Liba Hopeson
BTC, Pfutsero
Many craved for immortality, and hence it prompted them to do certain things which will leave their names behind to be remembered and talked of for eternity. Writing books, naming flower(s) after one’s own name, giving one’s name to the name of an experiment, a formula or a place etc. are some of the evidences and examples of it. On the contrary, some never envisaged that their life stories would be talked of or discussed much after their death, but it really happens. Judas Iscariot, who was the disciple of Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour of the world is one who falls in this category.
I’m sure he never thought that, the world would talk about him a lot as we are doing today. Some preach sermons based on his life story, some write books about him, some produce videos of him and many more. It is not a wonder that, in Bible camps or seminars, many questions are raised regarding Judas life and destiny. High School students are not an exception. They ask many critical questions about him. In theological circles, Judas Iscariot is never forgotten. Why is His name still alive? I’m not intending to use the word ‘infamous’ quickly for his act of betrayal and suicide, for there are many who do not condemn his life and act.
Nonetheless, I don’t give kudos to him, nor do I try lifting him up. But, why do we ceaselessly deliberate about him? Of course, one simple reason is that, he was the disciple of Jesus Christ, the one who died for our sins. Secondly, he betrayed Jesus and committed suicide.
Moreover, his act of betrayal is said to be prophesied long before in the Old Testament period. Do we think that Judas Iscariot was predestined by God to betray Jesus and hanged himself? Do we try to put God wrong by saying that God simply played with Judas Iscariot’s life? Are we really sure that Judas will be in hell and pity for his soul? Or, do we want to convey a message to God that Judas should be taken to heaven? I don’t know where Judas is now, but his stories and questions about him are not far away from my ears.
Interestingly, some have intimated that, if Judas had not betrayed Jesus, the world might not receive the forgiveness of sins or receive salvation. He was the mediator between God and human and hence they want to give good credit to him. Should we say then, millions of souls are saved by the death of Christ which was made possible through the role of Judas, therefore God should take him to heaven. Some would question again that if Judas played a significant role which led to the salvation of the world, and he loses his soul, isn’t a big loss?
In fact, the name Judas bears a very negative connotation today for he betrayed Jesus which was believed to be planned and predestined by God Himself. Then, if Judas’ act of betrayal was predestined by God, on account of that, should we tell God that he should be saved though he committed suicide? Can we say that even his suicidal act was predestined by God? Do we think that Jesus had no mercy upon Judas? If we continue to ask questions about Judas, our brain becomes hot, and mysteries overshadow us as we continue to think about this man. There are series of questions unanswered. But when we talk about him, we ought to study the Bible how he is portrayed. Indeed, the portrayal of Judas does not captivate the attention of many. There may be two simple reasons. First, he is consistently listed last among all the disciples of Jesus. Second, he betrayed Jesus and committed suicide. Jesus said that one of His disciples (Judas Iscariot) was a devil (John 6:70-71).
Mrs. Krotsolo Wetsah holds that it is not fair to call Judas a devil, because it was a plan of salvation. Therefore, she argues, calling Judas as a devil is not Jesus’ word but would be a sentence framed by the editor(s). The reason is Judas was predestined to betray Jesus. She remarks, “by any chance, if Jesus considers Judas a devil, definitely God’s plan is devilish. On the contrary, God’s plan is to reconcile the relationship between God and humans, which was broken by human weaknesses. Thus, she concludes, Judas is neither a devil nor is his work devilish. However, mind you, if we don’t read her entire writing, we may not be able to grasp her precise intent of writing about Judas from these few lines! Judas was also called as a thief (John 12:6). And he was called as the son of destruction. Whatever it is, he was the disciple of Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour of the world.
An interesting notion which strikes us when we talk about Judas is predestination of his act. Do you believe that he was really predestined by God to betray Jesus? Obviously, there are different opinions about it.
Persons like Mr. Vesakho Thisa and Mr. Vecüo Tetse-o assert that Judas was not predestined to betray Jesus. They argued that if Judas was predestined, he’ll receive salvation. Moreover they question, if Judas was predestined to betray Jesus, why would He (Jesus) choose him (Judas) to be his disciple? For, if a disciple betrays his own master, it would give a very negative impact. Judas was not willfully elected to tarnish His image or to affect His Ministry. However, they don’t plainly state that he’ll surely lose his salvation because he wasn’t predestined. Similarly, Mr. Deo Leah also believes that Judas was not particularly predestined to betray Jesus. He argues, predestination about the betrayal of Jesus is mentioned in the Old Testament, but it didn’t specify anyone in particular. Therefore, he opines, if Judas had not betrayed Jesus, there would be definitely someone who would betray Jesus and that person would have the possibility of repenting. Further, he added, Judas made a wrong choice in committing suicide, albeit he didn’t say that Judas will be in hell.
Mr. Chivo also has similar view with Mr. Deo that Judas might not be particularly predestined to betray Jesus, but it could be anyone. On the contrary, Mr. Kusato firmly believes that, Judas was predestined by God to betray Jesus. But, he confesses that he cannot tell or know about his salvation. Like Mr. Kusato, many theologians, teachers, Christian Ministers and even the non-believers hold that Judas betrayal of Jesus was predestined.
Mr. Ideuraibe Putlang also opines that Judas was predestined to betray Jesus. And since he was predestined, he said, Judas might receive salvation. Indeed, when questions are being raised about Judas, it’s wise in one way on the part of the Christian ministers to say that predestination of Jesus betrayal was not anyone in particular. Nevertheless, in the Gospel of John we find that he was destined to be lost, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled (John 17:12). Moreover, in Acts 1:16, it is vividly written that…the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. This is very clear and particular, hence it really affects my thoughts which otherwise would led me to conclude in the same way Mr. Deo intimated.
Now, if Judas was predestined by God to betray Jesus, was his act of betrayal evil? And, why did Jesus say, “For the Son of Man goes as it is written, but woe to that man by whom Jesus is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” (Mark 14:21 cf. Luke 22:22). The three letter word ‘woe’ sounded clear that Judas was unfortunate to take a decision to betray Jesus. According to the statements of Jesus in the aforementioned passages, without Judas intervention and betrayal, He would be crucified and fulfill God’s salvavic plan. Should we deny then the lucid accounts of Gospel John and Book of Acts that, Judas was predestined to betray Jesus? Should we say that these Scriptures contradict? As theological students and teachers usually stress, do we think studying the context of the text will give us definite answer about this? I can never expect regarding this issue. Did God simply play with the life of Judas? I don’t think so, for God is not foolish.
Yes, Judas is not the Saviour of the world, but humans never cease talking about him. Now, there is a question, was Judas a true believer? Some say he was not, for if he was a true believer, he would surely come back to the Lord. People often compare Judas with Peter and say Peter also betrayed Jesus but he repented, but Judas didn’t and hence he cannot attain salvation. On the contrary, some reject this notion and say Judas was a true believer. For, they argue, how can Jesus, who was God, choose an unbeliever to be his disciple? I would also agree that Jesus wouldn’t simply choose Judas to be His disciple. It would immensely perturb and affect His Ministry. Indeed it indirectly connects the concept of salvation, but I won’t deal in detail here. Of course, many are of the view that Judas will not inherit the kingdom of God because he committed suicide, but I cannot tell of his fate. There are different views about Judas death. Some say he didn’t commit suicide. Interestingly, I come across a video called, ‘The Gospel of Judas’ and learnt that it could be convincing for many.
An old ancient text was found by an Egyptian farmer and it was sold with a very expensive price. The texts were torn, not into very small pieces, but not in good form. Hence it even eventually reached laboratory to find out the words which were ambiguous. After a painstaking effort of some outstanding ancient text experts, professors, researchers and scholars, we learn that the Gospel of Jesus found in that text is quite contradictory to the Gospels in the Bible. According to that Gospel, Judas was close to Jesus, trusted and interestingly, Jesus invited Judas to betray him. The simple reason is that Judas was dear to Him. In the video, Judas saw a vision, wherein, the other disciples stoned him to death, which he shared it to Jesus. And Jesus told him that he would become an Apostle, but would be cursed by all the others. Jesus also added, he could reach the Kingdom of God, but would experience great grief. So, Jesus encouraged him to be strong. Indeed this video would be convincing for many. However, it is not Bible. The researchers argued that it was not canonized because the early Church Fathers rejected it. The wave of further doubts and confusions could come from this kind of material and research.
Judas Iscariot is no more, but his story is still alive. And I believe, as long as life exists on earth, the talk and deliberation on Judas will continue. We may think for years only about him, but no definite answer can be given to all the questions. I reckon, in Judas story, there are some mysteries which human mind cannot fully comprehend. Then you would ask, why I’m I interested in talking or asking questions about him? There are some who want to put God wrong by digging out Judas story.
Some try to say that God is not fair or God of Justice by sharing the predestined act of Judas. Some want to tell God that He should save Judas. And others, believing that Judas will not inherit the Kingdom of God, remark that, God deliberately predestined Judas to go to hell. So, I want to leave a message that we may have certain confusions in the Bible, but we must not commit sin because of Judas. We cannot prove God wrong by explaining the story of Judas. We cannot predict anybody’s salvation definitely in whatever situation a person live or die. Our conclusions are just based on assumption(s), supposition(s) etc. nonetheless, theologians and Christian ministers cannot be very ignorant about this matter because critical queries will come from different corners, and failing to share anything would give a bad impression to others.
Perhaps, Judas Iscariot name is still alive because he was the disciple of Jesus, he betrayed Jesus and it is believed to be predestined, lastly, he committed suicide. If he didn’t betray Jesus, who would betray Jesus and what would be the consequence? Judas life and story is thought of, deliberated and analyzed by thousands, albeit unsolicited. One thing is sure and clear, he was never destined to commit suicide. And I believe it will not come to an end till the end of the world! But, one thing we can be sure is, Judas Iscariot was not destined to commit suicide, it was his own choice.
Let me wind up this write-up with a simple suggestion, “we should be more concerned about our own souls than Judas Iscariot’s soul.”
