John: Judas. Someone Will Hang.

I've always wondered if that moment would come within a service, and the answer is yes.

It scared us to death at times during setup.

The building's not falling down.

Alright, so we're we're in John chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

Last week uh we're at this dinner party.

Uh Jesus is with his disciples.

Uh they're in the upper room in Jerusalem, it's before the Passover feast, and so they're they're there, and usually it's a little bit of review to catch some of you up.

And this is sort of a part two to last week's sermon because the subject matter just overlaps heavily.

So uh they're in this dinner party, it's called the Last Supper, and they arrive and they get there and they're up at the table in the upper room, and uh apparently there's no servant around to wash their feet.

So this is normal in their culture.

Uh they're wearing sandals, dirty roads, messy feet.

You'd walk into a home and and there'd be a servant there to wash your feet.

And if a servant was there, the the person of the lowliest kind of stature position within the group would wash the feet.

Now, what we talked about last week is what's going on is they're at the dinner table, nobody has has their feet washed at this point.

So no servant is there.

And nobody has gotten up from the table to do this.

In fact, the disciples are having this argument about who's the greatest among them.

And this is great.

So in the moment where somebody should be washing everybody else's feet, they're arguing about who's the greatest.

And so then Jesus decides, all right, well, this is a great moment here to teach a little bit of a lesson about importance and greatness and what this is really like.

And so he gets up, he takes his robe off, he ties a towel around his waist, fills a basin, he starts to wash everybody's feet.

And you could just, you know, you can imagine the feel in the room just coming to a silence of what is he doing?

Like he's the master, he's not the pupil.

This is not this is not for him to do.

I mean, Peter even has this little argument with him, like, oh, you can't, Jesus, you can't, you can't do this.

And he's teaching this important lesson that we don't have to use people to be important, that we're already important.

And that's what we talked about last week.

So this week, it's the same table, feet are washed.

Jesus is taught this lesson about importance, and then we pick up this very tragic story.

Same meal, same table, same group of guys around it.

And if you can picture it, it's a low table, low to the ground.

And probably couches were sort of lined up in like a U.

So Jesus would have been at kind of the bottom of the U, you know, so if you imagine that, and then everybody would be kind of reclined on their left arm, leaning over the table, you know, pinching food and eating it.

And so that's how they're kind of lined up here.

And it's just it's just another story about importance today.

But it's tragic.

And maybe, maybe you're maybe you're here.

Maybe you're here and you are waiting.

And maybe you can feel yourself grasping for this, or maybe you can't.

Maybe this morning you'll get that.

Um, you are waiting for somebody to tell you you're important.

I mean, you're waiting for your dad, you're waiting for your boss, you're waiting for your spouse, you're waiting for some some girl, some guy.

Just to tell some, will somebody just tell me that I matter?

Will somebody tell me I'm important?

Listen, it may never come.

We talked about this last week.

You know why?

Because that person you're you're waiting to tell you that?

They're they're waiting for somebody else to tell them that they're important.

And so we're all just sort of like waiting on each other to tell us we're important.

It's just this downward cycle of neediness and poverty.

And Jesus comes along and says, What I want to do is tell you, you're already important.

Like before, before receiving it from somebody else.

You're already important.

And maybe you're here and you don't feel that.

Right?

Maybe that's real.

Okay, maybe you can ascend to that intellectually, like, okay, I get that, but I don't feel that.

And I would just say, I know, I know what you're talking about.

I I've been there, I'm there often.

And we just have to learn it.

We have to trust in it, we have to rest in it, we have to read about it, we have to remember it over and over and over again.

So let's read this continued dinner party, John 13, jumping at verse 18.

We're going to read through 30 all at one time.

Bit of reading, you could you can follow with me in the bulletin.

I'm not referring to all of you, I know those I have chosen, but this is to fulfill the passage of Scripture.

He who shared my bread has turned against me.

I'm telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that I am who I am.

Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.

After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified.

And his disciples stared at one another.

I mean, they've been together for three years, they've traveled a lot, they've walked a lot, they've seen a lot, and they obviously have no clue what Jesus is talking about.

There's no kind of like, uh you know, well, there's the you know, the weak link is over there.

I mean, there's none of that feeling going on.

So this is this is this is news to them.

And they stare at one another at a loss to know which of them he meant.

I'd imagine if you're sitting there going, hope it's not me, hope it's not me.

One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, which was John, was reclining next to him.

Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, Hey, ask him which one he means.

Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, John leans back, Lord, who is it?

And Jesus answered, It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.

Then dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered him.

Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought, oh, sorry, but but no one at the meal, oh man, I'm I jumped a line, I'm forgive me, Satan entered him.

So Jesus told him, they were back on track, what you are about to do, do it quickly.

But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.

Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival or to give something to the poor.

As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out, and it was night.

So Jesus drops this bomb in verse 21.

An absolute bomb to the dinner party.

The awkwardness is now created.

Nobody understands what's going on.

Who is this?

And Peter saddles up to John somehow.

Hey, hey, ask them.

Like, you know, we know you're kind of tight with Jesus.

Can you ask?

Find out who it is.

And so they're reclining, left arms, kind of reclining.

So John just sort of leans back and asks Jesus, hey, who is it?

They don't know, they're at a loss.

I mean, just to think, I've never personalized Judas until this week.

I've never spent time thinking.

I've always just been, you know, he's the thief, he's the betrayer, he's the other, he's the them, and I'm in the us.

You know, like I got my act together, but I ain't Judas.

You know, I mean that guy, that's the that's the bad guy.

Well, apparently he's not so bad because the eleven don't even know who the guy is who's going to betray.

You just wonder.

I mean, Judas spent time with Jesus.

I mean, they've walked miles, they've been together for three years.

I mean, he could have asked Jesus a question.

I mean, he has seen Jesus be compassionate on the lowliest of people, thieves and prostitute.

I mean, so he could have asked Jesus a question.

Hey, this isn't playing out like I'm thinking, what's going on?

Here's the thoughts I'm having, here's what's going on in my heart, and I'm kind of scared of this.

I mean, he could have he never voiced anything.

I mean, he's seen Jesus cast out demons.

He saw Jesus uh restore sight to the blind, raise Lazarus, Jesus still a storm, walk on the sea, feed 5,000.

And and in each of this, um faith in Jesus grew in all the disciples, but apparently not in Judas.

So verse 23, John reclines back.

Who is Jesus?

Who is it?

And Jesus says in verse 26, well, it's the one I'm about to feed.

And somehow John misses it.

We don't know what happens at the dinner party.

Somehow John misses it when it occurs.

And Judas is dismissed.

Everybody just thinks he went on to sell some, give some food to some poor and stuff like that.

So even the fact that Judas was in charge of money, we know he's a smart guy.

He's no imbecile.

Smart guy.

But he's not getting it.

He's missing it.

So I I got I got sick this week.

I became sick this week.

Izzy got sick on Sunday.

Um she passed it right to me.

I'm very open to such things, apparently.

And so uh one of my kids gets sick, I'm just come on, bring it to me.

And so 24 hours I get sick, you know, and and I'm I was watching a good bit of television, I get sick, just kind of veg.

You all do the same thing, hopefully you do.

And so I watched a couple things this week and they hit me.

Um, and the first is this, and usually I'm not kind of anecdotal or quotes if you've picked up on that, but these two quotes kind of hit me pretty strongly this week.

Um so the first is an interview with with uh Seinfeld is interviewing Howard Stern.

Now, I'm not much for Howard Stern, but I am much for Jerry.

I mean, it's kind of like Jesus and then Jerry is Quiet Time and then a Seinfeld episode.

I mean, this is sort of my life.

And so if Seinfeld's involved, I'm gonna watch it.

So he's interviewing Howard Stern.

Howard Stern gets in the car, he sits down, and so the interview's part of the interview's in a car, and it has an old radio.

You know, the old radios where you pushed in the button to change the radio station.

And Howard Stern sees the radio and he says, Oh, I haven't seen one of these in a long time.

My dad used to have one of these in his car.

And he says, You know, you know, that's why I went into radio.

And Jerry says, Well, what is that?

And he said, Yeah, he said, My dad, Howard Stern says, My dad loved radio, but he never listened to me.

And I just figured if I could get in the radio, he would have to listen to me.

Oh, okay, that's actually pretty heavy, right?

I mean, it's pretty insightful.

Howard Stern.

I mean, pretty insightful reflection there.

Hold on to that one.

I kind of hold on to that.

All right, so then I'm watching the news later in the week.

Um, some new letters came out uh between uh Jackie Kennedy and a priest in Ireland.

They had been writing letters back and forth uh when Jackie and John F.

Kennedy got married, and so some of these letters came out, and it's her just sort of like venting and confiding in clergy.

This happens, by the way.

Um and so I didn't know I didn't know you could write letters with a married woman.

I'm not comfortable with that, but apparently that was going on.

So in this letter, she's she's just married, and she's writing about JFK's womanizing.

And she writes this He loves the chase and is bored with the conquest, and once married, needs proof he's still attractive.

So he flirts with other women and resents you.

I I share that because that's a lot easier to share than to share about my friends who have had an affair.

Right?

It's easier just to read a quote about John F.

Kennedy than to share the reality.

I mean, even even this week, we had a friend who started into an affair, and luckily the brakes got put on it.

And we're what we're looking for proof.

We're looking for proof.

Proof I'm still attractive, proof I'm important, proof if I if I get in the radio, if I get in the radio, he'll listen to me, and then maybe he'll voice something to me, and then I'll have proof I'm important.

And we'll go to illegitimate means.

This is idolatry.

We've been talking about this.

This is idolatry.

We'll go to illegitimate means to get proof we matter.

So I'm asking, what's going on with Judas?

Okay, so he's the thief, he's the betrayer, but he's a person, right?

And I'm a person.

Alright, so what's going on in him?

Because what's going on in him can go on in me.

Go on in JFK, can go on in Howard Stern.

So what's going on here?

Why does he how can he betray a friend like this?

What's playing out?

How can he start stealing money?

What's playing out here?

Well, we don't really know, but we can take some guesses.

I think the first logical guess is when he signed up, he thinks Jesus is the Messiah in terms of a Jewish mindset that we're gonna take over Israel.

And I'm gonna be a big deal.

Like I'm in early.

Like I'm a big shareholder early on.

And so when we take over, I'm a big deal.

We're gonna overthrow, we're gonna overthrow the authorities.

Jesus is gonna take over the rule of the nation, and I am right behind him.

And when I walk into a store, I walk into a restaurant, I walk down the street, people are gonna know my name.

I'm gonna be a big deal.

I'm gonna have a lot of influence.

And Judas is, I am game for that.

And I'm guessing, I'm guessing, work with me.

Slowly he's picking up, maybe picking up on it faster than the other disciples.

It's not going down this way.

It's not gonna play out like this.

And so at some point he starts to scramble.

Maybe you felt your heart do this.

All right, so so my importance isn't working out this way, so you start to scramble.

I got I've got to find something to give me proof I'm important, and so he starts to steal money.

Alright, so I'm not gonna get it by influence of ruling a nation.

So I'm scrambling.

I need something to give me the proof.

And so I'm gonna start to steal a little bit of money because money money is a very available substitute for God.

If we can't have influence, maybe maybe some money will make us feel better.

I remember when I was in fourth grade, my parents started talking about buying a beach condo.

I can remember being in fourth grade holder, maybe, I don't know, 10?

Are you 10 in fourth grade?

Any fourth graders in here, somewhere around there?

I can remember thinking, oh wow, look at us.

I can't remember, but no other kid in this little middle class neighborhood has a beach condo.

I can remember thinking, feel very impressed with myself, like I did anything with this.

Well, they never bought it.

A few years later, my parents separate.

We go from being double-income, comfortable home to single-income teacher salary.

I don't think my mother bought herself something for ten years.

I don't remember her buying a shirt.

I don't remember her buying a CD.

Ten years.

Money is a very available God.

For me, coming out of that, uh, security is very important to me.

Money makes me feel secure.

If I have that cushion, feel very secure with that.

Um here's what's interesting with my job, and maybe it clicked last year.

Uh I had breakfast with a guy probably worth$200 million, and then I had lunch with a guy worth nothing.

I don't I don't know, maybe maybe worth under nothing.

Um in the same day.

And um socially, for some reason, because of my job, I'm I'm accepted into a range of socioeconomic classes.

No matter where I fit, my bank account fits, I'm accepted.

It's like I'm I'm I'm void kind of of filing me, and so I can be accepted.

And that's a very interesting position because you start to learn certain things about money.

Um, and here's what I've learned about money by by being with very wealthy people and being with very normal people, being with very poor people.

Here's what I've learned about money.

Uh, money, life costs money.

We just kind of agree on that.

Everybody, yeah, okay, got that, right?

Like there's just things that cost money.

So we've got to care about money a little bit.

Money helps life work easier, but it can also complicate things.

It can make life more comfortable, right?

We agree on that.

Can money make life more comfortable?

Sure.

Um, it can bring a lot of fun.

Uh it can make average people look good, right?

We've seen this, right?

It can.

Here's what it can't do: it cannot bring security to your fragile soul.

It has no power for that.

None.

It cannot validate you.

The security of the wealthy person and the middle class person and the poor person, it's it has nothing to do with money.

So that grasping or going to money for that proof that I matter, it won't work.

It has no power for that.

Here's what Judas misses.

And we know this by him starting to steal the money, and him being willing to betray Jesus.

Here's what Judas misses.

We can't miss this.

It's sort of the crux of the sermon here.

There's a poverty in your heart that is so poor, only the riches of God can restore.

There's a poverty in your heart and in my heart, and it's it is so poor, only the riches of God can restore it.

So Judas leaves the group and he starts to look for his moment to betray Jesus.

Maybe it's possible he's just really frustrated with Jesus.

Because he thought it was going to play out a certain way and it didn't.

I mean, it's possible he's feeling very frustrated with Jesus.

Maybe he even feels betrayed by Jesus.

Maybe he justified it into that, where he goes, Well, I signed up for this and Jesus is turning it this way, and actually he betrayed me, so I will betray him, right?

Possible.

And he goes to the chief priest and he says, I'll sell them out.

I'll sh I'll give them over.

I'll hand them over to you.

He sells them out for 30 pieces of silver.

This is about$220.

So either Judas is the worst negotiator in history.

$220 to sell to sell Jesus over to authorities who are waiting for him?

That's a horrible negotiation.

Or Judas is just so frazzled and grasping that he's just sort of out of his mind at this point.

So he leads the authorities to the Garden of Gethsemane.

He's at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

There's olive trees all over, a little dry place, these low trees with branches everywhere, and the soldiers don't know which one is Jesus.

And so Judas says, Well, I'll kiss him, and then you'll know which one.

And so Judas walks up and kisses Jesus, hands him over.

So Jesus is in prison, he's beaten, he's crucified, and the guilt for Judas is overwhelming.

Just mounting.

He goes back to the chief priest, he throws the money down at their feet, and he says, I've sinned and I've betrayed innocent blood.

He can't handle it.

He is falling apart.

And Judas had purchased a field at some point.

He goes to the field, they think it's over the valley of Hennan, and he goes to the field and he gets up into a tree and he ties a rope around a branch of a tree and he ties the rope around his neck.

And he jumps off the branch.

He hangs himself.

Now the Bible is a couple different places where it talks about it.

Either the branch broke and his body falls down on the rocks and just breaks open, or the impact of the hang split his body open and his insides came out.

I don't share that because it's gross and big.

I should just the scriptures share it.

This is where he ended up.

And maybe you're here, you feel like you're hanging over a cliff.

Because the weight of guilt is so heavy.

And it's not today.

If it's not today, it's tomorrow, right?

If you don't feel guilty today, you'll feel guilty tomorrow or another day.

See, you feel guilty, and I feel guilty because we were created for God by God, and we don't do that very well.

And so guilt exists because he is due our loyalty and our reverence and our constant consideration.

And we don't do it very well.

Because of our poverty.

Here's the good news.

At the table back in John 13, Jesus knows who's gonna betray him.

And what does he do?

Well, first he washes Judas' feet.

And then he he he goes to him and he serves him the bread and the wine.

He this is a symbolic of serving him himself.

See, Jesus is not broadcasting your sin.

Isn't that an interesting dynamic there?

Here's the moment in front of the 12 intimate group.

Jesus could have sold them out.

Jesus could have broadcast the sin.

And Jesus doesn't do it all.

He sort of kind of hides, kind of disguises the comment, and then somehow he gets with Judas apart from everybody else recognizing what's going on.

And he just says to him, Go and do what you're going to do.

He doesn't broadcast it.

He's taking the sin upon himself so he might give us his righteousness.

Here's what we see in the story.

There will be a sacrifice for your guilt.

Either you will hang or you will receive and accept that Jesus hung for you.

Somebody will hang.

See, if you do not receive Jesus hung for you, you will hang yourself.

You will punish yourself emotionally, maybe physically, maybe religiously.

If I can just get good enough, if I can just be devoted enough, just start the scoreboard.

I didn't do well today, I'll do better tomorrow.

I'm going to beat myself into being a good person, and it's a downward cycle because of the poverty in you.

And you're hanging yourself.

Either you hang or Jesus hangs.

The good news is you don't have to hang.

You don't have to hang yourself.

He hung on a cross so we don't have to hang ourselves.

See, when at the table, when Jesus leans in real close to Judas and he feeds him the body and the blood, the bread and the wine, here's what Jesus is saying.

He's saying, Judas, I see you.

I see you.

I see it all.

And I love you.

Will you receive this?

Or you can go hang yourself.

So Jesus is saying this morning.

I see you and I love you.

You don't have to try to make yourself important by ruling a nation.

You don't have to make yourself important by having 30 more pieces of silver.

It won't work.

Your poverty is too poor.

Either you'll hang yourself or you'll receive that I hung for you.

When we come to the table, this is what this is.

It's this moment of Jesus giving himself to us.

It's symbolic of the body and the blood that was broken and shed for us and given to us.

We don't have to hang.

He hung for us.

Let's pray together.

God, we come before you and we ask for forgiveness for trying to find importance in places where it has no power.

There's no power.

Using people to feel important, trying to get a word out of our mom or our dad or our spouse.

Oh, it feels good, but ultimately we're going to keep searching.

Would we hear from you?

Would we understand inside of our hearts that you love sinners?

And that you got up from the table.

And you took your robe off and tied a towel around your waist and filled a basin, and that you come to us and you wash our feet.

And that you feed us.

You feed our hearts.

So that the poverty can begin to go away.

I see you.

I see you.

I love you.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.