Actually, there were two men known to have betrayed Jesus. One of them, of course was Judas Iscariot, whose betrayal was prophesied by Christ with the dire pronouncement "better if had never been born." The second of them was Simon "Peter" bar Jonah, who among the 12 apostles was part of the "inner circle" consisting of himself with Zebedee's sons James and John. That betrayal was also prophesied by Christ (before the cock crows, you will deny me three times. Whereas Peter was merely saving his own skin by falsely swearing up and down that he had nothing to do with Jesus, Judas was actively arranging for Jesus' arrest. But was that second betrayal not forgivable as the first? We are told that Peter was nagged back into Christ's graces -- Do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know that I do. Feed my sheep. Peter later was martyred for his perseverance of public profession of belief -- he didn't take the easy way out a second time. Judas took his own life. Is taking one's life the one irrevocable sin because you cannot repent from it in this life? Is it a sin or is it the consequence of major mental illness? But who is to know. But we do know that the Christian church has long had this teaching -- sincerely believed, but perhaps also as an avenue of social control in the role of a religion's role in ruling people? We venerate a Saint Peter but there is no Saint Judas Iscariot, and the differentiating factor may not be the initial betrayal.
