The Dirty Deed is Done

 

The Dirty Deed is Done

 

Matthew 26:47-50, NIV - While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people.  Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.”  Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”

 

This passage marks the beginning of Matthew’s passion narrative, the account of Jesus submitting to arrest, trial, conviction, and sentence to death by Roman crucifixion.  It begins with thick irony, with the kiss of a friend.  This kiss of greeting marks Jesus for death.  Jesus knows this is coming, but Jesus is still human; the betrayal must have really sting, being turned over to authorities by a friend who has been with Jesus every day for three years. 

I think of times when friends have let me down, when personal attacks came from unexpected people.  I do not, in any way, compare those painful experiences with what Jesus endured in this moment.  For in a very real way, Judas’s betrayal represents the betrayal of Jesus by all God’s people.  It represents my betrayal of Jesus and yours as well. I think of a song by the Christian Rock band, Petra in 1982. The song for the day is that song linked for today, but if Rock Music is not your cup of tea, I invite you to simply read the lyrics here, addressed to Jesus.

I wonder how it makes you feel when the prodigal won't come home

I wonder how it makes you feel when he'd rather be on his own

I wonder what it's like for you when a lamb has gone astray

I wonder what it's like for you when your children disobey

 

Chorus:  It must be like another thorn struck in your brow

It must be like another close friend's broken vow

It must be like another nail right through your wrist

It must be just like

Just like Judas' kiss

 

I wonder how it makes you feel when no one seeks your face

I wonder how it makes you feel when they give up in the race

I wonder what it's like for you when they willingly disobey

I wonder what it's like for you when they willingly walk away.

Repeat Chorus

 

This passage confronts us with the ways in which we participated in the moment of Jesus’s betrayal.  Jesus the felt the rejection of all in Judas’s kiss. Yet Jesus, in the very moment of treachery, addresses Judas as friend.  Though Judas has turned away from Jesus, Jesus has not turned away from Judas.  Neither does Jesus turn away from us in the midst of our fallenness. 

 

Question:  What are the ways in which you have let Jesus down.

 

Prayer:  Forgive us Lord, when our independence becomes rebellion and our mistaken expectations lead us to move against the way you are leading. 

 

Prayer Focus:  Spend some time confessing your sins to God and receiving God’s forgiveness.  Hear the voice of Jesus calling you “friend.”

 

Song:  Judas Kiss - Petra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CJJ03ueOfI  

The Last Supper

 

The Last Supper

 

Matthew 26:17-30, The Message - On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare your Passover meal?”

He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the Passover meal at your house.’” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to the letter, and prepared the Passover meal.

After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.”

They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?”

Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”

Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?”

Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.”

During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples:

Take, eat.  This is my body.

Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:

Drink this, all of you.

This is my blood,

God’s new covenant poured out for many people

    for the forgiveness of sins.

“I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.”

They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives.

 

This is a longer scripture reading, but a shorter reflection.  We could have broken up the exchange between Jesus and disciples about betrayal from the sharing of bread and wine (which is where the sacrament of communion comes from), but to do so would miss something very important.  Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him.  Jesus has some harsh words for that person (who we and Jesus already know is Judas).  It is revealed that it is Judas even though the betrayer is not specifically called out.  But notice what happens. Or more accurately, notice what doesn’t happen.  Judas is not expelled from the dinner.  In fact, Jesus allows him to stay for the highlight – what we now call the institution of the Lord’s Supper. 

At this supper, Jesus declares that the bread they break is His body that is broken for them and the cup they drink is His blood shed for their forgiveness.  Judas is included in this.  Of course, this doesn’t negate what Jesus said earlier; it’s going to be very bad for Judas.  We will talk about that when we get to Matthew 27.  But here, in the same moment as the revelation of Judas’s betrayal, Judas’s forgiveness and redemption is proclaimed to him.  Grace is offered to all no matter what has happened before.

I need to hear that a lot.  I make mistakes; sometimes they’re big ones.  Sometimes, they even feel like they are unrecoverable.  It is in those times that it is good to hear the words of Jesus: 

“This body is broken for you; this blood is shed for your forgiveness.”

This is why we call it a sacrament.  It is a way for the grace of God offered in Jesus to be offered to us on a regular basis.  That sacramental gift is confirmed as we eat the Bread and drink from the Cup.  We invite the grace of God to become one with us.  We are redeemed in the moment and throughout our lives.

 

Question:  What does the sacrament of communion mean to you.  Has it been a way for you receive the grace of God?

 

Prayer:  Loving God, minister to us in our mistakes and brokenness.  Allow us to experience your grace available to us in every moment.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for families you are aware of experiencing brokenness and conflict right now.

 

Song:  Let Us Break Bread Together – Agnes Choo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egk-pX_1nHg

The Final Straw

 

The Final Straw

 

Matthew 26:14-16, NIV - Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.  From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

 

There has always been a cloud of mystery surrounding Judas.  The four gospels portray him in different ways, suggesting different levels of evil in the betrayal of his Master.  In Mark, Judas does what he does with no expectation of money.  In Luke, there is no remorse in Judas for his actions.  John’s Judas is cold and calculating.  But in Matthew’s account, Judas’s betrayal is prompted by what has just happened.  A woman has anointed Jesus with expensive perfume and Jesus not only let her but defended her actions.  Judas reaches a “last straw” moment and decides to pursue a way to betray Jesus.  The implication is that Judas’s exasperation and anger has been building for a while and the waste of an expensive commodity finally pushes Judas to a breaking point. 

It seems that Jesus wasn’t following the script that Judas had in his mind about how the Messiah would act.  Jesus wasn’t the revolutionary Judas envisioned.  His pre-conceived notions about Jesus had been dispelled one by one and now, Judas can’t take it anymore; he seeks to put an end to this farce of a Messiah.  The others don’t see it, but Judas will make them see it.  As a bonus, he’ll get some of that wasted money back. 

That’s the problem with pre-conceived notions; they pre-program our response.  If the notions play out as we expected, we are affirmed in our beliefs.  But when things don’t go as expected, we are thrown into negativity.  That negativity can prompt us to act in ways that we might never have considered before, but now seem justified.  There are examples of this throughout our lives.  Marriages never begin with the expectation that betrayals will happen.  We never see our best friend letting us down.  We can’t imagine why God would have allowed that terrible thing to happen.  When our expectations are shattered, we are vulnerable to making choices we might never have considered before.  Perhaps this is what happened with Judas; perhaps he was feeling betrayed and so he justifies betrayal in return.

To be clear, feeling betrayed is not the same as being betrayed.  Judas was not betrayed by Jesus even if Judas felt that was the case.  And often, we feel slighted by others when they were doing nothing of the sort.  At times, we might even feel slighted by God even though God has always proven faithful.  In such times, it’s important to be aware of our feelings and that it’s important to investigate whether or not our feelings are grounded in reality.  It’s  important to check whether or not our expectations are in line with God’s.  Judas acted out of his misinformed feelings and expectations.  He was at odds with what God was doing in the moment.  It’s a mistake to believe we could not ever be capable of finding ourselves in that very same position. 

God is constantly up to something new.  Those new things often confront and confound our old expectations.  Holding on to the possibility that we could be missing something actually helps us be more open to new movements of God’s Spirit. 

 

Question:  Have you ever been disappointed with another person or even God only to find out that you were missing something important because you were stuck in your feelings and expectations?

 

Prayer:  God, we acknowledge that you will always do what is best for us in the long run while confessing that it doesn’t always feel that way.  Help us be open to new possibilities that we may not have ever considered before.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for those who are facing a terminal diagnosis.

 

Song:  Your Will be Done – CityAlight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nLXXephYRI