Pieces - Judas and Peter

To piece the story of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection we have to start with the story of two betrayals. Two stories that have similar pieces to them, but have drastically different endings. This is of course the stories of Judas and Peter, and maybe when we are done with today you may find out that a piece of this story might be a piece of your story as well.

It starts in Matthew 26 when we read “Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot” Imagine with me for a moment it was only three years prior and Judas, we don’t know where he comes from, but he is by the sea of Galilee or one of the neighboring towns, and this great teacher you are hearing about comes up to you and tells you to follow him. For three years, you hear him preach, teach, heal, restore, forgive people of their sins, stand up against religious abuse and hypocrisy, and you hear him talking about being the messiah sent by God to free your people and the world on sin. You are one of the twelve that sleep next to, have greater insight on his teachings than the crowd, you experience and witness Jesus both on stage and behind closed doors. People would want to know you because you know him. You are Judas a Disciple of Jesus. You are one of the twelve.

And Judas goes to the chief priests and the teachers of the law during the celebration week of the passover. We read in Luke that Satan himself was influencing Judas, but Judas still has free will, and he chose to go to them and he starts with a question, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” Him meaning Jesus. Judas already knew that he was going to betray Jesus. He already knew the sin he was going to commit. Have you ever pre-decided in advance the sin that you are going to commit? Do you have sin on your calendar right now? I know I have, and probably will again one day. Maybe its time to delete it. Just a thought.

We know that when we read the Bible that the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus for the way that he was preaching, teaching and healing. And we know half of the reason why Judas would want to betray Jesus, it was for greed. Maybe other underlining messianic misunderstandings and frustrations that Judas felt like Jesus wasn’t living up to his end of the bargain. But for whatever reason he sells himself for 30 pieces of silver. That would be about $25 bucks today.

Later on Judas is sitting with the other disciples and Jesus for passover and Jesus says, “One of you is going to betray me.” And Judas has the audacity to say, “Surely not I” and Jesus responds with the one line, as if giving Judas one last chance to return to him and confess when he says, “You have said it.” So Judas leaves to start the betrayal that would happen that night.

Meanwhile after the Lords supper Jesus takes the rest of the disciples aside and tells them that tonight you are all going to fall away, you are all going to betray, you are all going to deny me. But Peter being Peter puffs up his chest and boldly proclaims, “Even if everyone falls away…I will never fall away. Even if I have to die with you I will never deny you.” And Jesus tells him before the roster crows you will deny me three times. And then they go off to the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus goes off to pray and asks his disciples to pray with him. And Peter and the other disciples who just said they would die for Jesus, but they fell asleep and didn't even pray with Jesus.

After an intense prayer session that Jesus had he returns to his disciples, telling them to get up quick. For Judas is approaching with what we are told a large mob carrying clubs and swords. And Judas walks up to Jesus, kisses him on the cheek as was the custom greeting for a rabbi and the sign of who Jesus was. The religious leaders were angry at Jesus, the mob was angry at Jesus and willing to harm him, but they didn't even know who he was. Sounds a lot like our culture today doesn’t it.

Jesus says one last thing to Judas, “Friend, do what you came to do.” I never caught this before until this week when I was reading it, do you see what Jesus called Judas? Friend. Jesus knows that this act that Judas is about to do is giving him into the hands of the people who will eventually kill him, and he looks at the face of the person who is betraying him and his is calling him friend. Not an enemy, not a names, not spitting in his face, no, he calls him friend. And so the people take Jesus and Peter takes out his sword and he cuts off the ear of a servant and challenges the mob. Jesus tells him to put the sword away and picks up the ear and miraculously heals it back to the servants head. And Jesus is taken, and the disciples including Judas flee. But Peter stays close enough to see the action but not close enough that he would become apart of the action.

We see Peter huddled up with some servants and news of Jesus arrest had been spread. and bold and bashful Peter who just stood before a mob of angry people with a sword willing to take them all on for the sake of Jesus was noticed by a little 11 year old servant girl and she said, You were with Jesus too. And Peter committed his first denial, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” I find it that for some people we are like Peter, we make these great grandiose statements about how faith, courage, strength, belief, but then we can deny him to our friends, family, co-workers, to our kids. In our acts because and you know, your actions speak louder than words. Jesus I am willing to die for you, but am I willing to live for you? That is an entirely different discussion.

So a few minutes passes and once again Peter is recognized and maybe you know how the story goes, someone says “You were with Jesus you are one of them” and Peter responds with an oath “I do not know this man!” And yet again after some time, as if God is giving Peter chances to stand up for Jesus, someone says, “Your accent gives you away, you are one of them.” And Peter reigning down curses and says, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Right after that last denial the rooster crows, and the text says in Luke, “then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. So Peter remembered the word of the Lord…and he went outside and wept bitterly. He denied, he lied and then he cried. Filled with remorse, repentance and sorrow Peter after denying Jesus did not run from Jesus, he returned back to him. We will return to Peter in a few moments.

After Jesus was arrested Judas similarly to Peter was close to the action but not close enough to be apart of the action. He sees what’s happening with Jesus, he seeing Jesus being beat, spit on, falsely accused and condemned to die on a Cross. And seeing all of this, and possibly remembering the times he’s spent with Jesus, it says he too was filled with remorse and he want back to the elder and the chief priests and confessed that he had sinned by betraying innocent blood and he tried to give back the 30 pieces of silver. The very silver that drove his desire to betray, now looked disgusting in his hand.

And Judas like Peter was remorseful, but he wasn’t repentive. He ran away from Jesus. For years under the teaching of Jesus he heard Jesus say things like, “If someone wrongs you forgive them even 7 times a day. He had heard people are to love their enemies, he had heard that your Heavenly Father loves you and cares for you, he had heard and saw Jesus forgive people of their sins. And boy did Judas sin, and he heard all of that, and thought maybe it was true for them, but it was not true for him and in the moment of disparity it didn't matter what he heard because he was hopeless, I’ve sinned too bad, there is no going back. He forgot that Jesus called him friend. So Judas did what unfortunately some people do when they feel hopeless, when they feel like there is no coming back, there is no ability to return. The text says he went and hanged himself. And thats the end of Judas’s story. But it is not the end of Peters.

After the death of Jesus and the Resurrection of Jesus, Jesus was on a farewell tour before he ascended to heaven. We find Peter back out on the sea of Galiliee fishing and Jesus calls out to him and Peter jumps out of the boat, sits down with Jesus and Jesus forgives Peter for betraying and denying him, and he restores him. And then Peter leads the church of Jesus Christ until he did exactly what he said he would do, when he was crucified upside down for preaching and teaching about Jesus.

So what is the point of telling these two stories? I love how God orchestrated the writing of these accounts of Jesus, because even in this story we see the Gospel in front of us and we see the drastic difference running from Jesus has in our life and returning to Jesus makes in our life. Judas run away and died in his sin, Peter ran back to Jesus and died in and for Jesus. Both men fell, but only one was fallen. Both men faltered, only one failed. Both ran away from Jesus, and only one returned back to Jesus.

So here is the question for you to ponder, are you Judas or Peter? Do you deny Christ with your way of living, are you running away afraid that Jesus will not accept you back, are you remorseful but not repentant? Are you sorrowful with no hope? Or are you like Peter, who knowing his mistakes, knowing his sin, is filled with repentance and yearns to return to Jesus?

You see we get the gospel here in this story, Maddie Taylor a student of our shared a perfect post on her instagram this past week when she said, “I don’t know who needs to hear this…but you aren’t too lost for Jesus to save.” This is the story of Judas and Peter, no one, including you, no one including you are not too lost to be saved by Jesus. Judas betrayed and ran. Peter denied and returned. And Jesus forgave Peter. So which one are you?

I said at the beginning that maybe a piece of this story is a piece of your story, and I pray that piece is Peter.

Pray