What About Judas?

While I was struggling to go to sleep last Sunday afternoon, I was asked in a thought, “What about Judas?” Since it was totally unrelated to whatever was going through my mind at the time, the question immediately caught my attention.

A few seconds later, it was explained that the question about Judas was in answer to some lingering questions that I have had about the possibility of everyone eventually making it into Heaven because of the sacrifice of our Heavenly Father’s only begotten Son, who truly is the Lord Jesus Christ, which is what [Christian Universalism] is all about. For if that is true, why would Christ Jesus say what He did about Judas Iscariot? For it is written: The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born. [Mark 14:21 KJV]

Just in case there is a question of whether He was actually speaking of Judas Iscariot, please consider this: “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’ I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. [John 13:18-30 NIV] Along with: In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.” (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood. “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms: May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it, and, May another take his place of leadership.” [Acts 1:15-20 NIV]

Yes, it could be argued that I received that question about Judas from the devil or one of his demons. For they would want us to remain in fear of what may happen, come Judgment Day, for as long as possible.

On the other hand, what does anyone, who truly has a very close and personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, have to be afraid of? For as it was given to me to place into written form in the [fourteenth chapter of Bittersweet Refinements], truly being in the fear of the Lord is to be made acutely aware of His presence in and around a person as they live their daily lives in this world, and anyone who has been blessed with this will know that they have nothing to actually fear from Him.

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