Hi, it's Monday morning. I'm sitting in my office, watching the sparrows outside my window trying to figure out how to get nectar out of the hummingbird feeder. Man, they are determined to get their stubby little beaks into that tiny hole. Hope they don't hurt themselves.

Me, I've been trying to make sense to the National Geographic special I saw last night entitled, "The Gospel of Judas". It was admittedly very interesting, but the bottom line is something just did not feel right.

Evidently an ancient, thirteen-page document, written in Coptic has been restored. It's journey was very convoluted, with the last 16 years of its 2300 year-old existence, being spent in a security box in a New York bank, where away from the protection of the dry heat of the Egyptian desert, it nearly disintegrated into dust. It is reportedly tells the story of Judas and his role in the alleged betrayal of Jesus.

According to the Gnostic document, Judas' betrayal was a planned event, carried out at the request of Jesus himself. Jesus asked Judas to deliver him up, warning him that although he would be the most hated of the disciples, he would be the most favored in heaven. His star would "lead the others", and be the brightest. Judas was in a high and unique position because he was helping Jesus to, "sacrifice the man that held his spirit captive".

Before I continue, be advised I am no Biblical scholar, although I have read the Bible cover to cover three times, and have studied under some very learned ministers. I cannot read or speak Greek or Hebrew. So, get out your salt, for this is just a common sense point of few.

Let me get this straight. God, the creator and mastermind of all things, found it necessary to sacrifice one of the disciples in order to have Jesus carry out his redemptive plan for mankind? I think not! Even Jesus asked the chief priests and the temple captains why they were sneaking out in the dead of night to seize him, when he had been daily with them in the temple. Good question! Why not just take Jesus when they had the chance?

Better, why not just get a band of thugs together, knock the disciples in the head, and take Jesus away? There would have been only twelve against hundreds.

It's the same answer that holds true today. The Jewish leadership at the time had power over the people, and men in power often fall into temptation in their obsession to keep that power. There was no denying the miracles that Jesus had done. Grabbing Jesus in the sight of the people would have been a disastrous blow to their position of favor. Therefore, they had to use an underhanded approach, but how?

Again, the same answer holds true back then as it does today, bribery and corruption. The Sanhedrin simply found a weak link among the twelve. It makes better sense to believe that not only did they tempt Judas with 30 pieces of silver (probably a very large sum back then), they probably lied to him also, promising that no harm would come to Jesus. Why else would he despondent enough to kill himself after he saw what was really going down? If he and Jesus had discussed the plan ahead of time then I think he would have been strong enough to handle his new inherited position of infamy.

Also, let's not be too quick to blame the Jews for Jesus' death. They may have been the so-called spiritual leaders in the region at the time, but I see no difference between them and what is going on today. People to claim they are Christians, present company included, are still denying Jesus everyday.

Don't we deny Jesus when we cuss out the person who cut us off in traffic, or explosively lose our tempers instead by being slow to speak, and slow to anger? How could Adam have blown it so; how could Judas have missed it - the same way you and I do. We do in private what we would not do in public, but we forget that the spirit of God is every present, and that one day there will be no secret that is not brought to light.

Well, I digress a bit, sorry. However, the Good News Only is that at least people are talking about the gospel and Jesus again, if only for a while, and that is always better than not. What happened between Judas and Jesus is for God to judge, which He will do with righteousness as promised. We all just need to make sure we always stand by Jesus with what we accomplish in our daily lives. You agree?

Have a blessed day.