Putting together this sermon was tough going, mainly because I struggled to come to a conclusion that is worth taking home and in the end I ran out of time and energy. Interestingly, it was one of the better received sermons I had preached in the church. One never knows.
Good morning.
We are in a series of sermons around the theme “Encounters with Jesus”, basically examining the experience of different people who encountered Jesus. What we have seen so far is the positive effect on these people as they come to know Jesus as he truly is. The Samaritan woman at the well left her water jar to tell others about her discovery of Jesus; the two who walked home to Emmaus got up and returned immediately to Jerusalem even though it was late in the evening. Something changed in them after their encounter with Jesus as they found hope.
This morning we will look at two more persons who encountered Jesus but this time with a negative outcome. We are familiar with who they were: Judas who led a large crowd armed with swords and clubs to capture the man he would identify with a kiss, and Pilate, who only briefly encountered Jesus as the chief priests needed his authority to execute Jesus and washed his hands before giving the order to have Jesus flogged and crucified.
Matthew tells us that Judas was remorseful and committed suicide in the aftermath while Britannica.com says that Pilate, many years down the road was forced by Caligula to commit suicide.
Britannica also speculates that the name “Iscariot”, of Judas Iscariot, is “more probably a corruption of the Latin sicarius (“murderer” or “assassin”) than an indication of family origin, suggesting that he would have belonged to the Sicarii, the most radical Jewish group, some of whom were terrorists.” Out of this comes the possibility that Judas’ desire was the liberation of Israel through violent means.
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. (Luke 6)
Luke 6 tells us that Judas was chosen by Jesus to be a member of the inner circle, the 12. He also managed the group’s funds. In other words he was not someone just following the crowd. Luke, however, noted that he was to become a traitor.
It would not have made sense for Jesus to choose Judas as a member of the 12 in order to betray him. It would be an insult to God and to Jesus to ever consider that he chose Judas because he needed him to be the betrayer as some people say. And I don’t believe that we are fated and have no choice over our lives.
Once we remove the notion that Judas was already a person with bad motives from the beginning, then we can acknowledge that there must be potential in Judas for Jesus to want him to be one of the 12.
But why did Judas follow Jesus in the first place?
As we saw from the account of the woman at the well, Jesus did not hide his claim to be the Messiah and from the account of the encounter on the road to Emmaus, people “hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel”. It would not be out of place to think that this was the motivation for Judas as well when he began to follow Jesus.
Whatever the ambitions and motivations of Judas may be at the beginning, as time went on they grew darker.
In John 6, many of his disciples became disillusioned and left Jesus because they disagreed with his teaching, but Judas remained, together with the rest of the 12. However, at that point, Jesus saw the darkness growing in him.
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.) (John 6)
Peter’s faith in Jesus grew but Judas’ view of Jesus likely diminished as Jesus spoke of a spiritual revolution and emphasised love and forgiveness more and more. This sets the scene for the last two encounters between Jesus and Judas as events pushed them towards their tragic end. We read in Matthew 26:
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.” (Matthew 26:1-5)
Jesus had been telling his disciples that suffering and death awaits him in Jerusalem and now he tells his disciples of the timeline—two days away—leading to his crucifixion. Matthew added the detail about the religious leaders making plans to arrest and kill Jesus; a detail that would become relevant soon.
Matthew interestingly went on to tell us of an earlier incident when Mary anointed the head of Jesus with an expensive perfume. As told in greater detail in John 12, it seemed that Judas objected to this lavish act but Jesus told everyone that it was in preparation for his burial.
Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. (Matthew 26:10-16)
Matthew recounted the story and Jesus’ explanation that highlighted his burial and he went straight on to tell us that Judas went to the chief priests and offered his help to arrest Jesus, linking the two events.
It would seem, from Matthew’s point of view, Jesus’ insistence that he was going to die and glorifying that death, was the final trigger. Jesus was prepared to sacrifice himself and Judas acted to help the chief priests capture him.
You could say that since Jesus was going to die Judas thought he might as well make some money out of it. But this would not explain his remorse and suicide. More likely Jesus’ insistence and embrace of death did not sit well with Judas.
To me the subtext is interesting:
“Why this waste? This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
“Why choose death? Your life could be better used to serve the people.”
Of course this is all speculation on my part but I am fascinated by the question of what drove Judas to go to the chief priests and offer to help them capture Jesus although I don’t think that he went as far as to consider that they would succeed in putting him to death; his remorse later tells me that.
It could be a cynical, “if you are so set on sacrificing yourself I might as well make some money off it” or a more calculating, “I’m going to force you to fight. I will make some swords available to the group. I will make sure the arrest happens in the dead of the night and in the secluded garden so that you can easily escape. Then you will become the face of the revolution.” Or it could be that he felt Jesus was betraying the cause—you raise people’s hopes of reclaiming Israel and now you just surrender without a fight—and in his anger he betrayed Jesus.
Matthew’s narrative continues with the Passover meal where Jesus explained the meaning of his sacrifice and instituted the Holy Communion as a remembrance. But before that, there was a terse exchange between Jesus and Judas. This was the first encounter.
And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.” (Matthew 26:21-15)
To the disciples, betrayal probably just means some kind of disloyalty—that they will drop out and stop following Jesus or start saying bad things about him—and so they were sad that Jesus would suspect them. But Jesus went on to make this ominous warning:
“The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
In other words, my death is a given; it will happen whatever you decide to do. Don’t do this because the consequences will be dire. This surely is a message aimed at Judas and he responded “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus knew and Judas knew Jesus knew. Judas knew the warning was aimed at him but he pretended otherwise.
Two things I wish to glean from what Jesus told Judas who had decided to betray him:
Firstly, the consequences of your betrayal will be bad.
When we are on the verge of crossing the line into darkness, for example, to betray the wife and commit adultery, we do not think that the consequences will be bad. No, we are thinking of the pleasure of getting what we really want. Satan does that to us. He narrows our vision and blinds us to the consequences. Jesus warns Judas to make him see. When we are on the verge of crossing the line we are hoping for the best possible outcome. Again, this is a lie that Satan instils in us. Jesus warns Judas that the worst possible outcome awaits him; to pull him back from the brink.
There are moments when we step up to the edge of madness. We need to believe the Lord; the consequences will be dire. Don’t do it.
Secondly, you don’t have to do it.
No, Jesus did not say those words but that is the logical conclusion of his warning.
There are situations when Satan convinces us that we have no choice. This is the only way. Your wife needs medical care. Your finances are no longer manageable. But you can embezzle the money you need from the company. This is the only way. No one will find out.
We don’t know what compelled Judas to betray Jesus but clearly it was not something one easily chooses to do. But he did it anyway. You don’t have to do this, Jesus tells Judas. You have a choice. Similarly Jesus tells us when we are in such situations; we have a choice. Open up. Talk to friends and family. Don’t bear your burden alone.
After this Jesus went on to explain the meaning of his sacrifice.
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:26-29)
The body and the blood, the life of Jesus sacrificed, will bring forgiveness to many and will be the basis of a new covenant with God, and he will be there when the kingdom of God is finally ushered in. Jesus’ death is a part of God’s plan, the sacrifice to seal the new covenant for the forgiveness of man. Rather than seeking to restore the political kingdom of Israel which will only be temporal, Jesus’ death will usher in the kingdom of God and in due course he will return to claim the final victory over the forces of evil. Jesus explained to his disciples and perhaps even more significantly, Jesus explained this to Judas.
The expensive perfume poured out is not a waste because it is the expression of Mary’s love and faith that will find fulfilment in the death of Jesus. Jesus’ willingness to be sacrificed would have far-reaching blessing to humanity than any restoration of Israel can achieve.
Despite the warning and the explanation, Judas remained unmoved and the rest was history.
How could a man, chosen by Jesus to be among the 12 whose names are to be carved into the 12 foundations of the wall of the Holy City as told in Revelation, become the man whose name is now synonymous with traitor? He was in the inner circle, privy to all of Jesus’ teaching, witness to all his miracles, one who surely must know Jesus as well as any other person.
Matthew in chapter 27 tells us that in the aftermath, Judas was seized with remorse.
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 27)
One of the little things I noticed is how distantly Judas views Jesus. Even in his remorse, it was over the fact that he had betrayed innocent blood, rather than that he had betrayed Jesus. Even in remorse it was about himself rather than about Jesus.
During the Passover supper, when Jesus told everyone that one of them will betray him the disciples responded, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” but Judas responded, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas would address Jesus again as Rabbi. His disciples called him Lord but Judas called him Rabbi.
Peter, in contrast, was all about Jesus. You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. Peter, in a time of great fear and confusion, denied that he knew Jesus 3 times. In his own mind it was a betrayal. But when he realised what he had done he wept bitter tears. You can see what Jesus meant to Peter.
Judas planned and plotted. He worked out how he would identify the person to be captured and instructed the chief priests’ men. He greeted Jesus, addressing him as Rabbi, and kissed him. This was not a spur of the moment descent into madness. Jesus meant nothing to him.
Judas knew Jesus, the person he was, his power, authority, his kindness and his love. But he kept his heart distant from him. And so although he had every chance to know him, Judas was unmoved by Jesus.
“He who shared my bread has turned against me.” (John 13)
How could Judas think that it was OK to betray Jesus? He would have to be looking down on him and despising him. The only way I can imagine it happening is that Judas was so full of himself. Such a person is constantly criticising the world around him and seeing if others measure up to his standard while at the same time justifying himself.
These past few weeks I have been thinking about what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10, 11 and 12. He was being severely criticised for being unimpressive in person and speech.
“His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.” (2 Corinthians 10)
Paul says of those “super-apostles” who were so full of themselves, boasting of their abilities and comparing Paul unfavourably with themselves:
And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (2 Corinthians 11)
It is hard to imagine that these super-apostles were like this right from the get go. But when you are full of yourself at some point you might find yourself an agent of the devil.
The lesson I wish for us to ponder is that it is possible for us to begin well in the Lord and end badly, as Judas did. When we are full of ourselves we are doing well in our own eyes and the things we set our minds to do are always the right things; other people never measure up to our standard. When we do not hold Jesus up as our standard to follow we have no mirror to see how wrong we can be.
How do we protect ourselves? Paul used that occasion to share with the church about how God taught him about strength:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12)
And Paul concluded in this unusual way:
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12)
I must decrease so that Christ increases. When I am weak, then I am strong. The servant of God must keep himself from being tempted by power and glory. It was when Peter boasted that he would never betray Jesus that Jesus warned him that he would be tested and found wanting.
Once in a while, perhaps during the Easter season, when we read the part where Christ tells his disciples: “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
We do well to ask: “Lord, do you mean me?”
And examine our hearts carefully.
Matthew’s narrative continues on to Peter’s denial and Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and then to the second and final encounter between Jesus and Judas that day:
While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. (Matthew 26:47-49)
The translators translated Jesus’ response to be:
“Do what you came for, friend.”
But gave an alternate translation:
“Why have you come, friend?”
Which I think fits the context better. You can see this in the NIV footnotes. Whichever it is, what is clear is that while Judas addressed Jesus as Rabbi, Jesus addressed Judas as friend.
We know that it is not usual for Jesus to call his disciples friend and so this was something very deliberate. What was the message that Jesus wanted to convey?
If I were Judas and still sane after all this, when I hear the stories of Jesus’ resurrection I would think that the message is: look for me when all this is over. I would think back and remember what Jesus said about forgiveness. I would think that perhaps there is a way back for me from hell.
This was the Jesus that Judas encountered that night. Even though he was betrayed, even though Judas refused to respond to him, Jesus was still trying to save his soul. This was the same Jesus who, while suffering the agony of crucifixion, asked God to forgive those who have caused him such pain.
Unfortunately Judas was driven to suicide.
Matthew’s narrative moved on and in chapter 27 we come to the point when Pilate encountered Jesus.
The Jews had no authority to put anyone to death, much less for religious reasons, and so they brought Jesus over to Pilate on charges of treason, for arrogating himself as king of the Jews.
John in chapter 18 of his Gospel gave us an extended account of that encounter between Pilate and Jesus.
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!”
“You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
This is the point when the woman at the well would have asked “Please tell me more. Are you the Messiah?”
Instead, Pilate dismissed what Jesus was leading up to and asked dismissively:
“What is truth?”
Pilate has no use for truth. Truth was whatever he decides. Pilate would be someone who is at home in any Christian environment and who can, at the same time, be as unethical in business practices as he can get away with, and as immoral as he wishes to be in his relationships. There are no absolutes in his values; he sets his own rules.
“‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” (Matthew 21)
However, Jesus tells us that truth exists. You can accept it, learn from it, obey it, and build a life that will stand for eternity; or you can resist it or ignore it and you will stumble and fall and your life will be broken by the consequences, or, even if by some chance you are unscathed, it will crush you in the end.
At that point the conversation ended and Jesus refused to answer Pilate’s questions except to remind him that his authority comes from above, implying that his duty was to ensure justice.
Pilate finally tried to manipulate the crowd to free Jesus whom he was certain was innocent and when he failed, washed his hands off any responsibility and issued the order to flog and crucify Jesus.
In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.
In that brief encounter, Jesus told Pilate that his life was in service of truth but Pilate shrugged away the invitation to listen further.
To the one, truth was his whole life; he lived for truth and was going to die for it. To the other, truth was a useless pursuit that has no place in the real world.
Jesus says that truth can become a firm foundation for life if you pay attention and build your life on it. Otherwise your life will rest on shaky foundations and collapse when tested.
The most important thing we must do is to live with the attitude that truth is greater than us. We take care to learn truth in breadth and depth, we honour and respect the boundaries truth places upon us, and we embrace the wisdom of life that truth imparts.
Consequently we must also be respectful of the truth of what we say and claim. This is why we are commanded “Thou shalt not lie”. I say this because these days we pass on information that we have not bothered to verify or at least analyse as to its veracity.
How we handle truth, the choices we make with respect to truth and the life we build with respect to truth will have eternal consequences.
Jesus says everyone on the side of truth listens to him. It is also true the other way round:
Everyone who listens to Jesus must also be on the side of truth.