Judgement vs Empathy
In Matthew 26:24 , we read: ...Woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. When reading that, I realized that my assumption is that Jesus is making a judgement about Judas. But thinking about it, I believe now that his statement is actually a statement of empathy. Jesus, in thinking about how the betrayer would feel, knows that the Judas will feel like he wishes he was never born. This is confirmed by the fact that after Jesus' crucifixion, Judas commits suicide. This is partly because I realized that Jesus' statement in Matthew 18:6 : But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. It seems to me that this statement is not a judgement but is actually empathy. For people who mistreat others, particularly children, when they realize how they have truly treated others, then thos...