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Again from St. Matthew, chapter 26. And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.” Thus far the text.
Betrayal. It is perhaps the most painful of experiences. It can raise powerful emotions, putting the betrayer as well as the betrayed in great danger. It’s one of the reasons our prisons are so full. When crimes are committed by two or more people and one of them gets caught, chances are that the one who’s been caught is going to betray his partner or partners in exchange for leniency. Of course, even if you do get let off, but your partner goes to jail, you’d better watch your back when he gets out. The cost of betrayal can be very high indeed. Jesus died as a result of his betrayal by Judas, and Judas, filled with remorse, later committed suicide. Yet ironically, betrayal’s sorrow leads to salvation’s joy.
First, let us consider betrayal’s sorrow. The disciples have gathered together for what’s going to be their last supper with Jesus. It’s the Passover, the annual celebration recalling Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The Paschal Lamb, whose blood was painted on the doorposts, protected every home from the angel of death when it passed over. The firstborn in every Egyptian home perished, but not so among the Israelites. In the Last Supper, Jesus teaches His disciples the true meaning of the Passover. The Passover Lamb, of course, is Jesus Himself. He is the one whose death and whose shed blood caused the angel of death to pass over all of those who believe in Him.
But as of this night, Jesus has not yet been crucified, and the disciples are still confused and unwilling to believe that Jesus will die. The Last Supper is not going to make much sense to them until after Easter. By Thursday evening, everything is ready for the Passover, and much happens at this last meal together. Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, teaching them something of servanthood. He institutes the Lord’s Supper, taking bread and wine from the table, blessing it, and by His Word, making it His body and blood. He gives it to His disciples to eat and to drink, telling them that this is a meal of remembrance, but more importantly, it’s a meal of forgiveness.
As they all partake, He reveals to them a dark secret, one of betrayal lurking in the heart of one of their own. Matthew tells us that when Jesus breaks this news that one of them is a betrayer, the room explodes with emotion. Our text says they were very sorrowful. But they were far more than just very, very sad. The Greek says that they were violently pained, vehemently distressed, and greatly sorrowful. When Jesus breaks this news, they don’t just dab at the corner of their eye with a hanky. There’s anger, shouting, finger-pointing, weeping, suspicion, accusations. A torrent of feelings breaks loose. One after another, the frantic disciples barrage Jesus. “Is it I, Lord?” they all ask. They all ask the same question. All but one of them, that is.
Finally, Jesus answers, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.” And then he gets more specific, because many of them, of course, had dipped their hand into the bowl with him. To clarify, Jesus says, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Jesus gave the bread to Judas. Notice how much we can learn about Judas in the way that he responds to this news of betrayal.
First, he doesn’t join in with the other disciples in asking, “Is it I, Lord?” He already knows the answer to that question. His silence when the others protest convicts him. Only when Jesus gives him the bread does he ask, “Is it I, Rabbi?” Even the form of this question tells us something about Judas. The others address Jesus as Lord, but Judas simply calls him Rabbi. You’re just another teacher, he’s telling Jesus. You’re not my Lord. What brings about this change in Judas from faithful disciple to betrayer? Perhaps he’s still smarting from the scolding that he got over that perfume incident a few days earlier. Jesus had basically told Judas to get off his high horse and leave poor Mary alone. And at least 16 people heard this rebuke.
Maybe Judas was just eager to seek revenge. After all, we know that he was not a man of particularly good character. John tells us that as treasurer for the disciples, Judas used to help himself to the money bag. That poured out perfume on Jesus’ feet represented a lot of money that Judas wasn’t going to get. But scolding or not, St. John gives us the best explanation of Judas’ reasons. As soon as Judas took the bread from Jesus, Satan entered into him, we are told. And Satan, of course, is always behind lies and betrayals. Satan is the one who convinces us that God has dealt us an unfair hand and that we somehow deserve better.
Satan tells us that we have the right to vengeance or theft or whatever means we might want to get what we’ve been denied or think we should have. And as soon as we buy Satan’s argument and we act on it in this way, he controls us. One evil deed leads to another in rapid succession, just as it did with Judas. But why does Judas leave in such a hurry after Jesus points him out as the betrayer? Well, think about it for a moment. The emotions that were running around that table were quite high. The disciples weren’t just sad. They were violently pained and vehemently distressed.
In other words, they were so grieved and angry that they probably could have killed Judas. Peter, after all, was there, quick-tempered and armed with a sword. Not only did Judas have business to take care of with the devil, he may have feared for his very own life. After all, he was betraying the disciples’ very best friend. They had eaten and traveled with Jesus. They had withstood storms on the Sea of Galilee together. They had heard Jesus speak the truths about the kingdom of God. They had shared intimate conversations with him and with one another, all in the context of following Jesus, whom they believed to be the Messiah.
And now, that trust was being betrayed. And do you know what betray means? It means to deliver up, or to give over, or to reveal, or to expose. Judas is going to deliver Jesus up to murderers. He’s not just going to hang Him out to dry. He’s going to hang Him out to bleed. Every emotion that betrayal can arouse, from deep sorrow to violent rage, came out when the disciples found out that Judas was going to betray Jesus. If I’d been Him, I would have run away too.
But there’s good news here to tell as well. Besides the bad news of betrayal’s sorrow, there’s the good news of salvation’s joy. Two great promises are spoken by Jesus there at the Last Supper. Promises that provide the solutions to all of our hurts. Neither of these promises could ever have been fulfilled if Jesus had not been betrayed. One of these promises is forgiveness. Though Jesus is betrayed by one of His closest friends, though His betrayal results in unspeakable torture and even His death, it brings to you and me the forgiveness of our sins. And sin is ultimately the cause of all of our hurts.
It has gripped our world and infested our hearts ever since Adam. It twists our mind and our loyalties. It motivates every wrong word, every wrong thought, every wrong action. And it’s a disease that has infected not just Judas, but all of the disciples, all of Jesus’ friends, all of his enemies, and you and me as well. Sin is at the root of every physical ailment we experience, and it’s the real root cause of our eventual deaths. But in God’s plan, this evil intent of others, the very act of sinning, becomes the means for our salvation.
Judas, in his treachery, betrays Jesus into the hands of evil men. As Peter told his listeners later at Pentecost, “This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death.” Why was this God’s plan? Well, it happened so that everyone would repent of sin, be baptized in the name of Jesus, receive forgiveness, and experience the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Why? It may seem like an odd chain of events in our way of thinking. Mary’s sacrificial gift moves Judas’ sinful heart to complain. A scolding by Jesus becomes perhaps the last straw for Judas. Evil men arrest Jesus as He is praying in the garden. Jealous high priests convict Him. A weak and a vacillating governor condemns Jesus to death. The Lord is with us. And in a great mystery, at the same time it is both the work of the devil and of sinners, and yet it’s also the plan of God.
What is intended to be a self-serving murder becomes instead the selfless sacrifice that saves us all. But how? How does it save us? By faith, working through the means of grace, that’s how, through simple things available to everyone, God applies the saving work of Jesus to sinners, sinners who believe. Believe this good news of His loving sacrifice and know because of it you are forgiven. Be baptized into the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and know that you are forgiven. Eat and drink the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in His supper. Believe those words given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins and know that you are forgiven.
Word and sacrament. Sacrament and word. It’s all the same gospel. The same joyful news of forgiveness. But that’s not all. Along with the promise of forgiveness, there’s the joyful certainty that we will be in heaven with Jesus. As the Last Supper ends, Jesus tells His remaining disciples, “I tell you that I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Amen. That means we’re going to be with Jesus. Celebrating with Him in what the book of Revelation calls the marriage feast of the Lamb.
We’ll be gathered together with Jesus in heaven. We’ll feast with Him in joy, never again having to experience embarrassment or betrayal or suffering or death or any of the other consequences of sin. They’ll all be gone. There’ll be no fear, no hatred, no anger and no sorrow. Only rejoicing. And Jesus will be there to wipe away every tear of sin or sorrow that has ever stained your face.
And on that day, when you see Jesus face to face, your bowl of sorrow will become an overflowing cup of great joy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, You know better than we do that nothing brings greater sorrow than betrayal. Your own friend betrayed you to evil men who crucified you. Yet in the marvelous plan of God, your betrayal, suffering, and death are the very path to joy since through them our sins are taken away and we are forgiven. Grant us faith in this good news, that we might rejoice with you in heaven, where you will wipe away every tear. In your holy name we pray. Amen.
