Betraying Everything
Lent/Easter 2020 • Sermon • Submitted
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Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.
Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.
I thought on Friday about maybe taking a detour from our series and decided against that. I don’t think we’re at a point where we should be completely gripped by fear or all we should think about is coronavirus all the time. I know that’s difficult. I told some of the high school students on Wednesday that if I had $5 for every time I heard one of them say, “coronavirus,” my salary would be just about covered. Precautions are good and I’m not saying we should change nothing. But I need and I think we all need things that are part of our “normal” routine, things that keep us focused on the bigger reality of God and what he’s done for us.
If you have a Bible open, you can see we’re focused on Judas today. There’s only one other place in the gospel of Matthew that he’s mentioned, and that’s chapter 10 verse 4. He’s included there among the list of Jesus’ twelve disciples, and Matthew also gives a heads-up there that he would betray Jesus. Having grown up in the church and in a home where the Bible was read, I feel like I’ve always known about this betrayal piece of Jesus’ life. Yet I wonder what it’d be like for someone who doesn’t know the Bible, who doesn’t know who Judas is, who may not even know that Jesus was crucified, to come to that verse and in confusion wonder, “What is this betrayal thing about?! What’s going to happen to Jesus?” Well, here it is.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as the case has been and will continue to be going forward in this series, our reading ends in a sad place, a dark place really. One of the men who had been close to Jesus gave him up to his trial and death. This same man was so disturbed that just hours later he took his own life. It’s hard to find any joy or happiness or an encouraging, positive note that enables us to feel good and smile. It all seems depressing and disturbing.
Last week I talked about the loyalty that the disciples had toward Jesus—a loyalty that is rooted in faith and love expressed in obedience. On this night, their loyalty to Jesus was tested. So, we also looked at how their responses showed weakness—from their falling asleep in prayer, from their fleeing after the arrest, from Peter’s disowning and denying Jesus—they were weak, but their love for Jesus ultimately wasn’t broken. They still believed in him. They could come back from those things. Judas, however, had a much different story.
Let’s begin this morning by asking: what happened with Judas? Again, we’re not told much about his background or what his mindset or behavior was like while a disciple. But judging by the record of the gospel writers, it doesn’t seem like he was this rogue disciple that was always at odds with Jesus and the other eleven disciples. Just like the rest of them, he would have followed and listened to and learned from Jesus. He would have previously been sent out to minister with one of them. At least in outward appearance, he likely seemed to be a genuine disciple and believer.
We have to broaden our focus to include some others, though. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, this group of revered Jewish religious leaders pop up. They had for some time been plotting to arrest and kill Jesus. Coming into this Feast of Unleavened Bread, they knew that the time for such action was near. They could feel it in their bones. It wasn’t a matter of if they would take action, but when and how would they take action. The Jewish leaders were sick and tired of Jesus’ teaching and the way that he drew people away from their message. They would not accept that he was the promised Messiah, sent by God to rescue and redeem his people. They didn’t have a way to complete their mission, though—until Judas, one of Jesus’ own, offered to help their cause.
Something changed in him. Was it greed or had he fallen into debt? “‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’” He’s asking, “How much can I get if I go over to your side?” Had Jesus done something or said something that made Judas want revenge against him?
Those things could be true, but imagine you were there that night. Jesus had been with the now 11 since the meal. They were half-asleep and Jesus was in despair. Now Judas came walking up. He hadn’t returned to join them, but you see with him this large, weapon-carrying group. Their arrest strategy was planned. Likely Judas had some excited stress; he doesn’t appear to have done this timidly or nervously. When he says, “‘Greetings, Rabbi!” “Hello, Teacher!” and greeted him with a kiss, the signal was given. I picture a cruel smile spreading across his face. He was finished.
What happened with Judas? What had changed? Luke’s gospel has a detail that Matthew left out. Luke 22 verse 3, “Then Satan entered Judas…” Maybe in Judas’ mind this was all about money, this was about getting even, this wasn’t that big of a deal. But the true root of why he did what he did that night is that Satan, the enemy of God, “the prince of evil,” had entered him. The devil directed him to do this. Just as Adam and Eve were deceived and ate the illegal fruit, and then they felt shame when approached by God, so Judas bought into scheming to betray Jesus, and then he felt remorse. He was guilty. He had sinned, and this was why he did what he did.
As we think about this familiar event, let’s also consider what is the importance of the betrayal? We turn our focus now to Jesus, who went willingly and peacefully. After the greeting kiss, “Jesus replied, ‘Friend, do what you came for.’” When Peter pulled his sword out and slashed an ear, he wanted to fight for Jesus, Jesus told him, “‘…Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?...’” Jesus reminded his captors, “‘…Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me…’”
We believe that Jesus had to die. He was and is the once-for-all atoning sacrifice for us and our sins. In our times of confession and assurance, maybe you’ve noticed we’re repeating these phrases in our prayers, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us,” and “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.” That image of Jesus as the Lamb of God reminds us of the Old Testament sacrificial system—blood was spilt, life was given, to symbolically take sin.
The imagery of the lamb also brings us to Revelation chapter 5 and following. John “saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain…The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb…They sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’ Then…thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand [angels]…sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’”
Jesus is that Lamb who laid down his life for us. As we heard in his prayers last week, “‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’” His death was in his Father’s will, he had to be executed, but why did he have to be betrayed? Why didn’t Jesus just turn himself in? Theoretically, he could have walked into any Sanhedrin gathering, told them to arrest him, they would have put him on trial and had him executed.
The answer seems to be in what Judas realized too late. Chapter 27 verse 4, not only had he betrayed someone, but he recognized, “I have sinned…for I have betrayed innocent blood.” He had figured out the truth, he was remorseful—he had been wrong. Yet when he had carried out his act, when he betrayed Jesus, Jesus knew exactly what Judas and this group had approached him to do. Still he called Judas, “‘Friend.’”
Doesn’t this betrayal capture everything that our sin is? Jesus, the Son, is innocent—of sin, of wrongdoing, of criminal action, and he is righteous. So, too, God from the beginning has set before us his perfect plan. There is nothing wrong in his plan, his ways, or his commands for us. It is good and it is for our good. Just like Jesus called Judas his friend, our great God calls us, his children, his friends, his bride, and yet we sin. We bypass God’s way for our way. Yet we have hope. We understand that Jesus died to take our rebellion, our rejection of him, that all who will truly repent and trust in him can be forgiven. We can have relationship with God by the blood of Jesus. He’s dealt with betrayal. By grace through faith, we are considered friends with God again.
So, brothers and sisters, if our faith is in Jesus, then we don’t have to end this morning with the “woe” that Jesus extended to his betrayer at the last supper table. If our faith is in the one and only Savior, then we need not wonder if we’ve crossed a line of betraying Jesus at some point in our lives and worrying constantly about eternal death. This is the truth we hold to: Christ accomplished everything for the salvation of the elect—for those who repent and believe.
Over and over again throughout the passages of this series, we hear how certain things happened to fulfill the Scriptures. Trusting the authority and infallibility of Scripture, we accept that this is true. In those days, though, these were proofs that the people were looking for in the Messiah. Jesus was telling them, “You know this has been written about the Messiah or that this would happen to the Messiah, and look, pay attention, it’s happening now, it’s happening with me.” They could be sure that he was who he said he was just as we can be sure today.
As believers, I think we are pretty quick to accept the “who” Jesus is, but we do at times struggle with the concept of him having done enough, in fact, him doing everything, for us. We allow shame left from past sins to burden us with fears of inadequacy. Yet hear these words from 2 Timothy 2 verses 11 through 13, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
It’s true, if we’re not repentant, if we don’t have faith, if we never pursue God and his hope, then there is reason to worry about our future, about the wrath of God for eternity, there’s reason to worry about not being received by God to paradise on Judgment Day. But if you have genuinely confessed your need and recognized your inability to save yourself or contribute anything to your salvation, and have put your trust in Jesus—you have no reason to fear. You will live with him. It doesn’t say “If you struggle while enduring, he will leave you.” No, enduring can include struggle. How many people in the Bible does God work through and speak to and show himself to and yet they didn’t have everything together, they were growing in holiness and godliness throughout the entirety of their lives? “If we endure, we will also reign with him.”
We hear that last part, though, and maybe it gets us thinking about times of sin, times when we’ve fallen away, times when we’ve been weak or felt disloyal, times when we know we dishonored God. “If we are faithless,” we—who know God, who love God, who trust God, who want his redemption and rescue in our lives, “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” This is the hope that we can have. If there are times in your life when you feel like Judas, take that as conviction to repent rather than to wallow in shame.
Remember that these promises from Psalm 103 are said about the one who was betrayed and yet gave his life for undeserving wretched sinners: “Forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases…He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” Amen.
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