One of the more troubling stories to come out of western Christianity over the last decade or so is what has come to be called Deconstruction. The term refers to those who once claimed to be Christian but have now wholly disowned the faith. These are the Deconstructors. One thinks of Joshua Harris, Derek Webb, Rhett and Link, and many other former evangelicals who have publicly repudiated God in general and Christianity in particular. Some of the Deconstructors, like Harris, were once pastors or, like Webb, Christian songwriters. There is nothing new about this of course. The technical term is apostasy. It means to abandon or renounce.

In John 13, Judas, one of Jesus’ original twelve disciples, is revealed to be a traitor. Though presenting himself as a follower of Jesus, Judas had been plotting to betray Jesus to the religious authorities in exchange for payment in silver. As early as chapter six we learned that Jesus already knew that Judas would betray him: “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (vs. 70). Judas was an embodiment of what John wrote earlier: “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (3:10).

The defection of Judas demonstrates that so-called deconstruction is nothing new. Jesus knew this would be the case. And, indeed, the church has always born the sorrow of seeing men and women who once professed faith in Jesus depart into the darkness. In this way, Judas is a far more tragic figure than Pilate or the Jewish religious authorities. He reminds us that “on any day some faithful follower sitting among us might turn off the light and stumble into the darkness” (Klink, 599). See to it that it is not you who flees from the light. Hold fast to Christ. Remain in the Light.