Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
Jesus had chosen twelve disciples, yet one of them, Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, was a devil who would betray Him. To call him a devil means Satan was communicating his own attributes to him and making him an unsuspected channel to influence and mislead the other disciples. It was spoken in Capernaum after many were offended by the teaching that He is the heavenly bread and must be eaten by faith, when they turned back while the twelve stayed and Peter confessed Him as the Christ with the words of eternal life. Outward place among the chosen does not prove inward faith, for Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe and who would betray Him, and Judas had only a formal connection without vital union with Christ. Christ knowingly kept him near to give him lessons, training, and opportunity to be converted from selfishness and covetousness like John and Peter were changed, but he cherished evil until it poisoned the whole man and he sold his Lord.
Setting in John 6
John 6 shows Christ as the same compassionate Saviour today, caring for the physical needs of the hungry multitude who followed Him to hear words of life. By creative power He increased five barley loaves and two small fishes to feed five thousand men besides women and children, then directed that the fragments be gathered up so nothing would be lost. He is still willing to impart knowledge by which His people in different places will be provided with food. The same chapter teaches that the spiritual food He provides is of far more consequence than temporal food, that chief labor should be bestowed not for the meat which perishes but for the meat which endures to everlasting life, and that God Himself gives the true bread from heaven through Christ.
The verse belongs to the account of feeding the multitude, walking on the water, and teaching that He is the Bread of life, a teaching that caused some disciples to turn away from Him. It stands at a turning point when followers drawn by hopes of an earthly kingdom had to be tested and undeceived. Christ knew that praise from people seeking worldly power could turn to hatred and curses, and He offered no earthly rewards to secure loyalty.
It was spoken in the synagogue at Capernaum about a year before the betrayal, after many were offended by Christ presenting Himself as heavenly bread and teaching that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood, which means true earnest belief in His word that gives spirit and life. After those disciples went back and walked no more with Him, the twelve had not shown themselves unfaithful. When Jesus asked if they also would leave, Peter speaking for his brethren declared Him the Christ, the Son of the living God who has the words of eternal life, to which Jesus answered that although He had chosen the twelve, one of them was a devil. That answer points to Judas as already false at a time when the twelve as a body stood true, in contrast to the night of the betrayal when all the disciples would be offended because of Him. Inwardly Judas disagreed with what Christ said, and under his influence the leaven of disaffection was fast spreading, though the disciples did not see the real agency at work while Jesus did.
The surrounding words show that some who followed Him did not believe, and that coming to Him in faith depends on the Father drawing them. Their hearts had to be open to God's Spirit, willing to accept correction, turn from evil, and live holy lives. These truths were spoken to lead people to decide for or against Him and to reveal their real feelings, for Jesus knew those not wholly with Him would take a position against Him at His trial.
Chosen Twelve, One Devil
Jesus had chosen twelve disciples, yet one of them would betray Him. The one meant was Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, being one of the twelve, as the next verse identifies. Being chosen among the twelve did not mean he would remain faithful, for Jesus knew he was preparing to betray Him.
To call one of the twelve a devil means Satan was communicating his own attributes to Judas and making him a channel through which to influence the other disciples. He was an unsuspected instrument through whom Satan could work human minds to lead them to do his work. Selfishness cherished in the heart is an attribute of the devil, and Judas cherished it while his mind stood open to the devil's working.
Inwardly Judas disagreed with what Christ said to His disciples, and under his influence the leaven of disaffection was fast spreading. The disciples did not see the real agency at work while Jesus did. After Jesus refused the crowd's attempt to make Him king, Judas became dissatisfied because his ambition for an earthly kingdom was frustrated, and he resolved to destroy Jesus. This shows how Satan uses the offer of human honor and political power to foster disaffection among Jesus' followers. He was already brooding in his soul purposes whose full ripening he himself little dreamed, though chosen with complete foreknowledge of what each would become, as James was destined to swift death by the sword, John to follow his Master longest in labor and persecution, Peter to pioneer the breaking through of age-old barriers to teach the heathen world, and Judas was in service capable of preeminence above his brethren.
For this work Jesus called him a devil because he became a tempter to his fellow disciples. He sowed unbelief by expressing his own unbelief, passing on to their minds the questioning doubts Satan sowed in his heart and mind and accusing the brethren so as to counterwork Christ's lessons. He served the devil through unbelief by using Scripture out of context and the Pharisees' sayings to confuse the disciples, discourage them, and weaken the force of Jesus' truth while appearing conscientiously righteous. He could instead have been changed through a living connection with Christ.
Outward Place, Inward Faith
Chosen as one of the twelve did not by itself prove belief, loyalty, or faithfulness, for outward place among Christ's followers is no evidence of inward faith. Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe and who would betray Him, and whether a person is a faithful subject of God's kingdom must be shown by spirit and conduct. Calling Judas a devil identifies him as the betrayer and exposes the difference between outward association with Christ and genuine faith. The test of Christ's words revealed the weakness of false disciples and distinguished those who truly remained with Him.
Judas, though chosen as one of the twelve, had no vital connection with Christ and was not a true, living disciple, for his connection was only formal and outward. Like the others he could have learned from Christ, but he refused to receive and practice His words, though the others regarded him as faithful. The word was spoken when truth had to be stated decidedly, so that disciples truly in the Vine could be distinguished from those without living union. Judas appeared as a branch in the Vine after living with the disciples and hearing Christ, but he did not abide knit fiber by fiber and vein by vein to partake its life and bear fruit, remaining a dry sapling.
Though commanding in appearance with excellent qualifications, his endowments were unsanctified because he opened the chambers of his mind and the door of his heart to Satan's temptations, devoting his energies to self-serving, self-exaltation, and love of money. God remained unknown to him as a living God and loving Father, and his life was not hid with Christ in God, leaving him separate from the spirit and life of Christ. He stood ever under condemnation because Christ's lessons cut him, yet he never humbled his heart to be transformed and converted into a living branch. Every neglected counsel from God puts the human agent in distrust and suspicion, and unless defects of character are thoroughly reformed and self dies, he separates farther and farther from righteousness and truth.
Christ knowingly accepted Judas among the twelve despite his defects of character, joining him to Himself and the other disciples to give him opportunity to improve in character building. That joining gave him the benefit of lessons in godliness, education, training, painstaking efforts, many lessons given to all the followers, and perfect example and righteous teaching, so he could choose holiness. Judas was not beyond hope when chosen, having good qualities and opportunities to recognize and correct his covetousness and selfishness. Christ's grace received into the heart would have converted him from selfishness and worked wonderful changes in him, as in John and Peter, for he could instead have been changed through a living connection with Christ. Instead he kept thinking he would reform while believing his good qualities could make up for his inherited and cultivated evil traits. He indulged covetousness until love of money displaced truth in his heart, let opposition to the light arise and treasured his defects as a precious treasure until they poisoned the whole man in principle, spirit, life, and character, leading him to sell his Lord for a trifling sum of money.
Jesus held the twelve after many disciples left, yet warned that one of the chosen twelve was unconverted. The one meant was Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, who being one of the twelve would betray Him. His plain teaching brought the crisis into the open and made the apostasy discernible while He was still with the disciples. When disciples fall into error and peril, Christ's word of counsel and reproof recovers them.
Foreknowledge and Faithful Purpose
Jesus had chosen the twelve while knowing that one of them, Judas, was a devil and corrupt and would betray Him. His later words and treatment of Judas at the Passover supper showed that He fully knew of the coming treachery, having already told the disciples that He had chosen twelve and one was a devil and thus exposing Judas as a false disciple. Remembering this warning and seeing Him fully aware of the treachery strengthened the other disciples' faith in His divine foresight and Messiahship during His humiliation and after Judas's death, giving His faithful disciples stronger grounds for faith.
This foreknowledge gave Judas a final chance to turn back. Jesus yearned over the disciples who remained after many went back and walked no more with Him, and longed to bring them into sacred relationship with Himself and to have them understand Him, for believing in Him is living faith in a personal Saviour who ransoms from sin. He foresaw that in the hour of temptation every one of His beloved disciples would be severely tested, and told them that His words would be understood after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
Christ chose the twelve with complete foreknowledge of what each would become, teaching them in preparation for distinct leading work. James was destined to swift death by the sword, John to follow his Master longest in labor and persecution, Peter to pioneer the breaking through of age-old barriers to teach the heathen world, and Judas in service was capable of preeminence above his brethren, yet was already brooding in his soul purposes whose full ripening he himself little dreamed. Jesus knew Judas was ruled by selfishness and would betray Him, yet allowed him to remain among the twelve and kept him near so He could counteract the harm Judas might do. Dismissing him could have let Satan use him to spread distorted accounts of Jesus' words and discredit His work.
Bread of Life and Application
Spiritual life and strength come from feeding on Christ, the bread from heaven and the true bread from heaven given by God through Christ. Eating His flesh and drinking His blood means true earnest belief in His word that gives spirit and life, taking His truths into the soul, obeying and living them out, being doers of the Word, and receiving and assimilating His words. It is not merely studying them or replacing them with human ideas, for God has revealed what is necessary for salvation. The Word of God as the bread of life represents the body and blood of the Son, and is not only for the intellect but addresses the heart and moral nature, takes possession of the will, and brings thoughts into obedience to Christ.
Personal faith in a personal Saviour brings the soul into spiritual union with Christ, while outward connection with a church does not save. Eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God is a real personal experience of tasting that the Lord is gracious, which is true conversion and being born again, without which no one can see the kingdom of God or discern its requirements. Those born again as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that they may grow, open the mind to God's word with determination to practice it, forsake a frivolous common life for a transformed character, and mount step by step heavenward with Christ revealed in spirit, words, and actions. The chapter defines the righteousness of Christ that must be accepted to have on the wedding garment, the standard of character each must reach for the marriage of humanity with divinity. Christ came from heaven clothing divinity with humanity to reveal Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the price of heaven is the only begotten Son, and the way is faith in Jesus, first believing and then working, for believing on Him whom God sent is the work of God, with the Bible as the great educating Book above all others.
Those truths must be read and studied with prayer for understanding, showing that power, strength, and guidance come from God alone and not from any human being, that men and women accountable to God by creation and redemption must depend on Him and look to Jesus rather than to men for wisdom, and that receiving Christ by faith makes Him sanctification, righteousness, and exceeding great reward. Eating the bread of life means reading the Word and appropriating it as the living bread from heaven, a value not one in a hundred knows. The living oracles are the flesh and blood of the Son though He had not then been crucified, and His work as substitute for all sin was the only hope of ancient Israel. Jesus as the invisible Leader of Israel gave directions in the Old Testament Scriptures full of marrow and nourishment so no soul who takes and eats them hungers spiritually. After God's plan was fulfilled in Christ's death the New Testament was written by holy men moved by the Spirit not to cast aside the Old but to reflect light back into past ages giving significance to the whole Jewish economy, so that directions for practical holiness and practical obedience given to ancient Israel must enter the life of everyone claiming to be Christian.
Each person must choose whom to serve, for God cannot be served with a divided heart. Giving the mind to worldly entertainments and feeding on worldly things instead of receiving God's light leads to loss of spiritual hunger, assurance, and love for Bible religion, leaving no appetite for heavenly instruction. Every worker in Christ's service must comprehend the sixth chapter of John by experience in order to do Christ's work of evangelizing the world without mistake, by following His example, asking and receiving blessing from on high, and moving guardedly with His guidance at every step, because without Him nothing can be done.
Christ's plain testimony tested His disciples, for some rejected truth and reproof, preferring human praise, and turned away. Those who refuse to reform when truth exposes defects may come under a spirit opposed to God, cooperate with the enemy, and spread falsehood against faithful servants. Every neglected counsel from God puts the human agent in distrust and suspicion, and unless defects of character are thoroughly reformed and self dies, he separates farther and farther from righteousness and truth. When disciples fall into error and peril Christ's word of counsel and reproof recovers them.
Though Christ chose the twelve, one proved a false friend who betrayed sacred trust and brought sorrowful, disappointing results, showing that such cases will still appear in the sacred work of the ministry and even a Judas may join the workers, causing great sorrow and needing correction as God prepares the wheat for His garner by separating it from the chaff. Yet the failure of workers does not lower the ministry, which retains its sacred character, exalted purity, and perfect unity and is not to be belittled or ignored but respected, and the Lord will care for the work. Judas was an exception among the apostles and not all within the covenant circle of God's church are perfect in character while the church itself still belongs to the Lord. His presence does not mean Christ had no genuine disciples, that all shared his character, or that failures of professed followers excuse others from following Christ. Finding him among the disciples is no reason for sincere learners to abandon purpose or be discouraged, for true and humble devoted disciples also belonged and were taught what perfect Christian character is. People must not decide who is of little value to God's work and remove them, for that judgment belongs to the Lord.
Jesus had chosen twelve disciples, yet one of them, Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, was a devil who would betray Him. To call him a devil means Satan was communicating his own attributes to him and making him an unsuspected channel to influence and mislead the other disciples. It was spoken in Capernaum after many were offended by the teaching that He is the heavenly bread and must be eaten by faith, when they turned back while the twelve stayed and Peter confessed Him as the Christ with the words of eternal life. Outward place among the chosen does not prove inward faith, for Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe and who would betray Him, and Judas had only a formal connection without vital union with Christ. Christ knowingly kept him near to give him lessons, training, and opportunity to be converted from selfishness and covetousness like John and Peter were changed, but he cherished evil until it poisoned the whole man and he sold his Lord.
Setting in John 6
John 6 shows Christ as the same compassionate Saviour today, caring for the physical needs of the hungry multitude who followed Him to hear words of life. By creative power He increased five barley loaves and two small fishes to feed five thousand men besides women and children, then directed that the fragments be gathered up so nothing would be lost. He is still willing to impart knowledge by which His people in different places will be provided with food. The same chapter teaches that the spiritual food He provides is of far more consequence than temporal food, that chief labor should be bestowed not for the meat which perishes but for the meat which endures to everlasting life, and that God Himself gives the true bread from heaven through Christ.
The verse belongs to the account of feeding the multitude, walking on the water, and teaching that He is the Bread of life, a teaching that caused some disciples to turn away from Him. It stands at a turning point when followers drawn by hopes of an earthly kingdom had to be tested and undeceived. Christ knew that praise from people seeking worldly power could turn to hatred and curses, and He offered no earthly rewards to secure loyalty.
It was spoken in the synagogue at Capernaum about a year before the betrayal, after many were offended by Christ presenting Himself as heavenly bread and teaching that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood, which means true earnest belief in His word that gives spirit and life. After those disciples went back and walked no more with Him, the twelve had not shown themselves unfaithful. When Jesus asked if they also would leave, Peter speaking for his brethren declared Him the Christ, the Son of the living God who has the words of eternal life, to which Jesus answered that although He had chosen the twelve, one of them was a devil. That answer points to Judas as already false at a time when the twelve as a body stood true, in contrast to the night of the betrayal when all the disciples would be offended because of Him. Inwardly Judas disagreed with what Christ said, and under his influence the leaven of disaffection was fast spreading, though the disciples did not see the real agency at work while Jesus did.
The surrounding words show that some who followed Him did not believe, and that coming to Him in faith depends on the Father drawing them. Their hearts had to be open to God's Spirit, willing to accept correction, turn from evil, and live holy lives. These truths were spoken to lead people to decide for or against Him and to reveal their real feelings, for Jesus knew those not wholly with Him would take a position against Him at His trial.
Chosen Twelve, One Devil
Jesus had chosen twelve disciples, yet one of them would betray Him. The one meant was Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, being one of the twelve, as the next verse identifies. Being chosen among the twelve did not mean he would remain faithful, for Jesus knew he was preparing to betray Him.
To call one of the twelve a devil means Satan was communicating his own attributes to Judas and making him a channel through which to influence the other disciples. He was an unsuspected instrument through whom Satan could work human minds to lead them to do his work. Selfishness cherished in the heart is an attribute of the devil, and Judas cherished it while his mind stood open to the devil's working.
Inwardly Judas disagreed with what Christ said to His disciples, and under his influence the leaven of disaffection was fast spreading. The disciples did not see the real agency at work while Jesus did. After Jesus refused the crowd's attempt to make Him king, Judas became dissatisfied because his ambition for an earthly kingdom was frustrated, and he resolved to destroy Jesus. This shows how Satan uses the offer of human honor and political power to foster disaffection among Jesus' followers. He was already brooding in his soul purposes whose full ripening he himself little dreamed, though chosen with complete foreknowledge of what each would become, as James was destined to swift death by the sword, John to follow his Master longest in labor and persecution, Peter to pioneer the breaking through of age-old barriers to teach the heathen world, and Judas was in service capable of preeminence above his brethren.
For this work Jesus called him a devil because he became a tempter to his fellow disciples. He sowed unbelief by expressing his own unbelief, passing on to their minds the questioning doubts Satan sowed in his heart and mind and accusing the brethren so as to counterwork Christ's lessons. He served the devil through unbelief by using Scripture out of context and the Pharisees' sayings to confuse the disciples, discourage them, and weaken the force of Jesus' truth while appearing conscientiously righteous. He could instead have been changed through a living connection with Christ.
Outward Place, Inward Faith
Chosen as one of the twelve did not by itself prove belief, loyalty, or faithfulness, for outward place among Christ's followers is no evidence of inward faith. Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe and who would betray Him, and whether a person is a faithful subject of God's kingdom must be shown by spirit and conduct. Calling Judas a devil identifies him as the betrayer and exposes the difference between outward association with Christ and genuine faith. The test of Christ's words revealed the weakness of false disciples and distinguished those who truly remained with Him.
Judas, though chosen as one of the twelve, had no vital connection with Christ and was not a true, living disciple, for his connection was only formal and outward. Like the others he could have learned from Christ, but he refused to receive and practice His words, though the others regarded him as faithful. The word was spoken when truth had to be stated decidedly, so that disciples truly in the Vine could be distinguished from those without living union. Judas appeared as a branch in the Vine after living with the disciples and hearing Christ, but he did not abide knit fiber by fiber and vein by vein to partake its life and bear fruit, remaining a dry sapling.
Though commanding in appearance with excellent qualifications, his endowments were unsanctified because he opened the chambers of his mind and the door of his heart to Satan's temptations, devoting his energies to self-serving, self-exaltation, and love of money. God remained unknown to him as a living God and loving Father, and his life was not hid with Christ in God, leaving him separate from the spirit and life of Christ. He stood ever under condemnation because Christ's lessons cut him, yet he never humbled his heart to be transformed and converted into a living branch. Every neglected counsel from God puts the human agent in distrust and suspicion, and unless defects of character are thoroughly reformed and self dies, he separates farther and farther from righteousness and truth.
Christ knowingly accepted Judas among the twelve despite his defects of character, joining him to Himself and the other disciples to give him opportunity to improve in character building. That joining gave him the benefit of lessons in godliness, education, training, painstaking efforts, many lessons given to all the followers, and perfect example and righteous teaching, so he could choose holiness. Judas was not beyond hope when chosen, having good qualities and opportunities to recognize and correct his covetousness and selfishness. Christ's grace received into the heart would have converted him from selfishness and worked wonderful changes in him, as in John and Peter, for he could instead have been changed through a living connection with Christ. Instead he kept thinking he would reform while believing his good qualities could make up for his inherited and cultivated evil traits. He indulged covetousness until love of money displaced truth in his heart, let opposition to the light arise and treasured his defects as a precious treasure until they poisoned the whole man in principle, spirit, life, and character, leading him to sell his Lord for a trifling sum of money.
Jesus held the twelve after many disciples left, yet warned that one of the chosen twelve was unconverted. The one meant was Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, who being one of the twelve would betray Him. His plain teaching brought the crisis into the open and made the apostasy discernible while He was still with the disciples. When disciples fall into error and peril, Christ's word of counsel and reproof recovers them.
Foreknowledge and Faithful Purpose
Jesus had chosen the twelve while knowing that one of them, Judas, was a devil and corrupt and would betray Him. His later words and treatment of Judas at the Passover supper showed that He fully knew of the coming treachery, having already told the disciples that He had chosen twelve and one was a devil and thus exposing Judas as a false disciple. Remembering this warning and seeing Him fully aware of the treachery strengthened the other disciples' faith in His divine foresight and Messiahship during His humiliation and after Judas's death, giving His faithful disciples stronger grounds for faith.
This foreknowledge gave Judas a final chance to turn back. Jesus yearned over the disciples who remained after many went back and walked no more with Him, and longed to bring them into sacred relationship with Himself and to have them understand Him, for believing in Him is living faith in a personal Saviour who ransoms from sin. He foresaw that in the hour of temptation every one of His beloved disciples would be severely tested, and told them that His words would be understood after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
Christ chose the twelve with complete foreknowledge of what each would become, teaching them in preparation for distinct leading work. James was destined to swift death by the sword, John to follow his Master longest in labor and persecution, Peter to pioneer the breaking through of age-old barriers to teach the heathen world, and Judas in service was capable of preeminence above his brethren, yet was already brooding in his soul purposes whose full ripening he himself little dreamed. Jesus knew Judas was ruled by selfishness and would betray Him, yet allowed him to remain among the twelve and kept him near so He could counteract the harm Judas might do. Dismissing him could have let Satan use him to spread distorted accounts of Jesus' words and discredit His work.
Bread of Life and Application
Spiritual life and strength come from feeding on Christ, the bread from heaven and the true bread from heaven given by God through Christ. Eating His flesh and drinking His blood means true earnest belief in His word that gives spirit and life, taking His truths into the soul, obeying and living them out, being doers of the Word, and receiving and assimilating His words. It is not merely studying them or replacing them with human ideas, for God has revealed what is necessary for salvation. The Word of God as the bread of life represents the body and blood of the Son, and is not only for the intellect but addresses the heart and moral nature, takes possession of the will, and brings thoughts into obedience to Christ.
Personal faith in a personal Saviour brings the soul into spiritual union with Christ, while outward connection with a church does not save. Eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God is a real personal experience of tasting that the Lord is gracious, which is true conversion and being born again, without which no one can see the kingdom of God or discern its requirements. Those born again as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that they may grow, open the mind to God's word with determination to practice it, forsake a frivolous common life for a transformed character, and mount step by step heavenward with Christ revealed in spirit, words, and actions. The chapter defines the righteousness of Christ that must be accepted to have on the wedding garment, the standard of character each must reach for the marriage of humanity with divinity. Christ came from heaven clothing divinity with humanity to reveal Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the price of heaven is the only begotten Son, and the way is faith in Jesus, first believing and then working, for believing on Him whom God sent is the work of God, with the Bible as the great educating Book above all others.
Those truths must be read and studied with prayer for understanding, showing that power, strength, and guidance come from God alone and not from any human being, that men and women accountable to God by creation and redemption must depend on Him and look to Jesus rather than to men for wisdom, and that receiving Christ by faith makes Him sanctification, righteousness, and exceeding great reward. Eating the bread of life means reading the Word and appropriating it as the living bread from heaven, a value not one in a hundred knows. The living oracles are the flesh and blood of the Son though He had not then been crucified, and His work as substitute for all sin was the only hope of ancient Israel. Jesus as the invisible Leader of Israel gave directions in the Old Testament Scriptures full of marrow and nourishment so no soul who takes and eats them hungers spiritually. After God's plan was fulfilled in Christ's death the New Testament was written by holy men moved by the Spirit not to cast aside the Old but to reflect light back into past ages giving significance to the whole Jewish economy, so that directions for practical holiness and practical obedience given to ancient Israel must enter the life of everyone claiming to be Christian.
Each person must choose whom to serve, for God cannot be served with a divided heart. Giving the mind to worldly entertainments and feeding on worldly things instead of receiving God's light leads to loss of spiritual hunger, assurance, and love for Bible religion, leaving no appetite for heavenly instruction. Every worker in Christ's service must comprehend the sixth chapter of John by experience in order to do Christ's work of evangelizing the world without mistake, by following His example, asking and receiving blessing from on high, and moving guardedly with His guidance at every step, because without Him nothing can be done.
Christ's plain testimony tested His disciples, for some rejected truth and reproof, preferring human praise, and turned away. Those who refuse to reform when truth exposes defects may come under a spirit opposed to God, cooperate with the enemy, and spread falsehood against faithful servants. Every neglected counsel from God puts the human agent in distrust and suspicion, and unless defects of character are thoroughly reformed and self dies, he separates farther and farther from righteousness and truth. When disciples fall into error and peril Christ's word of counsel and reproof recovers them.
Though Christ chose the twelve, one proved a false friend who betrayed sacred trust and brought sorrowful, disappointing results, showing that such cases will still appear in the sacred work of the ministry and even a Judas may join the workers, causing great sorrow and needing correction as God prepares the wheat for His garner by separating it from the chaff. Yet the failure of workers does not lower the ministry, which retains its sacred character, exalted purity, and perfect unity and is not to be belittled or ignored but respected, and the Lord will care for the work. Judas was an exception among the apostles and not all within the covenant circle of God's church are perfect in character while the church itself still belongs to the Lord. His presence does not mean Christ had no genuine disciples, that all shared his character, or that failures of professed followers excuse others from following Christ. Finding him among the disciples is no reason for sincere learners to abandon purpose or be discouraged, for true and humble devoted disciples also belonged and were taught what perfect Christian character is. People must not decide who is of little value to God's work and remove them, for that judgment belongs to the Lord.