"Betrayal and Grace"      2011

Matthew 26:14-16, 20-25, 31-35, 69-75, 27:3-5

 

(Matthew 26:14-16 NRSV)  Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests {15} and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. {16} And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

 

(Matthew 26:20-25 NRSV)  When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; {21} and while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me." {22} And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, "Surely not I, Lord?" {23} He answered, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. {24} The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born." {25} Judas, who betrayed him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" He replied, "You have said so."

 

(Matthew 26:31-35 NRSV)  Then Jesus said to them, "You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' {32} But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." {33} Peter said to him, "Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you." {34} Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." {35} Peter said to him, "Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." And so said all the disciples.

 

(Matthew 26:69-75 NRSV)  Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." {70} But he denied it before all of them, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." {71} When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." {72} Again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." {73} After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you." {74} Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know the man!" At that moment the cock crowed. {75} Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

 

(Matthew 27:3-5 NRSV)  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.

 

A scandal was brewing at the University of San Diego last week,

            that involved an assistant coach

                        and some key players on the basketball team,

                                    who were caught taking bribes for 'point-shaving',

                                                i.e.   for helping opposing teams defeat them.

 

I find it very disappointing

            that players & coaches would betray their teammates that way.

After all the hours upon hours

            of team practice and playing ball together,     how shameful à

                        to betray, deny and disregard those relationships.              

 

If we were to make a list of bad guys mentioned in the Bible,

            surely the name, Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus Christ,

                        would show up

                                    near the top of that list of Scripture-scoundrels…

 

… which may be why, in all my years of ministry,

      no one has ever asked me to baptize their baby, named, "Judas".

            Though Judas was a very common name in 1^st century Palestine,

                        it has been forever tainted with the scandal of  betrayal.

 

Yet, Judas was chosen by Jesus to be one of his 12 disciples,

            and was trusted enough to be accepted as the group's treasurer.

We also know that his association with Jesus was close enough

            that he was honored to eat beside Jesus at the Last Supper.

 

Probably, what makes his betrayal so shocking and disappointing

     is the fact that Judas was a companion & disciple of Jesus Christ.

 

Writers, composers and commentators

            seem to love speculating on    why Judas betrayed Jesus,

                        but Scripture simply describes what happened:  vs. 14-16

            Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver.  And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

 

The next scene during the Last Supper is clear enough.

            Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him …

                        … and each one denies it by asserting, "surely, not I…" ---

  ---    including Judas, to whom Jesus replied, "you have said so",

                   letting Judas know that Jesus was aware of the deal he made.

 

Later at the Mount of Olives,

            in a similar or parallel scene, Jesus tells the disciples

                        that they will all desert him and scatter into the night.

           

 

Again,

            they all deny         that they would ever do such a shameful thing,

                        and none of them more vehemently than Peter, vs. 33-35

            Peter said to him, "Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you."  Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times."  Peter said to him, "Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." And so said all the disciples.

 

We are all familiar enough with this story to know that indeed,

       Judas did betray Jesus that night, the disciples did desert him,

                        and before the cock had crowed announcing the sunrise,

                                    Peter had denied even knowing his Lord  three times…

                                                                        … just as Jesus had said.

 

The author of Matthew structures and tells the story,

            from the perspective that both Judas and Peter

                        fail as disciples and were not faithful to Jesus Christ.

 

            Both disciples shamelessly turned their back on the Lord …

                        … and yet,

                                    Judas and Peter each come to a very different end.

 

vs. 75

            Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

 

We know that after his failure and denial,

            Peter went back and rejoined the other disciples,

                        because he was with them when the women

                                    told about the empty tomb on Easter morning …

… in fact he was the first to go into tomb and see à

            the shrouds that had been wrapped around his crucified body.

 

After Jesus was raised from the dead,

            each time Jesus appeared to the disciples, Peter was with them.

                        unlike Judas, he did not separate himself from the others,

                                    but received & accepted their support and fellowship.

 

Luke describes how along the lakeside after His resurrection,

            Jesus asked Peter, three separate times, "do you love me"

                forgiving his 3 denials, restoring him back into fellowship.

            And Peter, after preaching on Pentecost,

                        became a central and faithful leader of the early Church.

 

By the mercy & grace of God, Peter accepted & received forgiveness,

            and the power and promise of renewed hope   to start over again

                        with the restoration of his relationship with God.

 

Compare that with when Judas recognized  his mistake, vs. 3-5

            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.  He said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us?  See to it yourself." Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.

 

The critical question as I see it,

                        is,   why did Peter receive grace and reconciliation,

                                    in contrast

                                                to Judas,  ending so badly in death and despair?

 

Clearly, both disciples regretted what they did against the Lord.

            When Judas saw Jesus being led away, he was sorry, he repented,

                        and he tried to make reparation by returning the money.

            As much as Judas loved money,

                        he recognized that his betrayal of Jesus wasn't worth it.

 

Judas acknowledged the innocence of Jesus, and his own guilt.

            But rather than receiving and accepting God's grace,

                        in hopeless despair, he took his own life.

 

The fact is, all of us have something in common with Judas and Peter.

            We all have things of our past

                        that we'd rather forget and never bring up again.

 

Influenced by this world, we do deny and betray Jesus Christ: à

            when we let fear, selfishness and greed rule over our lives,

                        when we let bitterness, jealousy or resentments

                                    to poison and separate our relationships,

                           whenever we are not faithful,

                                    we are in fact, denying and betraying our Lord.

 

            As Paul writes in Romans 3:23

                        "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

                       

Judas and Peter both flunked the faithful discipleship test.

            The crucial difference between Judas and Peter

                        was not the severity of their sin and guilt,

                                    but the way they each chose to deal with it.

 

            The story of Judas demonstrates

                        that just being sorry or feeling regret is not enough;

                                    there's more to repentance and grace

                                                than just acknowledging our guilt and shame.

 

Judas did feel deep distress and regret over his misdeed,

            and tried to make it right by returning the money,

                        but he stopped at guilt and regret, and went no further.

            Judas was almost there, forgiveness and grace were close by,

                        but he didn't actually call upon the mercy and love of God.

 

Feeling the guilt and shame for the terrible thing he had done,

        Judas was overwhelmed by his shame, but saw no possible way out.

  Despite having known and traveled with Jesus, he didn't trust

       or fully believe that God would forgive his betrayal and sin.

 

That is just the place where many people find themselves.

            By far the underlying issue

                        of most people who come to me for help and counseling

                                    derives from debilitating unresolved guilt & shame,

                                                driving them to all sorts of destructive and à                                                             unhealthy   behavior and relationships…

 

… and usually not much will change for them

            until they understand, believe and will accept

                        that God's gracious love and compassion and promises

                                    are far greater than even their worst sin and failure.

 

The truth is,

            Jesus died for sinners and failures, for people like Judas,

                        for people overwhelmed by sin  and who need a way out.

            Even the deadly betrayal of Jesus

                        was not a sin so hideous   that it could not be forgiven.

 

The promise is true and sure, 1 John 1:9

            If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   We just have to ask.

 

Judas could have been freed from all his guilt and sin,

            but in his mind, he was too far gone,

                  and nothing could be done to resolve his sin and betrayal;à

 

            so, recognizing the utter futility of his own efforts,

                        and losing heart, faith and all hope,

                                    instead of seeking God's mercy and grace,

                                                he fled from the Lord by taking his own life.

 

The betrayer did not receive God's mercy and pardon,

            not because      God would not give it or had stopped loving him,

                        but because Judas did not ask or accept it ----

 

            -- he believed the lie  that his sin could not be forgiven,

                        unless he could accomplish it all on his own,

                                    and so he condemned himself  to death by hanging.

 

But imagine    had Judas accepted God's grace and love like Peter,

            and how powerfully he could have then testified about

                        the transforming truth of God's gracious forgiveness.

 

Unfortunately, the truth is, Judas quit before the miracle,

            so he hung himself, rather than à

                        avail himself of the loving mercy and grace of God.

 

Unlike Peter and the other disciples who also all failed,

            Judas never let God's pardon redeem his sinful past,

                        and he never asked, accepted or received

                                    God's gift of a better & more hopeful future of grace.

 

The real tragedy of Judas   was not the betrayal, not what he did;

            but what he did not do …

                                    … allow God's grace to work it's way with him.

 

Judas never heard what Jesus said from the cross, Luke 23:34

            "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

                        --- and so for Judas,

                                     there was no resurrection, and there was no Easter.