judas

Jesus chose him.

Right from the start. And. He knew.

He knew what was in Judas’s heart. He knew which of the disciples would betray Him, He knew it all and He carried that knowledge with Him.

One of the saddest things about Judas’s story is that having walked so far with Jesus, he still didn’t really understand who He was. His personal agenda mattered more to him than all that Jesus had taught. And even when the deed was done and the thirty pieces of silver jangled to the floor of the temple, Judas still couldn’t see it. His heart was lost.

If this terrifies you, you’re not alone. It does me too! It shows us that it is possible to walk with Jesus, to have been chosen by Him, and still, after all we’ve seen, to fall away and betray Him. Judas, the son of perdition, was lost, yes, but he didn’t have to be. That’s the saddest thing of all.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,” - John 16:33

Judas had already left by this point, but those who remained watched Jesus by the firelight of the Upper Room. That’s us too! - those who are close to Jesus need never be lost, and are always encouraged that whatever we face, whatever we’ve done, however we feel, He has overcome. And so can we.