The Two Betrayers of Jesus

Last year I read a three-in-one (!) volume of books by R.C. Sproul, that theological giant of the later 20th century and on into the 21st before he went to heaven in 2017. The third book is called Chosen by God, which is about predestination. Regardless of what you may believe about this important doctrine, there is a great deal of richness on every page of this book–and it is written in language that is very easy to comprehend.

R.C. seamlessly mixes doctrine with examples from Scripture. Two that I’ve been thinking about this week, with Good Friday just three days away, are Peter and Judas. R.C. writes that both of them betrayed Jesus; I had never thought of Peter and Judas as having that similarity! But of course, R.C. is right. And in fact, Jesus also prophesied the betrayal of both of them. Beyond that fact, however, there are important differences between the two men, including how Jesus talked to them as well as what happened to them after the betrayals.

Let’s look at Peter first. Jesus told him in Luke 22: 31, 32: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Notice the word “when” here, not “if.” Jesus knew that Peter would “turn back,” meaning that he would repent after his betrayal, and notice that Jesus had prayed for Peter. We know that the night before Jesus was crucified, Peter denied three times that he even knew Jesus, just as Jesus had prophesied. Matthew 26: 74-75 tells us about Peter’s third denial: “Then he [Peter] began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!’ Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

After Jesus’ resurrection, in John 21: 15-22, He reinstates Peter when he asks Peter (three times!) whether he loves Him. And then in the book of Acts, we see that Peter has become a fearless leader of the early church.

Regarding Judas: First of all, in Mark 14:21, when Jesus and His disciples were at the Last Supper, Jesus said to all of them, “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Then in John 13:27, we read: “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. ‘What you are about to do, do quickly,’ Jesus told him.” This was during the Last Supper, the night before Jesus’ crucifixion; Judas left, got “a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees” (John 18:3), and led them to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus and the disciples had gone after supper. Notice that Satan had entered Judas, something that did not happen to Peter.

We might wonder if Judas had done anything which made it easier for Satan to take control of him. We are told something very important in John 12: 5, 6; after Mary had anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume, Judas asked, “‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” Just imagine: Judas had been with Jesus for three years, and yet he was an unrepentant thief. In addition, he was a liar, making it sound like he cared for the poor; the fact is, he only wanted to steal more money.

On the morning of Jesus’ crucifixion, Judas “was seized with remorse” (Matthew 27:3). He tried to return the thirty silver coins he had received for betraying Jesus, but the chief priests and elders refused it. “Then he went away and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:5) Because of these verses about Judas’s remorse and his trying to return the blood money he had been paid, some have wondered whether Judas might be saved; in other words, is it possible we will see Judas in heaven?

First of all, remorse means regret, or guilt; this is not the same as repentance, which is “doing a 180” in terms of how you live your life. Second, as already mentioned, Jesus Himself said it would be better for the betrayer “if he had not been born.” Third, Jesus prayed this in John 17:12: “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” This phrase “the one doomed to destruction” clearly refers to Judas; it is used in only one other place in the New Testament, in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, in reference to the “man of lawlessness,” meaning the Antichrist. The word “destruction” here means “eternal damnation.” Judas, like the Antichrist, will spend eternity in hell. The Bible answers the question of Judas’s eternal destination very clearly, so we don’t need to wonder.

In Acts 1:25, we have another reference to Judas, who “left to go where he belongs.” The ESV says, “to go to his own place.” I noticed some commentators have written that this may refer to the Potter’s Field, where Judas’s body ended up (Acts 1:18). Other commentators say this is a reference to hell, which is much more likely. Regardless, from John 17:12 (previous paragraph), it is clear we will not see Judas the betrayer in heaven. However, we will most definitely see Peter there–and I’m looking forward to meeting him! Unlike Judas, who committed suicide, Peter was a spiritual giant of the early church and died a martyr’s death.

In the stories of Judas and Peter, there are both warning and hope: warning that if a person professing the Name of Christ is living in persistent sin, s/he will be more likely to succumb to the devil. This doesn’t necessarily mean that s/he will become possessed, like Judas, but such a person’s heart will become more hardened to their own sin. On the other hand, there is hope for anyone who has strayed off the straight and narrow path, even denying Jesus, as Peter did. Regardless of what we’ve done, if we repent (which is not the same as remorse, like Judas) and ask the Lord for forgiveness, we will receive it.

May all of you who love the Lord have a most blessed Holy Week. I look forward to celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Easter, the morning that it happened almost 2000 years ago! If you have not put your trust in Jesus Christ, my prayer is that you will do it this week. You will discover that Jesus is the only One Who can give you the peace and joy that your heart longs for.