“Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume His enemies” (Hebrews 10:26-27 NLT).
The Biblical account of Judas Iscariot serves to illustrate the warning given to us here in Hebrews 10:26-27. Judas, of course, is well-known as the disciple who betrayed Jesus as recorded in Mark 14:10-11: “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.”
What may be less well-known is the fact that Judas was not an ethical individual. A look at an incident from the Gospel of John offers a clue that may shed light on his decision to betray Jesus…
“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, ‘Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it” (John 12:3-6).
Although Judas spent a considerable amount of time with Jesus, it doesn’t appear that he listened to Jesus’ teachings concerning the proper use of money (see Luke 12:15, 33-34, and 16:13-15). As a result, it seems that Judas might have allowed his financial ambition to become more important than following Christ. In fact, Judas leveraged his position as Jesus’ disciple in negotiating the price of His betrayal…
“Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?’ And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him” (Matthew 26:14-16).
So it appears that this incident with the fragrant oil ultimately led to Judas’ decision to sell Jesus out. This was not a momentary indiscretion on his part. Instead, it was an intentional, willful, and premeditated act of sin. Thus, he serves as an object example that illustrates the warning given to us here in Hebrews 10:26-27.