Falling Away or Stumbling Away
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty people) and said, “Brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through David concerning Judas – who became the guide for those who arrested Jesus – for he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry.”
(Now this man Judas acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, and falling headfirst he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language they called that field Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”)
“For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his house become deserted, and let there be no one to live in it,’ and ‘Let another take his position of responsibility.’”
Acts 1:15–20 NET Read More
Remember how the disciples had been praying for days between Christ’s ascension 40 days after Passover and Pentecost? This is during that 10 days. And they made a decision!
That often happens when you pray. I have friends that take 5 day silent retreats, just to spend time with the Lord. when they get to about day 3, they realize there are a lot of decisions they need to make, and they take the next 2 days fo the retreat to make those decisions.
You have to wonder what they disciples thought about Judas during the 40 days that Jesus was with them. He was a part of their crew for 3 years, after all. Even though Jesus rose from the dead, the betrayal was still painful for all of them. They all carried that betrayal around.
You don’t really get the idea that they released Judas from their bitterness and moved on, do you?
The thing is, though we hear the name “Judas” and think evil, they didn’t do that until the crucifixion. Judas was part of the team. He was even trusted to carry the money for the group and probably was one of the dearly loved disciples due to his seat at the last supper. Judas was a strong name for a strong man and had a strong friendship with Jesus and the others.
Note that nobody fell away from Jesus because of what Judas did. Jesus wasn’t the one that failed, it was Judas. Too often, church people will fail us in one way or another. We are all ridiculously weak and trying to manage ourselves. We call small victories a VICTORY for a reason.
So when Judas fell away, the disciples had a chance to realize that it was Jesus they were following, not Judas. Paul would later write and give good instructions on how to restore someone that falls away. Again, for followers of Jesus, not the followers of the one who falls away.
As we all try to follow Jesus along our paths, as we stumble in the night of discernment and cloudy discretion, let’s hold on to one another but keep our eyes on Jesus. He will lead us along. He is the one that can restore us.
Just as Judas went away but Peter went to the front, there are some that will be restored after their stumble. That option is there for all of us.