Hiyer,
What a day to blog on - Happy Halloween - and I'm even happier knowing that Jesus conquered death and destruction and all of the demons remembered tonight!
Today we read about Judas in our readings. I loved this passage today. So we know that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, handing Jesus over to the chief priests in exchange for some silver coins. Wow crazy times. We all know Judas as the bad one, the disciple who betrayed, the evil one, the sinner. Yet upon reading the passage today it's interesting to note that
'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. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” Matthew 27v3-4
Judas repented. He was 'seized with remorse' he even gave back his death money, and confessed his betrayal of 'innocent blood'. So do we think Judas went to heaven? Or is his sin irreversible? I'm not sure what scripture would back up or disprove this fact, but it's an interesting thought.
Obviously we can't say who goes to heaven and who doesnt. Having been helping on the current Alpha course at WCC it's been interesting seeing the amount of times these questions have been asked... 'could Hitler go to heaven?' or 'what if I repent on my deathbed? Can I still get to heaven even if I wait till the last minute?' Well isn't this just like Judas? Perhaps he isn't the big, evil, crazy sinner we often think of him as. Praise God that He is so gracious.
Is there a Judas character in your life? Sometime who has betrayed you big time? Someone who seems to oppose you? Someone who just seems to have it in for you or who doesn't like you? How can you forgive them? Can you forgive them? Are you able to accept their forgiveness if they show remorse?
Interesting stuff.
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