Matthew 27:3-6 NKJV

Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

There is a recent story about Kyren Lacy, who was a star football player at LSU. Many projected him to be a no-brainer first-round draft pick. That means generational wealth for him and his family. Why do I bring this up??

Lacy was being charged with vehicular homicide for an accident that he had nothing to do with. However, he was pointed out as the culprit by the lady who actually hit the car that killed the gentleman in the passing vehicle. The sad part is that once the video was released, it was plain to see that Lacey’s car was nearly 80 yards behind the accident. It was apparent, but two people pinned the blame on Lacy, and he was criminally charged. 

Why do I share this story with you, and what does it have to do with this scripture?

Judas was a disciple of Jesus; he spent approximately three years with this Messiah. Day after day, he saw miracles, healings, and people changed. And even as close as he was to Holiness, he betrayed Jesus because he thought he knew better than Jesus. 

However, after making the worst decision of his life, he was extremely remorseful. Here, however, is where the condemnation kicks in. Condemnation means to give judgment against, to judge worthy of punishment. And in that is where Judas found himself. After realizing his mistake, he then wanted to punish himself. He then went and hanged himself. 

Judas spent all that time with the living Savior, yet he never truly knew his love. 

Unfortunately, this is why I brought this up. Kyren Lacy knew he was innocent, but charged, and even worse, he was made to believe that he was indeed complicit in the death of the other driver. The condemnation drove him to a similar fate; he felt that he deserved punishment for a crime he never committed. 

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

We need to be clear; for those who are in Christ, there is no condemnation. This means that when we feel condemned, it is the flesh, not the Spirit. 

We all live in the flesh, which means some days we will feel condemned, unworthy, or even unloved. Yet the truth is, God does not give us those feelings, and that is all they are. He gave us His Son, Jesus, who died for all of our sins. Because He did God said in Heb 8:12 “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Had Judas or Kyren Lacy understood this, perhaps they would not have punished themselves and allowed themselves to be loved and forgiven.