Do What You Came For, Judas!

Yesterday I was reading through Acts and made a powerful discovery. In Acts 1, the Apostles make mention of Judas' betrayal of Jesus, and then never mention Judas again. In fact, Judas is never mentioned again in scripture! Even references to Judas are eliminated from scripture. In I Corinthians 11 when speaking of the Lord's Supper, betrayal is referenced. Outside of this though, there is really nothing to bring us back to Judas. One reason for this could be because as humanity, we all denied and crucified Jesus. In other words, Judas was not the enemy of Christ, but an instrument representing all of us. "We all killed Jesus" seems to be the theme of scripture, not just Judas alone. Still, I wonder what Biblical truth this has for me in my life.

You'd think if someone murdered and betrayed Christ, everyone would be talking about that guy. I mean, there is no one more despicable than Judas... right? The whole "kiss" thing must have left his mark on society back in the first century. Still, we never read about apostolic anger towards Judas. Peter never spends a chapter in his letter talking about his frustrations with his old "friend." That is so the opposite of me.

When people hurt us, how do we respond? Do we talk about the hurt? Do we dwell on the pain? Do we dissect their character, paint them as demonic, and think about their disobedience and sin? The apostles just moved on. I don't know how or why. Maybe because they loved God so much. Maybe because they knew that we are all guilty before God. Maybe they just understood the bigger role Judas played and that each of them were capable of the same thing. Either way, Acts 1 concludes the story of Judas in scripture.