“One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.” The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.” -Matthew 26:14-25
As I meditated on this passage, I wondered what would have happened if Judas had asked the Lord for forgiveness. I thought of St. Paul and how the Lord worked through him after he repented, and I wondered if God might have made Judas a great evangelist, too.
What if Judas fell to his knees and begged Jesus’ forgiveness instead of giving a betraying kiss? Christ would have picked him up, embraced him, and then given Judas a kiss instead. God’s plan would have still moved forward, as it always does, but one man’s soul would have been saved from an eternity of darkness.
Then I wondered what would the Lord do with you or me if we fell to our knees and begged Christ for forgiveness. What significant part of God’s plan for salvation might we play by our willing participation in His will? But unless we change our minds and ways and repent of our sins, like Judas, our only reality is darkness.