March 16, 2005

Midweek Lenten Service (5), 2005Matthew 27:1-10

Matthew 27:1 - 10

    Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
    When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."
    "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
    So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
    The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

JUDAS

What's in a name? When our first son was born and we decided to name him Trygve Van Regenmorter Throntveit, our friends in Richmond, Va. frowned and coyly asked if that was a 'family-name.' To which I replied, "No, we improved upon the 'family-name;' had we named Tryg after my father, he would have been THELFORD Van Regenmorter Throntveit." (They didn't see the improvement, either!)

In any case, there was one name we didn't even consider and I don't apologize for avoiding it since Christians have avoided it for 2000 years; or have you ever met anyone named "Judas?" Have you ever met a dog named "Judas?" And yet, Judas is an excellent name. It's related to the word "Judah" and means "worthy of praise."

Well, worthy though it is, if you want to insult a young couple, suggest that they name their new-born son "Judas." Even though Judas is known throughout history, and his name is immortal, no one wants to be called Judas because Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss. The name "Judas" will forever remain in exile, no mothers will name their sons Judas, no masters will call their dogs Judas.

But, are we justified in this cavalier condemnation? Who are we to sit in judgment of Judas? Let's see what the Bible has to say about this much-maligned disciple by asking the question:

I. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT JUDAS?

All that we do know comes from the Gospel writers, and it's not pretty:

A John completely condemns Judas in his account:
    Jesus predicted that Judas, whom he called a 'devil,' would betray him (6:70-71)
    Judas is called a thief who embezzled funds entrusted to him by the other disciples (12:16)
    He is the "son of perdition" by whom the scriptures will be fulfilled in (17:12)
    Finally, John claims that Satan entered into Judas at the Supper and when Judas leaves the Supper John says, "After receiving the morsel he immediately went out and it was night." For John, this "night" was the same godlessness out of which Nicodemus came (13:27, 30; 3:2)

But John is well-known for his tendency to contrast darkness and light and to introduce his own theological commentary into his narrative, and so, his verdict on Judas MUST be as harsh as it is since there is no middle ground for John who polarizes everything into light OR darkness; Good OR Evil; God OR Satan.

B. Matthew, as we heard in the assigned text for this evening, presents a very different portrait of Judas:
    Who tried to return the money he had received, regretted what he had done,
    and repented, crying, "I have sinned against innocent blood!" (27:4)
    but when the chief priests refused his offer, Judas threw the coins upon the Temple floor, went out, and hanged himself.

But all these actions, which are unique to Matthew's version of the story, are highly symbolic for him:

    the place where Judas threw down the coins is symbolic with a vengeance,
    the blood-money scattered on the Temple floor would mark it out for destruction . . . and, in Matthew's day, 70 AD, the Temple was in fact destroyed by the Romans.
    ironically, the amount of money, the 30 silver pieces, was the trivial amount paid for a slave accidentally put to death . . . this too, is thinly veiled theological commentary.
    after the hanging, Matthew claims the chief-priests bought the potter's field Judas was buried in, calling it the "Field of Blood," in order to fulfill an obscure reference in the prophecy of Zechariah (11:12-13)
    though Matthew mistakenly thinks it is Jeremiah.

C. Finally, Luke contradicts these aspects in Matthew's version when Peter says in Acts (1:18) that:

    Judas, not the priests, bought the field with the blood-money,
    that Judas didn't hang himself, but fell headlong into the field or, possibly, swelled up like a ripe tomato, and burst open so that his intestines spilled out, and, most importantly,
    that there was no hint of Judas' remorse, regret, repentance, or suicide.

Looking for a clear picture of Judas in the Bible, obviously, is a bit like expecting a straightforward account of John Kerry's actions from Rush Limbaugh! And, if the Gospel writers are of little help in showing us what we know of Judas they are of no assistance when it comes to giving us reasons for Judas' behavior; and so we need to turn to speculations in the Church to answer a second question:

II. WHY DID JUDAS DO IT?

Four reasons have traditionally been offered for Judas' betrayal:

    1. Judas thought the followers of Jesus were plotting to revolt against Rome and since Judas was a loyal Roman he wanted to thwart the threat.
    2. On the other hand, maybe Judas wanted to force Jesus to START the revolution. He may have been waiting for Jesus to usher in the Kingdom with a dazzling display of fireworks and after 3 years he just got impatient.
    3. Maybe Judas was jealous of the important role this Galilean would play in world history.
    4. How about the obvious? Maybe Judas couldn't resist those 30 pieces of silver.

I find none of these speculations convincing. We just don't know why Judas did it. All we know is that he DID and that his memory has been cursed ever since.

Well, if we don't know much about the historical Judas or the reasons for his actions, what can we say? What message does this final installment of the Matthean Passion Narrative that we have been reading this Lent hold for us?

III. FORGIVENESS, FORGIVENESS, FORGIVENESS.

Any judgment about Judas, the individual who betrayed Christ must be made in the light of Jesus' total message of forgiveness.
    Jesus, who said, "Love your enemies, and pray for those that persecute you"
      who told his disciples to "forgive 70 times 7 times"
      who came to the lost sheep of the House of Israel
      who, while nailed to the Cross, asked God to "Forgive them, for they know not what they do"
      who taught us to pray "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us"

In light of these teachings, we have to say that Judas, the individual remained in Christ's love and surely, that Jesus, whose purpose in coming to earth was to bring this very message of forgiveness, forgave him.

But, while Jesus forgave Judas, the individual, the one who betrayed him, we need to see that the New Testament was not concerned with Judas, the man. They are concerned with Judas THE SYMBOL OF SIN. That's why they are so furious in their condemnation. Judas is the symbol of all the dark forces in the world, and in each of us; dark forces that strain to betray Christ and destroy him.

We tend to hear this New Testament condemnation of Judas in a rigidly literal way and so cast Judas into the blackest pit of Hell.

But if we listen to these depictions we fail to hear the real message of Judas.

    If Judas' sin was greed, why didn't he hold out for more money than the paltry 30 pieces of silver he received?
    If Judas' sin was jealousy, how is that different from James and John who lusted after positions of power and authority?
    If Judas's sin was betrayal, how is that different from Peter, who denied him 3 times in one night?
    Or all the disciples when they abandoned Christ?
    Or me, when I display all these shortcomings in my life?

Jesus did not die so that we could feel smug and superior to Judas; he died to take away the sin of the world; he died to take away Judas' sin, my sin, yes, and even your sin. Maybe that's why every lectionary that I checked suggests the reading of Romans 5:6-11 in Holy Week:

    For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God's wrath. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation. (NET)

None of us, not even the one whose hands are smeared with the blood-money of Christ's crucifixion need die without hope of forgiveness.

Amen

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