I have been contemplating the life of Judas the past few days. He went from someone unknown, doing his own thing, to being called by Jesus to be one of His disciples. Judas was from the southern region of Judea, possibly near Hebron (Luke 6). Jesus had to have known that Judas would at some point betray Him and called him anyway (John 6:70-71). Yet, Jesus never treated him any differently (Luke 22:47). He would have probably even called Judas a friend. Judas would have traveled all over with Jesus and the disciples. Judas was trusted. Then in Matthew 26 the relationship begins to really evolve, not necessarily for the good. Judas agrees to betray Jesus. However, Jesus still loves him through the last supper. As Jesus prayed in the garden for his life to be spared, Judas comes kisses him and hands him over to. Eventually the guilt of his transgression is too much for Judas to live with and he kills himself. He could have repented. Jesus did not condemn Judas (Acts 1:25).
What have I pulled out of this for my life? Relationships change, but grace and forgiveness are always an option. Jesus loves me no matter how vile my sins are. Jesus did not let a traitor stop Him from doing the will of God and I shouldn't let rejection, hurt feelings, or my own sin stop me from repentance and walking in the will of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment