From
the ways Peter and Judas acted to their own wrongs, we get to see the
difference between repentance and remorse. The response of Peter, on realizing
his wrong, was to cry bitterly, but the reaction of Judas Iscariot was to
return to the chief priests and elders in anger. He threw the money back to
them and went out and hanged himself. Judas’
action, much like rain drops that fall on the east side of Mount Jerusalem, it
always flow into the Dead Sea. On the other hand, repentance like the rain
drops that fall on the west side of the mountain, always flow into the
Mediterranean Sea. Both remorse and repentance began much the same way i.e. by
looking at what one has done. Remorse always cascades down the peak to the side
of anger, blame, retaliation, accusation, self-hatred and finally
self-destruction. Whereas repentance always flow in the direction that Peter
took. Regrets, shame and tears, and a change of heart that would lead to life.
In
this account, bad as it seems, at least Judas showed remorse. But the chief
priests and elders showed no sign of remorse, much less repentance. They felt that
what they had done was right for God and their country. They couldn’t care less
if Jesus was guilty or not. What they saw in Jesus was only potential trouble
with the Roman authorities. It was very likely that they were afraid that the
Romans could see in Jesus an uprising among the Jews, and would come down hard
on them. The best way was to keep them at bay, even if it meant sacrificing
innocent blood, they would do it. If the Romans, like vultures, were seeking
for a corpse to devour, they would throw the Messiah to them to keep them busy
and away.
In
Judas, we see a man coming to the Temple, seeking for some help for betraying
innocent blood. After all, was it not built for the purpose of helping people
in their struggles? However, this account was written not to show us how a
wretched man came seeking help but that the Temple was built on sinking sand,
and about to be destroyed. The authorities couldn’t help a man seeking relief
from his guilt. The tragedy of Judas was real, nasty and horrifying, but the
tragedy of the Temple would be worst. For the people appointed to help were consumed
by their own self-interest in politics and were oblivious to the warnings of
Jesus. They failed to see the cracks appearing in the structure or feel the
ground of the foundation shaking.
What
was on Judas’ mind when he approached the chief priests and elders? When Judas
betrayed Jesus, he probably did not think that it would lead to such bloody
conclusion and death. Like him, why do we always need to be awakened by some
un-pleasantries or some impending tragedies? Judas was perhaps hoping that by
engineering the confrontation between Jesus and Caiaphas, he could goad the
Messiah into doing some positive action for the nation. Or it could be some
other reasons. We will never know why he took the 30 pieces of silver. But what
we do know is that evil is always unpredictable, illogical and irrational.
Here
we are also introduced to the man under whom Jesus would soon be tried. Pilate
was a Roman governor whose permission the Jewish authority had to seek to put
Jesus to death. Pilate was a representation of Caesar, the self-acclaimed Lord
of the world. The clash between Pontius Pilate and the Messiah would soon reveal
a showdown between two powers – Christ and Caesar. One seeking to assert its
system of justice, the other would be a show of the irrefutable power of Christ
through the cross.
Like
God’s warning to Cain of old, we need to be alert to the potential of sin
crouching at our door. If we show indifference and don’t take care to deal with
it, we may find ourselves snared and brought to an end we least desire! Let him
who thinks he stands, take heed, lest he falls!
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