Wednesday - A LOVE TO THE END
By John Hume
Discipleship Pastor
LUKE 22:1-6
1 The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called Passover, was approaching. 2 The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death, because they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, who was numbered among the Twelve. 4 He went away and discussed with the chief priests and temple police how he could hand him over to them. 5 They were glad and agreed to give him silver. 6 So he accepted the offer and started looking for a good opportunity to betray him to them when the crowd was not present.
John Piper said in a sermon: "The most spectacular sin that has ever been committed in the history of the world is the brutal murder of Jesus Christ, the morally perfect, infinitely worthy, divine Son of God. And probably the most despicable act in the process of this murder was the betrayal of Jesus by one of his closest friends, Judas Iscariot." 1 Whenever I think of Judas betraying Jesus, I can't wrap my brain around how someone who saw healings, the feeding of the 5000, and many other miracles could be at a place where he would hand Jesus over to the religious leaders of that day. As Collin Smith says, "Judas walked with Jesus for three years. He saw the greatest life ever lived up close and personal. You can't have a better model of faith than Jesus or a better environment for forming faith than Judas had in walking with the Savior." 2
I have recently stopped trying to figure out the hows and whys of the betrayal and instead have turned my thoughts to two truths: first, that this, like everything else, was part of God's sovereign plan; and second, the remarkable love Christ displayed even toward His betrayer. Consider the sovereignty of God. The betrayal was not a surprise to Him. He could have stopped it, but He didn't. Thomas Schreiner says, “Jesus’ betrayal occurred just as the Scriptures predicted, and so nothing took place by surprise, though Judas still bore responsibility for his sin. God worked in and through the actions of human beings, and so he is the one who struck down Jesus as the shepherd. The cup that Jesus received was from the Father." 3
Scripture confirms the sovereign plan in The book of Acts records, "For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place" (Acts 4:27-28). Even Old Testament prophecies pointed to these events. Zechariah 11:12 states, "If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them. So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver." And Psalm 41:9 says, "Even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me."
Now consider the remarkable love of Christ. When celebrating the Passover with the disciples—the last one before the crucifixion—Jesus said in Luke 22:21, "But look, the hand of the one betraying me is at the table with me." This verse caused me to recognize just how deep that love went. Before the Passover meal, Jesus washed his disciples' feet, and John 13:1 says, "He loved them to the end." Think about this: Judas had already accepted the 30 pieces of silver before Jesus washed his feet! The washing of feet, the sharing of a meal—Jesus was showing Judas love. Yet Judas rejected it. We all have a chance to follow someone, show devotion to someone, and be discipled by someone. Judas rejected Jesus and chose Satan. Matthew 27:3-4 says, "Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, was full of remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,' he said. 'What's that to us?' they said. 'See to it yourself!'"
What if Judas had gone to Jesus instead of the chief priests and elders? Consider Peter, who also failed Jesus that night by denying him three times. Yet Peter ran back to Jesus and found forgiveness and restoration. I believe Judas would have been shown the same love and forgiveness. He could have discovered, as our current Easter Sermon series states, the road that leads home—the same road available to all of us when we turn back to Christ. We have all, at times, betrayed Jesus. But here is the good news: Help us remember that the one who was betrayed has taken our guilt from us. We don't have to suffer the same guilt Judas suffered. 1 John 1:9 promises, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Today, will you recognize the remarkable love and forgiveness of Christ? Will you share that love and forgiveness with others? Rejoice in the empty cross, the empty tomb, and the glorious fact that Jesus has come to fill our lives!
1. John Piper, Judas Iscariot, the Suicide of Satan, and the Salvation of the World, Sermon,
October 7, 2007.
2. Colin Smith, “4 Things We Can Learn from Judas,” The Gospel Coalition, March 29, 2018.
3. Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ, 271.