Peter and Judas

Peter, formerly known as Simon was a disciple of Jesus and so was Judas. They were among the chosen twelve. They both had a relationship with Jesus. Judas and Peter were with Jesus at His final meal. Judas even got a place of honor, sitting at Jesus' left hand. Jesus loved Peter as well as Judas. They both turned their backs on Jesus and they both confessed their sins. So yeah Judas and Peter had a lot in common.

Judas was a good man which was why he was chosen as one of the apostles and so was Peter.

When Jesus was telling the disciples what will happen to Him, about how He would die and all; Peter didn't like what he was hearing so he said, 'Never Lord! Don’t say such things. This shall never happen to you'. And Jesus responded by saying, 'Get behind me, Satan!'. The Bible states, 'Satan entered into Judas'. In other words, both Peter and Judas were influenced by the devil.

Peter's betrayal was worse, if you ask me, you see Peter was  one of the three closest to Jesus. When Jesus asked his disciples, 'who do you say I am'. Peter was the one to answer correctly and say, ' You are Christ, son of God'. Yes, Peter knew Jesus well, they were more than friends, they were brothers. Jesus warned Peter that he was going to deny him three times but Peter being the man he was, boasted  that even if all of the others denied him, he would not. Peter did not believe Jesus’ warning.

As soon as Peter was recognised as a follower of Jesus, he forgot all about his promise of 'even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You' and denied him. He denied knowing Jesus three times. Judas arranged with the religious leaders to help them capture Jesus. Judas, in the usual custom of the Jews, greeted Jesus with a kiss to point out to the guards that He was Jesus.

Peter repents of his actions. Judas felt sorrow and remorse for the part he played in the arrest of Jesus. He even tried to right his wrong by going to the elders and letting them know that Jesus was innocent. He gave back the money he got as payment for his involvement in the arrest of Jesus.

So what's the difference between Peter and Judas?


The problem was Judas confessed his sin without repenting. True repentance would have turned him to Jesus for forgiveness. Peter, on the other hand, turned to Jesus

Betraying Jesus was not the worst thing Judas did. He lost hope. Judas gave in to despair.

I'm going somewhere with this. The fact is many of us feel sorrow over our sins. We feel disappointed with ourselves for having failed. We sometimes even punish ourselves for our sins.  We feel as if our sins are too big and we do not deserve forgiveness. I tell you it is a lie of the devil.

The truth is the blood of Jesus avails for us and there is no sin that God cannot forgive. 'We can't cling to sin on one hand and forgiveness with the other'.


After realising his sin, Judas gave back the money and ran to hang himself out of despair.  Peter, after weeping over his sin, ran toward the tomb where His Lord was buried.



"Don't be anxious to condemn yourself every time you fall.  Instead, patiently, gently, pick yourself up and start all over again.  Why are you surprised when the weak turn out to be weak, and the frail, frail?  When you turn out to be sinful?  When you fall, be gentle with your frail, weak heart. Lift your heart gently, accept your failure without wallowing in your weakness.  Admit your guilt in God's sight.  Then with good heart, with courage and confidence in His mercy, start over again."  St. Francis de Sales


“God is not willing that any should perish but that all will come to repentance”