This is a follow-up to a previous post about the Judas spirit.
Jesus is revealing and dealing with the Judas spirit within the Body. This is a foundational to the resurgence of the Acts of Holy Spirit season we are in. As the Book of Acts opens, the leaders receive a forty-day crash course in kingdom leadership. They are going to carrying on what Jesus established. Jesus leaves them in charge, with a promise to return as mysteriously as He leaves.
The first order of kingdom leadership business is to fill the empty place among the strategic leadership team.
Peter sees the strategic foundation of this action from David’s prophetic writings. The Judas action is simply to cash-in on Jesus and avoid His rejection and Cross. The Judas spirit answers to the betrayal of Jesus’ assignment and a “what’s in it for me” mentality. Jesus sees Judas as an uncleanness in John 13, as He is washing the disciples’ feet; this is akin to the pruning cleansing He mentions two chapters later.
If we bear fruit, He cleanses or prunes us to bear more fruit.
Note the reference Peter makes to prophetic phrasing: “Another will fill his place.” Peter is answering the “After Judas, what?” question.
Replacements
This purging and replacing doesn’t diminish the assignment or leadership. Nothing about this scenario says that the Body is accepting second best or plan B because of Judas’ failure. It seems to be a natural kingdom response to purging.
Peter stood up and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, it was necessary for the Scriptures to be fulfilled concerning Judas, who guided the Temple police to arrest Jesus. This was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. Judas was one of us, chosen to share in the ministry with us.” (Judas bought a field with the money he received for his treachery, and falling there, he burst open, spilling out his intestines. The news of his death spread rapidly among all the people of Jerusalem, and they gave the place the Aramaic name Akeldama, which means “Field of Blood.”) Peter continued, “This was predicted in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ And again, ‘Let his position be given to someone else.’
Psalm 109:8 is the quote: “Let someone else be given his oversight responsibility and authority.” Both the Old Testament Hebrew and the New Testament Greek use words for “oversight.” The Greek term is the one from which we get the term “bishop.” This doesn’t mean apostles are bishops since the word use includes any leader with oversight function, the scope of the function defined by the assignment of the leader.
The place of leadership emptied out by Judas must be filled by another leader. Without this leader, someone is not in their place, a place of leadership is empty, and the strategy of leadership Jesus established for the representative twelve is less than it should be.
Prophetically, as the Judas spirit is being exposed and cleansed from the Body, some strategic leadership places will be left empty. They will be filled by other leaders, equally qualified for the assignments unfinished by those who operated with a Judas spirit.
Bottom line: Jesus is about to fill the empty places vacated by those who have been victims of the Judas spirit. In June I heard God say, “I’m going to deal with the Judas spirit in My Body.” He has been cleansing the core leadership of those using leadership for what they get out of it, even in terms of “what I can get out of leadership to build my ministry.”
The empty places will be filled! After Judas, the called together assemblies will be stronger, the leadership will be more effective, and the mission assignment of the Body will be more successful!
