John 17:12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

John 18:9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”

Was Judas lost or did Jesus keep all his disciples?

It just didn’t make sense for me, and, as a paradox is wont to do, it took me outside of my usual way of thinking.

In John 17:12, Jesus speaks of the loss of Judas, the son of destruction. One chapter later, Jesus states that He has not lost one that the Father gave Him.

Is this confusing? Is this a difficulty in my initial understanding? I think so, and as such, I would like to try to explain how this paradox, this seeming contradiction, is resolved in my thoughts.

Some of the fog lifted when I considered the verse in chapter 17, when Jesus speaks of Judas being lost. This is the same word we have seen when we looked at the word “perish” in John 3:16. For a refresher, check an earlier post called Perishing in Eternal Torment.

The term “lost” used by Jesus when referring to Judas, may be translated in many ways, but does not have to mean perishing in eternal torment. A good example of the broadness of this term’s meaning may be found in Luke 21:18, Jesus speaks of one hair being lost.

Luke 21:18 But not a hair of your head will perish.

This is the same term Jesus used when speaking of Judas. It can mean anything from simple loss, death, suffering or destruction. But it does not always imply suffering unending eternal torment, which is what I typically understand when I read John 17:12. I always read it that Judas must be perishing, lost to hell, and forever without any hope.

I do not know what happened to Judas after the tossing of the coins back at the priests, other than his self destruction in the potters field. His physical death could very well be considered his act of being lost in and of itself.

I suppose what I am trying to explain is that in John 17:12, Jesus said Judas was the son of destruction, and that he had been lost. Judas was the son of destruction in that he followed through with this characteristic of destruction upon his own life.

Yet in John 18:9, Jesus states that He lost not one. Is there a different level Jesus is speaking of, in that the physical life Judas sacrificed was not the keeping Jesus spoke of.

One very interesting side note, is that both of these verses speak of Judas and the situation he existed in, as being part of the fulfillment of God’s Word.

It was the fulfillment of Scripture that Judas had been lost, (John 17:12), and the fulfillment of the Word of Jesus when He spoke “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one” (John 18:9). Judas was a key in the fulfillment of God’s Word.

In summary, Judas’ lostness may be referring to his early demise, his self inflicted destruction, and the statement of the Lord which He spoke as Judas was in the crowd in the garden, that not one of his followers were lost may include the thought of Judas’ eventual restoration.

Nevertheless, these two verses are worthy of considering, and if you have a different take on this paradox, please do not hesitate to reach out and let me know.

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