Eclipsing Cain from Genesis, Judas is the most reviled man in the Bible. To be chosen as an apostle of the Son of God and then to betray him in such a way that will bring about his torture and death surely seems to be an unforgivable sin.
But we know that even Judas could be forgiven by Christ, and by Matthew’s account told last Sunday, he realized what he had done and wept bitterly before hanging himself. Surely, Judas did not believe he was worthy of forgiveness.
Do you think Judas deserved forgiveness?
Do you think Judas acted of his own accord, or, as Luke and John report, was possessed by Satan?
Could Judas’ fate have been to betray Jesus and bring about his arrest and crucifixion, without which we would not have the Resurrection?
Can you think of any crime you question could ever be truly, completely forgiven, not only by humans (whose ability to do so can be extremely limited) but also by God? Could there really be a limit to God's capacity to forgive?
Where is the line drawn between humans' capacity to forgive, and God's?
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