We're very close to the end of the 'school year'. I'm going to miss the little monsters. :)
Anyway, we were discussing, again, the Crucifixion, and we were talking about Judas, a little, and what happened to him.
I didn't sugar coat it, and told them that he did kill himself, though there's some question as to how. And I left it at that.
But one of the kids had a good point:
Judas had realized that he had done wrong, that he had sinned against Christ, and God. Obviously he felt guilt, because if he hadn't, he wouldn't have tried to give the money back. He wouldn't have killed himself.
If he'd spent all that time with Jesus, listening and learning, why didn't he realize that he could ask for forgiveness?
Any thoughts?
Maybe he just couldn't live with himself. Or maybe he wasn't paying attention during Jesus's lessons. :) Maybe he didn't really believe but he just felt bad for handing over an innocent man who trusted him.
ReplyDeleteI read this post earlier, but had to think about it for awhile before posting. After having written on legalism and grace recently perhaps my thoughts were still on it. What if Judas didn't really grasp the concept of grace? What if he thought his sin was much too big to be forgiven?
ReplyDeleteOf course others would say it was Judas' "job" to betray Jesus and maybe his eternal damnation was justice for having done so.
Some would say he was predestined for this job and damnation having not been elected to heaven.
I don't know, but it's a great thinkie. What do YOU think? How did you answer the children?
Wasn't it a pretty uncertain time? Jesus had just died and hadn't come back yet. They all thought they'd lost him for good and everything was going to fall apart...the disciples scattered and avoided being identified with him. That says to me that there was a lot of fear, and even if they had learned, the panic of the situation was taking over their rational thought processes. I think he just didn't wait long enough for the calm to set in, for things to be explained and understood in light of what had just happened, and he reacted out of the fear of the moment, much like Peter denying Christ. If he had waited, he might have been forgiven and gone on to be an important leader in the Church, but he let emotion get the better of his reason and faith.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDelete'Or maybe he wasn't paying attention during Jesus's lessons. :)'
Heh. That's the explanation I went with for the kids, actually.
I like your last possibility, too. 'Buyers remorse' of the worst kind...
Susanne,
ReplyDeleteThat's what I think, and basically what I told the kids. That Judas didn't, despite all the time spent with Jesus, really *get* the message. I mean, okay, in the first place, if he had, would he really have betrayed Jesus?
'Of course others would say it was Judas' "job" to betray Jesus and maybe his eternal damnation was justice for having done so. Some would say he was predestined for this job and damnation having not been elected to heaven.'
Meh. I don't like predestination theories because they remove human free will, and I think that that's extremely important. God does not dictate what we do. He set it all into motion, and He knows what we will do, but He did not decide for us what we would choose. He made the rules, but He doesn't play the game for us.
If Judas hadn't betrayed Christ, He still would have wound up being crucified. It was only his 'job' because it's the path he chose.
Sanil,
ReplyDeleteA very good point, actually. I wasn't really thinking about it like that. It was a very stressful time, and perhaps Judas got caught up in the fear and extremity of the situation, with tragic, permanent consequences.
I like Sanil's theory as well. It makes a lot of sense especially when we see how others seemed to despair at that time.
ReplyDeleteAmber, yeah, I'm not huge on predestination, but figured I'd throw it out there as one side's view. :)
Sanil has great thoughts. It's part of why I love her so! :)
ReplyDelete*whew* I was worried there for a second. :p