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 those who mistreat will feel like it would be better if they had been drowned in the sea.
I think that Jesus almost never (if ever) issued judgements about others' behaviors but instead He was always empathetic toward others. The reason I misinterpreted Him is because I expect judgement from Him (because I am constantly judging myself) and so I saw judgement when reading his words.
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