The Legend of Judas

I’ve never met someone named Judas. John, Peter, Matthew, Thomas, Levi—these are people whom I know. But never Judas. His story is an enigma, an outright confusing puzzle, not because of what he did, but because Jesus chose to invite him to follow. In Luke’s list of disciples, he names him “Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor” (Luke 6:16).  Not who was a traitor—but who became one. Jesus chose him before the ending was known, before betrayal hardened into history.

 

Jesus didn’t gather admirers or spectators. He called followers: people who would walk with him, walk alongside him, and walk forward into the mission of God. Which raises a troubling question: Why then would Jesus choose one who would “become a traitor?” Perhaps this is the wrong question because we could say of Thomas: “Why would Jesus choose one who would become a doubter?”  Of Peter: Why would Jesus choose one who would become a denier?”  Lent presses us to notice not only those who fail—in truth, almost all the gospel stories show us that all the disciples failed, misunderstood, or fell short one way or another.

God Finishes What God Begins

What I will write today will offend some and upset others, I am sure, so let me set a theological framework through some of our most quoted scriptures:

• “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.” —Philippians 1:6
• “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” —Psalm 138:8
• “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” —John 10:27-28
• “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” —Lamentations 3:22-23

 

It is a foundational theological declaration that God not only begins the work within us but also actively preserves and completes it; what God holds, he does not release. God’s commitment to us is stronger than our inconstancy toward God. Jesus safeguards the work done in our lives. God’s presence is not momentary, but there is mercy given day by day.

 

I believe those verses. I stake my life on the God who left us those texts for our instruction, comfort, and hope in covenantal fidelity.

The Legend That Offends—and Comforts 

Madeline L’Engle tells of an old legend about Judas. The legend says that after his death, Judas found himself at the bottom of a deep and slimy pit. For thousands of years, he wept his repentance, and when the tears were finally spent, he looked up and saw way, way up. A tiny glimmer of light. After he had wept for another 1000 years or so, he began trying to climb towards it. The walls of the pit were dank and slimy, and he kept slipping back down.

 

Finally, after great effort, he neared the top, and then he slipped and fell all the way back down. It took him many years to recover, all the time weeping bitter tears of grief and repentance. And then he started to climb up again. After many more falls and efforts and failures, he reached the top and dragged himself into an upper room with 12 people seated around a table. 

“We’ve been waiting for you, Judas,” Jesus said. “We couldn’t begin till you came.”[1]

 

When she first heard this legend, Waiting for Judas, she found herself moved, then surprised that so many were offended by the idea that she might believe Judas could be forgiven. This moment captures L’Engle’s essential theme: not even the greatest betrayal can place someone outside the reach of Jesus’ love. 

 

Her point isn’t to romanticize betrayal, but rather to remind us that God’s embrace is broader and deeper than any human failure, including our own—or possibly even Judas.

 

I have participated in debates about Judas—why he betrayed his Lord. Was he a secret Zealot anxious for Jesus to begin a violent overthrow of Roman oppression? Was it simply greed for money? Or was he disillusioned by this rabbi of peace? Did he miscalculate the violent intentions of Caiaphas and Rome?

The Hardest Question of Lent

After the arrest, he said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4).  Luke and John both say that “Satan entered into Judas” (Luke 22:3, John 13:27). Some of my seminary classmates argued that Judas was destined to betray Jesus, that he was merely a pawn in God’s plan for redemption. And some have argued that Judas simply believed in judgment more than forgiveness and mercy. Lent does not require us to resolve the debate; it invites us into a deeper question:  Is it possible that Jesus’ love is too strong, too extravagant, too inexplicable to believe, so we turn away?

 

But the story of Judas—and the very presence of his chair at the table—reminds us that Jesus does not wait for perfection; he waits for us.

 

Brennan Manning once said that on the final day, Jesus will ask only one question: Did you believe that I loved you?
Not, did you get it all right?
Not, did you never fail?
But did you believe that I loved you?

 

This is the question Lent places before us: Judas, Peter, Thomas, me, and you.

 

So, sit with the legend. Observe your own reaction. Were you moved? Resistant? Offended? Curious? Then make it personal: What if Jesus could forgive Judas? What if he could forgive Judas as he forgave Peter and Thomas? Or you and me?

 

Practice:

Read this post, The Legend of Judas, again. Pay attention to where you resist it.
Ask yourself honestly: Do I believe Jesus’ love could reach even there?
Then ask a harder question: Do I believe it reaches me?
Then ask an even harder question: How might this change my own practice of forgiving others?

___________________________

This spring, Keith Anderson and Rob Loane are creating space for leaders to tend the inner life together in A Leader’s Journey in a Fractured World. You can read more and register here.

Keith Anderson, D.Min., is a Faculty Associate for Spirituality and Vocation at VantagePoint3 and President Emeritus of Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He is the author of several books, including his most recent: On Holy Ground: Your Story of Identity, Belonging and Sacred Purpose (Wipf & Stock, 2024). His other works include Reading Your Life’s Story (IVP, 2016), A Spirituality of Listening (IVP, 2016), and Spiritual Mentoring (IVP, 1999). In his writing, teaching, and mentoring, Keith seeks to set a table for people looking to enter the “amazing inner sanctuary of the soul” in the most ordinary and extraordinary moments of life.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                [1] Madeline L’Engle, “Waiting for Judas” in Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter, p. 312