ABSTRACT
The tension between wickedness and grace, despite Barth's exegetical labours, remains unresolved and arguably unresolvable by him as Barth cannot accept any suggestion of tragedy. The work of Barth and MacKinnon can in this sense be said to indicate a kind of theological and Christological impasse that reveals itself again and again in the Christian tradition, as writers struggle with the issues that arise from considering Judas in relation to Jesus: wickedness and grace; repentance, forgiveness and condemnation; individual and corporate responsibility; tragedy and providence. Here Augustine places the fault not only of betrayal but of incomplete repentance firmly on Judas' shoulders, implying that mercy might have been forthcoming. It has been seen that Augustine and Leo assert that Judas' death was motivated by despair. The writings have witnessed in different ways to the correctness of Barth's insight keeping the eternal fate of Judas an open question.
