Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,,
One week ago today was “Good Friday”! I wonder if, 7 days later after the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples each found themselves replaying in their minds where they had been, what they had witnessed, and what they had done on that terrible Friday, while Jesus suffered and died?
I don’t know exactly where Matthew spent that Friday one week later but he is the only disciple who gives us the story of what happened with Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus. I left you yesterday watching amazing things in that garden of Gethsemane that Thursday night. Judas had come with an armed crowd. Judas identified and betrayed Jesus, and the mob arrested Jesus. Peter had sliced off a guard’s ear with one swipe of his knife, but Jesus had healed it! Then Jesus was bound and led away as His disciples fled into the night shadows. (Matt. 26:47-56)
I wonder if Judas just stood there all alone, leaning against one of the old, gnarly, ancient olive trees, stunned by all that had just happened? (picture is of the garden of Gethsemane today)
His dirty work accomplished, Judas wanted no part of what was about to happen next to Jesus. Judas was now a traitor, an outcast from the disciples. Judas was not proud of what he had done, and he found himself with no friends in the garden of Gethsemane that Thursday evening, except Jesus, who you may recall had said to betraying Judas: “Do what you came for, friend.” (Matt. 26:50)
Amazing isn’t it, that Jesus who had walked the dusty roads with Judas for those many months; and had even washed Judas’ feet during their Passover meal in the upper room earlier that evening; (John 13:5) and had so mercifully identified Judas as the betrayer that no other disciple understood; (John 13:28-30) still, Jesus called Judas ‘friend‘ as Judas betrayed Jesus! It’s another sign of the endless love and mercy of God for us, isn’t it? Being all alone and filled with remorse, I assume Judas fled from that garden broken hearted.
All through that horrible night, while Jesus was brutalized and interrogated, Matthew turns his attention to Judas the betrayer and tells us: “When Judas who had betrayed Jesus, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders saying, ‘I have sinned, I have betrayed innocent blood’.” (Matt. 27:3,4) Regret that moves a person to repentance can be a wonderful and powerful emotion!
We know Judas was in the throes of an enormous spiritual battle for twice in John’s description of that Thursday night upper room, John describes the severity of the attacks of Satan seeking to disrupt what Jesus was trying to accomplish on behalf of humanity. (John 13:2,3, 27) Unable to do anything about Jesus in shackles being beaten and tried unjustly, Judas did the only thing he could think of to do. Judas returned to the Temple looking for those men with whom he had struck a traitorous deal, a few days before. I wonder what Judas was hoping to hear from these men in response to his repentance?
Matthew tells us the religious leaders were hard hearted. In response to Judas’ repentant cry, these religious men said: “What is that to us? That is your responsibility!’ So Judas threw the money into the Temple and ran out.” (Matt. 27:4,5) Unforgiveness is one of the most powerful and destructive forces in the world, isn’t it? When a repentant person receives a harsh refusal to forgive, anger and bitterness can move that person to do outrageous things in their despair.
The two places unforgiveness is most destructive are the HOME, among family, and the CHURCH, among those expected to be religious people of God, especially leaders who represent God to the people.
For Judas, the band of disciples had been closer than family for him for the past several months, and now Judas had extricated himself from relationship with them and from Jesus. In this moment of harsh response from the Temple leaders, Judas felt rejected by God and those who had dedicated their lives to be representatives of God to the people in Jerusalem, especially during Passover. In despair, Judas felt there was nowhere for him to turn. He could not forgive himself for what he had done. Have you ever found yourself in that place my friends? Have you tried to help someone else in that dark place?
Matthew tells us what happened in only one sentence: “So Judas threw the money into the temple and ran out. Then he went away and hanged himself.” (Matt. 27:5) We have no record of exactly where or how Judas hanged himself, but clearly Judas had reached the deepest depths of despair and he knew of no other way out than suicide.
If you’ve ever been touched by the suicide of a friend or family member, it is one of the darkest places of despair isn’t it? Even if an explanation note is left behind, still there are never sufficient answers to the ‘why’ questions, and usually the closer your relationship to the suicide, the more you feel some responsibility.
Matthew tells us those religious leaders picked up the money Judas had first accepted from them and now thrown into the Temple when they refused to receive it back. But because it was considered “blood money” these religious men felt it would be against the law to put it in with the normal Temple offerings offered to God, so instead “they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners.” (Matt. 27:7)
Matthew gives us no indication who found the body of Judas, nor where, when or how it was buried. Matthew, however, does tell us that even this horrible aspect of the Passover/Easter story is another fulfillment of prophecies written by Jeremiah about 500 years before Jesus was born! (Matt. 27:9,10)
It was very important to Matthew that the story of Jesus, from His birth to His death and His resurrection, was a fulfillment of what had been written by the Jewish prophets, as led by the Spirit of God, so many centuries before! As Matthew called His Jewish readers to understand, so Matthew calls you and me to celebrate, 2000 year later, that God is faithful to His promises and Almighty God invites us to embrace all Jesus IS and ACCOMPLISHED to be our Savior for all eternity!
The story of Judas is a sad reminder to us that even though the Passover/Easter story is well documented and known by most people in the world, there are still many who refuse to allow the love of God to touch their hearts and forgive them of their sin. Quickly after Easter, they rush to fill their lives with their passions and pursuits, too many of which lead them far away from Jesus into dark places, even places of despair.
Oh let’s not do that friends… join me in this worship song, which I just discovered 12 hours after its global release by Charity Gayle! And let’s join the disciples and the women remembering one week ago, Good Friday, and asking ourselves this important question: “So What? What difference does what Jesus experienced and accomplished make in my life today?
Today’s Scripture: Matt. 27:1-10.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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