He said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. (vv. 4-5)
BETRAYAL AND FORGIVENESS
It really is a moment to consider: Judas becoming remorseful for his betrayal of Jesus and killing himself. Yet, like many Bible passages that deal with the man whose name came to signify traitor, this passage is simplicity itself. Judas threw the money in the temple and then went and killed himself. That’s all, goodbye, end of story … well, at least for Judas.
I’ve often thought that events surrounding Judas were described so tersely because the writers of the Gospels – the earliest followers of Jesus – thought, "This man betrayed our Savior. Need we say more?"
Yet consider Judas a little further. Judas says he has betrayed innocent blood. Did he simply mean Jesus was innocent of the charges that he had been accused of? Or did Judas maybe even realize that Jesus was the Messiah and that he had delivered Jesus to men who planned to kill him? In any case, he was seeking sympathy from the wrong group. The chief priests and elders had what they wanted. Who cared what a little snitch felt?
And so, rebuffed, Judas ran off and ended his life. The good man he had betrayed was going to die, and he couldn’t live with that burden. Maybe he feared revenge from some of Jesus’ other followers. Whatever the case, he tossed the rope over the tree branch and hanged himself.
The ironic thing, though, is that Judas’ sin – unforgivable in human eyes – led to Jesus’ death and resurrection, which resulted in our sins being forgiven. Christ’s ugly death led to our salvation, a salvation where any sinner has a chance for redemption if he seeks it. So could even Judas have been forgiven? That’s not a question I can answer. But I’m thankful every day that I have been forgiven.
Dear Lord, thank you for the redemption from sin that you gave us, through the sorrowful death and great resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Please continue to forgive the sins of us all.
Ken Hobart
