Was Judas Iscariot Saved?

Issues – March 2016 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Was Judas Iscariot Saved?

Judas Iscariot is sometimes viewed by the world in a sympathetic way: as a misguided individual, as a sort of revolutionary figure, or even as a hero! For example, a well-known show some years ago portrayed Judas in an overtly sympathetic manner, and this left a deep impression upon the popular imagination.

How then are we to understand the life and actions of Judas? Was he saved and then subsequently lost his salvation after his betrayal of Christ? If he was not saved, how could he be called a disciple and actually do miracles along with the other disciples? What really motivated his treachery against the Lord Jesus? These are a few of the questions that arise now and then in connection with this mysterious disciple. Some have used the case of Judas to prove that a real child of God can lose his or her salvation – but is this a correct interpretation of what the Bible teaches concerning Judas and salvation?

The question is often raised: “Why did Judas betray Christ?” The answer to this will go far in answering the larger question, “Was Judas saved?” Many theories have been offered to explain his behavior. A recurring one is that, as a Jewish patriot, he was disappointed when he realized from the teaching of Jesus that the kingdom would not be manifested immediately, and that the Romans would not be overthrown as he had hoped. His bitter disappointment in this development, it is argued, turned him against the Lord Jesus. The problem with this theory is that there is not even a hint of it in the New Testament. Besides this is the remarkable fact that all of the other disciples were also under the same mistaken impression about the immediate appearing of the kingdom. The Lord’s correction of their error did not cause them to betray Him (Lk. 19:11; Lk. 24:21). Why would this stumble only Judas and not the other disciples? But again there is no indication from Scripture at all that this was the cause or motivation for the behavior of Judas.

What Does The Bible Say About Judas?
Scripture’s account of what transpired is simple and straightforward. Just prior to the betrayer’s covenant with the chief priests, Mary of Bethany had anointed the head of the Lord with precious ointment (Mt. 26:8-13). The disciples protested, led on by Judas, that Mary’s action was a waste and that the alabaster flask of ointment could have been sold and given to the poor (Jn. 12:4-5). In comparing the accounts of Matthew 27 and John 12 we see that all the disciples were involved in this but that Judas was the spokesman in the matter. We also read that Judas was the “treasurer” for the disciples, but was pilfering the moneybag (Jn. 12:6). Judas was a thief!

Immediately after Mary’s act of devotion we read: “So from that time he [Judas] sought opportunity to betray Him” (Mt. 26:16 NKJV). Here is clear proof of what really motivated Judas. Note the connection between the breaking of the alabaster box and the betrayal of Christ. Judas had hoped the ointment would have been sold and the money put into the bag – which he would steal at an opportune time. He had no thought for the poor, or perhaps in his own self-justifying thoughts he had considered himself as fitting into that category: “the poor.” But the reality was his covetous heart had been disappointed at having lost this prize which he may have coveted for a long time; he betrayed the Lord for money to satisfy his greed. Satan had entered into him to accomplish this wicked deed (Jn. 13:27), using him as his tool and then discarding him (Mt. 27:40). The above account alone should be enough to show that it was not patriotism or religious disappointment that had motivated Judas. The truth is that he was not a believer at all, rather he was someone who nurtured the unjudged sin of covetousness. He was a thief and under the power of Satan.

You Are Not All Clean
We can say with some certainty from what we have already seen that the motive of Judas in betraying Christ was the love of money. It was because of his greed, plain and simple. The reason for all the uncertainty of many about the case of Judas can only be due to either a theological bias or simply not carefully reading the scriptural account.

In John’s gospel we read that Jesus said to Peter, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you. For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean” (Jn. 13:10-11).

In pointing out that one of the disciples was not “clean,” the Lord was clearly referring to Judas for further on He adds, “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me’” (v.18). The Lord said there was one among them who was not clean. The symbolic act that the Lord Jesus graciously performed in washing the disciples’ feet is the key to understanding this statement. He that has experienced the “bath” of the new birth still needs his feet washed daily from the defilement picked up from passing through this sinful world. We need His daily advocacy to be restored by the washing of the Word – but the new birth never needs to be repeated, we are “bathed” only once. Yet strikingly the Lord states that there was one among them who was yet unclean, who had not been “bathed” (did not have the new birth). And further, this individual is identified for us: It was Judas. The Lord had not chosen him,1 for He knew those whom He had chosen. This is strongly confirmed a few chapters later when the Lord prayed, “Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition” (Jn. 17:12). Judas was not among those whom had been given to Him by the Father. He was not of the elect, and in fact, he was characterized by our Lord as “the son of perdition.” He was not a “backslider” as his fellow disciple Peter had been. Rather, Judas was an apostate.2 Thus the “son of perdition” went to “his own place” (Acts 1:25). How solemn!

A Disciple But An Unbeliever
If the reader needs more proof that Judas was an unbeliever there is another passage that presents this irrefutably. When some of the disciples were murmuring and threatening to walk no more with Jesus, the Lord stated to them unequivocally, “But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that did not believe, and who would betray Him” (Jn. 6:64). Some professing disciples had already turned away from Christ due to His “hard sayings;” and Judas also would turn away at the appointed hour when the greed he was nurturing ultimately came to its ugly fullness. He is numbered in John 6 with those who did not believe, but he is singled out as the one who “would betray Him.”

It should be pointed out here that not all disciples are believers. People may follow Christ in an outward way and as disciples they may profess subjection to Him, yet there may be no inner divine life – this was the reality with Judas. Miracles may even have been done through Judas when he was sent out with the other apostles. This has perplexed some but it should not, for in fact he is a perfect example of the “apostates” who are described in Hebrews 6:4-9. He may have “tasted the heavenly gift” and experienced the “powers of the age to come,” yet it was impossible for him to be brought to the place of “repentance.”

Peter was a genuine believer, but because of his unwatchfulness and self-confidence he had backslidden. Yet Peter repented afterwards and was restored by the Lord. Judas was “full of remorse,” yet it was not true repentance for he was in fact an unbeliever. The Scripture is clear: No true believer can be lost, as we see in John 10:27-28, Ephesians 4:30 and many other passages. It is possible for a believer to fall into sin and need spiritual restoration (Gal. 6:1). But this was not the case with Judas – he was an unbeliever.

END NOTES
1. To be clear, the Lord Jesus had chosen Judas as disciple for He had said on another occasion (when speaking on the subject of discipleship), “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” (Jn. 6:70). But Judas was not chosen as a believer; this can be clearly seen when Christ was speaking of the new birth in John 13:18, “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen.”
2. An apostate is someone who professes Christ then denies Him because he never really was a believer. This is different from a real Christian who backslides and can be restored to fellowship with the Lord.

By Brian Reynolds