Jesus chose Judas

It always astonishes me that Jesus chose Judas to be one of His disciples. Because He was fully God, He knew all things that were in men’s hearts, ‘Yet there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him” (John 6: 64 NIV, emphasis mine). Even knowing that one day Judas would be the one to betray Him for thirty pieces of silver, Jesus still chose him to be one of the Twelve.

During those three years of Jesus’ ministry, Judas was treated exactly the same as the others. He saw all that Jesus did, heard His teaching, and was sent out with the other disciples on their missionary journeys. Like the others he also came back full of excitement.

Had Judas repented for what he did, he could have been forgiven, for the blood that Jesus shed on the Cross covers all sin, no matter how big. He might even have been restored to his place among the Twelve But he never got beyond remorse.

There are times when we feel that we have committed a sin so big that we can never be forgiven and we wonder why Jesus chose us in the first place. We are robbed of our peace and are so ashamed that we find it hard to come to the Lord for forgiveness.

God’s love is so amazing that He forgives us the moment we confess our sins to Him and then chooses to forget it (Jeremiah 31:34b) – it’s the enemy who loves to keep reminding us. It says in the Bible that we were chosen before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). God still chose us, knowing everything about us!

Prayer: Amazing God, thank You for Your wonderful love which never changes, no matter how far I stray from You. I choose to forgive myself for the sins I have committed (name them). I come before You afresh today, asking that You would forgive and cleanse me, and I offer myself to You again, body, soul and spirit. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.