It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf.
‹Thomas Paine›
Atlantis: the domain of the Stingray
24Feb
2010
Wed
23:17
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
comments: 0
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Midweek Lent I

Luke 22:1-6, John 6:70-71

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Where would we be right now without the plot to kill Jesus?

We heard just Sunday that Satan left Jesus after tempting Him for a more opportune time. Tonight we hear that Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who then conferred with the chief priests and captains in order to betray Jesus to them. The time had come. Satan was going to have his little time with the people and with Jesus...or so He thought.

What time was it? The Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near. Passover was approaching. It was a time to commemorate—to remember—that God had delivered the Israelites out of bondage from Egypt and into the promised land. It was to be a reminder that God does not forget His promises, especially the promise to lead His people out of bondage to sin and the devil and into the promised land of life everlasting. So, it only seems appropriate that "God's devil" would pick this time, of all times, as the opportune time.

Judas, surnamed Iscariot, was ripe for the picking. He was not what modern Christianity would deem to be worthy of being one of Jesus' 12 disciples. He would certainly not qualify or be certified for ordination by current standards (nor would Martin Luther or Jesus, for that matter, I believe...but that's a matter for another time). He was very politically minded, concerned for the release of Judah and Israel from Roman control. He was money-minded, perhaps more-so than Matthew—so much so that he was the treasurer for this band of 13 men, and would steal from the group's treasury.

He was the perfect target for Satan. Satan most likely saw in him a disgruntled disciple. Jesus was not fulfilling his idea of a messiah; He wasn't leading an army against Rome. Certainly this little band of 13 and the rag-tag bunch of followers weren't enough to topple Roman occupation—definitely not strong enough. He only kept teaching the people, never once mentioning overthrowing the Roman government in Judea. In fact, when mentioning Rome and Caesar, Jesus only ever spoke respectfully of them. If He did have in mind to release Judea from Rome, He was being sly about it, and certainly taking His sweet time, Judas could have thought. And his love for money provided Satan a perfect handle with which to use him in order to betray Jesus.

So, He went to confer with the chief priests and captains. He left the group he had been traveling with for 3 years to conspire with the religious and political leaders of Jerusalem; though you could say he "left" sooner than that. And they agreed to pay him for his misdeed; they were more than pleased to do so. You might imagine that when Judas left, the chief priests and captains might have had a little celebratory meal or party...secretly, of course.

Now, we like to teach that we were redeemed not with gold or silver, but with Christ's precious blood. But, when we look at the plot to kill Jesus, we cannot help but think that there was a price for our redemption, and that price was paid monetarily by the chief priests and captains. This isn't incorrect thinking. It is true that we have redemption in the blood of Christ, spilled on the cross, but it was money paid to Judas that put him on the cross.

True, we like to say that it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross. And it is also true that Judas' betrayal and payment is one of many sins for which Jesus was crucified. But, this event is what started the time we call the Passion of the Christ. Search the Gospels and you will find that the Passion accounts of Christ all begin with The Plot.

Could it have been done another way? Could Jesus have been betrayed by some other means? Could Jesus merely have "turned Himself in?" Perhaps, but listen to these words from St. John's Gospel: "Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?' He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

Now, I don't mean to be apologetic for Judas, surnamed Iscariot. What he did is indefensible. But, just as we can rightly call Satan God's devil, we can call Judas Jesus' betrayer; not simply the one that betrayed Jesus, but the one chosen by Jesus to betray Him. Had Judas repented of the sin and guilt he felt, there would be another saint's day on the liturgical calendar; we would be thanking God for the "holy betrayer." Had there been true contrition on Judas' part, there would be many more hymns in our hymnals proclaiming the grace and mercy of God toward his precious betrayer. Had Judas sought forgiveness for his sin, his coat-of-arms would not be the traitor's coat-of-arms. Had he gone to Jesus in confession, we wouldn't have to defend Judas because he would have been restored and renewed and forgiven.

No, I don't want to defend the man. However, we can rightly defend what He did. Since Jesus had in mind His betrayer when He chose Judas as one of the twelve, then we must acknowledge His plan and purpose as holy and just. We may want to look at what Judas did as a despicable act, such as it is, and our logic finds it difficult to see it any other way, but Jesus saw the selection of Judas (and how He would betray by him) as the beginning of The Finish, as in "It is finished." He chose Judas, knowing him to be the one to betray Him, as the means of going to the cross for you.

Don't look at this as passive obedience. Jesus knew full well what was going to happen when he selected the twelve. He didn't say in John 6, "I was compelled to choose you, even one of you being a devil." He didn't say, "My hand was forced in choosing the twelve of you, even though one of you is a devil." He declaratively asked, "Did I not choose you...and one of you is a devil?"—a rhetorical question, as if to say definitively, "I chose you, and one of you is a devil. It was me and me alone who picked each one of you, all twelve of you. Yes, I even chose a devil as one of my disciples."

So, the point I am making is this: Judas was the one chosen by our Lord when He had your salvation in mind. Judas was the one chosen by Satan when he had your doom and damnation in mind. Thanks be to God that on the cross, Jesus death brought about ultimate victory over Satan; there He crushed that crafty Serpent's head, and brought us out of bondage to sin and the devil and into the promised land of life everlasting. Jesus' selection of Judas trumped the devil's and won for us salvation. For this—yes, even for picking Judas, surnamed Iscariot—God deserves our thanks and praise.

Lamb of God, pure and holy, Who on the cross didst suffer,
Ever patient and lowly, Thyself to scorn didst offer,
All sins Thou borest for us, Else had despair reigned o'er us:
Have mercy on us, O Jesus! O Jesus!
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


audio recorded on my digital recorder and converted to mp3
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