I have often wondered what the differences were between the betrayals of Peter and Judas. Of course, we all know that Peter was forgiven despite his denial of Christ. But what about Judas? Didn’t he also show remorse for what he did? Why wasn’t he forgiven?
Judas
If you look at Matthew 27:3-5, Judas seemed to show regret and even recognized that he had sinned. He went to the Pharisees to see if he could walk it all back. But once they rejected his offer, he was left completely hopeless. He knew at that point, there was no way he could fix what he screwed up. The depth of his sin led him to despair and so, he took his own life.
Peter
After Peter sinned, he wept bitterly (Luke 22:62). Interestingly, he never went back to the people he told he didn’t know Christ. I would guess that’s because he realized there was no way he could fix what he did. Technically, there is nothing written in Scripture of Peter articulating a recognization and repentance of his sin. But still, he was known as having a repentant heart. Why is that?
Messiah or man?
I decided to do a quick search, and found a plausible explanation. Peter recognized Jesus as Messiah, while Judas only recognized Jesus as a man. So since Peter knew Who Christ was, he knew that he still had hope. But Judas killed himself since he felt hopeless, with no one to look to for forgiveness and redemption.
Thankful for His forgiveness, BUT…
I bring this up because earlier this week, I ran into an older woman at a bible study I attend. I had a short conversation with her that really rocked me. Since our family stands out for having 10 children, my reputation (or really more my existence) proceeds me. This woman happened to be with our youngest in the toddler area to help out with childcare. She looked at me and said, “You’re the woman with 10 kids, right?” Of course, I said yes. She proceeded to tell me how she had 3 children. She explained how it was so difficult for her, raising those 3 children. Then she told me that she had a 4th, but then got rid of it.
Surely, I must have misunderstood, so a minute later I asked if she meant she had a miscarriage. This woman then told me that she would have lost her mind if she had another baby. God understood. And of course, God forgave her. Thank God for His forgiveness! But yes, she couldn’t have handled another baby.
I honestly wasn’t sure how to respond. I needed to get my youngest, so I didn’t have time to say much. What I ended up saying was that yes, I was thankful for God’s forgiveness.
Repent, no excuses!
As I mulled over what I just heard from this woman, I thought to myself how we can so easily deceive ourselves and rationalize sin. Yes, God understands and sees, but we still must repent. I would say that all of us have sinned and could think of good excuses why we did it. Even very legitimate reasons! However, it’s still sin and we can’t just assume “God gets us, He understands!” Therefore obviously, He’ll forgive us. That is far from what Scripture says (Romans 6).
Jesus takes sin so seriously, He died to take on the consequences of it so that we wouldn’t have to. If He could have excused the sin away, there would have been no reason for the cross. But that’s not what happened.
I’m certain He understood why Judas made the choices he made, but those choices were still wrong. Jesus also understood why Peter made the choices he made. But here again, the choices were still wrong.
Repent or regret?
Clearly, both men were wrong, but only one went to Christ repenting (or turning from) what he did. Judas felt guilt and regret, but he was a hopeless man since he chose not to acknowledge Jesus as His Messiah and ask Him for forgiveness. Peter knew what he did was wrong and never even tried to fix it. He knew he couldn’t. But later he went to the One Who could forgive him. Peter didn’t just feel regret for the consequences of his choices. But he acknowledged what he did and held onto the hope of His Savior and Redeemer.
With respect to this woman in my bible study, I honestly wonder if she, as well as so many others today, is in a heart position of having regret and even guilt, but never getting to the point of acknowledging the seriousness of her sin. The way she has tried to “fix the problem” is by giving excuses for what she chose to do. She’s under the impression that God will forgive her because He understands her situation. But it’s not OK, no matter what the reasons may have been. Once we finally embrace that truth, we are in the perfect position to receive the grace of God and His forgiveness.
No one. No, not one
We all mess up. None of us will be getting 100% on this life exam. But every day, we have a choice to make. Will we make excuses and minimize our sin? Or will we repent, confessing our sin to our gracious Father?
It takes a humble person to recognize we can’t do it. We must confess who we really are, and what our sin really is. I believe Judas knew the depth of his sin, but chose not to submit to Christ’s Lordship. Today, we make excuses and obfuscate our sin, embracing Jesus as our Savior but not our LORD. In either case, there will be no forgiveness unless we repent, accepting Jesus as both our Savior and LORD.
Guide us, LORD, to understand our sin and Your grace. Amen?
Respectable sins is a great book that touches on various sins that our culture has accepted as respectable and not necessary to actually repent of. Thankfully, Jerry Bridges graciously points out those sins in a thought provoking, beautiful way. It’s a great read! Definitely check it out!
