Jesus Identifies His Betrayer
Craig Droskin
Matthew 26:24 -25 “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of
Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would
have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?”
Jesus said to him, “You have said it.”
Only God is the final judge, but most biblical scholars seem to agree that
Judas, above all others, assuredly chose to spend eternity in hell. Judas
committed a horrific sin when he betrayed the Son of God.
What does this mean to us? We have all sinned, and some of those sins
would be counted as horrific. All fall short of earning God’s gifts on our
own accord. (Romans 3:23) But, it is Satan’s lie to you and me that any
of us are unworthy of God’s Grace. Even Judas, the son of perdition, was
offered salvation, forgiveness, and life in Christ. Remember, Jesus
Himself washed Judas’ feet, and Jesus Himself gave Judas the bread and
wine at the last supper. What is true, however, is that we all have free
will to accept Jesus or to reject him, and Judas chose to reject and betray
Him.
A great contrast to Judas is Peter who also sinned directly to Jesus.
Jesus foretold Judas’ betrayal. He also foretold Peter’s denial. Luke
22:61 “Before the rooster crows, you (Peter) will deny me three times.”
And Peter did deny Jesus three times just as Jesus had said. The
difference, however, between Judas and Peter is that there is no clear
biblical indication of Judas’ repentance while Peter was immediately
remorseful and lived the remainder of his life for Christ. Peter was
forgiven and we can be too. We just have to ask.
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanses us from all sin.” (Note the word all)
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (Note the word all)
Questions:
Do you ever feel unworthy of God’s Forgiveness?
Does Satan want us to believe our sins can’t be forgiven?
Is God our merciful King, and is Satan a liar?
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