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Is There a Limit to God’s Grace?
A sermon on Judas Iscariot
based on Matthew 26:14-16;
27:3-5; Luke
22:3-6
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
Today I’m going to preach about Judas Iscariot, a subject I have
never dared to tackle until I started this sermon series on the 12
apostles.
My first challenge was that I felt that Judas could not be lumped
together with any other disciple in the series. But that’s OK because I
felt the same way about Thomas (who has his own day of commemoration on
the second day of Easter) for different reasons. So instead of a 6-part
sermon, I am able to present a 7-part series that stretches from Lent 1 to
Easter 2.
My second challenge was when to preach this sermon. After some
deliberation, I decided that Good Friday was the perfect time to talk
about the one who betrayed our Lord.
Good Friday is the saddest day on the church calendar anyway, it’s when
we hit rock bottom, and we can’t go lower than rock bottom.
I would like to make a statement right up front about Judas’s betrayal;
to be fair, he was not the only one who betrayed Jesus, he may have been
the one who literally sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver, but
figuratively speaking, all of the other disciples with the exception of
John left Jesus, denied him and betrayed him in some way.
And if we’re going to be perfectly honest, we too have betrayed our
Lord before, figuratively speaking. We have turned out backs to him, ran
away from his purpose, have disobeyed his laws, and broken our promises.
We have to be careful not to make Judas our scapegoat. It always seems
easier to point to someone else’s guilt and say: “at least I am not like
this person” than to confess our own shortcomings to God.
What can be said about Judas that conveys in some way the good news of
Jesus Christ? Where is the gospel in the Judas story?
Let’s review the events surrounding Jesus’ betrayal:
·
The 12 disciples are gathered around Jesus
for the Passover in the Upper Room
·
Jesus announces that one of them will betray
him and predicts that it is the one who dips at the same time with him
·
Judas leaves the assembly, “Satan enters
into him” (acc. to Luke and John)
·
Judas seeks out the priests of the
Sanhedrin, and plans on betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver
·
Judas leads the temple guard of the
Sanhedrin to Jesus in Gethsemane and identifies Jesus with the kiss
of betrayal
·
Jesus is tried, flogged, mocked and
crucified
·
The next day, Judas returns the 30 pieces of
silver to the priests, hangs himself (acc. to Matthew) or falls and bursts
open his belly (acc. to Acts).
·
A theological statement by Matthew explains
the aftermath: “…woe is upon him, and he would have been better unborn”
(Matthew 26:23-25).
Quite honestly there is not much there that invokes God’s grace.
Especially the statement from Matthew 26:23 (he would have been better off
unborn) makes the story of Judas sound like a Greek tragedy.
However, I do want to point out that Judas, acc. to Mt 27:3, did repent
and confess his sin:
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.”
Adam Hamilton, in his influential book 24 Hours That Changed The
World, has been described as the “king of the what if question”
before. He writes the following concerning Judas Iscariot:
In observing Judas, we can see what repentance
looks like: an intense grief over one’s sin and a desire to make things
right. However, Judas became convinced that he could not make things
right. He was complicit in the impending death of Jesus. Judas could see
only one way out: suicide.
[But] what would have happened if Judas had
waited just three days before taking his own life? Had he waited three
days, he would have seen the other side of his betrayal. He would have
seen Jesus raised from the dead. Had he seen the risen Christ and fallen
on his knees at Jesus’ feet, asking for mercy, what do you think Jesus
would have said? There is no doubt he would have forgiven Judas. Now
imagine the witness Judas would have had if he had just waited three
days. You can almost hear him preaching: “I so loved the things of this
world and so believed in the spirit of the revolution against Rome that I
actually sold Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver. But I’m here to tell
you today that the grave could not hold him down! And after his
resurrection, he forgave even me. If he could forgive me for the terrible
things I did, don’t you know that his grace is sufficient for you?” [1]
I too think Jesus would have forgiven him. Nowhere in
the gospels did Jesus refuse to welcome or forgive people if they came and
expressed remorse. As I said earlier, Judas sin is not so different from
our own sins. In our own ways we have betrayed Jesus. Jesus once said "If
you love me, keep my commandments." Can you truly say that you have always
kept his commandments?
Hear the good news then: There is nothing we have
done, said or thought of in our minds that would put us outside the scope
of God’s grace. Even Judas could have received forgiveness. There is
forgiveness for you and me. God’s grace is huge, it is merciful and
compassionate. That’s why we call it “amazing.”
Therefore, on this Good Friday, bow down at the foot
of his cross; lay your life down for Christ all over again (or for the
first time), and bring all your sorrows, your sins, and you shame. He will
forgive you, accept you, and make you his own. Amen
__________________________
[1] Adam Hamilton, 24
Hours That Changed The World, Abingdon Press.
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