02/19/2026
Most people talk about Judas like he is the villain in a story we would all rather skip over.
He is the guy everyone is quick to judge. The one who took the money. The one who kissed Jesus in the garden. The one who betrayed the Son of God. If the gospel story were a stage play, Judas is the character who walks on and the audience immediately starts hissing, booing, and maybe throwing the occasional metaphorical tomato.
But here is the uncomfortable truth.
Without Judas, there is no cross.
And without the cross, there is no forgiveness, no resurrection, no salvation, and no hope for any of us. No Easter morning. No empty tomb. No “it is finished.” Just a very wise teacher who said some nice things and eventually died like everyone else.
Judas was not an accident in the story. He was not a surprise to Jesus. He was not a last-minute problem God had to scramble to fix like a flat tire on the way to a wedding. From the beginning, Jesus knew exactly who Judas was and exactly what he would do.
In John 6:70–71, Jesus says, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He said this about Judas, the one who would betray Him.
Jesus chose him anyway.
Let that sink in for a moment. Jesus knew about the silver. He knew about the kiss. He knew about the ropes in the garden and the cross on the hill. He knew about the trial, the crown of thorns, the nails, and the spear. He knew all of it.
And still, He called Judas to follow Him.
He let Judas walk beside Him for three years. He let Judas hear every sermon. He let Judas watch every miracle. He trusted him with the money bag, which in hindsight is a little like letting the raccoon guard the snack cupboard, but Jesus did it anyway. And on the night Judas would betray Him, Jesus still knelt down and washed his feet.
The feet of the man who would sell Him out in just a few hours.
Judas was not just a traitor in the story.
He was one of the twelve.
And somehow, in a way only God can orchestrate, even his betrayal became part of the rescue plan.
That does not mean what Judas did was good. Betrayal is still betrayal. Sin is still sin. Judas was responsible for his choices. The priests were responsible. The crowd was responsible. The soldiers were responsible.
And yet, God was still at work through all of it.
In Acts 2:23, Peter says that Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,” even though He was crucified by sinful men. In other words, the worst act in human history was still inside God’s plan of redemption.
Judas meant it for betrayal.
God used it for salvation.
That is a truth that is both comforting and uncomfortable at the same time. It means God is bigger than our worst decisions. But it also means even the darkest moment in human history was not outside His knowledge or control.
So here is the question people sometimes whisper but rarely say out loud.
Could Judas have gone to heaven?
The Bible does not give us a neat, tidy answer wrapped in a bow. We know Judas felt remorse. We know he returned the silver. We know he said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). But instead of running back to Jesus, he ran away in despair.
Peter also failed Jesus. He denied Him three times. He swore he did not even know Him. If denial were an Olympic sport, Peter would have at least qualified for the finals that night. But Peter ran back to Jesus. Judas ran away.
The difference was not the size of their sin. The difference was where they went with their guilt. Judas believed his sin was bigger than God’s mercy. Peter discovered that God’s mercy was bigger than his sin.
And that is where Judas becomes painfully relatable.
Because if we are honest, most of us have had moments where we chose the silver instead of the Savior. Maybe not literal coins, but comfort over obedience. Pride over humility. Control over trust. We have all had moments where we traded something eternal for something temporary and then tried to convince ourselves it was a really smart decision at the time.
We all have a little bit of Judas in us.
And that is why his story matters.
Judas reminds us how easily a heart can drift. How small compromises can grow into life-changing decisions. How you can walk beside Jesus, hear His words, see His goodness, and still choose your own way.
But his story also shows something else.
Even the man who betrayed Jesus was part of the plan that saved the world.
That does not make his betrayal good. It makes God’s redemption that much greater. Because if God could take the kiss of betrayal and turn it into the doorway to the cross, and take the cross and turn it into the doorway to the empty tomb, then He can take the worst parts of our story and still write something redemptive with them too.
Judas is not just the villain of the story.
He is the warning. He is the tragedy. He is the reminder of how close a person can be to Jesus and still walk away. And he is also the proof that not even betrayal itself was powerful enough to stop God’s plan.
Because the cross was coming…with or without the silver.
But the fact that God used even Judas to get there should be the ultimate mic drop reminder that nothing, not even the worst decision in human history, is bigger than the redemption plan of God.
