And then there is the stories of Judas and Peter who's acts of betrayal are intertwined in Matthew 26:14-27:10. Though Judas' act seems more deliberately planned, I wonder if he really understood the repercussions of his wrong doing. Both men seemed shocked when Jesus revealed to them that they would betray him. Judas the one who would betray him says "Surely not I Rabbi?" (Matthew 25-27) in response to Jesus' statement that "One of you will betray me." Then when Jesus predicts that all will fall away on account of him, Peter exclaims "Even if all fall away on account of you I never will" Matthew 26-33. To which Jesus replies. "Yes you will, 3 times before the rooster crows."
And then both men go out and sin against Jesus in a single tragic night. Judas by handing him over to the chief priests, or teachers of the law, Peter by denying that he ever knew Jesus. And both feel great remorse. "When Judas,who had betrayed him saw that he was condemned he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned" he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." (Matthew 27:3-4)
Peter when he realized what he had done "went outside and wept bitterly"Matthew 26:75
Both men, seized with remorse, only one forgiven.
I have to admit that the story of Judas has always troubled me. He recognizes his sin, pleads for it to be undone, even giving back the money, and yet he is not forgiven. In his own mind he is given a death sentence and he hangs himself. Peter on the there hand is reinstated by Jesus, even given a huge responsibility of starting the church. I've always been taught that when we sin, feel remorse and ask for forgiveness we are forgiven. (a broken and contrite heart, I will not despise Psalm 51:17) But Judas is not cleansed of his guilt. Why? I wish he wouldn't have felt remorse and then I could feel better about the whole story. But then, just last year, in a Easter season message, I heard something I hadn't heard before. It wasn't a matter of repentance, it was who each man went to for forgiveness. There is only one who can wash away the stain of sin, and Peter chose to go to Jesus himself and was forgiven and given a huge responsibility to "feed my sheep" Judas went back to the teachers of the law. The law always condemns. It has to. It was set up as a system of judgment. A way to show what God demands and a way to show that we can never meet those demands, unless of course we go through Christ. Christ states that he didn't come to abolish the law, it still stands, but to provide a way to avoid the consequences of violating the law. We are all either Judas or Peter. We all violate the law. But who do we choose to go to when we feel remorse.
You can say that the law is part of Jewish tradition but how many churches have been accused of being legalistic. Legalism in the church leads to hypocrisy and people constantly feeling like they never measure up and therefore turning their back on the church. The law still exists. And we need it as a tool to measure where we are at, but we need the grace of Christ and one who lifts us up from when we weep bitterly and gives us hope, forgiveness and a chance to become more than we ever thought we could be.
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