JUDAS NEVER GAVE HIMSELF A CHANCE

Matthew 27:3-5 NKJ  
3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." 
And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" 
5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. 
If you were to ask someone what they are following in their life, you may get a blank stare.   

OBSERVATION:

You may be thinking that I made a mistake in the title of this devotional. That Judas never had a chance. That his fate was sealed.   

Jesus, in accordance with prophetic scripture, knew He would be betrayed. It was going to happen. And that things would go bad for His betrayer.   

But what if Judas had asked Jesus to forgive Him? But Judas never gave Jesus a chance. He took his own life before he took the opportunity to repent and receive forgiveness.   

Judas was not looking to see Jesus killed or hurt in any way. He was certainly not trying to see Jesus crucified. Judas did it for the money. He was a thief and had been stealing from the ministry funds that he was in charge of. He, with help from Satan, saw an opportunity to make some fairly good money so he took it. I don't believe Judas ever dreamed that Jesus would be condemned to death. Jesus had walked completely untouched from every challenge that He faced.   

So, Judas takes the money. Jesus walks away from the authorities, and no harm, no foul cha-ching for Judas.   

But something went terribly wrong. Jesus was condemned to die, and Judas was remorseful. He was so remorseful that he tried to give the money back. That's repentance.   

However, it was too late for Judas. He confessed his sin of betraying an innocent man and threw the money away. Then without making an attempt to connect with anyone, he hanged himself.   

I have no problem believing Jesus would have forgiven Judas. Peter denied Jesus three times, and the other ten abandoned Him. What Judas did was totally wrong but not the unpardonable sin. But Judas never gave himself a chance.  

APPLICATION: 

The Lord only knows the amount of people who have sinned, made a mistake, were ruled by greed or lust, and wound up in a bad place.   

The smartest thing to do is to confess the sin. Receive God's forgiveness and make a change. Don't be like Judas and not turn to the Lord. Run to Him when you have sinned. Don't run away. Give yourself the opportunity and freedom that comes from forgiveness.   

PRAYER: 

Dear Father, I confess my sins before You. Thank You for Your forgiveness. My Hope is in You.