The Tragedy of Judas Iscariot
I have always seen Judas Iscariot as a tragic figure and my learning the doctrine of the pre-mortal life has compounded this view.
In the ante-mortal existence we had the freedom to choose to side with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ or side with satan. If we have a physical body we chose God back then.
Judas Iscariot had a physical body so he obviously chose God's Plan of Salvation while still in the ante-mortal realm.
I suspect in the mortal realm he thought he could have the best of both worlds. After all, Jesus had escaped from the midst of people who had tried to kill him before. In the Testament of Luke Jesus got people so angry they tried to throw him off a cliff. In John people tried to stone him, but Jesus had the power to lay down his life and that would only happen when the time was right. Judas Iscariot was a disciple , one of the Twelve Apostles, and would have witnessed that.
I believe Judas thought he could get the best of both worlds. When Judas saw Jesus was condemned he was full of remorse.
Remorse gets you nowhere. The difference between remorse and repentance is like night and day.
Judas Iscariot sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. For what price are we selling him?
This is the dilemma of those of us who have addictions or faith crises. We all sell Jesus at some point and the not-wanting-to is useless to any addict. When one deals with addiction one has to admit the frightening scenario that we are acting against our own will. We do things out of habit, unthinking and counter-intuitive. Why do I take substances into my body that cause me physical illness? If I had an answer to that question I'd be a millionaire. Every time I break the Word of Wisdom I regret it bitterly.
Returning to the tragedy of Judas Iscariot: He was no more of a traitor than the apostle Peter. They both betrayed Christ: Judas for money and Peter for fear of his own life. I believe if Judas upon realizing Jesus had been condemned had gone running to the cross and confessed his sin to Jesus he could have, in fact would have, been forgiven. The difference between Peter and Judas is that Peter actually repented instead of allowing remorse to drive him to suicide. To me, the idea that Peter felt suicidal is evident. The Scripture says he wept bitterly. However, Peter averted that tragedy and overcame his weakness. His conversion was a process, not an event.
Anyone who knows about the war in Heaven and the pre-mortal life will be chilled by Jesus's words about Judas Iscariot: It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. Jesus said that Judas would have been better off siding with satan in the pre-mortal side, and yet this potential for tragedy or triumph is alive within us all.
Anyone of us can betray our faith. We all have the choice to follow Peter's path or Judas's path. Make no mistake when we give into those addictions, from cocaine to coffee, we are selling the savior for a price. The uselessness of remorse only seems to chase us deeper into the addiction but there is hope.
That hope lies in our own will. It's not complicated but its not easy either. It means going against what used to be comforting, being self-aware, being mindful. It means giving up the comfort of old rituals and realizing those rituals aren't even that comforting to us anymore. It means opening my eyes to what is my current reality as opposed to what I simply do instinctually, without thought.
It means acting on my agency as opposed to being enslaved by habits that once defined me and now having nothing to do with who I am or whom I'm becoming.
In the ante-mortal existence we had the freedom to choose to side with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ or side with satan. If we have a physical body we chose God back then.
Judas Iscariot had a physical body so he obviously chose God's Plan of Salvation while still in the ante-mortal realm.
I suspect in the mortal realm he thought he could have the best of both worlds. After all, Jesus had escaped from the midst of people who had tried to kill him before. In the Testament of Luke Jesus got people so angry they tried to throw him off a cliff. In John people tried to stone him, but Jesus had the power to lay down his life and that would only happen when the time was right. Judas Iscariot was a disciple , one of the Twelve Apostles, and would have witnessed that.
I believe Judas thought he could get the best of both worlds. When Judas saw Jesus was condemned he was full of remorse.
Remorse gets you nowhere. The difference between remorse and repentance is like night and day.
Judas Iscariot sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. For what price are we selling him?
This is the dilemma of those of us who have addictions or faith crises. We all sell Jesus at some point and the not-wanting-to is useless to any addict. When one deals with addiction one has to admit the frightening scenario that we are acting against our own will. We do things out of habit, unthinking and counter-intuitive. Why do I take substances into my body that cause me physical illness? If I had an answer to that question I'd be a millionaire. Every time I break the Word of Wisdom I regret it bitterly.
Returning to the tragedy of Judas Iscariot: He was no more of a traitor than the apostle Peter. They both betrayed Christ: Judas for money and Peter for fear of his own life. I believe if Judas upon realizing Jesus had been condemned had gone running to the cross and confessed his sin to Jesus he could have, in fact would have, been forgiven. The difference between Peter and Judas is that Peter actually repented instead of allowing remorse to drive him to suicide. To me, the idea that Peter felt suicidal is evident. The Scripture says he wept bitterly. However, Peter averted that tragedy and overcame his weakness. His conversion was a process, not an event.
Anyone who knows about the war in Heaven and the pre-mortal life will be chilled by Jesus's words about Judas Iscariot: It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. Jesus said that Judas would have been better off siding with satan in the pre-mortal side, and yet this potential for tragedy or triumph is alive within us all.
Anyone of us can betray our faith. We all have the choice to follow Peter's path or Judas's path. Make no mistake when we give into those addictions, from cocaine to coffee, we are selling the savior for a price. The uselessness of remorse only seems to chase us deeper into the addiction but there is hope.
That hope lies in our own will. It's not complicated but its not easy either. It means going against what used to be comforting, being self-aware, being mindful. It means giving up the comfort of old rituals and realizing those rituals aren't even that comforting to us anymore. It means opening my eyes to what is my current reality as opposed to what I simply do instinctually, without thought.
It means acting on my agency as opposed to being enslaved by habits that once defined me and now having nothing to do with who I am or whom I'm becoming.
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