On Eternal Security - Part 8

Judas never called Jesus “Lord”

My belief is that Judas never called Jesus ‘Lord.’ Years ago, I had manually scanned through the four Gospels to confirm this. And just now, I even asked the A.I. just to be even more sure. Here’s the A.I. response to my question: “Did Judas ever called Jesus Lord?”

The Bible does not explicitly record Judas calling Jesus "Lord." However, it does indicate that Judas was one of the twelve disciples who followed Jesus and was privy to Jesus' teachings.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is referred to as "Lord" by several characters, including the disciples. But these instances do not specifically mention Judas.

In Matthew 26:22, when Jesus predicted that one of the disciples would betray him, the disciples asked, "Lord, who is it?" This shows that the disciples, including Judas, were familiar with addressing Jesus as "Lord."

However, the Bible does not specifically record Judas calling Jesus "Lord" in any of the Gospels. The focus in the Bible is more on Judas' betrayal rather than his personal faith or beliefs about Jesus. —A.I.

The A.I. is correct but its conclusion is wrong. Here’s an actual objection coming from a human. It looks something like this:

Before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, only Peter, Thomas (John 14:5), and Judas (not Iscariot) (John 14:22) referred to Jesus as ‘Lord.’ As for the remaining nine disciples, it’s not certain whether they held the belief that Jesus was ‘Lord.’ Are we to assume that the nine didn’t believe or address Jesus as Lord?

Of course not, but it does add weights to my arguments when all things are considered. The Scripture put forth Peter and Judas as a picture of true believers and apostates (refer to Part 7 in this series). One is a child of God, the other a child of the Devil. We’re driven by what we know or believe to be true in our heart. And in case you missed the crucial point in Part 7, here it is again:

“Judas on the other hand never believed in Christ as Lord. He was remorseful because he believed (as it turned out for him) Christ to be an innocent man (Matthew 27:3-4), and not the Christ and Son of God! If Judas knew and believed in his heart, then “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:8, cf. Matthew 16:16,22). He indirectly participated in Christ’s crucifixion because he, like the rest, did not know (cf. Luke 23:34).”

Did you catch that? The way both Peter and Judas dealt with Christ reveals their belief regarding who Jesus was. In Matthew 16:16, we see Peter’s confession (belief), and then his reaction to Christ’s coming death in verse 22, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” Judas did not have the same kind of faith as Peter and it was evidence in his betrayal of Christ. What about John 6:68-69, Peter being the spokesman for the Twelve said, “Lord, to whom shall WE go?… WE have come to believe and know that You are the Christ…” Peter was definitely wrong about Judas there if he thought that Judas believed Jesus to be Lord and Son of God. Christ gently and indirectly corrected Peter in the very next verse, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”

When Jesus sat down to eat with the Twelve, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” Each of them were exceedingly sorrowful and said to Him, “Lord, is it I?” (Matthew 26:22). Now, some of you might think to yourself that Judas was included when it says, “THEY were… sorrowful… and EACH OF THEM began to say to Him, ‘Lord, is it I?’”

Do you honestly believe that Judas was exceedingly sorrowful after hearing what Christ said about his betrayal? So much so that he went to betray Christ shortly after to alleviate his sorrow? Impossible. The only sorrow or remorse Judas had was that of betraying an innocent man (Matthew 27:3-4) and that was long after. Judas was not included in the “THEY” and “EACH OF THEM” in Matthew 26:22, and Scripture is careful to draw out that distinction in verse 25, “Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, ‘Rabbi, is it I?’” There you have it.

You can now be certain that the other nine did believe or address Jesus as Lord. Matthew 26:20-25 proves they all did, except Judas! What’s more, even John 14:22 is careful in its wording lest you believe Judas Iscariot addressed Jesus as Lord, “Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?’”

All that is beside the point. The comparison and contrast here is Judas vs. Peter, not Judas vs. the disciples that didn’t call Jesus “Lord.” Satan entered Judas, but couldn’t enter Peter. Jesus prayed for Peter, but not for Judas etc… Scripture teaches using contrast/comparison, metaphors and analogies. Judas was close to Jesus, he even kissed Jesus. It would make much more sense to show that he did indeed addressed Christ as Lord for someone who was that close to Jesus, but it’s clear from Part 7 that Judas never believed in his heart that Jesus is the Lord and Son of God.

No one can say that Jesus is the Lord except by the Holy Ghost.

To be continued.…