Judas
and Peter were with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry. Both witnessed
the same miracles and learned the same teaching. Both helped feed the
five-thousand, watched Jesus calm the storm, and marveled at His countless
healings.
Both
betrayed Him, AFTER Jesus Himself told them they would.
Yet
one is searing in hell and the other is seated in heaven.
How
could that have happened?
Everyone
believed that when Messiah came He would free Israel from the shackles of Roman
rule. But three years later, when Jesus had yet to talk about even forming an
army, many gave up on Him. Judas wasn’t one of them.
Perhaps
Judas thought that by handing Jesus over to His enemies it would force Jesus to
go ahead and declare war on Rome. We don’t know, but one thing is certain—it
didn’t go the way Judas thought it would. When he realized it he was overcome
with sorrow.
Peter,
on the other hand, declared his fierce loyalty to Jesus no matter what the
status of His Kingdom, even to the point of death. But just a few hours after this
bold statement, Peter denied even knowing Him at all. When Peter realized what he had done, he too was
overcome with sorrow.
Judas’
and Peter’s stories share similarities with the parable of The Prodigal Son
(Luke 15).
The
older brother was angry with their father for not behaving in the way he
thought he should. Jesus didn’t behave
the way Judas thought He should.
The
older brother betrayed his father as much as the younger did. Didn’t the older brother know his father’s
heart at all? Surely both brothers knew
their father loved them deeply and was a compassionate man. Surely both had seen their father’s good,
even extravagant, treatment of his servants.
Yet one believed in his father’s love and generosity while the other wouldn’t.
While
Judas was sorrowful, we don’t know that he was repentant, although Jesus did
forgive him. Perhaps Judas didn’t trust
Jesus’ heart in the same way the older brother didn’t trust his father’s
heart.
Peter,
like the younger son, repented and gave Jesus a chance to forgive him. Perhaps Peter felt, as the younger son did,
that even if Jesus didn’t reinstate him as an Apostle, at least he could still
be a follower.
Is
repentance what made all the difference between where Judas and Peter are today? I don’t know. What I do know is that even our worst
betrayal doesn’t have to be the end of our story. There is forgiveness.
God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)
