Judas and Peter
Judas and Peter both failed Jesus, yet their different responses to guilt and repentance reveal searching lessons about despair, forgiveness, and faith.
Read Time: 7 minutes
Matthew 27 opens with the Jewish elders delivering our Lord to Pontius Pilate. Why? Because, although verse 1 makes it clear that they are determined to kill Jesus, only Pilate has the authority to sentence him to death.
The Jewish leaders were brutal, unethical, and conniving. They were not squeamish about killing those who threatened their position. In Acts 7, they were complicit in the death of Stephen by stoning at the hands of a maniacal mob. But in this case, they want Jesus to be condemned as a criminal, and they know the Romans will crucify him. That would bring Jesus under the curse of the Law: “He that is hanged is accursed of God.” (Deuteronomy 21:23).
It is for this reason that, immediately after telling us in verses 1 and 2 that Jesus was delivered to Pilate, Matthew was inspired to record the fate of Judas Iscariot:
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5).
An Enigma
What an enigmatic character is Judas! Corrupt? Yes. A thief? Yes. Traitorous? Absolutely. A villain? Undoubtedly. Yet for three years, Judas willingly bore the opprobrium and discomfort of being a disciple of our Lord—one of the 12 apostles chosen by our Lord.
We do not know when Judas began stealing from the common bag, but from the record of our Lord’s very humble mortal life, it is hard to believe there was ever a large amount of money to steal. If Judas had been no more than just a petty thief, he would have had much greater opportunities for gain in the wider community. So, what happened to Judas that led to his betrayal of Jesus?
Judas started out as a faithful follower, willing to endure hardship as a disciple of Jesus, but he changed direction. In John 6, we have what may be a hint as to what triggered that dramatic shift. The chapter starts with the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. This was a time of considerable economic distress in Galilee, and malnutrition was rife among the people. It is not surprising, therefore, that this miracle excites their imagination. They see it as evidence that Jesus is their Messiah, and they are keen to install him then and there as their King:
Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. (John 6:14-15)
The people did not understand that God’s plan required that their Messiah be killed and raised again long before he reigns as Messiah on the restored throne of David. They want deliverance from Roman oppression, and they want it now! They want Jesus as their Messiah-king, and they want to enthrone him now! To prevent them from doing so, Jesus withdrew himself, departing to a mountain alone. We may be certain our Lord spent that night in communion with his Father and drew strength to continue his ministry.
Challenging Words
The next day, the people who had been miraculously fed searched for Jesus and found him in Capernaum. In his exchange with them, Jesus identifies himself as the bread of life and speaks about the need for them to eat that bread and drink his blood (vv. 53-58). This is very confronting imagery for Jews steeped in the Law of Moses. Even for those of us who are familiar with the words and understand the symbolism underpinning them, the language is confronting. It is implicit in these words that our Lord’s blood will be shed. In verse 61, our Lord recognizes that some of his followers are offended by the grossness of this imagery, and in verse 66, John records that many turned their backs on him from that day. A suffering, dying Messiah is not what they expected: they want a King who will restore the kingdom to Judah.
We know from Acts 1 that all the disciples expected Jesus would soon assume his rightful position as King on the re-established throne of David. Judas also nurtured that hope, but perhaps on this day in Capernaum it dawned on Judas that Jesus is not about to become king. The poignant words with which John 6 concludes hint that this may be the case:
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, “Will ye also go away?” Then Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered them, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” He spake of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. (vv. 67-71)
Simon Peter expresses confidence that, despite the challenging words they had just heard, at least 11 of the disciples still look upon Jesus as their Messiah. In response, for the first time, our Lord openly acknowledges that one of the twelve is a devil—a diabolos, a false accuser, a slanderer. With the benefit of hindsight, John explains that he was referring to Judas.
Our Lord knew that Judas could not be trusted. Despite that, Jesus entrusted Judas with responsibility for the disciples’ funds. Throughout his ministry, right up to that night in the upper room, our Lord worked with Judas even though he knew that Judas would betray him in the end. That being the case, how could we doubt that our Lord loves and cares for us despite our many failings?
In Matthew 26, we gain a curious insight into Judas’s mind as we near the climax of our Lord’s earthly ministry. When they are in the upper room, just as he was about to initiate the ritual of breaking bread and drinking wine, our Lord tells his disciples. “One of you shall betray me.” (Matthew 26:21).
Lord or Master?
Even though it isn’t the first time he has told them this, the statement shocks 11 of the disciples. We must admire the candor of each man in acknowledging that it could be possible that he might betray their Lord: “They were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, ‘Lord, is it I?’” (v. 22). Note how they address Jesus in their bewilderment: “Lord, is it I?” They speak of him as their Lord, and so he is. Judas also asks, “Is it I?” but Judas does not use exactly the same wording as the others. He says, “Master, is it I?” (v. 25).
Judas addresses Jesus as “Master,” or rabbi. Rabbi is a term of respect that Jews used for their teachers, but it falls well short of the dignity of the title “Lord” used by the other eleven disciples. Jesus was often addressed as Lord by his disciples, but there is no record of Judas ever addressing Jesus as his Lord. Judas only ever acknowledges Jesus as a teacher; he never recognizes his authority as his Lord. In verse 49, as he betrays our Lord in the garden, he again addresses him as “Master.”
There is a sobering message for us in this distinction. Jesus is our master, our teacher: indeed, he reminds us that he is our only teacher (23:10 NKJV). Like Mary of Bethany, we revel in the privilege of sitting at Jesus’s feet and being taught. But many have learned the lessons that Jesus taught without ever submitting to him as their Lord. We do well to ask ourselves whether we truly submit to the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ or regard him merely as a teacher. If Judas had truly acknowledged Jesus’s authority, he surely could not have betrayed his Lord.
Before the disciples gathered in the upper room with their Lord, Judas had already betrayed him to the chief priests and elders, and they had rewarded him handsomely. In effect, Judas came to the upper room via the house of the High Priest and his fellow conspirators. Perhaps he came with the thirty pieces of silver jingling in his purse. Judas departed the upper room earlier than the others to set the wheels in motion for the arrest of our Lord.
After the supper, our Lord went with his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas, knowing they would be there, led the arresting party to the garden to seize Jesus under the cover of darkness. The plot unfolded perfectly, but Judas was troubled. Matthew says that Judas repented. We often make the point that repentance involves a change of mind or direction, but that is not the case here.
Judas addresses Jesus as “Master,” or rabbi. Rabbi is a term of respect that Jews used for their teachers, but it falls well short of the dignity of the title “Lord” used by the other eleven disciples.
Remorse or Repentance?
In Matthew 27:3, the Greek word used is not the one that means a change of mind or direction. Here, the word primarily conveys remorse. Judas was remorseful. Weymouth says that he was “smitten with remorse.” He was sorry that he had betrayed innocent blood, deeply sorry, sorry enough to hand back the bribe he had been paid.
Judas was remorseful, but he was not repentant. And obviously, Judas did not believe that he could be forgiven, despite all that he had heard about forgiveness from the man he acknowledged as a teacher. He could see no other alternative than to end his life.
At about the same time that Judas was smitten with remorse, another disciple also betrayed Jesus by denying him. We read of this in the closing verses of Matthew 26. Peter denied his Lord three times in a short space of time. Like Judas, Peter was also deeply sorry for what he did, but there is a world of difference between the actions of the two men, and it is the difference between remorse and real repentance. Look at Peter’s response: “Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.” (26:75).
The chapter division masks the comparison we are meant to make between Peter’s case and that of Judas. When Judas betrayed Jesus, he was overcome by self-pity and remorse and hanged himself. When Peter denied his Lord, he wept heartfelt tears of repentance.
As we await our Lord’s return, there may be times when we betray our Lord by denying our association with him. At such times, let us remember the contrast between Judas and Peter and come to our Lord confident in the forgiveness available to all who follow him. Forgiveness is much more than a theological concept. Sometimes we might become distracted by arcane debates about the atonement, but don’t let such debates obscure the main truth. There is nothing theoretical about the forgiveness extended to us through our Lord’s sacrifice; it is real, it is effective, and it is always available. Judas did not believe that, but Peter did, and so do we.
Geoff Henstock,
Happy Valley Ecclesia, SA