Question about Judas

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thesearch

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Hello everyone,

I’ve been wondering about this for a while and decided to post, since I’m mostly a lurker. For the most part I’ve read that Judas is in hell. For example, Dante’s inferno etc. I understand that he hung himself, therefore, condemning himself, but, many argue he is in he’ll also for betraying Jesus and sending him to his crucifixion. But wasn’t it part of Gods plan for him to betray him, since someone had to to lead to the saving of mans soul? If he didn’t then it is possible that such saving would not have taken place? I’m having trouble understanding that someone would be sent to hell for being involved in Gods plan.

Apologies for poor grammar, I’m on a mobile, lol.

Thanks
 
thesearch said:
Hello everyone,

I’ve been wondering about this for a while and decided to post, since I’m mostly a lurker. For the most part I’ve read that Judas is in hell. For example, Dante’s inferno etc. I understand that he hung himself, therefore, condemning himself, but, many argue he is in he’ll also for betraying Jesus and sending him to his crucifixion. But wasn’t it part of Gods plan for him to betray him, since someone had to to lead to the saving of mans soul? If he didn’t then it is possible that such saving would not have taken place? I’m having trouble understanding that someone would be sent to hell for being involved in Gods plan.

Apologies for poor grammar, I’m on a mobile, lol.

Thanks
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First off Dante does not speak for the Church. What he wrote were works of fiction.

Second, God does not send anyone to Hell. People have freewill and those who have committed mortal sins and die in that state have freely chosen to reject God’s love and go to Hell.

Because God is eternally present (outside time) he knew Judas would betray Jesus. He did not make him betray Jesus.
 
Judas’ suicide was such a waste. He, like any other sinner could have repented of his dispair and fallen in next to St. John at the foot of the Cross begging for mercy, and he would have had it. He chose not to and dies in dispair. Otherwise, he would have been known as Archbishop Fulton Sheen put it, “St. Judas the Penitent”.
 
I know two Catholics who firmly believe Judas is in Purgatory. 🤷

No…I am not one of them. 😛 When asked I prefer to say “I don’t know where he is. God decides”.
 
SAVINGRACE said:
I know two Catholics who firmly believe Judas is in Purgatory. 🤷

No…I am not one of them. 😛 When asked I prefer to say "I don’t know where he is. God decides".
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Sorry but that is not correct. God does not decide if we go to Hell, Purgatory or straight to Heaven when we die.
We do by the state of our soul at death.
 
thistle said:
First off Dante does not speak for the Church. What he wrote were works of fiction.
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Don’t be too dismissive of Dante. His theology is pretty sound. He took the trouble to make sure he got things right. There are times, of course, when he is being deliberately provocative and polemical, such as his portrayal of Pope Nicholas III in Canto 19. But in Canto 34, when we meet the three archtraitors, Dante makes it clear that Brutus and Cassius are there because they were traitors to the Empire, i.e. to well-ordered society, whereas Judas suffers the greatest penalty, the *maggior pena *(34.61), because he betrayed God.
 
thistle said:
Because God is eternally present (outside time) he knew Judas would betray Jesus. He did not make him betray Jesus.
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How do you know he did not “make” Judas betray Jesus? On what do you base that assertion?
 
EllisWoods said:
How do you know he did not “make” Judas betray Jesus? On what do you base that assertion?
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Consistency of Catholic teaching that we have free will – to choose or not to choose God’s will. God doesn’t make us do anything, or He could make us all love Him. But love without choice is not love at all. Therefore, we have free will. This is Catholic teaching.

In Luke chapter 22 it says:
2 The chief priests and scribes were still at a loss for some means of making away with him, frightened as they were of the people.
3 But now Satan found his way into the heart of Judas, who was also called Iscariot, one of the twelve,
4 and he went off and conferred with the chief priests and magistrates about the means to betray Jesus.
5 These gladly consented to pay him a sum of money;
6 so he promised to do it, and looked about for an opportunity to hand him over without any commotion.
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In John chapter 13 it says:
2 Supper was over, and the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, son of Simon, the Iscariot, to betray him…
27 The morsel once given, Satan entered into him; and Jesus said to him, Be quick on thy errand.
28 None of those who sat there could understand the drift of what he said;
29 some of them thought, since Judas kept the common purse, that Jesus was saying to him, Go and buy what we need for the feast, or bidding him give some alms to the poor.
30 He, as soon as he received the morsel, had gone out; and now it was night.
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Satan only has influence in our hearts as we allow it. This is also Catholic teaching. In Job, we see that Satan is given power to destroy things, but not allowed to enter Job’s heart. Job remains faithful to God in the one thing Job can control – his will, the attitude of his heart.

Judas made a choice. For his own reasons, he opened his heart to evil, and Satan entered in. Jesus knew this would happen. We can speculate about why Judas made his choices, and why Jesus made his. But we cannot know these reasons, anymore than I can know the reasons behind your choices, or behind God’s actions in your life. It’s none of my business.

We don’t know whether Judas repented and asked forgiveness in his heart before or at the moment of his death. Again, God’s business, regardless of what artists and theologians opine.

God bless y’all.

Gertie
 
Layp3rs0n said:
Judas’ suicide was such a waste. He, like any other sinner could have repented of his dispair and fallen in next to St. John at the foot of the Cross begging for mercy, and he would have had it. He chose not to and dies in dispair. Otherwise, he would have been known as Archbishop Fulton Sheen put it, “St. Judas the Penitent”.
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👍👍 I was going to write something like this, but you put it more clearly than I would have.

Also I didn’t know that Bishop Sheen had spoken/written about this. I’ll look it up.
 
The Catholic Church has not declared him to be in hell. He may have repented before the noose took his life. We will only know if and when we get there.
 
thesearch said:
Hello everyone,

I’ve been wondering about this for a while and decided to post, since I’m mostly a lurker. For the most part I’ve read that Judas is in hell. For example, Dante’s inferno etc. I understand that he hung himself, therefore, condemning himself, but, many argue he is in he’ll also for betraying Jesus and sending him to his crucifixion. But wasn’t it part of Gods plan for him to betray him, since someone had to to lead to the saving of mans soul? If he didn’t then it is possible that such saving would not have taken place? I’m having trouble understanding that someone would be sent to hell for being involved in Gods plan.

Apologies for poor grammar, I’m on a mobile, lol.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Thank you for posting this thread. I have pondered this question too but I seem to get different answer depending on who I ask. I also don’t understand how free will works in this case either because Jesus was put on earth to die and consequently someone had to initiate that. If Judas had used his free will and chose not to turn Jesus in, wouldn’t someone else have had to turn him in? It’s not like Jesus could have avoided being captured and die of old age…
 
Caitlin, exactly! Free will I such a hard concept to grasp for me. Some say God has a plan others say we choose. I suppose then that I’d have to believe that some things are and others aren’t. A choice so large as to betray the son of God to his death had to be in Gods plan. I don’t understand how it could not be.
 
caitlinm said:
Thank you for posting this thread. I have pondered this question too but I seem to get different answer depending on who I ask. I also don’t understand how free will works in this case either because Jesus was put on earth to die and consequently someone had to initiate that. If Judas had used his free will and chose not to turn Jesus in, wouldn’t someone else have had to turn him in? It’s not like Jesus could have avoided being captured and die of old age…
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How do we know that did not happen.:confused:
 
what are you referring too? The bible specifically mentions Judas as the betrayer…
 
TARRAT said:
Can you show me a Catholic document that says he is in hell?
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Someone has already mentioned that the Catholic Church declares no such thing. So in other words, no, no one can show you a Catholic document saying that. It doesn’t exist.
 
As a few people above have pointed out, Judas’s biggest sin was despair. Yes, he betrayed Jesus, but so did ALL of Jesus’s disciples that night. Peter serves as a foil to Judas in the Gospels - he denies Christ, but he goes on to accept God’s forgiveness and become the head of the Church. Judas on the other hand refuses to believe that he could be forgiven, and he kills himself in despair.

Also, like others have said - we simply don’t know if Judas was damned. We know only of saints - those in heaven - and not even all of these. However, I think it’s probably likely, unfortunately. Despair is a very serious sin.

But that was Judas’s choice to despair. He could have followed Peter’s example, and gone on to do wonderful things. But he didn’t.
 
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