Sin & How We Respond

Good morning to you all, my dear brothers and sisters, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

‘Sin and how we respond’ - this morning I would like to look at two of the disciples of Jesus and some of the actions they took, as well as their attitude afterwards, and how this can be relevant to us today. Firstly, let us take a look at Judas Iscariot, and more specifically the action he took when betraying Jesus. Secondly, how Peter denied Jesus in His most vulnerable hours leading up to his arrest and crucifixion.

We are first introduced to Judas’s pending betrayal in Matthew 26: 14 – 16, “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him”.

Shortly after this, Jesus is sitting down with his disciples about to have the Passover with them. Reading from John 13: 21-30 – “When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.”

I don’t know about you, but I wonder what must have been going through Judas’s mind at this time? Here he was in the midst of Jesus along with the eleven other disciples, and there is a statement from Jesus that “one of you shall betray me”. Surely Judas would have been thinking about the plan he had already arranged to be put into place? Did any of the other disciples know what he had actually planned? Would he be asking himself, should I continue with this plan or not?

From here we have Jesus being arrested. Judas had arranged a signal with the chief priests and elders to indicate who Jesus was and which person was to be arrested. Going forward he greets Jesus and kisses him, at which point they arrest him. In doing this Judas has carried out his plan and also sealed his own fate. Matthew’s account of this also shows that Judas fully understood the gravity of this situation and the impact it was going to have on him personally. Taken from Matt 27: 3-8 - “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, what is that to us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, ‘The field of blood’ unto this day.”

Now let’s take a look at Peter and his denial of Christ. Even though Christ foretells of his denial, Peter seems to be very adamant this is not going to happen. Using the record from Matthew 26:30-35 – “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto them, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.” Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, “Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.”

This is a very bold and strong statement from Peter stating that he would die alongside Jesus and not deny Him.

What happens next? We know that Jesus was taken before Caiaphas (the high priest), at which point the chief priests and elders sought to bring false witness upon Jesus to allow them to crucify him. While this was happening Peter was watching from afar keeping an eye on what was unfolding. What were his thoughts at this time? Was he scared that he may be arrested also, and subjected to the same interrogation and physical violence as he witnessed Jesus suffer in the high priest’s palace? We may never know, but we do know what unfolded next. Continuing in Matthew 26: 69-75 – “Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.”

Here was Peter, the very same person who had been told by Christ that he was going to deny him three times, yet Peter was so strong in his actions and his mind-set that he had even told Christ that he was going to die before denying him. What was he thinking when he was asked if he was with Jesus of Galilee? Did he even consider this as he denied Christ for the first time? What about the second time when asked that more direct question? It wasn’t until that third time when he denied Christ that the cock crew, when suddenly it came to Peter’s realisation that he had in fact done exactly what he so adamantly had said he would not do.

Well, we know that shortly after Peter had made his denial, Jesus was brought before Pilate, where he was passed over by the Jews. They chose to release Barabbas as they chanted, “Crucify him”, when Pilate asked what they wanted to do to Jesus. It was shortly after this that He was then taken, beaten, crucified, and then buried in the tomb. In the greatness of God’s plan and purpose, He brought Jesus up from the grave on the third day. Soon afterwards he meets with His disciples, at which point he also has a very significant conversation with Peter.

Now not much is said about what Peter actually did in the days leading up to when he sees Jesus after His resurrection. Did he wonder if Jesus would actually be resurrected? Or maybe sit in fear of what Jesus would say or do when he next saw him? Taken from the record in John 21:14-19 states, “This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” Isn’t it a wonderful paradox that Peter denied Christ three times, yet Christ asks Peter if he loves him three times?

We can see from both Judas and Peter’s acts of betrayal and their outcomes, that what we do after we have sinned is just as significant, if not more than, the act of sin itself. We are all sinful by nature, and it is not just the open sin that matters here, but also the sin which is done in secret. An example of this ‘secret sin’ can be taken from Judas. His initial actions when he sought to betray Jesus were not know to his fellow disciples, but only to the chief priests he spoke to, as well as Jesus. In contrast, Peter openly denied Christ. It was not until Judas brought the chief priests to arrest Jesus that his fellow disciples were aware of this betrayal. 1 Corinthians 4:4-6 says, “For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”

After Judas had departed, once he had cast down the silver to the chief priests, he sealed his own fate and denied God the opportunity to continue to work with him when he took his own life. This also prohibited him from receiving the spirit gifts that the other disciples would go on to receive and utilise to preach the gospel to the gentiles. This is evident after Judas’ death, when the apostles were praying to determine who was going to replace Judas as the twelfth apostle. We are told in Acts 1:24-25 – “And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.”

During my preparation for this exhort I was intrigued to find the deeper meaning of the phase “that he might go to his own place.” I found a great explanation of this as found in “The book of the Acts of the Apostles”. Bro John Ullman writes, “Judas turned aside to go to his own place” (NASB). What a tragic irony is apparent in this expression. The Lord Jesus had appointed Judas “a place” together with the other eleven, and he could have attained to a glorious inheritance in the kingdom. But instead, Judas found for himself another place entirely: the grave, and eternal condemnation.

Why? Because he “turned aside”. John uses the same word: “Whosoever turneth aside, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God” (2 John 9) Judas had not only betrayed his Lord and Master: but in so doing he showed that in his heart he had turned aside from the way of Truth rather than remain steadfastly loyal and faithful to the one who would readily have been his Saviour.

Looking at the aftermath of Judas’s actions it points out a very valid and important lesson for us. We need to be reminded even though we sin, God is still able to work with us, if we are repentant and willing to let him mould and shape us to his plan and purpose. Matthew 12:31 is a reminder that all sins are forgivable except for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men.”

Let us return back to Peter and break down his denial just a little further. Remember that he was told by Christ that he would deny him, yet he was so strong in saying that he would not do this, even to the point he would die for Christ. It was so easy for Peter to say this in the heat of the moment, and when we reflect on some of the promises we have made in our past (even with the best intentions in mind), one could ask oneself how pathetic some of our promises may have sounded in hindsight. Returning back to Matthew’s account we see that Peter in chapter 26 that Peter not only questions Christ, but he puts himself above his fellow disciples and relies on his own confidence and abilities to hold true to Christ under pressure. Again isn’t it so easy for Peter to assume how he was going to act in the moment Christ had foretold of? Peter thinks that he will lay down his life for Jesus, but instead we see that Jesus laid down his own life, not only for Peter but ultimately for all of mankind. As Peter goes on to actively and plainly deny that he even knew Christ, this ends up being overturned when later on he receives the keys to the kingdom, and ultimately leads the preaching of the gospel to the gentiles, as well as setting up the first ecclesia.

I would like to take a moment for us to do some self-reflection, while we are here away from the cares of this world and distractions of our daily lives. It is easy for us to have a great idea on how we would react in certain situations. Let’s focus on Peter for a moment longer and try to picture yourself in his shoes sitting in the high priest’s palace along with the crowd and witnessing the events of Matthew 26: 59-68 unfolding through your own eyes, “Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?”

Would we be sitting there trembling with fear or holding our composure as Christ did? If we speak out will we suffer the same fate? Is there anything that we can actually do that will change the outcome and save Jesus from certain death? It is at this point that Peter walks out, and what Jesus has foretold comes to pass.

Are we the kind of person who sits there in fear, stressing about the sin we have committed or do we humbly acknowledge our sin, pray about it, ask for forgiveness, and pass it to God to take care of? Brother Charles Wang in his exhort last Sunday made a significant point, that although we are free to make choices in our everyday life and how we respond to certain circumstances, we are not free from the potential consequences of these choices. We should also have faith that God is merciful and will not allow us to suffer more than what we can bare, as stated in Psalms86:15 “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”

And in 1 Corinthians10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God isfaithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

As we come to the focal point of our meeting, we are reminded of the symbols on the table before us in the bread and wine - the bread, which symbolises the body of our Lord which He willingly gave on our behalf; and the wine which is the symbol of His blood, which was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins, that we might have the hope of the Kingdom to come. We need to ask ourselves if we are here with the mind-set of Judas, who believed that his sins were far too great even for our God to forgive, or the mind-set of Peter who sinned but still had the faith and belief that God would forgive him, and would continue to work with him according to his plan and purpose?