Sermon – Lent
Mid-week – February 27th, 2013
Benediction
Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI
Luke 22:7-38
“Judas and
Christ”
There's hardly a greater insult than to
call someone a “Judas”. Betrayer. Turn-coat. Backstabber. The
one who sold our Lord Jesus down the river, into the hands of those
who would kill him. Mommas don't name their children “Judas”
very often. For thirty pieces of silver, he gave up the Holy One of
God.
And even though Jesus certainly knew it
was coming, and allowed it to happen, Christ himself has little good
to say about the betrayer. “Woe to that man!” Jesus says. And
when he finds them in the garden, with violent men in tow, Jesus
laments, “would you betray me with a kiss?”
Judas had seen so much, had been a part
of it all. He had seen the miracles, the healings. He had heard the
sermons, and the teachings. He was with Jesus for those three years
of public ministry. He was even sent out with the rest of the 12 to
cast out demons and preach in Jesus' name. All indications are that
he was a full-fledged member of the apostles, beleiving, and even
presumably, baptized.
But temptation came, and for whatever
reason, Judas fell. He was tempted to leave the fellowship of Christ
– and his departure from that upper room was emblematic of his
forsaking of his faith. Judas felt sorry for his actions, even
admitted he betrayed innocent blood, but he ultimately found no
comfort in the Gospel. He hanged himself in despair, and Peter later
comments, he “went down to where he belongs”, in other words, to
damnation.
There but for the grace of God, go I.
Oh we love to wag the finger at naughty
Judas, the betrayer, and make ourselves seem better in contrast. He
sold Jesus out, but not us. He fell away from Christ, but not us.
He was a big fat sinner... but... do we really want to go down that
road?
How often have you and I succumbed to
temptation, yes, even as Christians? A holy people, a royal
priesthood, children of God and heirs of heaven – but still
wallowing in the mud of our sins. Still biting and snapping at each
other. Still shaking a sinful fist at the creator.
How often have we betrayed our Lord
with a kiss? You know the routine – gossip about your neighbor but
cloak it in this veneer of true love and concern for the person. Put
on the good Christian facade – go to church, pray, do your best to
avoid sin – but then wear it all as a prideful badge of honor,
“look at how wonderfully Christian I am”.
Confess Christ on Sunday, but unite him
with the prostitute, if not in your flesh at least in your mind, and
at the computer screen. Smile as if everything is peace, peace, but
in your heart it bubbles and seethes with unrighteous indignation.
How often have we betrayed the Lord of
truth by giving ear to the sweet-sounding lies of those who preach
glory in his name with no cross in sight? Oh, but everyone says he's
such a good preacher. It's so uplifting. It's so practical. Let's
not get bogged down in all this doctrinal mumbo jumbo. As if Jesus
doesn't care about his own teachings.
Steal, lie, cheat... eat, drink, and be
merry, and lazy, and angry, and on and on... Every sin is an offense
to God. And particularly for the Christian, a betrayal of who we are
in Christ. Every sinner is a Judas, turning away from Christ with
every impure thought, word, and deed.
Would you, Christian, betray the Son of
Man with a kiss? How could you? After all he's done for you,
Christian, how can you go on sinning like this? How can you so
easily give in to temptation?
What would you say to Judas? After he
had betrayed Christ, and as he was standing at the precipe,
fashioning his noose. In his despair, having betrayed innocent
blood. Having fallen for temptation and fallen under the power of
Satan. What would you say? Woe unto him?
What would you say to any sinner facing
the gravity of his sins? Repent and believe in Jesus Christ! For
Jesus has paid for your sins. Not with 30 pieces of silver or 1000
talents of gold, but with his holy precious blood, and with his
innocent suffering and death. Believe in Jesus Christ who came to
seek and save the lost, to call enemies to be his friends, and to
raise even those dead in sin to life in him.
You see, the word of God and
particularly the good news of Jesus Christ is really all there is.
It's all there is for the fighting of temptation and the defeat of
the evil one – It's all Jesus used in the wilderness, as he kept
quoting, “it is written...”. And it's all there is for us –
faith in his word – which can quench the darts of the devil – and
the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God – the only weapon
for defeating the foe.
The word of God, and the good news of
Jesus Christ is all there is – for comforting lost sinners, for
dragging us from the pit of despair, for calling us back from the
cliff. Jesus gives hope to the hopeless. Jesus gives love to the
loveless. Jesus even forgives all your betrayals and backstabbing
and covering of sins with kisses. It's the very reason he goes to
the cross. It's the very reason he submits to it all – for you,
and even for Judas, had he only believed. Yes, Jesus paid even for
the sins of Judas, his betrayer, and so the one who died for the sins
of the world can and does even forgive your sins, even today.
The law rightly shows us that we are no
better than Judas. But the Gospel offers us a hope that Judas
rejected. The promises of God in Jesus Christ are for all – no
exclusions – no sinner too sinful for the blood of Jesus to cover.
Hitler and Stalin, Jezebel and Judas, sinful you and me – Jesus
died for all.
The same Jesus who gives his life as a
ransom for many, indeed, for all – is the same Jesus who gives his
body and blood in the Holy Supper. We receive these gifts even
today. It's notable that even Judas was present as Jesus gave this
sacrament. If only he had believed. For the word of Christ says it,
given and shed – for you. For the forgiveness of your sins. Not
just some, but all of your sins. Not just the little ones. Not just
the ones before you believed. Not even only the ones you know.
Christ is that good, that merciful, that forgiving.
Let Judas stand for us as a warning of
temptation – that even for an apostle of Christ it is possible to
fall away, fall into dark sin and deep despair. Watch out! But let
him stand even more to remind us of the even deeper love of Christ.
Who loved sinners, and still loves sinners, even those who betray
him. Even you.
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