Peter told us not to let it escape our notice that one day is like a thousand years for the Lord (2 Peter 3:8). Creation was also done in 7 days. One day is also a year (Ezekiel 4:5-6). While there are reasonable ways to explain that time difference by using physics, the point is things span over time.
The second point I want to make is family lines are important for salvation, which is why the Lion of Judah carries the rod to the end and passes it to Shiloh (Genesis 49:8-12, Revelation 5:3-5). This passes from Judah to Judas. It’s all the same family line even though lineage is jumbled up like Ezekiel 16:61 mentions. Accordingly, I will consider Judah and Judas as the same line and family. They also have similar traits. Judah is given the signet ring, rod, and cord while Judas carries the money box.
A great schism ensued in the Old Testament as Judah’s separation from Israel caused battles to rage between King Saul and King David. They, however, were both anointed for a specific purpose of division and desolation. Each was also set up to fail, but in failure, they overcome. That is another message, but Saul and David are key to this.
This all stems from Judah’s desire to sell off his brother Joseph, the dreamer. Joseph dreamed and said everyone would worship him. The brothers planned to kill off Joseph’s ability to connect to God – dream. So, the brothers stripped Joseph naked and stuck him in a hole in the wilderness.
The Keys to The Kingdom
The key to understanding how this works together is hidden in the depths of the Scriptural sea. Judah’s transgression seemed to be for the crime of selling his brother into captivity, like Judas selling Jesus into captivity, but neither are exactly accurate. Judah suggested it – then it just happened (Genesis 37:26-28). Joseph, however, was pulled from the pit and sold by Midianites to Ishmaelites (which means descendants of Ishmael). Notice that Joseph, which means ‘added’ and ‘he increases,’ was sold as a ransom for Ishamael’s offspring. That means Joseph was sold to reconcile (increase) Islam with Israel, which is really the reconciliation of Ishmael and Abraham.
Who got the money? It appears Joseph was paid. He could have bought his own way out of prison the entire time, but he did not. He waited for the pearl at his own gate in the end. It was an important role to play, which is to shatter the pot holding the scroll with the seven seals in Revelation 5. One thing is certain, Judah did not get the money. That is the reason for Judah’s sacrifice.
Tamar
This leads to the failure of Judah’s two older sons and his subsequent fear of failure and lack of concern for others. Judah withheld his third son from Tamar because he was fearful of losing his third son despite it being his role to carry on the family line for his brothers. He was not yet of age (one can be redeemed once he or she is of age: 1 Cor 7:36-38, Lev 27:3), but Tamar had something else in mind and dressed like a harlot and took his family treasure (Gen 38:18). Judah would carry the scepter and ruler’s staff, but she duped him (Gen 49:10).
When he went looking for his signet ring, cord, and rod, he realized what happened and was embarrassed to be duped and he would not say anything – he hid.
Enter Judas
Eventually, things change when Jesus reverses everything. Judas did the hard work, and Jesus enabled it, but nobody gave him credit and essentially forgot about him. It makes me think of Christmas. We don’t remember what we received last year, but we remember what we gave. It’s human nature.
What an awful thing. To be around and never noticed. Doing good things for everyone to see, but nobody sees anything. It’s like a ghost. I wonder if that is how God felt when the fallen angels accused him of breaking his rules and giving mercy. The context of why mankind was created gives color to that. Everyone forgot and Judas personifies this separation in the time since Christ’s ministry.
The Seed Stays Buried
Division and separation are key to growth. It is like the spiritual womb (the third day of creation sees growth in the void). The family line of Judah gets stuck when Judah denied his third son the chance to redeem his first two. He is stuck until he figures out how to forgive or until every penny is paid (Matt 18:33-35).
Tamar put on a veil and took the family jewels and became pregnant with Zerah and Perez. The younger son is Perez, which means to burst forth or breach. It relates to Judas’ exploding in Acts 1:18. He was the offspring whose line Jesus redeemed. Then, Zerah, which means to rise, is born later. This is why and how Lazarus is awoken.
Jesus saved Lazarus from spiritual death by drawing him out to be wicked (wicked him out like lamp oil). In doing so, Jesus tore down the Jewish or Judah’s ‘temple’ to build it back up. He flipped the tables and Judah’s lineage was purified from the top to the bottom and inside out during Jesus’ ministry (cleaned the inside of the cup/whitewashed tomb). As such Er, Onan, and Shelah are all saved by the fifth brother in the process (Lev 27:10, 19). It also should not evade notice that Tamar negotiated for the birthright to be for her children. This means Zerah receives the signet ring, rod, and cord.
Judah’s sacrifice and legacy, therefore, spans from Genesis to Revelation and directly connects to the seven seals in Revelation 5:3-5. John cried or preached out in the wilderness until the lamb presented himself. Maybe the time will come soon when Judah’s lion can be released.
Role Reversal
Things were different when Jesus called Judah’s line out of the wilderness. This became Judah’s sacrifice. Judah conceived or perceived because of Christ, but it was also against Judah’s (Judas’) will. This is a spiritual birth. One cannot see another person without being awakened, which is not allowed by the rules of separation and Judah knew it just like Lot. That is why the left hand cannot know what the right hand is doing, according to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Then things get weird or perfect; you pick. When things flip he’s no longer allowed to perceive or conceive – he becomes a eunuch (Notice God makes some people into eunuchs but man does as well Matt 19:11-12). Don’t miss the nuance. He once was stubborn and unwilling to notice, perceive, or conceive in the biblical landscape but now he isn’t allowed but can – it’s against the rules. That is his temptation in the wilderness. He has to pay his due to the created world and hang on his own cross (Luke 14:27, Lev 17:16, Matt 15:2, Ezekiel 21:32).
This is the first of several posts about Judas’ redemption.
