John 12:6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
This statement above is referring to Judas Iscariot who would later betray Jesus. It is interesting to me to see how Jesus dealt with Judas throughout his ministry. He may have known from the beginning that Judas would betray him, but still that was a part of God's plan. It would be interesting to know if/when he knew that he was stealing and if the other disciples knew about it (possibly not until later).
God could certainly have done his work without Judas, but I think that God wanted to show us some things:
1) How forgiving and full of mercy that he is (I certainly am glad for this!)
2) The future church (body of Christ) won't be full of perfect people and some will in fact betray the leaders and the body
3) Even in these cases, mercy triumphs over judgement
In this situation, we do see Jesus correcting Judas (so it is not like Jesus left things unchecked). Obviously Judas eventually sealed his own fate and took his life into his hands, but Jesus was merciful!
Thank you Jesus for your mercy and your love!
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