Son of man with a kiss?" Even at this point He was trying to get Judas to stop and think of the con sequences. He calls him "friend". Seeing this heart of Christ toward Judas gives us a little picture of what John 3:16 means in the su preme love of God. There is al ways the open door of salvation so long as a person is able to draw a breath in this life. Consider the disasterous results of the wrong choice which Judas made. I do not think he realized how it would all end up. No doubt he reasoned that Christ was going to be captured anyway, so it might be best to be on the side of the "winner." He was like the fish who sees the bait, but does not con sider the hook. It never entered his mind that "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Judas really condemned himself (Matt. 27: 3-5). He felt his own guilt. The Bible gives us no clue that he was sorry for his sin. All he wanted to do was to pacify his conscience. We see no prayer for repentance. If he had confessed his sin to the Lord he would have found forgiveness. If we neglect the confession of our sin to God, we deny the blood of atonement and what Christ has done for us at Calvary. Just to feel sorry will never bring Salvation. We must come to the Lord for cleansing. Judas was rejected by himself, by his fellow man, and by God. What else is there to do but to end it all. (Matt. 27:5). The betrayal money was used to buy a potter's field. If there is any message we can learn from Judas it is simply, "re spond to the love of Christ. Do not be so wrapped up in yourself that Page 34
you forget the most important de cision of your life. Make your choices with eternity's values in view. There are many in the church today who, when the day of judg ment comes, will hear our Lord's words, "depart from me." That is because they have never come to a personal acquaintance with the Saviour. They may have been counted with the group. They may have been going along and even recogn ized as leaders in the church and society. Unless they, by faith, have received the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, they will have condemned themselves to eternal perdition. JOHN Life is filled with contrasts, espe cially as we consider how some individuals react to the message of Salvation. While Judas betrayed the Lord and then committed sui cide, John was faithful to Christ until his death as a martyr. At Cal vary apparently all of the disciples forsook Jesus, except John who was close enough at the cross to have the privilege of caring for the Saviour's mother (John 9: 25-27). There must have been a very close kinship here between the Lord, His mother, and John. John could not understand how such a thing as the crucifixtion could happen. Writing on the Isle of Patmos in exile some 50 years later, John sees a clear picture of Christ's person. Throughout his gospel John is moved to testify that Jesus Christ is the very Son of God (20:31). John records the prayer of Christ when He peti tioned, "Now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with
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