Battle Lines: The Friendly Face of Judas
Jason* had been a good friend for decades. We spent untold hours in each other’s homes, played games, enjoyed meals together with our wives and children, and at times attended each other’s churches. His Christian walk and service deeply impressed me. We exchanged jokes on Facebook and looked forward to times together. But at some point, without me noticing, things changed.
While he kept smiling and laughing, another part of his life was sliding into spiritual darkness. His family life suffered, church became a thing of the past, and by his own testimony, he stopped praying years ago. It is not enough that he was shipwrecked. Now he is destroying people around him. No one is outside the grace of God, and by humbling himself in repentance and seeking forgiveness he can find his way back. But for now, he is lost.
Throughout this past Easter season, I have thought about Judas. He was one of the Twelve. He heard the Sermon on the Mount, helped collect the remnants from the loaves and the fishes. He went out with the rest of the disciples to cast out demons and preach the gospel. He watched Jesus calm the storm and raise the dead. He laughed and ate with Jesus and trekked from one end of the country to the other.
Although we know he was a traitor, at the time, the other eleven didn’t. When at the Last Supper Jesus said that one of them would betray Him, according to the gospels they didn’t all turn around and look at Judas. Instead, they each asked, “Is it me?” He fooled everyone. Except Jesus.
The mask Judas wore could not masquerade his heart. Somewhere along the way, demons fleeing and dead rising weren’t enough for him. Jesus’ words, which thrilled him at some point, were now background noise to the thundering temptations playing out in his heart. Darkness became darker still until he detested the other disciples.
We know the grand play Judas made for himself, turning a profit from the rot in his soul. He had reached the point, as Alistair Begg notes, that “He would rather have Jesus destroyed than his sins forgiven.”
Judas could have turned back in repentance. He knew the gospel of grace that allowed it. But some would rather cling to the anchor that sinks them than reach for the line that would save them.
Jason is not the only one I have seen who made a choice like Judas. Despite having seen others do it, I am still as grieved watching it all unfold as ever.
How bitter will it be in that day when those of the Tribe of Judas stand before Christ and review the choice they made that bade them turn their backs on Him! And yet, there is a place to make U-turns on the road to Hell, right before people enter in.
"'As surely as I live,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!’” (Ezekiel 33:11).
*Note: Jason is a fictitious name. Not someone who has any association whatsoever with The Salvation Army.