One of my favorite hip-hop artists, Andy Mineo, raps in his latest hit Whatever Comes, "I wrote this on Good Friday, but why they call it good? An innocent man was beaten and nailed into wood. It's only through the lens of grace we see, who that really should have been hanging from that tree, who the nails should have been put it...me." It's a reality that we often take for granted until this week every year. Those lyrics made me think a lot about how we deceive ourselves. It's only through grace that we see what Jesus did for everyone yet how often do we try to earn it? Actions are important but many times we can be deceiving, trying to prove to others that we are 'good' people. If you don't truly believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9), the cross means nothing to you. "Live the Cross, it ain't a chain or design cause sin is whack; don't wear one on your chest if you don't bare one on your back." (Andy Mineo, Pick It Up)
Dr. H. L. Wilmington puts a little perspective on it and paints it this way. "Imagine yourself in the vicinity of the Garden of Gethsemane on a warm April night 2,000 years ago. As you watch, a man walks up to Jesus and begins kissing Him. You would probably conclude, 'How this man must love the Master!' Shortly after this you are shocked to hear another man bitterly cursing Christ. Now your conclusion would be, 'How this man must hate the Master!' but both times you would be wrong. Judas, the man who kissed Christ, really hated Him, and Peter, the one who cursed Him, really loved Him." We've all made mistakes but grace is what brings us to the all-knowing, all-powerfull, all-forgiving Father. You either hate Jesus or you love Him. There is no in-between!
I disagree.
ReplyDeleteI have found some interesting perspectives on Judas. One was reading the broken up parchment paper that is believed to be his works. In which it is explained that Jesus confirmed to Judas that he would be the one to betray Jesus... but Jesus encouraged him to do so because with out Judas' betrayal none of the prophecy would have been fulfilled. It was a beautiful perspective.
I'm not saying that I am 100% behind this but I do have to wonder: Jesus did encourage Judas to betray him is true would Jesus want us actually speaking cruel or harshly against Judas?
My relationship with Christ has led me to believe that even though as we see if Judas betrayed Jesus... Jesus would want us to forgive Judas. Regardless if Jesus did or didn't instruct Judas to betray him... it was that act that led him to being crucified for our forgiveness.