John 13:29. Have you ever asked yourself: Why did Jesus give Judas Iscariot the money box? Wasn't obvious enough that he (Judas) was going to steal? Well, i asked myself many times and this morning (about 4am) i had the answer: Jesus gave Judas the money box to test his character. Of course Jesus knew that Judas was a thief and thieves are known by stealing stuff. So what was the purpose in giving Judas, a thief, the money box? Why didn't Jesus give the money box to Nathanael, since Nathanael was honest? John 1:47. Well, the answer is obvious: Because you don't have to test an honest person if you know that he (she) will not steal; you don't have to test a truthful person if you know that he will not lie; you don't have to test a faithful person if you know that he will not cheat, etc. A test of character is only needed if the person's character is dubious! Of course, if you are thinking about Job, since Job was blameless and upright, and asking: "So, why Job had to be tested?" It's because satan (adversary) didn't know or think that Job was all of that, satan thought that Job's character was tied to his (Job) fortune (money and luck), besides through the "test" Job acquired a more "intimate" relationship with God. Job 1:1; Job 42:5. By giving Judas the money box, Jesus was giving him a chance (three years) to confess his sins and repent, to be changed by the Holy Spirit, to become an honest and righteous person. Of course we know the story: Judas not only kept stealing from the box, but at the end "sold" Jesus to the religious people. That's what the Bible calls iniquity, It's a sin that one keeps committing over and over again, without any effort or willingness to change, a sin without repentance! Remember, Biblical concept of repentance is: To turn around; to stop doing it; to abandon it; to change, etc. We can see in John 13:29 that even the apostles thought that Judas was an honest and merciful fella, since he was the "treasurer" among them, his "reputation" preceded him, or his hypocrisy, whatever the case might be. Just like Judas, we are being tested over and over again. Life is cyclical, just because we passed the test yesterday, doesn't mean that we will never be tested again and because we didn't sin yesterday, we are guaranteed that we will not sin today. My point is: Don't rely on past experiences! Yesterday is past, tomorrow is future and today is the day to resist temptation! Sounds dumb but it is the reality, Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow, Matthew 6:34, besides, Paul told us to be watchful, 1 Corinthians 10:12. Remember the story of Balaam? His character was tested, but he showed to be less faithful than his donkey: Numbers 22:28-33. In which area of your life you are been tested right now? Faithfulness, truthfulness, righteousness, forgiveness, mercifulness? Are you sure you are not been tested? I tell you the truth: If you think you don't need to be tested, it's because you are not a disciple of Jesus Christ!
Conclusion: Character matters. Don't postpone repentance, because you don't know if you will be alive tomorrow. Matthew 25:13. Remember that both Judas Iscariot and Balaam ended up in hell, one committed suicide and the other was killed, both because their wickedness (iniquity). Matthew 7:21-23.
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