Judas Iscariot: Errand Boy, Not Treasurer

Because Judas had the bag, some of the disciples of Jesus thought Jesus told him to run one errand or another for the group at John 13:27,28,29. If we consider their thoughts conversely, then Judas had the bag because he ran errands for the group. This is the scriptural support for the idea that the role of Judas in the group was errand boy. This idea is thus more fully supported by scripture than the idea that he was treasurer for the group, an idea supported only by the fact that he had the bag.

The establishment of an office of treasurer would be an act of formality not characteristic of Jesus, a man not given to formalism. In fact, when we consider it from this perspective, the idea that the group of Jesus and his disciples had officers – a president, a secretary, or a treasurer – is comical.

Beyond this, when we understand that Judas was only an errand boy, then we see an additional aspect of Judas in which he was the least of those given to Jesus by his Father (he was also a devil, a thief, and the only one lost). It is another aspect of Judas that adds to our marvel that he should be the greatest.

I offer these ideas only in my own name.