Shedding new light on Judas

CEBU, Philippines - Judas Iscariot, the Son of Perdition, may be considered the second most despised figure in the Bible, next only to Satan himself. Most Christians would naturally assume that Judas, the disciple who sold our Lord Jesus Christ to the chief priests for 30 silver coins, had gone to hell after his heinous sin of betraying Our Savior, a betrayal that ultimately led to His crucifixion. But is there any reason why Judas couldn’t go to heaven?

John 17:12 says concerning Judas, “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” This particular verse from the Gospel is the biggest attestation to what is known in Christendom today as the concept of Judas’ eternal denunciation, that is, his sentence to hell.

Notice the use of the word ‘destruction’ instead of the more concrete term ‘damnation’ in the aforementioned passage. A possible subtext of this is that Judas may have profoundly anguished spiritually and psychologically after his act of betrayal. This text is open to various other interpretations. But any idea pertaining to its actual sense, including Judas’ eternal damnation should not be taken as a universal conclusion.

If one Biblical passage suggests that Judas is ‘doomed to destruction,’ would it be enough to cancel out pages of other passages that tell us that there is grace beneath Judas’ wrongdoings? Jesus himself taught us the value of repentance, forgiveness and salvation.

Greater regret, greater iniquity

Scholars use the Greek word metameletheis which means “deep moral regret” to describe what Judas felt after the betrayal.

Judas committed an abhorrent act of sin but he repented and declared Jesus innocent in front of the chief priests (Matt 27:3-5). Mercy was offered to the soldiers who tortured and murdered Him during The Passion (Luke:23:34). Why couldn’t the same mercy be extended to Christ’s executioners be extended to Judas who threw his boon of 30 silver coins at the temple as a sign of repentance to the sin he had committed?

Who committed the greater iniquity, Judas or Peter? In essence, both Judas and Peter committed the same sin – REJECTING JESUS. While Peter rejected Jesus by denying Him three times, Judas rejected Him by betraying Him. Judas’ rejection resulted to a greater tragedy than Peter’s rejection. But is the degree of sin measured by the severity of sin’s repercussions?

If we are to assess the magnitude of evil solely on the basis of how much destruction it caused, then a disobeying child who burns their house accidentally because he played with matches despite caution is more sinful than a man who intentionally lusts over nude women in pornographic magazines. In the end, if Jesus was able to forgive Peter for rejecting Him, then God must have forgiven Judas for the same sin when he repented. After all, Peter denied Jesus three times in one night while Judas declared Jesus innocent in front of the High Priesthood. Both their iniquities are essentially equal.

So did Judas go to heaven? Quite possibly. In Christian doctrine, salvation is a deliverance of humanity. Salvation presumes that there is a danger or life-threatening hazard from which rescue must be accomplished on an imminent basis. Judas was rescued from his imminent damnation by being reconciled with God through repentance.

One needs to have FAITH in Jesus and recognize him as the Lamb of God in order to enter the Kingdom of God. In the Bible, Judas announced publicly his recognition of Jesus as Savior in front of the priests by declaring Him innocent (Matt 27:3-5). “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Thing is, Christians must stop looking at betrayal, denial or even suicide in dichotomies. Once a person says he is saved and has accepted Jesus Christ in his life, he is to have repented of his sins and thus make a spiritual incision from sinning and disobeying. To sin again bears godly sorrow. Both Peter and Judas were disciples and therefore they were saved or had been convicted to salvation from the start. Salvation brings with it worshipping in spirit and in truth. That means complete obedience to God’s Will because it means letting the Christ in a saved person live.