Judas’ failure
by Emma Strelan
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When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders (Matthew 27:3).
Read Matthew 27:1–10
Yesterday, we encountered Peter’s failure in the face of Jesus’ faithfulness. Today, we turn to another of Jesus’ closest friends: Judas, who unfortunately doesn’t get a redemption arc like Peter.
There will always be many complexities to wrestle with in the case of Judas. What exactly motivated him to hand Jesus over in the first place? Why was he ‘seized with remorse’ so soon after? What was it that made him realise what he’d just done? And why was he driven to end things the way he did?
One thing’s for certain, though, is that Judas chose to cut himself off from Jesus. Perhaps in returning the 30 pieces of silver, he was seeking absolution from the chief priests, but they did not want or care for his remorse. It seems Judas never quite grasped the message that Jesus, in his ministry, pointed to and went on to fulfil that same evening – that Jesus is the only way to true redemption. Any other way of trying to make things right ultimately ends in death.
Let’s turn back to Peter for a moment. Unlike Judas, Peter accepts Jesus’ forgiveness, the price paid by the innocent king. And God goes on to use Peter to do marvellous things for the kingdom.
Judas had cut himself off from Jesus and couldn’t live with himself. But, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we never have to be cut off from Jesus. His forgiveness is always available. His grace is sufficient.
May we be reminded of this grace every day and trust that because of it, there’s always hope for redemption.
Lord of salvation, thank you that our failures will never be too big for your grace to heal. When we read passages like today’s, please help us wrestle with the complexities they raise, but ultimately remember the simplicity of the gospel – your grace given to us. Amen.
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