Been talking about repentance at The River the past few weeks. The following are some thoughts I had on my heart this past Sunday. Sorry New River-ites, you’ve already seen this, though it has been retooled into a much more readable fashion…

Two men.

Both sinned against the Lord on the exact same night.

Both betrayed Christ.

Both repented.

Only one was justified.

The other penitent soul went straight to hell.

Yikes. Are you listening?

Of course we are talking about Judas Iscariot and his fellow disciple, Simon who was called Peter. Judas betrayed Christ for some coins, striking the necessary spark for Christ’s crucifixion. One gospeler says of the devilish disciple (John 6:70)—the only disciple from Judah—that satan entered into him, so we know this follower of Christ (at least geographically) was possessed by satan himself on that fateful night (John 13:27). Under cover of night, of both the natural and supernatural kind, Judas went out at the direction of Christ (John 13:27) and set in motion the night of all nights.

Judas’ betrayal was sealed with a kiss.

Sifted Simon had his part in the cosmic drama as well. After Jesus had been taken, he followed the retinue of soldiers and the shackled Messiah to the home of the high priest where the Christ was bloodied and bullied all night long. Outside, in the courtyard, Simon was confronted three different times, twice by two different “girls” (Matthew 26:69,71) who were able to expose his weak-kneed faith.

You remember Peter, don’t you? Upstairs? In the Hall of the Last Supper? Yeah, that’s him: loudly heralding his undying commitment and willingness to die alongside Jesus if called upon to do so. And see all the disciples around him? Well, Judas had already fled into the night, but the rest were adding their amens and hallelujahs, each stepping forward and volunteering for the King’s Army of Martyrdom.

Now some scant hours later, Peter-the-spokesman, is tragically and pathetically calling down curses on himself and others if he had had as much as a passing relationship with this Man who called Himself Messiah. The final betrayal, a string of words that would make any salty fisherman proud, was met with the loud and soulful wail of a rooster as it crowed. Or perhaps it was a soldier’s bugle, sounding out “cock-crow.” It didn’t matter. Whether from metal or animal, as far as the future Apostle was concerned, it was surely his death-knell. He must have covered his ears, squeezed his eyes shut and fallen to the earth waiting for the inevitable lightning strike. Continue reading »