сн. CHAPTER XVIII. ON THE CASE OF JUDAS. SECTION I. Those passages which show the case of Judas. Acts 1: 16-20. Men and brethren, this scripture must needs hav been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of David, spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and hath obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and, falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem, insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue Aceldama, that is to say, the field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein; and his bishopric let another take. : Ps. 41 9. Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. John 13: 18. I speak not of you all; I know whom I have chosen : but that the scripture may be fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Matt. 26: 24. The Son of Man goeth, as it is written of him; but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Mark 14: 21. The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it is written of him : but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born. John 17: 12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Acts 1: 25. That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. John 6: 70. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? Matt. 26: 14-16. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, what will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? and they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. Verses 47-50. And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master; and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. John 13: 2. And supper being ended [the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him]. Verses 26, 27. Jesus answered, He it is to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop, Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. Matt. 27: 3-5. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. SECTION II. Closing Remarks, and a Statement of Facts concerning Judas People who have been trained to a belief in the doctrine of endless misery are in the habit of referring to the case of Judas to prove the truth of their doctrine. But we ask them candidly to consider, first, the object and end of Christ's mission on earth; the object of which is universally acknowledged to be the salvation of man from sin and death. Could Christ have accomplished that end, without yielding up his life, in sacrifice, on the cross? And could he have been delivered up and crucified, without the proper means to effect it? Certainly not. And if God purposed to save man by the death of his Son, did he not also determine the means by which his death should be brought about? See Acts 4: 26-28. "The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. For of a truth, against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together 66 for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." See also Acts 2: 23. "Him (Christ) being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have takeń, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." From these facts we learn, that the whole process of the delivering up, the counsel, and death of Christ, were all previously determined by the hand and counsel of God. Can we, then, suppose that any part of it could have been subverted or set aside by man? Or can we conclude that Judas must be endlessly miserable, for being instrumental in the. accomplishment of that end, which God had designed? Certainly not. Peter says, Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." Judas delivered him up to the counsel of the Jews; of course, the act which Judas performed was determined of God. Now, to suppose that Judas must be made miserable without end, miserable without the means of reforming from the error of his ways; for that which must have been performed, or God's purposes baffled, and the world lost! we think is darkening to the character of God, and degrading to his purposes. Could either of the disciples have viewed the purpose and plan of God, in saving the world, in its proper light; and, seeing no one to step forward as a means, he had volunteered his services as a means in that fearful tragedy, would he not rather have immortalized than degraded his name? But, as we have no probable evidence that the above was the case with Judas, we must suppose him to have been influenced by some other motive, which [equally effected the purpose of God, but] in its nature and operations greatly tended to blacken and degrade his character. But as God overrules means to effect his own purposes, and eventually superintended the great and memorable events with which Judas stood connected, does it not betray a weakness, and an unphilosophical mind in man, to say that God's purposes are so mystified, his plans so deranged, that he eventually must, yea will, eternally damn any of his creatures for the part they may have acted in the drama of life? Does not God overrule all things for good? And will he not overrule even that event, for the ultimate good of Judas? Our Saviour, when upon the cross, prayed for the whole band of his murderers and offenders, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Are not the prayers of our Saviour, all, eventually and effectually, answered? Most certainly, if his own words be true. He says to his Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me and I knew that thou hearest me always. John 11: 42. But it is said Judas was "the son of perdition" [ill fortune]. Does this show that Judas is or will be eternally lost? No. Judas was a man of loss and ill fortune. He was lost to the apostleship and ministry, in which he had previously shared. He was considered a traitor, and abandoned by the church, and by the world. Son of perdition, is a Hebraism, signifying one that is lost, or a man of ill fortune. All this Judas effectually and sufficiently experienced in this world. Judas was also called a devil (diabolos); that is, an opposer or untrue. But will this eternally damn him? Christ says to Peter, Matt. 16: 23, “Get behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me," &c. Yet no one supposes that Peter is forever lost. But it is said, Matt. 26: 24, "it had been good for that man if he had not been born." These words are not strictly and literally to be interpreted, as they were a proverbial form of speech among the Jews; and every one ought to know that proverbs are not to be literally taken. Dr. Clarke shows the above to be correct. At the end of chap. 1, in Acts, he also says, "The utmost that can be said of the case of Judas is this: he committed a heinous act of sin and ingratitude, but he repented and did what he could to undo his wicked act; he had committed the sin that involves the death of the body; but who can say (if mercy that the same mercy could was offered to Christ's murderers, . . .) not be extended to wretched Judas?" He further states that the chief priests were actually more guilty than Judas; and if mercy could have been extended to them Judas did not die out of its reach. the Dr.), "that there is no positive evidence of the final damnation. of Judas in the sacred text." See Paige's Selections. Jeremiah (which the Dr. admits was), then "And I contend further” (says cursed the day in which he was born. He says, "Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed," &c. See Jer. 20: 14-18. Pious Job also says, "Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, there is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not the light shine upon it," &c. See Job 3: 1-12. Now, no one will contend that righteous Jeremiah, or pious Job, have gone to an endless hell; yet they curse the day of their birth, and conterd that it would have been good had they not been born. But it is said, Judas "hanged himself," Matt. 27: 5, "And he cast down 66 the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself." This expression appears to contradict what is said in Acts 1: 18, "Now this man [Judas] purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and, falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.” This account of his end is evidently correct. There is no evidence that Judas hung himself, or that he took his own life in any way. The difficulty is with the expression, "hanged himself," in Matthew. The Greek word apegrato, rendered "hanged himself," has not of necessity that signification. It appears to have the following meaning: he [Judas] went out, being suffocated, or strangled with grief. Campbell renders it "strangled himself;" and says "it may be rendered, was suffocated." Wakefield's version is, was choked with anguish.” Clarke says, "it may be rendered, was strangled." This harmonizes the two passages, and removes the apparent difficulty. Judas was evidently mortified and grieved to excess. In verses 3, 4, it is said, that "when he saw that he [Christ] was condemned, he repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that." Upon hearing this answer, Judas cast down the pieces of silver and went out, not only repenting, but with such highly-grieved, mortified, and wounded feelings, that he was completely suffocated and choked with grief, to that degree, that he actually fell headlong, bursting asunder, and thus expiring in a moment of grief, repentance, and agony. What more pitiable could his condition have been? and what stronger evidence of sorrow and compunction could have been manifested? and he, who feels to pursue and follow him, even into eternity, and further torment him there, must be destitute of all sympathy, and even humanity itself. The motive of Judas in betraying, or delivering up Christ to the Jews, could not have been for the purpose of having him crucified. Judas knew that his Master possessed the power of delivering himself from his enemies, and this he had often seen him perform; but he might have felt somewhat avaricious, and designed the money for his own individual use, but more probably (as he was their treasurer, carried the bag, &c.) that he designed it for the use of the fraternity, or the benefit of the church. But when he saw the result, he was disappointed; he saw that he had misjudged, and was chagrined, mortified, grieved, and |