30 Pieces of Silver

Final commission for Good Friday . . . I think.

Judas Iscariot was the name of the disciple that handed Jesus over to the Sanhedrin - the authorities of Jewish law and religion: Pharisees and Sadducees (sic).
Judas understood the prophecies regarding the Messiah to be that of a conquering king over those that oppress his nation - which at that time were the Romans. He, at first, thought Christ was to be that king whom would overthrow Roman rule and return Israel to former glory.
When it turned out that Jesus was not intent on such a campaign, that he was striving towards a different goal - a victory of spiritual proportions, he gave up on Christ.

This had to happen. Judas played his part in God's plan. He helped set in motion the final hours of Jesus' earthly life which led to the new way of atonement between God and Man. . . .

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The following is a brief apologetic. It's not a sermon or a debate of sorts. Purely my own thoughts and understanding about parts of my faith. Read on if you wish.

God is fully Holy. Fully Righteous. His standards are impossible for our weak flesh to meet and comply with. We fell from Grace. God's desire is for no one to be condemned in eternity. He does not take pleasure in, nor does He send anyone to Hell. We do that of our own accord by making the choice to not follow or believe in Him and accept the restoration to Grace provided by Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. Without such acceptance, we stand apart from God in whose presence our fallen state cannot be allowed.
This doesn't mean Christians are without sin. They are human and continue to fail. The trick is to sincerely strive to turn away from those things that have been made known to us to be unacceptable or sinful in nature.
None that are Christian have the right to condemn others for their failings, and if you've seen those that say God hates various people for various reasons are wrong and are a part of the age old failures of those in The Church that twist God's Word and manipulate it to their own wills.
It is the things we do that God hates. There are good reasons for why He set the standards He did. Conequences abound for our actions - here and now as well as in eternity.
God truly is Love. Because of the Love, we have been given the free will, the choice to turn to or away from Him. To make us love and turn to Him would not be in accordance with God's nature. He desires our sincerity - not automatons. In turn, no one who claims to be for Christ should force the Word down anyone's throat, or in their face. They live an example and share the good news in a welcome and loving, but firm manner. If one should not wish to hear the Gospel, that is the choice made. To hammer the Word of God into someone who does not want it is to send them further away. Totally defeating the purpose.
In the end we all make the choice . . . . .