Mercy for Judas

In the gospel of Matthew, we read about the death of Judas. We know Judas as one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus, but we know him better as the one who betrayed Jesus.

I would like to reflect today, as we enter Holy Week, on this particular passage about Judas, after he has betrayed Jesus. I realize that this is not the typical perspective on this scripture passage. I am in no way saying Judas’s decision to take his own life was the correct course of action, rather, that even Judas’s death can teach us something about love and mercy. The following text is from Matthew 27:3-10, New American Bible.

Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done.
He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying,
”I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.”
They said, ”What is that to us? Look to it yourself.”
Flinging the money into the temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself.

The chief priests gathered up the money, but said,
”It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury, for it is the price of blood.”
After consultation, they used it to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.
That is why that field even today is called the Field of Blood.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet,
”And they took the thirty pieces of silver,
the value of a man with a price on his head,
a price set by some of the Israelites,
and they paid it out for the potter’s field just as the Lord had commanded me.”

I cannot help but think that Judas’s story could have ended differently. In fact, it should have ended differently. It says specifically that Judas “deeply regretted what he had done”. We may be quick to condemn Judas, but it is Judas who realized “[He] sinned in betraying innocent blood” and deeply regretted it. I would argue that scripture shows us here that Judas, in a place of deep regret, desired mercy. Judas was so convicted of this, that he returned to the chief priests and elders to admit his regret.

The chief priests and elders were the Jewish religious figures of authority at that time. Judas went to the place - the people - he thought could help him face the grave mistake he had made, only to realize that they had no desire to assist him. Instead, they placed the full weight of blame on his shoulders and impressed it upon him further.

Take a moment to think about that. Imagine how difficult it must have been for Judas to admit his sin and return. It took courage. It took humility. It took being vulnerable. It was most likely painful and humiliating, too. His soul was in a very fragile state to realize the gravity of his actions and then to admit it, and to admit it to the leaders who had more political and cultural authority and power than he had. Judas returns to them raw, broken, and full of regret.

It is true that Judas chose to despair and therefore hung himself, but I think about how the abuse, manipulation, and the final withholding of mercy and forgiveness on the part of the chief priests and elders led Judas to a final place of despair rather than hope. And I think this is worth reflecting upon.

When I think of this moment for Judas, I am hit by the gravity of scandal. And by scandal, I mean when souls that are fragile in any way, whether through their own sin, through painful encounters with others, or through painful situations, approach us or the Church seeking truth, mercy, forgiveness, and/or love but are turned away through words of manipulation, shame, hurt, abuse, or anything of the sort. How often do we have the opportunity to look into the eyes of another human being and offer a doorway of hope rather than despair? I think this is what Judas was looking for when he returned, and yet he did not receive it.

It is easy to condemn Judas as the betrayer. He was with Jesus all those years. He knew the teachings. He knew the truth. But sin, specifically mortal sin, can be a nasty spiral downward and it can take a human hand of mercy and love to help one out of it, especially when one is hurting, feeling shame, feeling guilt, or feeling the full weight of what they may have done.

I would argue that, in that moment of realization of the gravity of his sin, Judas needed mercy and not further condemnation. And so I desire to extend mercy to Judas in that moment. I desire to look him in the eye and speak words of love into his tormented soul and tell him that the darkness does not have to consume him. That is what Jesus would have done. And that is what we, as human beings, must do for each other.

We must be the human reminder of God’s mercy and love to each other. This does not mean that we condone sin, ever. Rather, it means we are truth-speakers who speak the truth in love so that any soul that encounters us experiences the merciful love of God and is able to be reunited with our Lord. We must be the bridge for those who find themselves on the other side of the shore feeling hopeless, despondent, or even at the point of despair, whether through their own actions or because they have been scandalized or abused by another.

No sin is too great. No sin is beyond forgiveness. No sin is beyond the merciful gaze of Our Lord. Jesus, mercy. Jesus, I beg mercy for Judas.

Jesus, how can I be an instrument of mercy and love to the people around me?

Jesus, how can I extend your merciful gaze to those who come to me hurting, suffering, and tormented by pain, abuse, shame, or sin?

Jesus, how can I be a doorway of hope and love in a world that often feels filled with darkness?

Jesus, how can I be a living vessel of your hope, mercy, and love?

Jesus, how can I reflect your love and mercy to those who need it most?

Jesus, who are the betrayers, the “Judas's”, and the “chief priests and elders” in my own life who have wounded or scandalized my soul and need my mercy and forgiveness?

Jesus, help me to receive your mercy, forgiveness, and love even when there are no human reminders of it or when it is withheld from me in human form.