The Meal That Heals

The Meal That Kills

Judas, one of the twelve disciples, dipped the bread in the cup and ate from the Lord’s table. The Bible makes it clear that Judas was inwardly corrupt. He was an apostle who served the ministry of Christ as the treasurer (John 13:29). Once, Judas became indignant because a woman poured expensive ointment over Jesus’ feet. Judas said the perfume should have been sold and the profit given to the poor. The Scripture indicates Judas was not concerned with the poor, but instead was greedy: “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 The Greek word for thief is kleptes. We derive our English word kleptomaniac from the word kleptes. A kleptomaniac is one who intentionally and consistently steals by habit. Judas was actually a thief in his heart who was willing to betray Christ for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15). The Bible says that Satan entered Judas’ heart (John 13:27). This entrance of the evil one occurred during a very sacred moment in history. Christ was introducing the New Covenant that He would establish through His death and resurrection. Judas had no respect for the sacred revelation of the blood and body of Christ, just as Satan had no respect for the things of God (Matthew 16:23). The hypocrisy of Judas to know he was a traitor and yet pretend he was a part of Christ’s ministry is unparalleled anywhere in the Bible. Yet, in some churches today, the hypocrites hide behind religious masks, cloak themselves in choir robes, and shake hands at the front door. Some live as a Christian double agent — close enough to the things of God that they can’t enjoy sinning, but close enough to the world that they don’t enjoy God’s presence. They are masters at faking their spirituality by enduring the weekly rituals of Christianity at church. These types of personalities should heed the warning Paul gave about not discerning the body of Christ. When Paul spoke of not discerning the Lord’s body, he could be referring to either not discerning the purpose of Christ’s suffering or

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