[Jo S]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Judas repented. He was in sorrow, he made restitution; by returning the money. But he was not saved.

So how do we understand this?

His repentance was not "from above" as John (I think it was John) says.

It was only an earthly sorrow, though genuine, that was not of genuine faith and given by God.

Peter on the other hand, was given by God, a repentance unto life.

As Christians, we live by faith and not by sight, seeing these spiritual realities that do not line up with visible realities.

For example, Christ said that if you are not with him, you are against him. This does not appear to be so with the eyes, but it is so, and can be seen, with the eyes of faith.

Its the same kind of dichotomy, where we are the visible shows one thing, but the supernatural reality is different.

Judas didn't repent of unbelief. He repented for betraying innocent blood. The question is why didn't he know he was betraying innocent blood before receiving the silver? Did he know the Jewish leaders were going to execute him by turning him in or if they were simply going to question and reason with Jesus? Perhaps it was the latter and he was outraged when he realized he was deceived by the Jewish leaders and returned the silver. At least that is one of the traditions.