Judas

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 3/26/17

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^NRS  Matthew 27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. ² They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor. ³ When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴ He said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." ⁵ Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. ⁶ But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money." ⁷ After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter's field as a place to bury foreigners. ⁸ For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹ Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

In "The Christian Leader," Don Ratzlaff retells a story Vernon Grounds came across in Ernest Gordon's Miracle on the River Kwai. The Scottish soldiers, forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad, had degenerated to barbarous behavior, but one afternoon something happened. A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced, or else. When nobody in the squadron budged, the officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot . . . It was obvious the officer meant what he had said. Then, finally, one man stepped forward. The officer put away his gun, picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death. When it was over, the survivors picked up the bloody corpse and carried it with them to the second tool check. This time, no shovel was missing. Indeed, there had been a miscount at the first check point. The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp. An innocent man had been willing to die to save the others! . . . The incident had a profound effect. . . The men began to treat each other like brothers. When the victorious Allies swept in, the survivors, human skeletons, lined up in front of their captors (and instead of attacking their captors) insisted: "No more hatred. No more killing. Now what we need is forgiveness." Sacrificial love has transforming power.

We come to this place, the Fourth Weekend of Lent, as reflective people who desire to know God more deeply and intently. But do we? I often wonder at the marvelous expressions of hate and anger when it comes to Judas by the early church. If that were not enough, the challenges then we face of those who believe suicide to be an unforgivable sin. That belief stems from this very passage.  But was it Judas’s cross to bear or did his human nature take advantage? There are some great discussions around whether or not Judas was simply a scapegoat or a traitor. We shall explore some of them today.

Today we regard Judas as the traitor, the one who gave over Jesus to the Jewish authorities so that Jesus would be beaten and crucified. But the world has made Judas an even greater villain than that, using his name to proclaim evil throughout the world. If it were not for Judas….. But who was Judas? Judas was one of the twelve that Jesus had chosen from among the hundreds that followed Him. Judas was from Judea, unlike most of the disciples who were from the areas around Galilee. Judas became the treasurer for the twelve, which meant he controlled the money of the group, arranged things for them as they came into a new city and sought after food and shelter for Jesus and the Disciples. So, with the exception of John’s Gospel, was an accepted member of the twelve disciples. Many scholars point to the possibility that Judas was an Essene. Essene’s in that day and age were part of the radical movement of Judaism. They had a tremendous desire to run the Romans out of Israel and make their nation great again. This fact may come back to haunt Judas later.

With all probability Judas was a man who wanted the good life, a life of means and followed Jesus not so much for the spiritual side of things but because he truly believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Now understand that meant that Judas was waiting for the King David side of Jesus to show through, the conquering hero that would make the nation great again and then rule like David but this time forever. This might well appeal to a man who desired means and the good life, especially if he could reach the inner circle of the King where he could attain his desire. So into our story comes Judas. There are a number of things during this season of Lent that I would like you to know about Judas. One of them is that Judas desired Jesus to bring His white horse and armor to the dance that was life in the 1^st century. I believe that Judas knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but wanted the Messiah that all Jews wanted, the judge and conquering David hero. So many scholars would argue that Judas did not do what he did for the money; rather he did it to force Jesus hand. He figured if he turned Jesus over to the Jewish leadership then Jesus would have to conquer and prevail.

The second thing we should probably know about Judas is that his life and actions were predicted by God centuries earlier. Psalm 41: 9 says, “Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.” Zechariah had prophesized this event in chapter 11, “12 I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.” So what do we make of it that God had already foretold that Judas was going to sell out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and that Judas would be buried in the potter’s field purchased with those same thirty pieces of silver. Was Judas set up to be the fall guy? Somebody had to turn Jesus over. So is Judas the guy, almost arguably, predestined to be the fall guy for the rest of the history of the world? Certainly Judas had a choice. By the way, Matthew has it wrong in that Jeremiah was not the prophet here by Zechariah was. Finally we have this passage in Luke and a corresponding one in John that tells us, “^NRS  Luke 22:3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve...” So one could successfully argue that Judas was not responsible or in the immortal words of Flip Wilson, The devil made him do it.

So those are the facts if you will, what is the truth? Did Judas betray Jesus? Or did he in his misguided desire to force Jesus hand do the one thing that Jesus needed doing in order to make His way to the cross? Lots of questions to make you ponder! So let me ask one more. Did Judas betray Jesus or was it someone else?

I love this discussion at this point because I think it makes the story more personal. From the moment that Judas identified and sold out Jesus the scripture tells us that he repented, did you hear those words, and was mortified beyond comprehension so he took his life. His death is why suicide is often thought to be unforgivable. It’s not by the way, God understands all and knows all and I believe that God knows the heart and mind, even if it is ill, at that moment. So one then could argue that there is great room for Judas’s redemption within the Gospel account. It’s not what we have been taught but then fire and brimstone sermons don’t always speak the biblical truth, just the speaker’s perception of that truth.

So I often wonder of a man who did what needed to be done and then falls into the background, while those who write the history flee in all directions. Peter denies Christ not once, but three times. Except for John, the rest of the Disciples are nowhere to be found at the cross on Golgotha. So I often wonder who betrayed Jesus, the one who did what needed to be done, or the ones who fled and denied knowing Him following His arrest.

Which then brings me to the further discussion, how often are we Judas? I have to admit that I find myself often wanting things differently than what I perceive God wants. How often do I change the rules for self? How many times do we as the people who call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ, let our egos and our desires determine the decisions we make. I have been with you a short time but you and I are no different than any other church across America where we focus on what we want. We place our desires above the desire of God for the church daily and often in meetings where we push our agenda’s at the expense of God. How often do we portray Judas every day when we sell off our souls to the culture or the worldly materialism and leave Jesus at the hands of the modern day Pilate’s? Whenever I hear the stories of Peter I hear my name in his place, denying Christ when it suits me or when I fear that those around me won’t like me or desert me for my faith in Christ. It is the season of Lent and if you were expecting a feel good sermon, well, it is the season of Lent.    

So what is the moral of this story? Judas, desiring his view of the world to come true plays a role in the story of Jesus redemptive power of the cross. His anguish at what he had done overwhelms him to the point of taking his own life. Remember what I told you last week, that the world can often overwhelm you if you fail to keep God close. But the scripture tells us he repents of his sin in the end. Not everyone agrees but then if they did, what fun would the world be. More importantly, how often are we Judas. How often do we sell Christ for that shiny new car or those new clothes or ignore the homeless because I have somewhere else to be or push my agenda for this mission or that activity not because it is for the good of the church but for my own desire? How often? Repent and return to one who loves you. Not once, but as many as the times we turned away!