Questions about Judas

This year at Easter our church will be doing a small dramatic production as a Holy Thursday service. The production is called "Two Faces in the Shadows" and it deals with a dialogue going on between Peter and Judas. I think it will be very interesting really. I will be portraying Judas in it (thanks to Roni volunteering me at a worship committee meeting). Actually I don't mind playing that part. Besides, someone has to do it right?

Actually I have thought about Judas a lot in my life. Honestly there is a part of me that wants to be sympathetic to the guy. He was just doing his job right? Of course according to what John says about him in his Gospel, he was also stealing from the purse and was more concerned about money and power and prestige than he was about what Jesus was really teaching. He is a dark figure in the light of what Christ was and is.

The question that always comes to my mind is how in the world he could spend three years as a disciple of Jesus and not be affected by what he saw and heard on a daily basis. Yeah he was interested in his own power and prestige, but so were the other disciples. They argued about who was the greatest and who would have the seats of honor in Jesus' kingdom. But they eventually got it. If Judas had stuck around for a while longer, would he have gotten it too? I once heard the difference in the reactions for what he did and what Peter did was that Peter came back a broken man searching for forgiveness while Judas was overwhelmed with his choice and hung himself rather than awaiting the return of his Master.

So the question surfaced in my mind this morning about Judas. I have long wondered about where he ended up. Was he sentenced to Hades for what he had done, or will we see him in the Kingdom when that day comes? I have thought about the doctrine that Jesus descended into Hell in order to free the captives...those who didn't have an opportunity to know Him and his healing, freeing Grace and Love. And I have wondered if Judas could possibly be among those who were set free. It is a great thought to have really. Judas, the scoundrel, the betrayer, forgiven and released from what he had done. It was something that had to be done after all.

But the new question that played in my mind this morning was this: Is Judas perhaps an example of what Jesus tells us is the unforgivable sin, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? From what I have understood of this, it is to be presented with the evidence of the Christ, of His Grace and Truth and to simply walk away and harden your heart and say that "I don't need this." Judas, it seems, fits into this understanding. He was there for three years with Jesus. He saw the miracles, heard the teachings, experienced the Grace and Love that were embodied in Jesus, and yet he turned away and betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver. He made a choice to do this.

Truth be told there is a little bit of Judas in all of us. Granted it may not be that we turn our backs and walk away from Jesus. Rather we make the choice to betray Him by attempting to conform him to what we want rather than conforming our lives to what He desires for us. That is what Judas is guilty of. He sought to bend Jesus to what he wanted the Messiah to be rather than submitting himself to what the Messiah wanted him to be.

So will we see Judas worshiping and praising the Lamb who was slain when we finally reach that place? I have no idea honestly. It is just something that we will have to wait to find out. But until that day, I hope to live my life in a way that when I do find out the answer, people won't be pondering the same things about me as we do Judas. Peace and Love y'all.

12 Feet

This past weekend was the NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix. This is always a weekend that has some cool stuff that happens. Plus the game is usually really high scoring because no one cares too much about playing D. Of course the highlights of the weekend usually seem to be the various individual contests that go on, most notably the Three Point Shoot out and the Slam Dunk Contest.

The video below is of Dwight Howard's second round dunk. The rim is set at 12 feet. In case you didn't know already, the regulation height for the rim is 10 feet.



He made it look too easy. That is how I am able to dunk on an 8 foot goal. It's nice and easy and not really a reach. He even tried to get them to go higher after the one dunk, but they either weren't able to, wouldn't, or he ran out of time. It would have cool to see him do 13 feet though. Peace and Love y'all.