Luke 22:14-23:56
14When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the
apostles with him. 15He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer; 16for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the
kingdom of God.” 17Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this
and divide it among yourselves; 18for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of
the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19Then he took a loaf of
bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20And he did the same with
the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new
covenant in my blood.
21But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on
the table. 22For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe
to that one by whom he is betrayed!” 23Then they began to ask one another, which one of them it could
be who would do this.
I am
concluding a series of series of sermons about God using imperfect people to
accomplish God's work. As I consider all the imperfect people God used,
none stands out more than Judas Iscariot. Judas is a troubling figure in
scripture. He seems to be doomed for doing the will of God, which is
quite troubling to me. As a result, I've been studying the scriptures and
legends around his role in Jesus' death and how God used him.
Only
Matthew and Acts speak of Judas' death, and they do not agree with each other.
Matthew tells that Judas hanged himself, while Acts tells that Judas fell and
was disemboweled. The Gospel of Judas, written in the first century A.D.,
tells that Judas was actually asked by Jesus to betray him as part of God's plan,
while the Gospel of Barnabas, which was written much later, says that Judas was
actually the one who was crucified, and Jesus ascended directly to Heaven.
These varying accounts bring to light the fact that people have been
troubled from the beginning about God's use of Judas in the crucifixion
narrative.
As I
read the accounts of the betrayal of Jesus, I believe that Judas was forgiven
of his sin. Judas went to the Chief Priests to offer to betray Jesus, and was
paid thirty pieces of silver to do so. He then was with Jesus and the twelve at
the Last Supper. This is key to my understanding of grace, the sacrament of
Holy Communion, and the forgiveness of Judas. Jesus served all twelve
disciples, including Judas, the bread of his body, and more significantly, the
cup of the new covenant, which is forgiveness of sins not through blood
sacrifice, but through belief in Jesus Christ. Jesus had to be betrayed. Jesus
had to die at the hands of sinful people in order to offer redemption to sinful
people. In fact, I believe that each of us, when we sin, share responsibility
in the betrayal and death of Jesus Christ. We must, or we can not share in the
gift of redemption through Jesus Christ.
I
shared this theology with a colleague, who dismissed it based on the response
of Jesus. Jesus said, "...woe to the one that one by whom he is betrayed
(Luke 22:22), which my colleague interpreted as Jesus condemning Judas to
Hell." I disagree, however. I believe the words of Jesus had more to do
with his wrestling with his own humanity. We don't see the human side of Jesus
often in Scripture. Yet on the night of his betrayal and day of his
crucifixion it is starkly obvious. Jesus condemns the very man he has just
given the cup of salvation to. He asks God in the garden to remove the cup, if
it is possible. He tells the disciples they will all fall away and deny them.
He collapses under the weight of the cross he carries to Golgotha. He is the
first of the three condemned men to die. Jesus' words to Judas were his human
words spoken in the grief and despair of a man facing a cruel and
torturous death. Yet even in this grief, Jesus offers his betrayer the cup of
salvation. And if the sin of betraying Jesus Christ can be forgiven by Jesus
Christ, how much more can our sins be forgiven?
So let us take heed of
the words of Martin Luther: "Be a sinner and let your sins be
strong, but let your faith in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is
the victor over sin, death and the world."1 Acknowledge
that we are sinful, but through faith in Christ, our sins are forgiven.
Glory to God!
1 Sin Strong: A Letter From Luther to Melanchthon Letter no. 99, 1
August 1521, From the Wartburg (Segment) Translated by Erika Bullmann Flores
from: Dr. Martin Luther's Saemmtliche Schriften Dr, Johannes Georg Walch, Ed.
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, N.D.), Vol. 15,cols. 2585-2590.
Letter no. 99, 1 August 1521, From the Wartburg
Awesome Blog, thanks!
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