Eye Scary Ought
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, January 16, 2026 (Donate)
Have you ever thought, if you had been there to see Jesus
perform great miracles that you might have a stronger, impenetrable faith? For
instance, if you had seen Jesus take two fish and five loaves and feed 5000 men
and their families? If you saw this, you would have an immense faith, right?
For those who don’t believe in Christ, surely, they would have
believe if they witnessed Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled before their
very eyes in Jesus Christ—or would they? Imagine listening to the wisdom and
authority of Jesus Christ day in, and day out—surely you would have been an
amazing believer, right?
Well, Judas, the betrayer, saw miracles, witnessed prophecy before
his very eyes, and heard the great and perfect wisdom of Christ, yet he never believed.
He even betrayed Jesus for some silver coins.
(1) A Deceptive Thief
Speaking of silver coins, Judas was a thief, and God knew
it. The Holy Spirit speaking through John records:
Then 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 12:4-6, NKJV)
Judas’ eye was on money, not Christ. He would snitch
from it. Judas held the money box too, perhaps by his own beckoning as thieves
tend to do in an effort to make it easier to “help themselves” (John 13:26-30).
Consider Judas’ when it came to the two drachma temple tax.
If he was in charge of finances, then why did tax collectors come to seek taxes
from Jesus (and Peter)? That should have already been handled by Judas. The Bible
says:
When they had come to Capernaum,
those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your
Teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he had come
into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From
whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from
strangers?” Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the
sons are free. “Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a
hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its
mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and
you.” (Matthew 17, NKJV)
Capernaum is where Jesus lived during His years of ministry (Matthew
4:13). But it shows Judas mishandling money even then. Nevertheless, Jesus uses
it as a teaching point of who He was.
(2) Seeing Miracles Didn’t Convince Him
Judas saw miracles of Jesus—like the feeding of the 5000! He
helps gather baskets of bread. Yet, he didn’t believe.
(3) Seeing Prophecy Fulfilled Didn’t Convince Him
Judas saw prophecy fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus directly prophesied
that Judas would betray Him. He said this to his face! How could he not be in
awe as he did the betraying?
(4) Spending Time With Jesus And Hearing His Wisdom Didn’t Convince Him
Over and over again, Judas heard Jesus’ wisdom and how he
dealt with those who were hostile to Him (e.g., scribes, Pharisees, etc.).
Christ’s brilliance is unmeasurable. Yet Judas didn’t believe.
He thieved and betrayed instead of being what he ought
to have been: honorable, teachable, and a true followed of Christ
Conclusion
When Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss for 30 pieces of
silver it fulfilled prophecies (Psalm 41:9; Zechariah 11:12-13).
Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing
that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces
of silver to the chief priests and elders. (Matthew 27:3, NKJV)
Afterwards, he knew he messed up. He felt bad—duh
(can I use “duh” in a proper article?). But feeling bad about your sin doesn’t help
you or save you.
“The Son of Man indeed goes just as
it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.” (Mark 14:21,
NKJV)
Judas Iscariot (pronounced: “Eye Scary Ought”)
witnessed the amazing feats of Christ and yet, did not believe. He now suffers
eternally for it. Even other disciples initially struggled (e.g., Matthew
28:17). Consider Thomas and the blessing to those of us who have not seen:
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because
you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have believed.” (John 20:29, NKJV)
Let’s learn from this and follow Christ in obedience no
matter what. For the way of Iscariot is the way
of death but the gift of God is eternal
life in Jesus Christ.
Bodie Hodge, Ken
Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various
churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers
in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding
news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight
Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a
Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a
Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and
running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic
materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a
grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar,
Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science
was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one
year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and
scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over
25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.
