Jesus and Judas

“And Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” (Mk. 3:19).

In the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee, Jesus chooses the twelve apostles and sets them apart for Himself as king and the kingdom work. They are chosen to share Jesus’ identity (to be with him) and mission (to preach and cast our demons). Among all the disciples, Judas is mentioned last on the list. He is identified as the betrayer. From a post-resurrection perspective, Mark explicitly lets readers know who Judas is: a chosen disciple and a faithless betrayer.

It is interesting to see that Mark (Matthew and Luke also) identifies Judas as the betrayer in the early narrative. Does it imply that Jesus does not really care who we are at the moment we are called as long as we will be formed and transformed into what He wants us to be? Does it mean that the choosing of Jesus has nothing to do with our perfection but everything to do with His boundless grace?

The primary purpose of choosing the twelve is to be with Jesus. The life of Jesus is the antidote to the lives of the twelve. The fact that Judas does betray Jesus at the end implies that Jesus Himself has no guarantee that He can spiritually form each disciple. I know that it sounds so not orthodox. But in any disciplining process, who can guarantee the end product, especially we are dealing with the life of people?

The choosing of the twelve is Jesus’ gracious invitation. It is gracious because no one deserves to be called. It is an invitation because we are too sinful to take the initiative to invite Jesus and see that Jesus is the Lord whom we want to follow wholeheartedly. By invitation only! We are invited to follow, repent, commit, re-commit… The calling of Judas is an invitation to repent. We don’t have to be perfect when we are called. We will never be perfect in the journey of being called. Jesus can accept our imperfection and bear with our iniquities. Nevertheless, He cannot tolerate with an unrepentant heart. God looks for a broken spirit and a contrite heart. God will not despise (Ps. 51:17); Jesus looks for the same condition among the disciples.

Once a betrayer; always a betrayer. Such a statement has no place in Jesus’ mindset, for there is always a new possibility in the kingdom of God. Judas, however, continues to live in the way in which he feels safe and comfortable. Judas stays with Jesus all the time but never allows Jesus to enter into his core being. Judas’ inner life has no Jesus—no Life. He comes to Jesus but never commits; he follows but never dedicates. From a spiritual standpoint, Judas stays where he is at. He is close to Jesus and yet far from Him. Because Judas is so close to Jesus, he succeeds to betray Him. However, he is too far from Jesus. He hangs himself after betraying Jesus. For me, his hanging indicates that he is too far from being redeemed. It is too late for Judas to repent.

In Singleness of Heart: Restoring the Divided Soul (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), Clifford Williams notes:

The Christian heart is a strange paradox. Though it clings to God tenaciously, it forgets him and flees from him. Though it humbly receives God’s forgiveness, it feels that it does not need forgiveness. Sometimes it acts from motives that are alien to its God-commitment; sometimes it pretends, both to others and to itself, to be better than it knows itself to be.

On occasion it is acutely aware of these contradictions and struggles with them. More often, though, it has only a partial awareness or no awareness of them. (p. xi)