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determination to forsake Jesus and his fellow apostles" (1887).
In spirit, he became arrogant and selfishly ambitious.
In life, he ignored those who loved him, and in death, he was friendless.(2057)
In prayer time, he indulged in thoughts of human fear, persisted in the entertainment of subtle doubts about the mission of Jesus as well as giving in to his unfortunate tendency to harbor feelings of revenge.
And so, Judas appears to have died a slow painful death. Due to his persistence in clinging to the above characteristics "his griefs multiplied, his sorrows increased, his anxieties augmented, and his despair deepened almost beyond endurance" (2056). In describing the process leading to Judas becoming a traitor, Jesus said:
"This is the coming to fruit of the concealed evil in the heart of one who failed to love the truth with his whole soul. How deceitful is the intellectual pride that precedes the spiritual downfall."(1940)
And Jesus' verdict of the manner in which Judas would be adjudged is reflected in his statement to Pilate:
"But you are not so guilty since you are ignorant of the gospel. He who betrayed me and he who delivered me to you, they have the greater sin." (1996).
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