Judas, Jesus and Cancel Culture

One of these things is not like the others. Judas is a betrayer. Cancel Culture is rooted in unforgiveness. And both are antithetical to the way of Jesus. 

Jesus is the definition and literal embodiment of forgiveness. He didn’t just say, “I forgive you.” He proved it by getting on the cross and allowing his body to be dismembered so that we could be forgiven by God. As believers, we can’t taste the goodness of His gospel and subscribe to Cancel Culture wholesale. The two cannot exist. 

Jesus’ commands about forgiveness are to be taken seriously because Jesus takes forgiveness seriously.  We know this because Jesus spoke about forgiveness often.

In his model prayer, He teaches His disciples to pray for the ability to forgive others as He has forgiven them (Matthew 6:9-13). 

In His inaugural sermon on the mount, he explains, “…if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses” (Matthew 6:14-15). 

He even goes as far as to instruct His new followers to love their enemies. Look at how He says it, “You’ve heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44).

Essentially, Jesus is saying, “You may have heard out in the streets that it was okay to cancel people, but I say to you, ‘Nah. It don’t work like that in the kingdom. God’s kids are different.’ Instead of fighting against people, we fight for them. We don’t “go ghost.” We don’t “cut off.” We love, fueled by God’s love for us. Our love seeks to believe the best. We express our hurts to people’s faces, not behind their backs. We love like we long to be loved. We love as God has loved us. 

Christ, Our Example

One of my favorite things about Christ is that He never asks something of us that He has not already done. He’s not one of those “do what I say, not what I do” types. He’s the “come and follow me” type. 

In His divinity, Christ knew full well what Judas was up to. He knew Judas was stealing money. He knew Judas had cut a deal with the Pharisees to turn him over to them. Jesus knew Judas was planning to trade in three years of friendship and the hope of eternal salvation for thirty pieces of silver, which today would be the equivalent of the cost of some Jordans. 

Yet, fully aware of Judas’ movement, Jesus washes Judas’ feet and allows him to participate in the Lord’s Supper. He doesn’t have him removed from the table. He doesn’t kick him out saying, “Depart from me. I never knew you.” He doesn’t have his boys beat him up. And, if Judas would’ve appeared before the resurrected Christ with a repentant heart, Christ would’ve forgiven him. Christ forgives, redeems, and repurposes betrayers and murderers on the regular. Remember Paul? Remember you? 

With every sin you’ve ever committed, you’ve betrayed the love of Christ. You too have traded in Christ for something that is bound to get scuffed up, worn out, and fade away. Yet, here you are, standing firmly in God’s grace through your faith in Christ (Romans 5:1). 

The Roots of Cancel Culture

If you’ve been following along with me over the past few years, you know I’m all about getting to the bottom of things. I want to dig deep to discover why we do what we do. I’m interested in the sinful motives and untruths that lie beneath sinful behaviors. Here are three things that immediately come to mind when I think of the roots of Cancel Culture.

1. Cancel Culture is rooted in a profound level of amnesia. It’s like we forgot that we are sinners and do things that are worthy of getting us canceled by others on the regular. When we screw up, we don’t want to be blocked, unfollowed, or uninvited to the cookout. We want people to hear us out, give us the benefit of the doubt, and love us despite our weaknesses and shortcomings. However, when someone else screws up, we are out the door running as fast as we can.

2. Cancel Culture is a defense mechanism we use to ensure we don’t get hurt. Listen, I’m not out here trying to get my feelings hurt either. Earthly wisdom and the beloved, Maya Angelou tells me to run as fast as I can when someone shows me who they are. However, biblical wisdom, which is rooted in the fear of God more than the fear of getting hurt, exhorts me to love, pray, and seek the good of those that hurt me. This doesn’t mean I don’t set some healthier boundaries or confront them. This just means I “make every effort” not cancel them and “maintain the unity of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

3. Cancel Culture is rooted in a worldview that says, “People can’t change.” However, this is antithetical to the Bible and the very person of Jesus Christ, who died so that people can change. 

Cancel Your Subscription to Cancel Culture

There will be times when it’s best that a friendship ends. And if you are in an abusive relationship (emotionally or physically), that definitely needs to come to an end. If someone continues to hurt you after you’ve confronted them several times about an issue, distance (and probs some counseling) is warranted. But even in these moments, as Christians, we don’t take up the theology of Cancel Culture, we take up Christ. We put on His compassion so that bitterness doesn’t erode our hearts. We choose to forgive even when reconciliation is not possible. This is who we are as the children of God. So, I invite you to cancel your subscription to cancel culture and take up the ways of Christ even if you’ve got a Judas in your midst. 

*Yana Jenay Conner is a guest writer. She is a writer and Bible teacher who seeks to help others think well about faith and culture. She currently serves as the Discipleship Director at Vertical Church in Hillsborough, NC.