2 Corinthians 7:10 NIVUK
[10] Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
On July 18th, 2023, a surprise headline was on news programmes across the world. An American soldier had crossed over the Demilitarised Zone between North and South Korea and handed himself in to the North Korean guards. Private Travis King had committed multiple violations under the US military and South Korean civil codes. While under civilian guard in Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, he escaped and quickly joined a tour heading to the Demilitarised Zone. He slipped away from the tour group, crossed the Military Demarcation Line at Panmunjon and ran into North Korea – a state his nation has considered an enemy since the Korean War of 1950-1953.
Private Travis King had betrayed his fellow soldiers and his nation, all because he could not face the consequences of the offences he had committed.
Of course, it failed.
On September 27th, 2023, he was ‘expelled’ from North Korea and handed over to the American authorities in the Chinese border city of Dandong. From there he was taken back to the USA, where he faced the legal consequences of what he had done and was dishonourably discharged from the military.
Private King is not the first soldier, nor, indeed, the first person, to betray their nation, their peers or their family. Betrayal of any kind, regardless of the cause, is always messy. It involves deception, dishonesty and sin.
The motivation behind it sometimes may be pure, but the deed is not. Ever.
The Bible is open and honest about the whole gamut of human emotions, so it should be no surprise to anyone that it also tackles the messy, painful subject of betrayal.
However, it covers it from two angles.
The first angle, which we entirely understand, is the hurt of those who have been betrayed and their cries for justice:
Isaiah 33:1 NIVUK
[1] Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.
Matthew 26:24 NIVUK
[24] The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.’
But, and this might be hard to hear if you have been a victim of deception of betrayal, it also covers the angle of those who have betrayed.
Now, let me get one thing clear: betrayal is a nasty business and those who have been betrayed deserve justice. That much is plain and obvious. In no way does this post justify betrayal. Betrayal is wrong. Betrayal is a sin. There can be no discussion of that.
However, the Bible answers a very important question that perhaps one of my readers is asking right now: is there any way back for those who have betrayed, for those who face the bitter consequences of their sin because they deceived someone close to them?
Does the grace of God extend to even them?
Or, could it be, to you?
I have no doubt that some of the contents of this post may upset you. After all, for some the very subject may be raw in the extreme. However, we will look into it by examining two people who committed the very act of betraying and denying Jesus. We will see what they did, what caused them to do it, and whether or not there was a way back for them.
So let’s start by looking at what happened when they committed this heinous act – The Moment of Separation.
The Moment of Separation
Now, I have absolutely no doubt that some people will be thoroughly unnerved by what I am about to do. After all, I am about to compare a much-treasured leader of the Early Church, and a man some believe to have been the first Pope (although I do not), with a man with no redeeming features or values, certainly as far as the canonical Gospels are concerned.
That seems like quite a strange thing to do.
Even offensive.
However, I would ask you to suspend your opinions of this exercise temporarily until we have explored it fully.
You see, although these were two very different men, Peter and Judas Iscariot did have some things in common.
Firstly, they were Jesus’ followers. We have Jesus’ calling of Peter recorded (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11). We have no such recording of Judas’ call. We could speculate on why this is, but such speculation would be useless – it is enough to say that we don’t have it.
However, we know that there was some encounter with Jesus because they were Jesus’ disciples. They were both specifically selected as one of the Twelve (Mark 3:13-19). We don’t know what criteria Jesus used. We don’t know why these men were selected. All we know is that they were.
We also know that they spent time with Jesus. The Bible does not tell us how long, but it seems appropriate to believe that it would have been approximately three years.
But while all this was true, we see something deeply challenging is also true, which is that they had another agenda. There was more than just a desire to learn from Jesus here – they had ulterior motives. They were, at different times, jostling for position. Playing power games. Wanting to be the greatest – after Jesus, of course.
And sometimes at the most unseemly times.
For example, shortly after Jesus had told them he would be crucified (Mark 9:30-34).
Or, much worse, during the Last Supper, and, perhaps even more astonishingly, right after Jesus had announced that one of them would betray Him (Luke 22:24).
It appears even this ‘most sacred of bands’ was not immune to shallow human politics.
We should pay attention to this: Jesus set them straight on it and told them there was no place for it.
So while there may have been another agenda in terms of seeking power or fame or glory within the group, for Judas there was something else at play – something downright sinister:
John 12:4-6 NIVUK
[4] But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, [5] ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ [6] He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
Jesus’ ministry was not necessarily always poor. We see this noted elsewhere:
Luke 8:1-3 NIVUK
[1] After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, [2] and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; [3] Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
His ministry – at least sometimes - was being supported by women of some substance.
Which means there was something in that purse which was worth stealing.
So Judas stole it.
He was embezzling from funds donated to Jesus.
But before we get up on our high horse and yell about what a scandal this was, let us put this crime in its modern context.
Aren’t prosperity preachers who become rich from the offerings of others also embezzling like Judas?
Aren’t people who steal from charities – especially Christian ones – embezzling like Judas?
Aren’t those who demand a high salary from charities, while delivering not much value, also embezzling like Judas?
So we see that both Peter and Judas had followed Jesus and spent time with Jesus, but followed Him with another agenda in mind.
Now, this is a painful admission. This is something that ought to make us shudder. Because, as we know, this is something many people used to do, and some still do.
In my day, it was often the case that young people would come to a church because there were young people there who could be potential girlfriends or boyfriends. I can understand that. Dating outside the church these days is a nightmare and a minefield. Inside church it’s much safer, with people who are usually of greater character. Come for the outer beauty, stay for the inner beauty.
I get it.
Some young people have been brought into church and found the Lord this way.
But there are many, even today, who attend church for the wrong reasons: maybe it’s to please their parents or to advance socially or for power or status or even money.
That is all wrong.
Jesus called us to build His Kingdom, not our own.
To do otherwise is to betray Him all over again, like Peter did when he denied knowing Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John 18:15-18, 25-27), or when Judas sold Jesus for a relative pittance (Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:1-6; John 13:2).
Quite stunningly, though, we see something else about their betrayal/denial of Jesus: they were under very little pressure to do so.
Judas wasn’t threatened or coerced or even approached to provide his intelligence to the High Priest and Temple authorities. He did it voluntarily.
Peter found himself under a little more pressure in the High Priest ‘s courtyard, but it is telling that while Jesus was being interrogated by senior figures in Judaism, Peter was being lightly questioned by a servant girl, a seemingly random person and a servant of the High Priest. Yes, they could have told on him, but they were hardly Temple guards or Roman soldiers.
There have been millions of Christians since who have endured far greater pressure under persecution and have not caved in.
Jesus Himself did not cave in.
Both cases show catastrophic weaknesses at inopportune times.
So we see the moment of separation – which for both was likely long before they acted on it.
If you are honest, is this true of you? Was your distancing yourself from Jesus more of a drifting apart, and less of a spur of the moment decision?
Maybe you have more in common with Peter and Judas than you think.
We also see The Motivation for Separation.
The Motivation for Separation
And, again, it is desperately challenging.
Now, the Bible doesn’t clearly state their reason for distancing themselves from Jesus.
Perhaps the reason for this is to ensure that it was never used to justify something that is ultimately wrong, but we’ll never know.
What we can do us piece together some clues that can help us understand their mindset, even if what they did was wrong, so that we can avoid making the same mistakes.
Perhaps the biggest reason was that they were confused by Jesus. They didn’t quite understand what He was on earth to do.
It seems to me that this could go some way to explain what happened later.
Look first at Peter:
Matthew 16:21-23 NIVUK
[21] From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. [22] Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’ [23] Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’
Peter was not infallible. Not before he met Jesus. Not after he met Jesus. He made mistakes. The Bible is brutally open and honest about them (see Galatians 2:12-21 to see an example of a mistake he made even after he became a leader of the church). One of the biggest and most profound mistakes he made is not fully realising who Jesus was and what He came to do – in common with the other disciples. The only difference is that Peter was happy to air his ignorance. The others kept it quiet.
Could it be that it was this ignorance, along with fear for his own safety, that prompted Peter to deny he knew Jesus?
But Judas did something evil about his misunderstanding:
John 12:4-8 NIVUK
[4] But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, [5] ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ [6] He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. [7] ‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. ‘It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. [8] You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’
Matthew 26:14-16 NIVUK
[14] Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests [15] and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. [16] From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
It is utterly telling that Judas’ betrayal began to grow when Jesus accepted the anointing with an expensive perfume instead of having it sold. It made it absolutely clear that Jesus was not about – indeed, was never about – financial enrichment. Judas realised this and it is this that prompts his betrayal.
So one of the reasons that could explain what they did is that they joined Jesus for a reason – likely to follow Him as Messiah as he defeated the Romans and to snatch for themselves a front row seat to history unfolding, with all the kudos, respect and power that would bring – and then it didn’t happen.
To sum it up in two words: unmet expectations.
To sum it up in one: disappointment.
Judas was following Jesus for his own benefit. He realised that Jesus was not in favour of this. He sought it elsewhere.
Peter was following Jesus for the wrong reasons. He could see his reasons unravelling before his eyes. He denied ever knowing Jesus.
Is this not what we see nowadays: many millions of people deserting the church as they had followed Jesus because they thought He would sponsor and approve of their lifestyle, but when it became obvious that the Bible said otherwise, they left the church?
Do we not see people popping up in church services, hoping that their mere presence or the performance of some great deed or ritual, will secure them a box seat for heaven, and then abandoning Jesus when they realised He wants their whole life?
Do we not see people approaching Christianity as if it was a good luck charm that will bring them comfort and prosperity, and then binning it as soon as hard times strike?
Let me share with you a harsh, but accurate, truth:
That is what Peter and Judas did.
They followed Jesus based on a misunderstanding. Jesus tried to put that right with three years of up close and personal teaching, but they continued in their misappropriation. And then, when trouble struck and their purpose for being there was miles out of sight, they were gone.
Judas continued with this terrible misunderstanding right until his death.
Peter needed an act of Divine Intervention at Pentecost to rid him of it (note Acts 1:6-7 – even after Jesus’ death and resurrection, they still expected Him to overthrow the Romans!).
When Jesus called His disciples, He gave them a simple, two-word command: ‘Follow me.’
He wanted them to submit to Him, to obey Him, to live life on His terms.
Right up until the day of Pentecost, it seems like every one of them replied with, ‘Yes, Lord, but could You also follow me?’
They continually wanted Him to follow their agenda.
And when we do this, disappointment will inevitably result.
And with it, the serious risk of denial or betrayal.
So we see the moment of separation, and the motivation for separation, which both have at their root cause an attempt to get Jesus to follow us, instead of us following Him.
But what about people who have done this? What about people who have betrayed or denied? What about people who have caused deep pain and distrust with their families and friends, who have broken faith in churches and poisoned relationships?
Is there hope for them?
Should there be any hope for them?
That’s why we now look at The Movement After Separation.
The Movement After Separation
What these men do after their betrayal/denial has some commonalities.
They both are deeply emotionally affected:
Matthew 27:3-4 NIVUK
[3] When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. [4] ‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’ ‘What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.’
This is absolutely striking. These priests were the nation’s spiritual leaders. They were also involved in the courts. They were very close to Jesus’ trial. Judas’ confession could have stopped it in its tracks, but these men were not interested.
Because they could not care about innocence or guilt. They just wanted Jesus dead.
They had huge tomes of laws on worship and sacrifice and how to obtain God’s forgiveness. They could have given him a solution to salve his searing conscience.
They offered him nothing. Nothing at all. They sent him away with nothing.
Brothers, sisters, pay close attention. There are those who try to tempt you to abandon your faith and who love the headlines and the social media posts and the grand gestures. But when you are in pain, when you ache, when you deeply regret what you have done, they will be nowhere to be found.
They don’t care about you.
They just care about what you can do for them.
You are nothing to them.
You mean nothing to them.
Peter’s reaction was actually a little similar:
Luke 22:61-62 NIVUK
[61] The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times.’ [62] And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Pain like this hurts like no other because it is entirely preventable.
But it does not need to be permanent.
You see, there were two reactions to this horrific situation.
The first was Judas’ reaction.
And this as drastic as it is shocking:
Matthew 27:5-10 NIVUK
[5] So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. [6] The chief priests picked up the coins and said, ‘It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.’ [7] So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. [8] That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. [9] Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: ‘They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, [10] and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.’
Acts 1:18-19 NIVUK
[18] (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. [19] Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
He saw no hope. He saw no way out. He was overcome with remorse. He had no solution.
Only death.
And I’ll tell you something else: He was utterly lost. He could find no way back.
How do I know?
Jesus.
John 17:12 NIVUK
[12] While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
What a tragedy!
What happened with Peter was a little different.
It began with weeping and bitterness, of course.
But then...
Peter hears tales from the women that Jesus is not buried in the tomb anymore. He runs to see it for himself, but does not see Jesus – only the folded grave clothes (Luke 24:12; John 20:3-10).
We know that Jesus later appeared to him in private (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:3-5), and then that Peter was with the other ten remaining disciples when Jesus appeared once more, in the locked room (Luke 24:36-49).
But most of all – most wonderful of all – we known that, after sending the disciples back to Galilee, Jesus appeared to them, in a situation that mirrored the time when Peter first saw Jesus perform a miracle (compare John 21:1-6 with Luke 5:1-11), and then, in one of the most beautiful scenes in all Scripture, Jesus restored Peter and re-commissioned him (John 21:15-22).
Peter of course, filled with the Holy Spirit, was the one who, despite being nothing more than a fisherman, delivered the incredible Pentecost Sermon (Acts 2:14-41) and became one of the two biggest figureheads of the Early Church, beside Paul (who, coincidentally, had also acted against Jesus).
But the question is: why?
Why Peter?
Why not Judas?
The easy answer is that it was God’s will for Judas to die and for Peter to live.
The hard answer is that it has something to do with hope.
Judas clearly lost his when the High Priest and his lackeys refused to go back on their decision.
Peter was in deep despair – no doubt of that – but he does not appear to have ever lost hope. Indeed, despite having hurt Jesus deeply, and crossed a line that should not be crossed (Matthew 10:32-33), he still seeks out evidence of the Risen Jesus. We don’t know why.
But Jesus, who knew Peter’s heart better than even Peter did, allowed him to repent and return to the fold.
Judas lost hope because he did not look for that opportunity.
If we have committed these serious sins, may we be more like Peter and less like Judas.
Conclusion
2 Corinthians 7:10 NIVUK
[10] Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
During 2012, Muslim young people – particularly girls – were hoodwinked into travelling to lawless regions of Syria and Iraq. They had been persuaded by deceptive social media that terrorists there were eliminating local government and setting up a utopian Islamic Caliphate. Being sick of the perceived depravity and racism and Islamophobia of the Western cultures in which they resided, they took flights to Turkey, headed across the border with Syria and ‘joined the struggle’.
What they were met with was arranged marriage, in some cases bearing children to terrorists who would later lose their lives, restricted freedom, squalor and an unrelenting state of war.
When the so-called Caliphate was defeated, they found themselves in refugee camps. The countries where they had grown up were now afraid to welcome them back. Some had witnessed, or even committed, acts of brutal, senseless violence. Others had been online propagandists and recruiters for a savage terror group.
And there many of them still remain: stateless, stripped of their citizenship, belonging to no-one, not allowed to recover the life they once had.
This has caused a massive conundrum for our civilised nations. How should we treat those who have betrayed our values and our culture so completely and utterly and who may still present a clear danger to our people?
That is why most of them will never come home.
On a smaller scale, we are often faced with the same conundrum. Human beings betray and deny each other. That should come as no surprise. It’s part of our sinful nature.
That doesn’t make it right, but it is the painful truth.
It’s what follows that makes the difference.
After all, we all must decide what to do with people who betray us.
And we all must decide what to do if we have been betrayed.
Betrayal is painful. Deeply painful. If we have been betrayed, we can bring that pain to Someone who understands it better than anyone. However, we would also do well to remember that He has forgiven us, and He has called us to forgive each other, even when it isn’t at all easy (Matthew 18:21-35).
But if we have betrayed, and we feel the bitter pang of that heinous error, we would do well to go back to the moment when we betrayed, confess the motivation that lay behind our betrayal and make seeking God in repentance our next move.
The road back is never easy. It may take us some time to re-build the relationships that our sins have destroyed.
For some of us, it may even be impossible.
But the most important raletionship we will ever rebuild is that with our Lord Jesus.
And He stands ready with open arms, to accept his Prodigal child home once more.
As He did with Peter.
As He would have done with Judas, had he not ignored those three years of teaching on repentance he’d heard from Jesus.
Because repentance is always the way back for anyone who had walked this bitter path.
And forgiveness will surely follow.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I have betrayed those closest to me and I have betrayed You. My heart is heavy when I review what I have done. I repent of it. I want to begin again. I want to follow You instead. Help me rebuild the life my sin tried to destroy. Amen.
Questions
Have you ever been betrayed, or betrayed someone? How did it feel? Or have you denied knowing Jesus? How did that feel?
Why did Peter and Judas turn their backs on Jesus? Why did you do it?
What truth did Peter accept that Judas forgot? How can this help you to rebuild your life after having betrayed others, or having been betrayed yourself?
A challenging and liberating message! Thank you!