Judas was playing his part. An old Polish priest at my church once pointed out that Judas' greatest sin was not his betrayal, but his rejection of God and any possible redemption when he committed suicide.
Even for Judas, the way was not closed until he closed it himself.
My old pastor and I would talk a lot after I got kicked out of church. He had a lot of progressive views about religion but never showed them inside the church. He had the thought that, because it had to happen, it wasn't even truly Judas himself that betrayed Jesus because it was part of God's plan. He thought that once Judas was himself again, that's when he felt the crushing remorse of his betrayal, and even that his suicide would've been forgiven because of the immense shame and sadness he felt that wasn't his to carry.
John 6:64 tells us he knew who would betray him from the beginning, and John 6:70-71 says that he knew he was a devil. Thus, Judas was a devil from the beginning.
It's kind of weird to consider this, though. That implies that Jesus intentionally allowed the devil into one of his trusted 12, as he knew he was going to be betrayed.
In a way I feel for Iscariot. He has probably the worst role to play, closely followed by Simon Peter denying Jesus three times.
If you believe in pre-determination, then he had no choice and was always a tragic character - condemned from the moment he walked the earth (hey Garden of Eden). If you believe in post-determination, then Jesus merely prophesied what Judas would do, and there was plenty of opportunity to redeem or remedy the approach.
So, Judas was one of the trusted 12, was told he would sell out Jesus, had an enlightening following his betrayal, and committed suicide when he couldn't cope. I don't know how many people could honestly live with themselves having knowingly sold out their Lord & Saviour.
In a way, I forgive (I know, I can't do that) him for what he did. He knew he messed up, but only after the event. Prior to that, he was consumed and driven by gain. If there was no sense of self-awareness as to what he had done, I would fully agree that he would have no chance of redemption.
Catholics accept St. Augustine of Hippo, and Christians of all stripes accept Paul's Road to Damascus conversion. There is no reason why a tragic, flawed, human, terrible character can not receive redemption. Even David had Bathsheba and was granted redemption from that terrible series of actions.
Judas was playing his part. An old Polish priest at my church once pointed out that Judas' greatest sin was not his betrayal, but his rejection of God and any possible redemption when he committed suicide.
Even for Judas, the way was not closed until he closed it himself.
Yes.
Based
I would have loved to have met that priest.
My old pastor and I would talk a lot after I got kicked out of church. He had a lot of progressive views about religion but never showed them inside the church. He had the thought that, because it had to happen, it wasn't even truly Judas himself that betrayed Jesus because it was part of God's plan. He thought that once Judas was himself again, that's when he felt the crushing remorse of his betrayal, and even that his suicide would've been forgiven because of the immense shame and sadness he felt that wasn't his to carry.
Ahem... Jesus said that Judas was a devil from the beginning.
John 6:64 tells us he knew who would betray him from the beginning, and John 6:70-71 says that he knew he was a devil. Thus, Judas was a devil from the beginning.
It's kind of weird to consider this, though. That implies that Jesus intentionally allowed the devil into one of his trusted 12, as he knew he was going to be betrayed.
In a way I feel for Iscariot. He has probably the worst role to play, closely followed by Simon Peter denying Jesus three times.
If you believe in pre-determination, then he had no choice and was always a tragic character - condemned from the moment he walked the earth (hey Garden of Eden). If you believe in post-determination, then Jesus merely prophesied what Judas would do, and there was plenty of opportunity to redeem or remedy the approach.
So, Judas was one of the trusted 12, was told he would sell out Jesus, had an enlightening following his betrayal, and committed suicide when he couldn't cope. I don't know how many people could honestly live with themselves having knowingly sold out their Lord & Saviour.
In a way, I forgive (I know, I can't do that) him for what he did. He knew he messed up, but only after the event. Prior to that, he was consumed and driven by gain. If there was no sense of self-awareness as to what he had done, I would fully agree that he would have no chance of redemption.
Catholics accept St. Augustine of Hippo, and Christians of all stripes accept Paul's Road to Damascus conversion. There is no reason why a tragic, flawed, human, terrible character can not receive redemption. Even David had Bathsheba and was granted redemption from that terrible series of actions.