Judas Iscariot and Free Will
Memory Verse: '“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:25
Sermon Sentence: It is the mission of the followers of Jesus to aid in providing every possible chance for a person to turn from their sins and be saved.
Galatians 5:25
Sermon Sentence: It is the mission of the followers of Jesus to aid in providing every possible chance for a person to turn from their sins and be saved.
Day 1
Read Matthew 10:1-9
For me, it was this section of reading that really started my mind turning. I believe I was watching a video interview on Youtube when someone, somewhat unrelated to how we are discussing it, brought up these verses. I read it and then had another conversation with someone that made my mind go back to it. To be perfectly clear, if we are wrestling with the idea of whether or not Judas was actually “saved” or never was, I don’t think this is the verse that ends the discussion. I don’t think it answers the questions. In fact, I really think that it complicates it even more.
I have no problem seeing what these verses are saying. I just find it interesting that the exactness with which it states its thesis, seems deliberate. Then, it states, the disciples were given these incredible powers and abilities, by way of Jesus commissioning them for a purpose. Duh! That is what the disciples did. That is who they were. But for me, the part I had not processed, even though I knew, was that Judas was in there. He was given all of the same things. He was called a disciple. He was powered as a disciple. He preached and celebrated all of the disciples' victories. Not just for a second. But seemingly, for all of the years. Not just until things got hairy, but all the way to the doorstep of the cross. He was everything they all were, and as we will see in another day’s readings, they couldn’t even really tell he was off in the moments.
So was he a true follower of Jesus and then not? Or was he fake the whole time? I don’t think the Bible is too worried about answering that for us. It is plenty worried about giving us the cautions to consider ourselves in that light and with that possibility. But if we judge off the fact that this argument has been going on for many, many years and there is no consensus in opinions, it seems like a priority was not to give us that formula. I have a theory for why that is. I will share it in tomorrow’s reading.
What do you think? Judas was saved and then gave up his salvation, or Judas was never really saved in the first place? Why do you think that?
What do you think about your own life from these thoughts?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
For me, it was this section of reading that really started my mind turning. I believe I was watching a video interview on Youtube when someone, somewhat unrelated to how we are discussing it, brought up these verses. I read it and then had another conversation with someone that made my mind go back to it. To be perfectly clear, if we are wrestling with the idea of whether or not Judas was actually “saved” or never was, I don’t think this is the verse that ends the discussion. I don’t think it answers the questions. In fact, I really think that it complicates it even more.
I have no problem seeing what these verses are saying. I just find it interesting that the exactness with which it states its thesis, seems deliberate. Then, it states, the disciples were given these incredible powers and abilities, by way of Jesus commissioning them for a purpose. Duh! That is what the disciples did. That is who they were. But for me, the part I had not processed, even though I knew, was that Judas was in there. He was given all of the same things. He was called a disciple. He was powered as a disciple. He preached and celebrated all of the disciples' victories. Not just for a second. But seemingly, for all of the years. Not just until things got hairy, but all the way to the doorstep of the cross. He was everything they all were, and as we will see in another day’s readings, they couldn’t even really tell he was off in the moments.
So was he a true follower of Jesus and then not? Or was he fake the whole time? I don’t think the Bible is too worried about answering that for us. It is plenty worried about giving us the cautions to consider ourselves in that light and with that possibility. But if we judge off the fact that this argument has been going on for many, many years and there is no consensus in opinions, it seems like a priority was not to give us that formula. I have a theory for why that is. I will share it in tomorrow’s reading.
What do you think? Judas was saved and then gave up his salvation, or Judas was never really saved in the first place? Why do you think that?
What do you think about your own life from these thoughts?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read Hebrews 6:1-12
For us that believe that you can lose your salvation, Hebrews is the book that helps us develop this argument the most. Specifically, this passage that you read today does the lionshare of the carrying. This is also a great place to discuss the misunderstanding that is often associated with my belief. We do not believe that this happens all the time. Some denominations teach that as you sin, and if you are not forgiven for that sin, and you were to die like that, you would not have forgiveness for that sin and therefore would miss Heaven. That is not what we believe. What is commonly referred to as “backsliding” is not the same thing as losing salvation. As stated in these verses, once a person is saved and then turns away from that decision, there would not be a return. Since it is the Holy Spirit that draws people to God, that person would also not be wanting to return to salvation, because the work of the Holy Spirit would not be drawing them. So if you are questioning your salvation and hoping you have not lost your only chance, it doesn’t seem like you would fit the category of a person that has lost their salvation.
So what is the line? Why can’t we judge clearly enough to reach a total consensus on what happened even with Judas? I think that is a poor and dangerous power for a human to have. Consider how foolish we are, how sinful we can be, how manipulative the desires of the heart can twist things. Doesn’t that tool, the ability to lay that claim on someone feel like a dangerous power to give a human? God is the only one that really and truly knows the heart. So what do we do about those Judas types? It's not really our problem to figure out. Even Jesus thought it was not damaging or mission critical to not have the betrayer of the church right beside Him with all of the titles, powers, and privileges of being a disciples right up to the point of the cross. In other words, the power of the Gospel is so incredible, that there really seems to be no one or nothing that can stop it. So preach and teach that. Apply that to your heart. God has the responsibility of sorting through all of the rest.
How does this become part of your prayer today?
For us that believe that you can lose your salvation, Hebrews is the book that helps us develop this argument the most. Specifically, this passage that you read today does the lionshare of the carrying. This is also a great place to discuss the misunderstanding that is often associated with my belief. We do not believe that this happens all the time. Some denominations teach that as you sin, and if you are not forgiven for that sin, and you were to die like that, you would not have forgiveness for that sin and therefore would miss Heaven. That is not what we believe. What is commonly referred to as “backsliding” is not the same thing as losing salvation. As stated in these verses, once a person is saved and then turns away from that decision, there would not be a return. Since it is the Holy Spirit that draws people to God, that person would also not be wanting to return to salvation, because the work of the Holy Spirit would not be drawing them. So if you are questioning your salvation and hoping you have not lost your only chance, it doesn’t seem like you would fit the category of a person that has lost their salvation.
So what is the line? Why can’t we judge clearly enough to reach a total consensus on what happened even with Judas? I think that is a poor and dangerous power for a human to have. Consider how foolish we are, how sinful we can be, how manipulative the desires of the heart can twist things. Doesn’t that tool, the ability to lay that claim on someone feel like a dangerous power to give a human? God is the only one that really and truly knows the heart. So what do we do about those Judas types? It's not really our problem to figure out. Even Jesus thought it was not damaging or mission critical to not have the betrayer of the church right beside Him with all of the titles, powers, and privileges of being a disciples right up to the point of the cross. In other words, the power of the Gospel is so incredible, that there really seems to be no one or nothing that can stop it. So preach and teach that. Apply that to your heart. God has the responsibility of sorting through all of the rest.
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
Read Luke 22:3-6; 14-23; 47-48
It is verse 3 that makes me think the most. “Then”- so the assumption is before that it hadn’t happened and what happened only happened at that moment. “Satan entered into Judas…” When I process that, I don’t think I fully get what is going on. Luke is presenting it like he gets it. I don’t fully know what it means for Satan to “enter into” someone, but it certainly doesn’t seem like any sort of good. From what I think I understand, I don’t see how that is even possible with a true follower of Jesus. So if I believe that Judas forfeited his salvation, it appears that whatever that line looks like, he has crossed it before here. Satan is allowed in. I don’t think Satan has the power to go where he is not allowed, so it seems the door is, at the least, cracked here.
I also wonder what the other disciples thought here. Did they get it and were they surprised? Did they slowly start to come onboard as time went on, or was this the most obvious moment and everyone was understanding it all at the same time? There had to be the most amount of confusion and struggle with what was playing out, so I could see some reserved judgements, anger, and disorder for all that is happening. This was no stranger that brought this down. This was a companion, a friend, someone they knew. So it makes sense that when I wrestle with what was the backstory here, what was really going on in the parts that I don’t get to experience, that I lean heavily on what I am told by the story tellers here. It seems for them, that there was a change, a moment that something started to not be what it always was. I have seen people like that. I have watched that change in them that made me wonder if they are the same person. But also, it seems like a really important detail to include that no one got this right at first or even in the moments of struggle. No one saw it coming. No one called it out. Everyone could only look at it afterwards and say, “yeah he was here, the whole time. And he was all in. And we didn’t guess this. But something changed. Something that can only be explained after I watched it all unfold as, ‘Satan entered into him.’”
To me, it almost seems healthy, even when I don’t think I am anywhere near who he is, to remind myself, “Don’t be a Judas.” The value seems to exist in the warning, even if I can’t work out the specifics.
Do you think you are capable of being a Judas-like character? Do you think that you should consider yourself in that light, as if it could be a possibility, or do you find no value in that?
What do you think the takeaway from Judas' life is for us in this day and age?
How does this become your prayer today?
It is verse 3 that makes me think the most. “Then”- so the assumption is before that it hadn’t happened and what happened only happened at that moment. “Satan entered into Judas…” When I process that, I don’t think I fully get what is going on. Luke is presenting it like he gets it. I don’t fully know what it means for Satan to “enter into” someone, but it certainly doesn’t seem like any sort of good. From what I think I understand, I don’t see how that is even possible with a true follower of Jesus. So if I believe that Judas forfeited his salvation, it appears that whatever that line looks like, he has crossed it before here. Satan is allowed in. I don’t think Satan has the power to go where he is not allowed, so it seems the door is, at the least, cracked here.
I also wonder what the other disciples thought here. Did they get it and were they surprised? Did they slowly start to come onboard as time went on, or was this the most obvious moment and everyone was understanding it all at the same time? There had to be the most amount of confusion and struggle with what was playing out, so I could see some reserved judgements, anger, and disorder for all that is happening. This was no stranger that brought this down. This was a companion, a friend, someone they knew. So it makes sense that when I wrestle with what was the backstory here, what was really going on in the parts that I don’t get to experience, that I lean heavily on what I am told by the story tellers here. It seems for them, that there was a change, a moment that something started to not be what it always was. I have seen people like that. I have watched that change in them that made me wonder if they are the same person. But also, it seems like a really important detail to include that no one got this right at first or even in the moments of struggle. No one saw it coming. No one called it out. Everyone could only look at it afterwards and say, “yeah he was here, the whole time. And he was all in. And we didn’t guess this. But something changed. Something that can only be explained after I watched it all unfold as, ‘Satan entered into him.’”
To me, it almost seems healthy, even when I don’t think I am anywhere near who he is, to remind myself, “Don’t be a Judas.” The value seems to exist in the warning, even if I can’t work out the specifics.
Do you think you are capable of being a Judas-like character? Do you think that you should consider yourself in that light, as if it could be a possibility, or do you find no value in that?
What do you think the takeaway from Judas' life is for us in this day and age?
How does this become your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Luke 22:31-38; 54-64
Luke is a historian, according to the experts that study his work. As a doctor, he was fact based and not really emotional or artistically driven. If you know the types, you get what I am trying to say. My point in bringing that up is to set up the odd structure of Luke 22 as the drama of the story starts to step up. The historian seems to go artsy on us. He tells the story of Judas right before Jesus’ crucifixion, then, as we see in this smattering of verses, he tells the story of Peter too. If you don’t see that as a big deal, I am afraid you are missing that Peter seems to be just like Judas. Your anger at that statement comes from the fact that you know how Peter’s story ends and how Judas’ ends and you instantly want to remind me of who Peter was after this. And I think that is the point. Peter repented.
Could I say that Peter was exactly like Judas? No. But who is ever exactly like the other person? We say that a lot, but the reality is they are a version of themselves while also seemingly a version of the person. Peter seemed to mess up a lot like Judas when he denied that he even knew Jesus, which is the language we use to describe salvation. My argument is not that Peter messed up his salvation or stepped away from it. Don’t get hung up there. For me, I just think it is a very deliberate approach to tell the tale of Judas right beside the tale of Peter. Both seem way out of bounds in extremely pivotal moments. Both seem to be a flavor of the opposite of what they staked their reputations on. The difference is only in the ending of the story. Judas death, his suicide, is mentioned in Acts 1, where Peter’s story continues through Acts and all of its events. Luke doesn’t even tell us the story of Peter’s repentance. It is almost as if he, the fact based doctor, knows that his version of the story is not able to capture it. So he looks at his audience and says, “you know what, I am going to let my friend John tell this one. No one tells this story like John!” That is what we will look at tomorrow.
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Have you ever thought about Peter and Judas as two contrasted stories in this gospel?
What do you think the main difference between Judas and Peter was?
Why does Peter’s story end differently and what is the lesson there?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Luke is a historian, according to the experts that study his work. As a doctor, he was fact based and not really emotional or artistically driven. If you know the types, you get what I am trying to say. My point in bringing that up is to set up the odd structure of Luke 22 as the drama of the story starts to step up. The historian seems to go artsy on us. He tells the story of Judas right before Jesus’ crucifixion, then, as we see in this smattering of verses, he tells the story of Peter too. If you don’t see that as a big deal, I am afraid you are missing that Peter seems to be just like Judas. Your anger at that statement comes from the fact that you know how Peter’s story ends and how Judas’ ends and you instantly want to remind me of who Peter was after this. And I think that is the point. Peter repented.
Could I say that Peter was exactly like Judas? No. But who is ever exactly like the other person? We say that a lot, but the reality is they are a version of themselves while also seemingly a version of the person. Peter seemed to mess up a lot like Judas when he denied that he even knew Jesus, which is the language we use to describe salvation. My argument is not that Peter messed up his salvation or stepped away from it. Don’t get hung up there. For me, I just think it is a very deliberate approach to tell the tale of Judas right beside the tale of Peter. Both seem way out of bounds in extremely pivotal moments. Both seem to be a flavor of the opposite of what they staked their reputations on. The difference is only in the ending of the story. Judas death, his suicide, is mentioned in Acts 1, where Peter’s story continues through Acts and all of its events. Luke doesn’t even tell us the story of Peter’s repentance. It is almost as if he, the fact based doctor, knows that his version of the story is not able to capture it. So he looks at his audience and says, “you know what, I am going to let my friend John tell this one. No one tells this story like John!” That is what we will look at tomorrow.
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Have you ever thought about Peter and Judas as two contrasted stories in this gospel?
What do you think the main difference between Judas and Peter was?
Why does Peter’s story end differently and what is the lesson there?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read John 21
As easy as it is to look at Judas’ story and instantly and easily declare that is not what I want of my life, it is equally easy to look at Peter’s and declare that is what I want of my life. If Judas' story were the sermon, the altar call would be Peter’s story. It is here that we find the key to the struggle of our limitations of how do we know if we are saved or have lost our salvation, or were never saved in the first place? It is in the gap of those reflections that we are reminded that the flame that is still flickering and adding light to the truth we are trying to see…screams back in our faces: Repent!! Even now…while you don’t know, while you are struggling, know that the Holy Spirit is working, is drawing. Forget what you thought you had done in this moment and sort through that later, now, only know that Jesus begs of you the question the same as he did of Peter in that day: Do you love me more than these? Answer that question! Set aside the confusion and the wondering for that answer. Know it now. Know it now even more than ever and be more sure and be more obvious than you have been in your declarations before. Will you be back here? Forget that! Consider now and ask it of your heart in this moment. You, the one that God is stirring even now in this moment has the chance to answer that question because it is before your face.
Let it be a “yes!” Let Jesus hear that you, in this moment and even now, do love Him more than any of these other things that have asked for your love.
What do you learn from Peter’s story on this day and how does that apply to your life?
How does this become your prayer today?
As easy as it is to look at Judas’ story and instantly and easily declare that is not what I want of my life, it is equally easy to look at Peter’s and declare that is what I want of my life. If Judas' story were the sermon, the altar call would be Peter’s story. It is here that we find the key to the struggle of our limitations of how do we know if we are saved or have lost our salvation, or were never saved in the first place? It is in the gap of those reflections that we are reminded that the flame that is still flickering and adding light to the truth we are trying to see…screams back in our faces: Repent!! Even now…while you don’t know, while you are struggling, know that the Holy Spirit is working, is drawing. Forget what you thought you had done in this moment and sort through that later, now, only know that Jesus begs of you the question the same as he did of Peter in that day: Do you love me more than these? Answer that question! Set aside the confusion and the wondering for that answer. Know it now. Know it now even more than ever and be more sure and be more obvious than you have been in your declarations before. Will you be back here? Forget that! Consider now and ask it of your heart in this moment. You, the one that God is stirring even now in this moment has the chance to answer that question because it is before your face.
Let it be a “yes!” Let Jesus hear that you, in this moment and even now, do love Him more than any of these other things that have asked for your love.
What do you learn from Peter’s story on this day and how does that apply to your life?
How does this become your prayer today?
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