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It is hard for me to accept that a disciple of Christ who
experienced His love for three years, suddenly decided to betray His Lord for a
mere thirty pieces of silver to satisfy his own greed. Mary’s sacrifice spent on the feet of Christ
was worth more than that. Believers
would be inclined to donate, and if needed, Judas could employ miracles in
exchange for “donations” if all he wanted was to become richer
financially. There were easier ways to
make money off Christ, than betraying Him to His death for a lousy thirty
coins. Why kill the golden-goose, so to
speak? In our day, many a charlatan uses
the name of Christ, and preys on the faith of believers to enrich his own bank
account. All through time, ministers
claiming to be sent of God, ask for money they can hoard, instead of employ,
and all in the name of Christ. It has
become nearly an industry. Judas, being
a thinking man, might well have pioneered this industry if money were his only
end game. But I believe it was more than
that.
What is much easier for me to accept, perhaps because I have
seen it happen in the mirror; is to believe that Judas looked to his own
scriptural understandings to shape the course of his life. He was taught from youth what the nature of
the Messiah meant to his nation, and to himself. He heard no dissenting opinions by the
learned-men of the nation on this topic.
Ironically, had Christ ever employed His power to assert dominance over
Rome, the priests and leaders would have fallen behind Him in a minute. Instead Christ taught a completely different
version or understanding about the nature of the mission of the Messiah, one in
which power was NOT the answer. This was
a message that doomed the Jewish people to remain under the power of Rome. And as such, it could not be accepted by the
teachers who daily told the people the wrong ideas. The humility of Christ stood as a stark
contrast to the struggle of the leaders of His day to maintain power and
control over their religion and their people.
The love and care Christ showed for the under-class, treating them as He
would a king, making no distinction – upset every cultural value they had
relied on to date. It was
revolutionary. It was undermining. It was counter to everything the leaders
taught, and perhaps too, to what Judas believed. The decisions and actions Judas took, may
well have been because He refused to accept what Christ said, and continued to
believe his own ideas instead.
When we try to “help” God achieve His mission, we often take
actions that instead, end in a nightmare for everyone involved. I do not believe Judas thought the ending of
this story would unfold as it did. I
believe he envisioned an ending of traditional designs, where Christ would be
king, Judas would be His number two, the Romans would be banished, the
Pharisees humbled, the nation saved, and Israel the predominant country to last
forever under the leadership of Christ.
It was a nice dream. It was an
engrained understanding of scripture. It
was a choice to cling to his own ideas, and doctrines, and values, and it would
lead him to see Christ die for it.
Instead of effecting the kingship of His Lord, he would witness the
torture and death of His Lord. His dream
would become a nightmare. As will ours,
if we follow the same path of trusting to our own wisdom, instead of accepting
the leadership of Christ alone.
John omits in his gospel, the agony, and the glory of the
final struggle of Christ in the garden.
Instead John moves from the long communion of Christ with His faithful
few, to the betrayal and how it took place.
Perhaps John thought the struggle in Gethsemane already covered well
enough in other gospels, or perhaps he simply thought the pre-amble more
important to emphasize. But I do believe
in John’s account there is an implied passage of time within the first few
verses of Johns gospel chapter 18 as in verse one we find … “When Jesus had
spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron,
where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.” Perhaps the final agonizing struggle of
Christ occurred then, perhaps it had already taken place. But John continues in verse 2 … “And Judas
also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither
with his disciples. [verse 3] Judas then, having received a band of men and
officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and
torches and weapons.” This part of the
plan would have to be difficult for Christ by design in order for it to work in
the mind of Judas. Christ must
understand His life is in jeopardy, in order for His human side to use His
divine power to save Himself and His friends.
John continues in verse 4 … “Jesus therefore, knowing all
things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
[verse 5] They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.” So far, so good, for Judas’ plan – Christ
steps forward, asserts leadership and asks who they want, then identifying
Himself as their object. John writes in
verse 6 … “As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward,
and fell to the ground. [verse 7] Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And
they said, Jesus of Nazareth. [verse 8] Jesus answered, I have told you that I
am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: [verse 9] That the
saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I
lost none.” Now things were unfolding
exactly like Judas had dreamed. Christ
answers “I am he” and an entire company of armed soldiers recognizes the
divinity flashing through His humanity, and they are powerless to resist,
falling backwards to the ground. The
voice of God, even in only 3 small words, is more than the force of their entire
armed company. This is what Judas wants. Christ further asserts, that those who are
with him, are of no concern to this mob, so they should be let go. No one intends to argue that point. The power of His voice is irresistible. No sense to debate taking men the Pharisees
could care less about at this point. So
far, all is as Judas desired.
But John then begins to twist the hopes and dreams of Judas
as he continues the story in verse 10 … “Then Simon Peter having a sword drew
it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The
servant's name was Malchus. [verse 11] Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy
sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink
it?” First, there was no need for Peter
being impetuous. Christ had already
flattened this mob with His voice. But
Christ’s words were now devastating to Judas.
Instead of seizing power, He intended to be taken. Instead of becoming King, He would accept His
betrayal. He considered this cup of woe,
to be the will of His Father, and part of His mission and intended to go
through with it. This was the nightmare
ending, Judas had not envisioned. The
words and teachings of Christ of a sacrificial lamb that must be offered in
order for the people to be redeemed, the broken body, the wine that would
symbolize His blood, all the teachings come flooding back into the mind of
Judas. And now he is left with the
inescapable conclusion, Christ intends to be that sacrifice. Instead of pushing His Lord into a kingship,
He has betrayed His Lord unto death.
Judas has done this. Judas played
this role.
John closes out the last hopes of Judas as he continues in
verse 12 .. “Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus,
and bound him, [verse 13] And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in
law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. [verse 14] Now
Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one
man should die for the people.” Christ
allowed Himself to be bound. He heals
the ear of His enemy, though John does not explicitly state that here. But He is carried away to the homes of His
enemies to Annas, and to Caiaphas. These
men intend to kill Christ, and Judas knows that. He was counting on that. He needed the threat of death to push Christ
into becoming king. So the threat is
real, and is fully understood by Judas, and by Christ. But instead of wielding the power Judas knows
Christ has within Himself, the power that only recently put a whole company of
armed men on their backs. Christ
submits.
Power then, is not to be measured by its employment after
all, but by its restraint. Hosts of
heavenly angels, much more powerful than the wicked men who now threaten and
injure their Lord, are at the ready.
They long to protect He who they love.
They long to take righteous retribution on these evil men, giving to
them the punishment they have earned, and keeping their Lord safe from the
insults, and pain He will now endure, and is enduring. This angelic army defeated the forces of
Satan before and cast them out of heaven.
They would be happy to do it again, and foil the plans of greedy
men. But with all their power and all
their might, and despite all their love for their Lord, they are restrained by
the will of God, and of Christ. Power
could have solved this danger for Christ, but it would have perpetuated our
demise and our suffering. He was here
for this very purpose. He came to take
on our well-deserved punishment. And
despite His ability to extricate Himself from the pain, the danger, and the
imminent death, He restrains Himself, and submits.
But the ultimate power, was and remains the power of God the
Father. God who could speak creation
into existence by the sheer power of His own will. God the Father who loves NOTHING more than
His own Son, His only Son. God the
Father, must now sit restrained and allow what happens to Christ to happen,
without interference, without intercession, without disruption. He will not reduce the pain of Christ in
order that He might bear this punishment.
He will not take away the death that is coming. He will not comfort His son, as now His son
bears the sins of us all. The Father
must instead bear witness to what occurs without doing anything to stop
it. This is the price of sin. This is the pain that now the Father must
bear, because of the choices we embrace.
In order to redeem that which He loves, He must see His son suffer what
we have chosen. The power of the God of
the universe is not used to spare His son, or keep His own son from pain. Instead all that power and all that might is
silent in the face of our pain. He
allows His son to bear our punishment, in order that we might be redeemed and
reconciled to Himself.
This mission was a partnership of Father and Son to redeem
us. Both love us so much, that they
would endure this to see us redeemed.
Either of them had the power to end it.
They could at a moment’s notice simply end the whole thing. To endure this was a choice both would have
to make, and see that choice through to the end. It was not a situation where at the last
minute they could be spared. Evil had
brought death into the universe, and Christ must endure death in order to see
us freed from its embrace. Judas had his
understanding of power from the designs of Satan. Satan employs power to control. Satan preserves self above all others. Satan uses power over others to force them
into slavery and compliance. Whereas God
used power to save Himself nothing. His
power was restrained in full, allowing a weak species to inflict maximum pain,
insults, and torture upon the very embodiment of power. Christ would submit to losing His life. Christ would submit instead of rising
up. Christ would submit instead of
control. Christ would define love,
showing there are NO limits to how far love will go to save another.
This thinking was something Judas could not grasp. This thinking did not make sense. It was counter to every human instinct. It was stupid. It was ridiculous. It would save us. It would redeem us. It was simply too high a price to pay for
us. We were not worth this. We are still not worth this. We do not deserve our redemption at this
cost. We are unworthy. And yet, Christ will pay this cost
anyway. Love will go this far
anyway. Christ will submit, in spite of
the ease with which He could have become a king. It was a nightmare ending for the dreams of
Judas. It was a paradox his mind could
not get around. It happened because at
the end of it all, he, like Lucifer before him, trusted in his own ideas about
what made sense, what was logical, and not in what Christ had said. When we modern Christians decide that our
unique understanding of scriptures is the “only” version of truth there is, we
follow the logic of Judas. When we put
our faith in our great leaders to explain the meaning of truth to us, instead
of finding it on our knees in submission to Christ, we follow the path of Judas. When we attempt control, instead of
submission, we become Judas. Knowing the
love of Christ in a personal relationship was not enough to save Judas from
himself. Because despite feeling the
love of Christ, Judas was never willing to let go what he trusted in, and cling
only to trust in Christ. Modern
Christians are no less at risk today.
When we prize our doctrines ahead of our Savior, when we prize judgment
over redemptive love, when we seek to exclude, rather than to redeem – we
demonstrate our own ideas are what we trust on, and submission is not in our
thinking.
Power was not the mechanism by which sin would be removed
from the universe, Love is …
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