In View of God's Mercy: Betrayal

The Shame of Betrayal

He was an early hero of the American Revolution. As a general at the battle of Saratoga in 1777, he led his soldiers in gallant victory over the British. He proved his mettle with valiant courage. George Washington even recognized him as “the bravest of the brave.”

But by 1780 he was disillusioned with the American cause. In fact, he arranged to sell secret military plans to the enemy for twenty thousand British pounds. In so doing he defected to the enemy. He fled the United States and moved to England, serving the British military. He betrayed the country he had previously defended.

This man’s name has gone down in history as America’s greatest traitor. His name is Benedict Arnold. He betrayed his country for twenty thousand pounds of silver. To Americans, Benedict Arnold’s name is associated with shame.

Another name has gone down in history as the world’s greatest traitor. He betrayed his rabbi at a price of thirty pieces of silver. He betrayed his Lord and God. His name is Judas Iscariot.

Today we look at Judas’ betrayal. And we view not only his betrayal of Jesus, but our betrayal as well. We do so, nevertheless, in view of Christ’s mercy.

I. Judas Betrayed Jesus

Our text from Matthew 26 describes the scene. Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Thursday night of Passover. He has been praying to God for strength as he faces his destiny. Verse 47 states that at that time “Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.”

Now don’t miss what this verse says of Judas. It says that he was “one of the twelve.” He was one of the twelve disciples whom Jesus had handpicked to be his companion. Judas had followed Jesus, listened to his words and witnessed his miracles. Judas was a trusted confidant in the company of Jesus.

Yet eventually Judas turned against Christ. He collaborated with Jesus’ enemies, those who wished to discredit and destroy the Lord. They needed an informant—an insider—who would arrange for them to arrest Jesus. And the price of the deal? Thirty silver coins, the conventional price of a slave. Judas would sell his master as a slave!

On that dark Thursday night Judas led a crowd carrying weapons to arrest Jesus. Moreover, Judas had provided an insidious signal to identify the target for arrest. It would be a kiss. Matthew continues his report of what happened: “Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.’ And he came up to Jesus at once and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ And he kissed him.”

Amazing! Judas used a symbol of love, of friendship, of acceptance to betray his master. Judas used a kiss to condemn his Lord. Judas’ treachery was manifested in a gesture intended to express love. He betrayed Jesus with a kiss. How painful it must have been for Jesus to receive this kiss. How shameful it was for Judas to sell out his Lord, his rabbi, with a kiss.

II. We Betray Jesus

Benedict Arnold’s price for betrayal was twenty thousand British pounds. Judas Iscariot’s price for betrayal was thirty silver coins. The question facing us today, however, is “What is our price to betray the Lord?”

Maybe your price of betrayal is the price of greed. Your love of money and material wealth are greater than your love for God. Your time and energy are consumed more with making money than with loving God with all your heart, soul and strength.

Maybe your price of betrayal is the price of ambition. The quest to climb to the top of your career trumps serving God in humility. You press toward your own selfish will over and against the will of God.

Perhaps your price of betrayal is the price of acceptance by the world. You are motivated to please people more than to please God. You want to impress the powerful and the popular in society at the expense of your confession of Christ. You don’t want to be ridiculed as a Christian, so you deny Jesus by your silence or submission to the world.

Perhaps your price of betrayal is the price of retaliation. You refuse to swallow your pride in order to forgive someone who has wronged you. Instead, you seek after revenge and you retaliate to hurt back. You betray the Lord who calls you to forgive.

You see, Judas isn’t the only one who has betrayed the Lord. We who, like Judas, call ourselves disciples of Jesus also betray Jesus. Every time we live in ways that are contrary to the Word of God and embrace behavior that is contrary to the will of God, we betray God. In our sinful rebellion, we who bear the name of Christ bring shame to that name. We are traitors, too!

Michael Card has written a song with lyrics that hit close to home for us: “Judas, don’t you come too close! / I feel that I might see / The traitorous look upon your face / Might look too much like me! / ’Cuz just like you I’ve sold the Lord / And often for much less. / And like a wretched traitor / I’ve betrayed him with a kiss” (“Traitor’s Look,” by Michael Card, stanza 2; © 1984 Mole End Music [admin. by the Sparrow Corp., P.O. Box 5010, Brentwood, TN 37024]).

III. Jesus Shows Mercy to Traitors Like Us

The gospel accounts are clear that Jesus knew beforehand that Judas would betray him. In fact, Jesus announced his awareness of this betrayal hours before it happened. Yet at the Last Supper Jesus extended gestures of friendship and honor to Judas in the seating placement and the sharing of bread. And even after being kissed in Gethsemane, after receiving the assault of betrayal, Jesus addressed Judas as “friend” (Matthew 26:50). Christ’s mercy was always available to Judas, even while Judas carried out his despicable deeds.

The price that Judas paid to betray Jesus was thirty pieces of silver. That was the price of a slave. In one sense that price was appropriate. Because Jesus willingly offered himself as a servant. He was prophesied by Isaiah to be the “Servant of the Lord,” the suffering servant. Jesus himself claimed that his purpose was to be a servant when he said: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The apostle Paul writes that Jesus, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7).

Jesus was willingly sold as a slave by the betrayal price of thirty shekels in order to purchase us from the slavery of sin. He was betrayed at the hands of sinful men to demonstrate conclusively that God will never desert or betray us sinners. The price of betrayal was thirty coins. But the price of our salvation is the blood of Jesus Christ. He gave his life as a ransom for many. He gave his life as a ransom for us.

So today we contemplate our betrayal of Christ. But we do so in view of God’s mercy. Jesus was betrayed to death in order to ransom us from death. To you and me—traitors all!—Christ offers the bread at the table as a gesture of love and as an invitation to forgiveness. To you and me—traitors all!—Christ offers his blood shed on the cross for the remission of sins. To you and me—traitors all!—Christ offers himself to death in order to purchase us from the slavery of sin.

In this penitential season of Lent, we come to him with deep contrition for our betrayal of him. Yet we also keep the cross in sight. We repent in view of God’s mercy. And because of the sacrifice of the Servant on the cross, we receive God’s mercy—despite being traitors all!