When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” … He departed, and he went and hanged himself.
What happened to Judas after he betrayed Jesus? “He changed his mind.” This phrase has also helpfully been translated, “He was seized with remorse” (NIV). Judas’s heart was altered, seemingly instantaneously—and with it, so was his perspective.
The Judas we see in the Garden of Gethsemane, leading a procession of armed men to arrest Jesus with boldness and barefaced animosity, is not the Judas we see here, hours later, before the chief priests and elders. His hardened heart was replaced by a spirit of regret that gripped his soul.
Consider Judas’s experience for a moment, and let it be a reminder that sin always offers false hope. The moments before we sin very often feel radically different from those that follow. It’s the same drastic change that Adam and Eve felt in the Garden of Eden following their disobedience. All they knew in the moment before eating the fruit, all they anticipated in that act of rebellion, became dust in their mouths (Genesis 3:6-8). In the same way, all that seemed so attractive to Judas in handing over Jesus to His enemies quickly became nothing to him.
When we sin, all of the bewitching, intoxicating influences—all that drew us to rebel—passes away in a moment. What glittered turns out to be fool’s gold. Only the naked fact remains: I have sinned against a holy, loving God.
With such radical remorse, we have a choice: repent and be reconciled to God, or despair and condemn ourselves. Tragically, Judas chose the latter. His guilt was so great that surely every face he saw accused him, every sound he heard pierced him, every reverberation in his soul condemned him. He attempted to alleviate his guilt by returning his payment to the chief priests—yet lifting the weight of the bag of coins off himself wasn’t enough to lift the weight from his heart. Feeling isolated and beyond reach, he died a dreadful death.
Maybe today you’re also feeling weighed down by your sin. Maybe you’ve sought to fix matters yourself, but the weight still bears down. If so, know this: Judas’s story doesn’t have to be yours. You can turn to Christ. He offers freedom and forgiveness: a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light (Matthew 11:28-30). This is what Christ died for—the redemption of sinful betrayers like Judas.
Judas’s example stands as a reminder to us next time sin beckons us. What sins are proving particularly tempting to you at the moment? Remember, how they look beforehand is not how they will feel afterward. For moments of temptation, here is help, and for moments of guilt, here is hope. God’s forgiveness stands waiting for our remorse and repentance. All you must do is turn to Him.
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Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, The Good Book Company.
