Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

Father in heaven, we humbly come before you as we open up your word, as we consider how

Judas and the way he lived his life, how he betrayed your blessed son, and how he was

unrepentant, and we consider his demise, Lord, help us to ultimately flee to you, Lord, that

we would take heed, take and heed these words in front of us, and that it would go by your

spirit deep into our heart as a warning to us, but Lord, that we wouldn't simply be afraid,

but we would see godly fear, but also, Lord, we would see the great benefit of what it means

to be your child, to be your son or your daughter, that it is truly the best thing, the most

right thing we could ever do, and it is offered to us because of what Christ has done on the

cross.

So, Lord, help us to be humble, help us to have hearts ready to receive, and we pray this in

Christ's name, amen.

Have you ever seen that optical illusion that, depending on the perspective you have, you

either see a young and elegant woman or a haggard old lady?

You guys know what picture that is?

I put it on the overhead, we don't have an overhead.

Maybe I'll include it in the Sunday follow-up, but it's a remarkable picture, and then people

have done other pictures that the one perspective, you know, looks like, I don't know, one thing,

and the other perspective looks totally different.

It was actually, it finds, I looked it up, it finds its genesis in, like, the turn of the century,

about the turn of the century, but it was popularized by a British cartoonist named William

Eli Hill in the 1910s, and he named the picture my wife and my mother-in-law.

That is, that is something else.

My mother-in-law, that's not, does not go for me.

I love my mother-in-law, she's lovely.

But it's so interesting how you can have one picture, and you can see only the one image,

and yet, you have to almost take a step back and readjust to see the second image.

But what you can't do, is you can't see both images at the exact same time.

And if you can, I don't know, maybe you have a trick, but by and large, you can't see both

images at the same time.

Jesus has conquered all.

He has died on the cross.

The death tried to consume him, and he uses death itself to destroy death, by rising again

after three days in the grave.

And he hasn't just defeated death by rising from the grave, but he ascends into heaven,

and it is this wonderful picture of Jesus and his victory, his victory over sin and death

and evil.

And he offers this salvation to all people.

And it is our very heart's desire to know and be known, to love and be loved for all

of eternity, and this is precisely what he offers in the cross.

And yet, there are many people who do not see this when they look at Jesus, but rather see

the cross as folly, as hate-filled, as bigoted and even dangerous.

How on earth can this one beautiful thing, the cross, be at once for us and those that

are being saved, those that are being drawn to him?

How can it look so beautiful, and then others, it can be such an object of scorn?

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1.18, he also repeats it in a few other places in his

letters.

He'll say this,

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being

saved, it is the power of God.

Like the young lady, old woman, optical illusion, Christ is either the wonderful Savior or he's

terribly problematic.

He cannot be both.

This also is actually the same from Christ's perspective.

We are either wheat or tares, we are either sheep or goats, either we are his friends or

we are his enemies.

We cannot occupy a middle ground, for there is none.

Again, the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being

saved, it is the power of God.

Friends, this is a difficult teaching.

We like the nativity Christ who's meek and mild.

We don't necessarily like the knight clad in white who will defeat all his foes with

the word of his mouth.

And yet, this is the ultimate picture of Christ in the book of Revelation, the conquering knight

who has defeated all his foes.

It's an interesting question to ask.

Do you find yourself as a friend of God or as his enemy?

We find ourselves in Acts chapter 1, the second part of Acts chapter 1, with his disciples

Acts 1 · chapter mention Acts 1 · chapter mention

in Jerusalem.

They are devoting themselves to prayer.

They are united in purpose.

And they are obeying Jesus in waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

And our section covers the 10 days after the ascension and before Pentecost.

10 days for when Jesus ascends to heaven and when the Holy Spirit comes down.

And what's interesting, in 10 days worth of happenings, this is the only story that is recorded

in those 10 days.

Maybe there is other significant things that have happened or that happened in that time,

but we have no idea.

Luke here, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, records only this one story.

So it's important.

It's not merely a narrative filler, but something critical to help us to understand what it means

to be either a friend of God or what it means to be an enemy of God.

So to help us understand this, you know, I didn't come up with any lovely points, but

we're going to look at three people, in a sense.

We're going to look at Judas, who is the traitor.

We're going to look at Peter, who is the friend.

And ultimately, we're going to look at Christ, who is the knower of all hearts.

So why don't we jump into our first, take a look at our first person, Judas, the traitor,

and see what we can learn from this section.

So look with me, Acts chapter 1, starting in the 15th verse.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

We'll go 15 to 20 here.

When they returned to Jerusalem from the mount, called Olivet, oh, verse 12, I'll go down to 15.

In those days, Peter stood up among the brothers.

The company of persons was in all, about 120, and said,

Brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas,

who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in the ministry, in this ministry.

Verses 18 and 19 seem to be Luke's commentary in this.

And this is what he says,

Now this man, speaking of Judas, acquired a field.

With the reward of his wickedness and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle,

and all his bowels gushed out.

And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

so that the field was called in their own language,

Ekeldama, that is, the field of blood.

Verse 20.

This is Peter now.

For it is written in the book of Psalms,

May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it,

and let another take his office.

Quoting from Psalm 69 and 109, respectively.

Judas Iscariot, he was one of the twelve.

He was called by Jesus.

And yet, he became, as Peter called him,

the guide to those who arrested Jesus.

He was offended at the scandalous nature of the good news of Jesus Christ,

and as such became an active enemy agent.

Quite the turnaround from a trusted, close disciple of Jesus.

He was one of the twelve.

He was the inner circle,

Jesus had many followers,

but he was the inner circle of Jesus' disciples.

And then he became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

And what was his fate?

In the Gospels, it says that he killed himself.

And yet, here, it says that he bought a field and fell headlong into it.

Now, there is a discrepancy,

at least from the Gospels to Acts,

and there is, I think, a fine way of harmonizing the two.

I think I'll end up,

by the way, I'll put it in the Sunday follow-up.

I hope you guys got that this week.

I'm trying it out.

If it works, great.

If it's not so helpful,

we can scrap it for something else.

But I'm not going to talk about how

the Gospel accounts of Luke's,

sorry, of Judas' suicide,

how it harmonizes with what Luke says here in Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

But nevertheless,

Luke records here that Judas bought a field

with the blood money he used to betray Jesus,

and he fell headlong in the field,

and his guts poured out,

his bowels poured out.

So the question,

it's an interesting question.

Why would Luke break from the Gospel narratives

to talk about Judas hanging himself?

This is not in the Gospel narratives.

Why does he mention it?

And I think there's a really interesting answer.

In fact, Luke,

he is constantly,

and we'll see this throughout Luke,

he constantly connects

what's happening with the church

with the Old Testament.

There's allusions constantly

to the Old Testament text.

And I think this is one of them.

So we see this,

a similar story,

in 2 Samuel chapter 20

2 Samuel 20 · chapter mention

with Joab.

If we have any Bible scholars

and they know who Joab was,

he was the former general

of King David's army.

He was trusted by King David.

And Joab betrays David.

He kills two people

that David did not authorize.

It was a form of betrayal.

But the second person he killed

was Amasa,

the general that was going to take over

for him,

that in a sense,

Joab was looked over for Amasa.

What does he do?

In 2 Samuel chapter 20,

2 Samuel 20 · chapter mention

to sum it up,

he greets Amasa with a kiss.

And without Amasa knowing,

he has a knife on his left side

and he uses it

to stab Amasa in the stomach.

And it says that

Amasa's intestines poured out

and he died on the road.

He betrayed Amasa

and really King David with a kiss.

And then we have this interesting bit

about the way Amasa died,

the one he betrayed.

Joab was a traitor

and he killed in a cowardly way.

And later on in 1 Kings chapter 2,

1 Kings 2 · chapter mention

we see that he is killed

in a just way,

but in a coward's,

he gets what's coming to him

in a very cowardly way himself.

He cowers and he is killed

at the command of King Solomon.

So with Judas,

the one who would betray

the King of Kings with a kiss,

it's interesting.

And imagine with me here,

if truly Luke is connecting

this story of Judas

to the Old Testament betrayer,

Joab,

we see a betrayal of the King

with a kiss.

And although Judas doesn't take a knife

and thrust it through Jesus' stomach,

we end up having Judas suffer

the same fate

that Joab inflicted on Amasa.

That is to say

that retribution happened

for Judas

because he was a coward,

because he was a betrayer,

because he was a traitor.

He would suffer a fate

similar to the one

that Joab visited upon Amasa.

Retribution enacted.

And retribution might seem

like something that

wouldn't necessarily be condoned

by the Lord in Scripture,

but in this case,

it's a godly thing

for those who commit injustice.

It is an important thing

to stop somebody

from the cycle

of committing injustice.

In fact,

St. Augustine will expand this.

The idea of loving your enemy

can't actually happen

unless you're willing

to exact justice

on your enemy's enemy.

We are seeing this happen

with Judas here.

But why are we talking

about punishment

when Jesus offers forgiveness?

Why does Judas,

who is a betrayer,

suffer the fate

of one who was betrayed?

Why does Judas

not get the same fate,

in a sense,

as Peter?

Did Peter not betray

Jesus like Judas did?

I mean,

think about it.

Peter

swears,

I swear to God

I will follow you,

Jesus,

to your death.

And what happens?

He flees

and he has three chances

to make it right

and

he messes that up as well.

He betrays Jesus.

And yet,

Judas

has his guts spilled out

and he's buried

and Peter

is leading the church.

Where is Judas'

forgiveness?

Why are we speaking

of his death

and not,

and his replacement

and not talking about

how Judas

is with the twelve?

Should forgiveness

not be extended to him?

Judas is an enemy

of Christ.

He is one who refuses

to put down his weapons.

He is one

who does not recognize

his sin

and throw himself

at the mercy of Christ.

He is not one

who humbles himself

and recognizes

that he needs to live

under the lordship

of Christ.

It's not just a matter

of indifference

but

a critical aspect

of what it means

to submit

to the one true God.

Judas

does not

ask for forgiveness

and as such

he continues

to live

at least in his own life

on the throne

of Christ.

He is king

of his own castle.

Judas

led Jesus

into the hands

of those

who wished

to kill him

because he was

deep in his pride,

he was deep

in his resentment

and he was deep

in his greed.

And like Joab,

Judas

betrays Jesus.

Judas

and like Joab,

Judas

tries to undo

his treachery

by his own hand.

I encourage you guys

to read the story

in 1 Kings 2.

It's a type

of self-justification

and like Joab,

Judas refused

to go to the only one

who could

redeem him.

Pride

and self-justification

will always cause

a heart

of stone

to remain stone

and cause

the enemy of God

to remain

an enemy of God.

Friends,

when we try

to cover up

our sin

or the sin

of others

to deny

its effects

in our lives

to justify

the motives

of sin

excuse the offense

relativize it

so that it is

no longer a sin

we call Christ

a liar.

We deny

God his place

as creator

and king

and we make

ourselves

keep ourselves

make ourselves

an enemy

of God.

And let me

just say this

friends

this is not

an enemy

you want.

God judges

so often

in a passive

way

by handing

us over

to our rebellion

so that we

will suffer

the natural

and inevitable

consequences

of our actions.

Joab lived

by the sword

and what happened?

He died

by the sword.

Judas

was greedy

he was prideful

and he died

unredeemed.

In the end

we will get

our heart's

true desire

in our pride.

What do I mean

by this?

All too often

God leaves us

to our own

devices

and if we

are not

looking to

God

who is the

creator of life

who knows

the way

we ought to

live

we will

inevitably

go down

the road

to death.

there's not

multiple ways

that God

has designed

but only

one way

because he

is the

creator

and he

is good

and he

desires to

bless

and to

redeem

and to

see his

creation

flourish.

So if we

choose to

avoid such

a way

of living

we will

inevitably

see destruction

and pain

in our own

lives.

So this

passive

judgment

C.S.

Lewis

in the

great

divorce

he describes

it like

this

there are

only two

kinds of

people in

the end

those who

say to

God

thy will

be done

and those

to whom

God says

in the

end

thy will

be done

all that

are in

hell

choose it

without

that self

choice

there could

be no

hell

no soul

that seriously

and constantly

desires joy

will ever

miss it

those who

seek

find

those who

knock

it is

opened

Judas

although

ridden

with guilt

ultimately

wants his

will

over

Christ's

will

and we

see a

bit of

that

in

the

second

part

of

verse

25

when

Peter

he's

talking

about

Matthias

or the

one

that

they

would

pick

to

replace

him

and he

says

this

to

take

the

place

in

this

ministry

and

apostleship

from

which

Judas

turned

aside

to go

in his

own

place

to do

his

own

thing

to go

his own

way

Judas

ridden

with

guilt

ultimately

wants

his

will

over

Christ

he's

not

willing

to bend

his knee

and as

such

suffers

a traitor's

fate

it

it is

a

terribly

sad

thing

and it

makes

you

wonder

and it's

speculation

makes you

wonder

if

Judas

if things

could have

been different

for him

but they

weren't

he

refused

to call

out to

God

for

forgiveness

there's

this whole

other side

bit

here

that

I mean

because

it was

prophesied

it speaks

in a sense

of

God's

providence

and how

does that

interact

with our

free will

maybe that'll

make the

Sunday

follow up

as well

but that's

not going

to be

an aside

I'm

willing

to take

this

morning

but it's

a very

excellent

question

Judas

has suffered

a traitor's

fate

well how

about the

traitor

Peter

we

I

referenced

him

moments

ago

but what

separates

Judas

the betrayer

from

Peter

the betrayer

Peter

is equally

a betrayer

remember

he denies

Christ

three times

and yet

here he is

standing up

amongst

not just

the eleven

but the

hundred and twenty

he in a sense

is the leader

of the church

and he is the one

saying

we need to

fulfill scripture

we need to

get a twelfth

we need to

see this thing

come to pass

and we see

in a sense

what marks

Peter

is the

the

the

besetting

sin

of

what marks

Peter

is the

opposite

of the

besetting

sin

of

Judas

Peter

constantly

would

humble

himself

before

almighty

God

he

constantly

cried out

to Christ

for mercy

in fact

what greater

person

would there

be to

lead the

church

than

Peter

who

sinned

much

but was

forgiven

much

and as

such

loved

much

who

fell

worse

than

Peter

amongst

the eleven

that

remained

none

Judas

Judas'

replacement

had to

be

chosen

and

it

had

to

be

one

who

was

witness

to the

entirety

of

Jesus'

ministry

from

John's

baptism

to

the

resurrection

that's

what it

says

in

verses

21

to

23

so

one

of

the

men

who

have

accompanied

us

from

all

the

time

that

the

Lord

Jesus

went

in

and

out

among

us

beginning

from

the

baptism

of

John

until

the

day

when

he

was

taken

up

from

us

one

of

these

men

must

become

with

us

a

witness

to

the

resurrection

that's

why

I

think

if

you've

heard

the

apostle

Paul

is

the

true

12th

apostle

or the

true

12th

disciple

and

Matthias

we

never

really

hear

of

him

again

I

would

say

that

based

on

verses

21

to

23

it

truly

is

Matthias

in

fact

we

don't

really

hear

much

of

any

of

the

disciples

apart

from

Peter

James

and

John

it's

a bit

of a

side

note

but

anyways

what's

happening

here

is

the

12th

disciple

needs

to

be

picked

because

what

we

see

here

is

that

the

church

is

really

a

reconstitution

of

Israel

the

people

of

God

it's

in a

sense

a

new

and

expanded

Israel

12

disciples

needed

to be

present

as the

church

was

birthed

and

in a

sense

walked

into

the

promised

land

in the

same

way

that

the

12

tribes

entered

into

the

promised

land

after

captivity

these

12

would

lead

the

church

by

the

power

of

the

Holy

Spirit

and

they

would

continue

as we

found

out

last

week

that

in

the

the

ministry

of

Christ

Jesus

so

ultimately

what is

to mark

the

12

apostles

and

therefore

what is

to mark

the

church

is a

deep

humility

in

Christ

a

genuine

faith

not

perfect

genuine

doesn't

necessarily

equal

perfect

but a

genuine

faith

in the

lordship

of

Christ

and his

victory

over

all

things

what is

to mark

the

church

is

to be

people

that are

marked

by

God's

merciful

hand

extending

to

them

not a

group

of

people

that are

cleaned

up

ready

to

go

sinless

but

people

recognizing

their

sin

recognizing

that in

a sense

we're all

betrayers

we're all

enemies

of God

and that

he has

made a

way for

us to

become

friends

we

are a

church

that

recognizes

that

above

all of

us

is a

lord

that has

conquered

evil

and sin

and death

which means

no foe

that we

could face

can ever

overtake

our king

and although

our bodies

may

break down

and they

will

and our

hearts may

ache because

life is very

difficult

and often

tragic

and difficulties

come

we can

know that

because Christ's

victory is

over all

of our

foes for

all of

eternity

that we

can rest

secure

that our

souls can

rest secure

in him

that's the

good news of

the gospel of

Christ and

that is

something that

we can

achieve

with

self

justification

by pushing

away

the mercy

and love

extended to

us by

Christ Jesus

and trying

to figure

out life

ourselves

and clean

up our

own lives

we

don't

enjoy that

same sort

of eternal

victory

so the good

news of the

gospel of

Christ is

to mark

his church

and the

gospel was

to form a

new and

more expansive

community of

friends

it seems

kind of a

quaint thing

to say

but not

if you

were an

enemy of

the king

it's not a

quaint thing

to say

that

that I

used to

be an

enemy

destined

for death

and the

gallows

and the

king himself

saved me

and now

I'm his

friend

there's

nothing

quaint

in that

that's

what Christ

Jesus

does

he

offers

to us

what

we are

so desperate

for

and he

calls us

to bear

witness

to that

truth

to other

people

so that

unlike

Judas

who is

a guide

to those

who are

trying to

kill

Jesus

we are

a guide

for those

that need

Christ

we don't

bring the

enemies to

kill our

king

we bring

our enemies

to our

king

so he

can make

them

his

friends

that's

what it

means to

bear

witness

to the

gospel

so what

it means

to take

on the

very

ministry

of Christ

himself

to be a

guide to

the blind

leading enemies

of Christ

to him

like I said

so that he

can make

them friends

this is what

marks Peter

as a friend

even though he

was a betrayer

this is what

is offered to

us today

if you

have enjoyed

friendship with

Christ but

have fallen

away or

your heart

has grown

cold or

you feel

maybe at

best estranged

but if

you're real

like an

enemy this

is the

time to

come to

him and

like Peter

cry out

to mercy

cry out

for mercy

to God

himself

through

Christ

friends

guilt can

be a

wonderful

thing

if it's

conviction

and if it

leads us

to Christ

guilt is a

terrible thing

if it

does not

lead us

to Christ

and it

just is

weight

upon our

backs

and our

weight

and weight

upon our

backs

some more

and some

more

until our

backs

break

we've

looked at

Peter

sorry

we've

looked at

Judas

the betrayer

we've

looked at

Peter

the friend

and now

we'll look

at Christ

the heart

knower

look with

me

verses

24

to 26

and they

prayed

that is

the 11

they prayed

and said

you Lord

who know

the hearts

of all

show

which one

of these

two

you have

chosen

to take

the place

in this

ministry

and apostleship

from which

Judas

turned aside

to go

to his

own

place

and they

cast

lots

for them

and the

lot

fell

on

Matthias

and he

was

numbered

with the

11

apostles

although

the portion

this portion

of scripture

is clearly

about

excuse me

the choosing

of Judas's

replacement

it helps us

to understand

the scripture

helps us

understand

that Christ

knows

the hearts

of all

in fact

in the original

language

this should

read something

like

you Lord

are the

heart

knower

or the

knower

of all

hearts

this is

like the

title

of

Christ

he's

the

heart

knower

who

knows

the

heart

of

men

and

women

except

themselves

and I

would put

forward

to you

maybe

you don't

even know

your own

heart

super well

I

certainly

don't

Christ

the heart

knower

and it

speaks of

his

providence

and lordship

over all

things

so that

he knows

our hearts

even when

we do

not

so we

live in

a post

modern

world

or a

late

modern

world

however

you want

to

sum

it

up

and the

ethos

really is

moral

relativism

that

that has

the catch

phrase

or the

motto

follow

your

heart

but

really

what

it's

really

saying

is

follow

your

desires

whatever

is

the

thing

that

you're

feeling

today

follow

it

and

that

can

get

us

into

all

sorts

of

hurt

but

who

can

really

know

our

hearts

let alone

enough

to follow

them

we are

complex

and

confused

people

we take

in a

great deal

of

information

every

single

day

that

influences

us

for

good

or

ill

we

want

to

and

it's

very

confusing

for

us

we

want

on

one

hand

to

to

have

things

that

we

don't

have

and

yet

we

grow

weary

of the

things

that

we

wanted

just

yesterday

for

things

that

we

might

never

get

tomorrow

we

struggle

with

contentment

and

direction

and

satisfaction

and

purpose

we

want

autonomy

and yet

we

lament

loneliness

we

want

an

interconnected

community

that

is

lifelong

and yet

desire

fierce

independence

friends

our

hearts

can be

a very

confusing

place

and it

is hubris

therefore

to think

we can

navigate

this

life

and find

eternal

meeting

and

transcendent

joy

by our

own

strength

by our

own

will

by following

our

own

heart

title

of

Christ

again

Christ

the

heart

knower

he

knows

your

heart

he

knows

the

things

that

you

truly

desire

and

he

knows

the

confusion

that

you

struggle

with

and

the

complexities

and

the

contradictions

and

the

beauty

also

in your

own

heart

that

you

struggle

to

express

I

mean

he

knows

us

all

he

knows

every

last

bit

of

you

so

friends

run

to the

heart

knower

run

to

Christ

and

trust

yourself

to

him

give

him

the

worries

and

confusions

and

trust

that

all

of

it

so

that

he

can

truly

begin

this

work

in

your

heart

and

you

can

enjoy

his

salvation

which

is

himself

and

this

is

what

it

means

to

become

his

friend

Judas

in

many

ways

is

unlike

us

but

in

many

ways

he

is

like

us

we

are

like

him

same

with

Peter

we

were

enemies

of

God

first

or

Colossians

chapter

one

speaks

of

this

while

we

were

still

enemies

of

God

what

did

Christ

do

he

died

for

us

we

are

all

enemies

of

God

let

us

not

persist

with

that

let

us

in

fact

come

to

Christ

as

his

friends

bending

our

knee

to

his

lordship

and

seeking

not

your

own

justification

your

own

salvation

your

own

satisfaction

but

instead

look to

him

and

trust

in

his

eternal

goodness

let's

pray

father

father

father

we

if we

are

open

and

honest

with

ourselves

our

hearts

are

incapable

of

being

constantly

good

yes

by

your

grace

common