Judas was blinded to his own weakness of character, and Christ placed him where he would have an opportunity to see and correct this. As treasurer for the disciples, he was called upon to provide for the needs of the little company, and to relieve the necessities of the poor. When in the Passover chamber Jesus said to him, "That thou doest, do quickly" (John 13:27), the disciples thought He had bidden him 718 buy what was needed for the feast, or give something to the poor. In ministering to others, Judas might have developed an unselfish spirit. But while listening daily to the lessons of Christ and witnessing His unselfish life, Judas indulged his covetous disposition. The small sums that came into his hands were a continual temptation. Often when he did a little service for Christ, or devoted time to religious purposes, he paid himself out of this meager fund. In his own eyes these pretexts served to excuse his action; but in God's sight he was a thief.

Judas var blind for sine egne karaktersvagheder, og Kristus gav ham den plads, hvor han ville have mulighed for at se og rette dem. Som den, der tog sig af disciplenes pengesager, var det ham, der havde til opgave at sørge for den lille skares fornødenheder og at lindre de fattiges nød. Dengang Jesus i påskesalen sagde til ham: "Hvad du gør, gør det snart!" (Joh. 13,27), mente disciplene, at han havde befalet ham at købe det, som var nødvendigt til højtiden, eller at give noget til de fattige. Ved at handle til andres gavn kunne Judas have udviklet et uselvisk sind. Men skønt Judas daglig lyttede til Kristi lære og var vidne til hans uselviske liv, blev han ved med at kæle for sine begærlige tilbøjeligheder. De små summer, han rådede over, var ham en bestandig fristelse. Tit, når han havde gjort Kristus en lille tjeneste eller givet af sin tid til et fromt formål, tog han sig selv betalt af disse sparsomme midler. Disse påskud tjente i hans egne øjne til undskyldning for hans handlemåde; men i Guds øjne var han en tyv.