Peter and Judas: Part Three: Perspectives

Introduction
I want to thank everyone who has made a comment throughout the life of this series. This subject is both intriguing and difficult. The intrigue lies within trying to ascertain the ways in which Peter and Judas dealt with their respective failures. The difficulty lies within our attempts to empathize with Judas without forgetting about his repentance and to keep from glossing over Peter's glaring inadequacies. At no time has this series attempted to make statements about the eternal destinations of either Judas or Peter. This is in line with the Biblical mandate of Matthew 7:1-2. This statement about avoiding judgments refers to our penchant for determining the outcome of the lives of others, which clearly the work of God alone.In wrapping this topic up, I want to look at what I believe to be the final and ultimate difference between Peter and Judas. The difference can be summed up in one word: perspective.

The crisis of introversion revisited
Why is perspective important in this case? It seems that the perspective of each of these men is what drove them towards their ultimate positions, one of shame and one of honor. One man seemed to have spent three years in the presence of Christ yet remained completely focused on self, literally consumed with an internal perspective. The other man was, at least eventually, able to change their perspective to one that was conducive to helping, leading and inspiring first the remaining apostles and then much of the early Christian movement.This crisis of introversion, as spoken about in an earlier post, is what kept Judas isolated from the fellowship of his brethren. It kept him focused on his needs and desires. He illustrates this by being labeled a thief in John 12:6. Judas was so focused on self that he failed to see the enormity of Mary's act of love and lack of concern for financial security in exchange for devotion to Jesus. Morris points out the significance of this passage. "This is the one place in the four Gospels wherein Judas is shown to be of bad character prior to the betrayal... and if this is the character of the man, we may well feel that he was dissatisfied with the way the mission of Jesus was turning out" (Morris, 1995, p.513, 514). In other words, Judas cared more for self, more for money and more for personal gain than he ever did others. This would explain how Judas was both able to be possessed by Satan directly and how he was able to betray Christ. Furthermore, it would seem to illustrate how he was unable to get over his own guilt, hence his ultimate act of suicide as a type of conflict resolution.

The eventual outward perspective of Peter
Peter, the prophesied rock of the church, acted in a way that was completely contrary to his eventual status as one of the pillars of the early church. He proved himself to still be impulsive and emotional, hence his ability to deny Jesus. Yet, we still must deal with he fact that Peter ultimately behaves in a way that is quite different from Judas. Like Judas, Peter is confronted with the finality of the earthly ministry of Jesus. Similarly, Peter is wracked with guilt after his failure, as was Judas. Two things seem to separate Peter from Judas. One is the fact that Peter isn't directly possessed by Satan. This speaks of the character and internal spiritual state of the man. Despite his massive foibles, Peter still, at least on some level has a heart that loves and longs to serve Christ, if not imperfectly. Second is this idea of perspective.While Matthew tells us that Judas is alone when he confronts the priests, John 20-21 shows that Peter was constantly in the company of others. The difference that shows between Peter and Judas cannot be overstated. One would only have to look to our own day and age, at Blacksburg, Virginia to show what happens when one person is consumed and overrun by an internally focused psyche. Peter is never mentioned as being alone or isolated. This is key! Peter stayed surrounded by others. Perhaps this was due to the man himself or perhaps it is due to divine intervention. While the cause of Peter's social interaction may not be correctly ascertained from scripture, the impact of that action may be.Peter is able to be present on the day of resurrection. He is able to witness the bodily resurrected Christ not once or twice but three times because he stayed with the brethren. This leads to his ultimate restoration and fairly exalted status as leader of the apostolic group. None of this would have been possible if Peter had remained wallowed in self-pity and isolation. By keeping a perspective of outward motivation, Peter is able to stumble along the path towards restoration rather than destruction.

Conclusion
While we may never know the impetus for Peter's remaining within community, what we can take away from the comparison between Peter and Judas is this idea of perspective. Judas was consumed and destroyed by maintaining an introverted life. Peter is eventually able to be restored by Jesus largely because he stayed available and in community.We, too, need to stay connected with a body of believers, both locally, through a church if at all physically possible and globally, through evangelism and interaction with others. I cannot discount the fact that Judas fulfilled prophecy, but I believe that his choices opened the door for these actions to occur.
I've tried to be fair to both, not too light on Peter and not too heavy on Judas, in order to illustrate that both real men illustrated truths for our enrichment and growth today.

Application for us
Please, don't stay isolated from your Christian brethren and from the world at large. Don't allow yourself to be consumed by self. Even Christians can fall prey to the crisis of introversion. It is something that I constantly battle. I have both succeeded and failed with this issue. Yet through it all, it is a focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ that is responsible for lifting me up and out of my crisis of introversion. So today, please don't just walk away with having just read this post. If all that you have read our words, then I haven't been clear enough. Only by living a life guided by the Holy Spirit, directed in love for others and devotion to Jesus Christ will you be able to stretch out past an inward focus. And only by focusing outside of oneself will restoration, just like that given to Peter and just like the one that each and every one of us needs in the form of forgiveness from Jesus Christ, become readily available to you. It's all a matter of perspective. What will yours be today?