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马太福音27：1-5: 到了早晨、众祭司长和民间的长老、大家商议、要治死耶稣。2就把他捆绑解去交给巡抚彼拉多。3这时候，卖耶稣的犹大看见耶稣已经定了罪，就后悔，把那三十块钱拿回来给祭司长和长老，说：4“我卖了无辜之人的血是有罪了。”他们说：“那与我们有甚么相干？你自己承当吧！”5犹大就把那银钱丢在殿里，出去吊死了。
这是一个多么凄惨的故事！无论犹大做了什么，我们都忍不住为他感到难过，因为他最终的结局是地狱。我们也许情不自禁地说：“没有人该得到犹大的结局。”但我们知道这不是真的。真相是因我们犯的罪我们都该得到犹大的结局。他的结局是地狱，不是因为他偷了钱，不是因为他出卖了耶稣，也不是因为他选择了自杀。他最终的结局是地狱是因为他对神的恩典感到绝望，他不相信他仍然是有盼望的。他的自杀只是为他的绝望划上了句号。
当我们读这个故事的时候，我们应该想到生活中从不存在一个节点是只有绝望而没有盼望的。我昨天在听约翰·恩特有关恩典时刻的灵修时，他说了一句话：“上帝默认的设置永远是恩典。”让我们思索片刻。上帝的慈爱永远大于他的愤怒；上帝的忍耐永远大于他惩罚的需求；上帝的怜悯永远大于他的审判。上帝以自己的儿子耶稣在十字架上的死亡为恩典划上了句号，藉此，所有犯下的罪都被偿还了。
甚至包括犹大犯下的罪。只是，犹大没能相信这点，而这也正是这个故事的悲剧所在。永远也不要失去盼望；永远也不要对上帝的怜悯和恩典感到绝望。无论你做了什么，无论你成为什么样的人，十字架下为你留下了一席之地，恩典是上帝的默认设置。
祷告：主耶稣，犹大的故事警示我魔鬼想对我的生命做什么。不论他允诺什么，他的目的是让我陷入绝望和不信中。当我的心灵充满绝望和疑虑时，请提醒我你的怜悯每天早晨都是新的，你的恩典是信实的，也是白白赐予我的。阿们。
Matthew 27:1-5: Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor. 3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” 5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
What a sad story this is! No matter what Judas did, we cannot help but feel sorry for him, because he ended up in hell. We might be tempted to say, “No one deserves the end that Judas came to!” But we know that is not true. The truth is that we all deserve the end that Judas came to for all the sins that we have committed. He ended up in hell, not because he stole the money, or because he betrayed Jesus, or because he committed suicide. He ended up in hell because he despaired of God’s grace and did not believe there was hope for him. His suicide was only the punctuation point of his despair.
When we read this story, we should not think that there is a point in life when there is no hope, where there is only despair. I heard a phrase yesterday used by John Enter on the Time of Grace devotions. He said, “God’s default setting is always grace.” Think about that for a moment. God’s compassion is always stronger than his anger. God’s patience is greater than his need to punish. God’s mercy is greater than his justice. God punctuated his grace with the death of his Son, Jesus, on the cross, where every sin ever committed was paid for.
Even the sin Judas committed. Only, Judas didn’t believe that, and that is the tragedy of this story. Don’t ever lose hope. Don’t ever despair of God’s mercy and grace. No matter what you have done or what you have become, there is room beneath the cross for you. Grace is God’s default setting.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, the story of Judas warns me of what the devil wants for my life. No matter what he promises, his goal is to take me to despair and unbelief. Remind me when my heart despairs or doubts that your mercies are new to me every morning and that your grace is faithful and free. Amen.