March 21, 2008 – Meditation for Good Friday Morning
Matthew 27:3-10
During this week of Jesus’ passion, we consider the events of each day…the journeys of Jesus and his disciples… It sure has been a long time in coming – but we are in Jerusalem on Good Friday and we are hearing about Judas again. Who was Judas Iscariot? What do we generally know about him from the Scriptures?
• One of the 12 disciples --- Jesus called him as he did the others…
• He was a part of the inner circle which closely followed Jesus for over 3 years.
• He was at the Passover Meal just last night taking the bread and wine from Jesus
• And wasn’t Judas the one who believed in the powerful earthly takeover of the Kingdom of God – a sort of Zealot – who was ready for Jesus to make his stand! TO ANNOUNCE THAT THIS WAS THE TIME? Was this what Judas wanted?
• (Listen to how we speak even of him when naming the disciples, there is John, Paul, Ringo…oops, wrong list! I mean James, John, doubting Thomas, and oh, yes JUDAS! As we might even say it in disgust.)
• Yesterday we learned of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus. Doesn’t that hit us in our gut? Judas was the one who conferred with the chief priests to devise a plot to betray Jesus to them, for that price, of course – that price.
• We heard it – just yesterday: Jesus shared the bread as his body and drinks wine as his blood and institutes the words of the Last Supper; AND Judas was among them and Scripture says that it would have been better for that one not to have been born.
• Now for today’s events…Can’t you just see it…Judas scurrying along to make sure it is the time…he has planned his work, NOW it is time to work his plan!
• Later in the Garden, he is there with the other 11 and Jesus. He was the one who greeted Jesus for with a simple kiss. Later from Romans 16, we hear of the Apostle Paul’s instruction for Christ’s followers to “greet each other with a holy kiss”. Was Judas’ kiss holy? It marks Jesus so the Roman Guards know whom to arrest. Then the disciples all deserted Jesus and fled.
• Later, according to Acts, Judas was in the nearby court room when Jesus was being questioned. Was he there wanting Jesus to claim his KINGDOM? Was NOW the HOUR? Was this THE time?
• BUT Judas must have understood that his plan crumbled! According to Matthew, when Judas learned of Jesus being condemned, he repents and brings back the 30 pieces of silver. Was that to make everything all right? WAS this to delay the TIME?
So when we look Friday’s events and confounded Judas – isn’t it easy – we get to one of the most difficult parts of this Passion Week: Judas took our Jesus away from us!…Yes, because of him Jesus is arrested, because of him, Jesus is taken to be tried and beaten, because of him, Jesus is BETRAYED forever! In this accusation of Judas – we often really mean, “Let’s have a Judas’ trial, Let’s be on the jury, and Let’s claim the role of Judge and Prosecutor. This may be the low point when we recognize that we are glad that Judas realizes the significance of what he had done and try as he might, what he can’t get done…no turning back the TIME…that he has all that weight on his shoulders... then Judas is out of the story, ending his own life. Case closed.
But that isn’t all – is it? How can we be left with the role of Judge for Judas? On this last day of Jesus’ earthly life, is this where have we come to? When we look at Judas, why do we see our own uncomfortable reflections in his mirror?
Haven’t we set our intentions to do one thing, thinking it was a right and good plan, and yet, realizing it is very far from the will of God?
Haven’t we judged who should be God’s people and frankly, who should not be?
Haven’t we tried to take the power into our own hands to control the fate of what we think should happen, not listening to God?
Like Judas, have we betrayed what is God’s?
The power of Good Friday and the draw of Judas’ mirror is a force that puts us looking directly at our own sins… recognizing our part in the fallen humanity …My friends, we come by these fairly easily…
But it is that same force drops us to our knees with this very realization.
And today we find ourselves at no other place but at the foot of the cross!
Our Christ is there waiting for Judas, at the right Time and at the right Hour this very afternoon! ...this weight on Judas’ shoulders can now be Jesus’. Because it is there that the Christ invites us, too, to leave our judge roles, our disloyalties, our condemnation of others, our wanting to be God, our seeking something that turns out to be evil…Today Jesus is the ONE waiting for US to give him the weight of our worlds as we realize the significance of all we have done and all we have left undone…
the weight on our shoulders is now Christ’s.
He can be Judas’ Emancipator, Judas’ Redeemer, and Savior. Today Jesus will be ours, too…This afternoon Jesus will be Crucified. JESUS will be THE CHRIST! It is the right Time and the right Hour for it is God’s. Amen.
