Judas Iscariot: Turning Away

Well, I wonder, how might we, how might you, summarise all of those passages from Matthew?

! There's a lot in there, isn't there? Thank you, Wendy, thank you, Imi, for reading that so clearly today, giving us that opportunity to hear and notice.

And I'm curious, what is it that we're noticing as we come to this?

Was there anything that you were drawn to that kind of stood out for you?

Well, our theme today is turning away.

So, we're going to unpack this through this story.

We see the huge betrayal that Jesus experienced when Judas turned away from him.

So, we'll unpack it and then we'll explore a little bit.

What does this mean for us?

What might it mean personally in our own discipleship journeys, in our relationship with God?

So, first of all, we see Judas agree to betray Jesus.

And I don't know if any of you are into traitors, watching traitors.

I didn't watch the first two series and then it turns out when you've got a 17-year-old son, actually, you need to find things that you can watch together.

And so, we watched the last series, I think it was the last series of traitors.

And it was intriguing.

And obviously, the word traitor comes up today for us and this theme.

But it's a lot heavier and a lot weightier when it's not just a BBC drama.

When we're thinking and hearing about the betrayal of Jesus, even though it was written in history.

So, as we come to this today, let's just acknowledge how we may have connected with this before.

But how God might want to use this story today to stir in our hearts the noticing that he is wanting us to do today.

And the response that he is going to take us through this morning.

So, I was straight away drawn to wondering, what are the complex motives behind Judas' betrayal?

Let's remember, he's been one of Jesus' closest friends.

He's literally been doing life with Jesus, with the other disciples.

He's been witnessing extraordinary things.

Personally, he had experience of those.

So, what on earth happened?

I wonder, was it greed?

He saw an opportunity for financial reward.

Was it a lack of faith?

Disillusionment with what he saw playing out around him.

Different, perhaps, to what he expected or assumed it would look like.

Perhaps the power, kind of that desire for power, outweighed his love for Jesus in that moment.

And he saw the opportunity to be a significant player in the world, in the growing tensions that the power authorities were fueling.

So, we're curious.

What's going on for Judas here?

And then we move to the Last Supper, as we now call it.

So, verses 20 to 30.

And here is rich symbolism.

It's the Passover meal.

A time of communal remembrance, coming together and remembering God's faithfulness to the Jewish people.

A time of unity and the foreshadowing of Jesus as the Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice.

And we see here Jesus speak out a poignant prediction of this betrayal.

In this sacred moment, the confusion in the room is tangible.

And even Judas, asking what seems to be like the oddest question.

I noticed, Alex, you went, hmm.

In the message version, it says, bearing in mind Judas knows what he's already done.

He's already been to the authorities and said, what will you give me to do this?

Judas then says, it isn't me, is it, Rabbi?

In front of everyone else.

So, straight away, again, I'm noticing these themes coming up of what's going on internally

and what's playing out in front of everyone else.

I wonder if any of us can relate.

I wonder if any of us are beginning to notice things that God wants to draw our attention to this morning.

There is an incredible tension here between the holiness of this meal and the shadow of what's to come.

So, let's go a bit further into the Garden of Gethsemane.

And Jesus is arrested.

The darkness, the tension, the clash of emotions in this moment are vivid.

And the symbolism of a kiss, a Judas kiss, a gesture of such intimacy,

turned into one of ultimate betrayal.

So, as we just hold this space this morning,

and for some of us it's a very familiar space,

and it will feel a very safe space, naturally.

For others, we may be here for the first time,

or we may not be feeling quite so grounded and connected.

But I just want to encourage us as we reflect this morning.

God is here.

His spirit is here.

And we're here to do his work.

He's invited us into this place.

So, we're going to pause.

And we're going to just think in the quiet.

Maybe draw to mind

and consider perhaps the heartache that we might have experienced

of a betrayal by someone really close to us.

This would have been really confusing and hurtful for the disciples here.

And even though Jesus had predicted it would happen,

I do still wonder what emotions he was experiencing.

He's human

and all God.

Incredible.

Maybe we can recall that time

when we've experienced a betrayal.

Maybe we didn't name it as that.

Maybe we would have just kind of noticed

a real deception of another person or a situation.

That feeling of really being let down

by someone that we thought we could completely trust.

The deep pain felt.

Or perhaps

what might be coming to mind for us

is a time when we ourselves have behaved in a way

that has caused this pain to others.

Someone who trusted us.

Deep pain caused.

This is really uncomfortable

and challenging, I think.

And hard to acknowledge

that there are times

when we are likely to cause this pain

unintentionally.

We are human.

We are broken people.

Flawed.

And we cannot possibly

get relationships right

all of the time.

But the thing for me

that is just so striking

and hallelujah that it is

is what I was thinking

is Jesus' response.

Despite the chaos,

he seems so composed.

He even calls Judas

friend.

Friend.

Why this charade?

He seems to be calling Judas

gently out on his behaviour,

on his actions,

his choices.

Jesus is not reacting

in a big, emotionally charged way.

There seems to be peace,

even acceptance,

but we know

that he has already

wrestled with his father

in the garden

just moments before

with huge emotion,

with questions.

But here it would seem to me

his connection

with God's presence,

his deep knowledge

of the truth

of who God is

keeps him grounded

and present

and with enough strength

to face

what he has got to face.

It's incredible.

So here comes another question.

I wonder

what you or I

might recall

of our own reactions

and responses

to the times

of betrayal

in our lives

or of being

betrayed.

I imagine

and I don't know

and I don't assume

but I imagine

that all of us

have had

those experiences

punctuate our life

and there's more to come.

let's just ask God

to

through his spirit

revealed to us

just to our internal selves

how these experiences

have shaped us.

Is there anything

he's wanting us

to notice

today

and just bring

before him

in prayer?

we will have time

at the end

to pray

with one another

or pray

with the prayer team

or to have

that conversation

with God

ourselves

maybe in this space

maybe beyond it

but let's not miss

the noticing

he's wanting us

to do.

And finally

a new day dawns

Jesus is condemned

the course of history

is set

and we witness

Judas'

overwhelming guilt

and despair.

We see the weight

that human weight

of him turning away

from God

and the crushing

burden of remorse

felt even more sharply

following the cruel

rejection

of his offer

to return the money

to the high priests.

And yet

in this

darkest of moments

we're invited

to notice

what I feel

is like the most

extraordinary detail

the fate

of the 30

silver coins.

the irony

of the chief

priest's use

of this

betrayal money

to buy

the potter's field

holds a deep

significance

not only

because it's

actually used

ultimately

for something good

that would help

others

it becomes

a burial

ground

for the homeless

but

it also

fulfills

a prophecy

Jeremiah

predicted

that this

exact

thing

would happen

and so

suddenly

we are

connected

firmly

in this

moment

in time

to the

grand

narrative

of God's

overarching

story

and it

reminds us

how God

can turn

even the

worst

of human

actions

into part

of his

bigger plan

for good

when we

look at

this prophecy

and its

fulfilment

we see it

fitting into

God's

larger plan

for redemption

using the

money to

buy the

potter's

field

shows

that even

human

mistakes

clumsy

choices

bad

choices

can be

woven

into

God's

story of

salvation

this

story

makes us

think about

betrayal

but it

invites us

to think

about

repentance

God's

mercy

and reminds

us that

there is

always hope

and the

chance

of a

fresh

start

God

is

with us

fully

present

there

with his

unending

grace

his

forgiveness

and the

possibility

of redemption

even in our

darkest

moments

love

and all

we need

do

is turn

back

turn

back

to him

he is

there

the

bible

is full

of this

message

full

I

was

overwhelmed

with the

number

of

verses

I could

have

brought

to you

at this

moment

but I

pray that

you hear

in these

something

that connects

with your

soul

in 1

John

it says

if we

confess

our sins

he is

faithful

and just

and will

forgive us

our sins

and purify

us from

all

unrighteousness

psalm 103

says

as far

as the

east

is from

the west

so far

has he

removed his

transgressions

from us

Romans 3

I find

a lot of

comfort here

for all

have sinned

all

fall short

of the

glory of

God

and

all

are

justified

freely

by his

grace

through the

redemption

that came

by Christ

Jesus

and

Micah

7

who

is

a

God

like

you

who

pardons

sin

forgives

the

transgression

of the

remnant

of his

inheritance

you

do not

stay

angry

forever

but

delight

to show

mercy

you will

again

have

compassion

on us

you will

tread our

sins

underfoot

and hurl

all our

iniquities

into the

depths

of the

sea

and I

say

amen

to that

God

hurling

oh I love

that word

hurling our

iniquities

all the

stuff that

we

intentionally

and

unintentionally

just

get wrong

that causes

that gap

between us

and God

he

constantly

takes it

and by

his grace

we are

forgiven

and we

have

relationship

with him

he is

with us

for all

eternity

and we're

in this

bit

in the

middle

but he

is here

he is

here

for us

to turn

back to

when I

ask you

that question

to bring

to mind

perhaps a

time when

you have

felt

betrayed

deceived

by someone

or

you

perhaps

have

brought

to mind

when

that has

been

your

action

I know

that I

can do

this

I've

done

this

in

preparing

today

I can

think

of both

of those

situations

I can

place

myself

back

there

perhaps

for some

of us

it's

remembering

a time

when

that has

been our

experience

in our

relationship

with God

honest

enough

to say

to God

when I

think back

to that

time

God

God

I felt

betrayed

by you

and now

I'm

reminded

this

morning

of

who

you

are

the

truth

of

who

you

are

you

never

betray

us

you

never

let

us

down

we

are

never

alone

we may

feel

it

everything

around

us

may

suggest

that

that

is

truth

but

perhaps

what

he's

reminding

us

this

morning

is

that

we

are

deceived

if

we

believe

that

the

truth

is

that

he

is

with

us

his

plans

for

us

are

good

and

they

play

out

in

many

different

ways

often

not

how

we

expect

so

I

want

to

leave

you

us

include

myself

in

this

with

one

question

what

story

are

you

telling

yourself

what

story

are

you

telling

yourself

that's

going

to

require

a bit

of a

look

inside

a bit

of

curiosity

perhaps

with

God

I

wonder

does

it

align

with

the

truth

of

God's

message

to

us

in

his

word

is

the

central

message

in

the

story

we

tell

ourselves

one

of

hope

of

renewal

encouraging

us

to

always

be

seeking

forgiveness

and

to

extend

it

to

others

and we

know

how hard

that can

be

or how

complex

that can

be

and if

that's

something

you're

wrestling

with

please

come and

have a

conversation

or find

someone you

can have a

conversation

with

because

forgiveness

doesn't always

look like

or mean

perhaps what

we assume

it does

mean

are we

aligned

with that

redemption

that is

always

within

reach

just

going to

give

time

going to

have a

couple of

minutes

and then

I'm going

to just

draw that

time

julian to

a close

by reading

a poem

that

will

hopefully

just draw

together

some of

the themes

from this

morning

and invite

people beyond

this space

to not

just rush

away from

what God

is doing

thank you

let's just

take a couple

of moments

with the music

quietly

and now

just bring

ourselves

before God

everything we

bring to

this place

finds a

place here

every case

that we

carry

can be

consigned

here

every load

we are

lifting

can be

left

every

secret

we are

slaves to

can be

spoken

here

and every

terror

that

torments

us

can be

told

there is

room here

for anguish

for the

agony

of abandonment

there is

ground here

for grieving

for the

weeping

wounds

of loss

in this

circle of

safety

at this

fireside

of faith

there is

space

for story

and song

there is

room

for revelation

and renewal

here is

hope

and healing

here is

forgiveness

and freedom

here is

connection

and correction

and coming

to our

senses

at this

source

whose depths

are never

ending

this river

that will

never run

dry

at this

table

whose banquet

of abundance

knows no

bounds

no wrong

is too

wrong

to be

righted

here

no tragedy

too twisted

to be

turned

for everything

we bring

to this

place

finds

a place

here

and every

load

we are

lifting

can be

left

up