Betrayed By Religion

Introduction

Story of witnessing to the guy at the grocery store.

This man wasn’t an atheist because of philosophy or for any intellectual reason — but because of pain.

Most of us know someone who once walked closely with the church—only to later walk away, maybe even rejecting faith altogether.

It’s often assumed that it’s doubt that drove them away.

But here’s the truth: Pain drives people away from God just as much as doubt does.

Sometimes, it's the pain of unanswered prayers.

Feeling abandoned

Feeling like God didn’t show up when we needed him the most.

Sometimes, it’s the pain of losing someone too soon (as was the case with this young man)

And sometimes... it’s the church itself that brings pain.

“Many people reject God not because they have examined the evidence and found it lacking, but because they have experienced pain — and the church didn’t help. Or worse, it caused it.” Philip Yancey

That’s what I want to talk about today.

When the church (I’m speaking broadly) — who are meant to be the hands and feet of Christ — becomes a source of hurt.

You expect pain from the world. You don’t expect it from God’s people. And yet, so many have found themselves hurt by the Church.

This experience is what has been coined as “Church Hurt”

Church Hurt: Church hurt is the deep emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical pain experienced within the church—often caused by the very people we trusted to lead and care for us.

Examples

On the Positive side: “I’ve known people to find great healing in the church through confession and accountability. And to be able to expose shameful, hidden areas of their life and to be met with compassion, mercy, and understanding.

On the Toxic side: I’ve also known someone who opened up to a leader about something deeply personal and shameful—only to have that same leader later use it against them.

Now of course, not every offence or failure in the church is what we mean by ‘church hurt.’

I think that term can be overused and at times even weaponized against the church.

Sometimes we wound one another without meaning to—through misunderstandings, reckless words, or simply because we are imperfect humans—and there needs to be grace in those moments, as we all grow together.

My wife and I have had tense arguments in our marriage, not because we have a toxic relationship, but because we are both imperfect humans learning to selflessly live together.

The same can apply to the church, and we have to learn to grow in spiritual and emotional maturity together.

But when leaders especially, weaponize grace, silence victims, or trade compassion for control…….

If you can go in your Bible to Matthew 27:1-8….

What we are going to do is look at a passage of Scripture that I think does a great job at exposing 3 religious betrayals that often lead to church hurt.

The title of my message is Betrayed By Religion

I know the phrase ‘Betrayed by Religion’ might sound harsh. But it captures the deep pain some have felt when spiritual trust has been broken, or when the very place meant to bring healing caused harm.

The good news is and what we’ll find in this passage—is that Jesus understands that pain because he experienced it, and that there is a way forward.

This passage takes place the morning after Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested.

I’m going to read the Message version.

We’ll read through it all at once, and then come back and break it down.

Scripture Matthew 27:1–8 Message Version

1 In the first light of dawn, all the high priests and religious leaders met and put the finishing touches on their plot to kill Jesus.

2 Then they tied him up and paraded him to Pilate, the governor.

3 Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests,

4 saying, “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.” They said, “What do we care? That’s your problem!”

5 Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.

6 The high priests picked up the silver pieces, but then didn’t know what to do with them. “It wouldn’t be right to give this—a payment for murder!—as an offering in the Temple.”

7 They decided to get rid of it by buying the “Potter’s Field” and use it as a burial place for the homeless.

8 That’s how the field got called “Murder Meadow,” a name that has stuck to this day.

Religious Betrayals

Betrayal #1 - Corrupt Authority - When Those We Trust Misuse God’s Power

1 In the first light of dawn, all the high priests and religious leaders met and put the finishing touches on their plot to kill Jesus. 2 Then they tied him up and paraded him to Pilate, the governor.

The priests and high priests were spiritual leaders of Israel (kind of like pastors of today) . They were responsible to:

Represent the People Before God

Teach God’s Law

Model Holiness and Integrity and Lead the People in Worship

Care for the Poor and Vulnerable and Model Compassion, Mercy, and Justice.

Look for and Point Toward the Messiah

They knew the prophecies of a coming Messiah, and as teachers of the law, they should have been the first to recognize when the Messiah arrived.

But here in this passage the very people entrusted with representing God — the high priests and religious leaders — are manipulating and plotting behind the scenes to kill the Messiah.

When authority is corrupted, it becomes more focused on self-preservation than serving or protecting others.

Recently a pastor of one of the largest megachurches in the U.S., resigned after admitting to sexually abusing a minor many years ago. The church faced further scrutiny when it was revealed that several elders were aware of the abuse but failed to act.

And this is why the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus.

Jesus throughout his ministry called them out on their corruption.

Matthew 23:13 “13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”

Luke 11:46 “46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”

Because Jesus was a threat to their authority, they decided to act in a way to preserve themselves.

John 11:48 “48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.””

Corrupt Authority abuses the very power meant to serve and leads to moral compromise.

Personal Reflection

Maybe you’ve experienced spiritual manipulation or control in the name of God.

Or had a leader use their position to cover sin or silence truth.

When leaders corrupt authority it can wound people deeply—and I think it can also be a contributing factor in the second religious betrayal.

Betrayal #2 - Callous Hearts - When Those Meant to Help Don’t Care

3 Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, 4 saying, “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.” They said, “What do we care? That’s your problem!” 5 Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.

Usually when we think about betrayal we think of Judas. Judas is portrayed as the villain in his own story.

That’s true because he indeed did betray Jesus, he made his own choices and he did the wrong thing.

But in another way, the religious leaders were the ultimate villains. They not only betrayed Jesus, they betrayed Judas.

Here’s what I mean by that:

It says that overcome with remorse, Judas goes to the Temple and says “I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.”

I’ve heard it pointed out that Judas’s big flaw was that he wasn’t truly repentant, rather he was just remorseful.

That may very well have been true, but even if that was his motivation, you can still say this:

That Judas, in his time of remorse and desperation, went to the right place and the right people.

Think about this….the Temple was supposed to be the place where you went when you needed help.

It was God’s dwelling place among His people and it was a refuge where people could go to worship, pray, repent, and receive teaching and instruction.

But what we read in this passage on how the priests respond to Judas, highlights this painful truth, that sometimes, the place we’re told we can find God and healing, ends up causing harm and drives us further from Him.

Judas came with a problem to the spiritual leaders of his day, and was met with the words, “What do we care? That’s your problem!”

I’m not trying to paint Judas as this poor victim….he was fully responsible for his actions.

But just imagine this…..

Imagine if, instead of condemnation or apathy, Judas was met with a priest who wept with him, reminded him of God’s mercy, and called him to repentance with compassion. We’ll never know what might have happened.

But their actual response drove him even further into guilt and remorse, and the tragic end is that he took his own life.

Reflection Questions:

Have you ever shared pain or doubt in the Church and felt dismissed, judged, or ignored?

Whether it be from leadership or simply from a fellow Christian who simply didn’t seem to care.

Unfortunately, when people are rejected by the church, it can translate into feeling rejected by God.

When Callous Hearts push out compassion and mercy, they shut down the last bit of hope people have. And then there is the third betrayal.

Betrayal #3 - Cold Religion - When Ritual and Routine Replaces Relationship with God

6 The high priests picked up the silver pieces, but then didn’t know what to do with them. “It wouldn’t be right to give this—a payment for murder!—as an offering in the Temple.” 7 They decided to get rid of it by buying the “Potter’s Field” and use it as a burial place for the homeless. 8 That’s how the field got called “Murder Meadow (or Field of Blood),” a name that has stuck to this day.

They wouldn’t put this money in the temple treasury because it was blood money….

They are plotting to kill a person unjustly, and at the same time are concerned about keeping the temple treasury clean.

Irony - They kept the temple pure—while simultaneously murdering the One the temple was built for.

They were obsessed with traditions, rituals, rules, and outward religious practices, but were completely void of the heart behind it.

Matthew 23:23 “23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.”

They Loved God’s House but Missed God’s Heart.

Reflection

Some of you know how lifeless it is when you prioritize religious routines over a real relationship with God.

Maybe some of you have experienced spiritual leaders who seemed more concerned with rules and traditions than with people?

Were more concerned about programs and appearances, or just went through the motions.

That’s what happens when Cold Religion takes the place of a living relationship with God

Conclusion

So if you have ever been hurt by corrupt authority, calloused hearts, or cold religion, where do we go from here? How do we go forward after experiencing church hurt? Let me give you 3 really important truths, and then we’re gonna close.

Truth #1 - God Knows How to Redeem Our Wounds

Matthew 27:1-8 showed us corrupt authority, callous hearts, and cold religion…but verses 9-10 gives us our way forward and point to a deeper truth.

Matthew 27:9-10 Then Jeremiah’s words became history (one of the prophets of old): They took the thirty silver pieces, The price of the one priced by some sons of Israel, 10 And they purchased the potter’s field. And so they unwittingly followed the divine instructions to the letter.

Contrast

They thought they were hijacking Jesus ministry.

They thought they were changing the narrative and writing a new script.

They thought they were in control

But they were simply acting out God’s plan all along.

Your pains need not hijack your life or your purpose.

All of the corrupt authority, all of the calloused hearts, all of the cold religion, God was using to lead to the Crucified Savior.

The One who would do what the temple never could: bring ultimate healing, bring ultimate forgiveness, give us full access to God.

I’m not saying that all the hurts we’ve experienced were orchestrated by God, but at the very least He uses our pain for our good.

In this story, Religious betrayal led to the greatest gift humanity has ever received….it led to the cross.

If God used religious betrayal to bring about the cross, how might He use your pain to bring about something redemptive in your life?

Truth #2 - The Church Is Essential to Our Healing

I want to be clear on this….the point of this message is not to bash the church or paint it in a negative light.

The Church of Christ has been of immeasurable good, and it remains the vessel God has chosen to carry eternal hope into our broken world.

And even though the Church body is not always healthy or mature enough to keep us from getting hurt -- it is the tool that God uses to heal us.

1 Corinthians 12:26–27 “26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”

So often people respond to church hurt by giving up on the Church or holding it out at arms length.

The Church may have been where the wound happened—but it’s also where God wants to bring healing.

That doesn’t necessarily mean going back to the exact church community that hurt you. Sometime healing comes elsewhere, but it still means staying connected to His Church.

Analogy

Think about it this way -- if you have ever had a broken bone. 

While your foot caused you to trip -- and break your leg.

And while the rest of the body was not strong enough to keep your leg from getting broken.

You need your arms and the rest of the body to help your leg heal.

Church hurt is real—but so is Church healing.

Truth #3 - We Can Love Like Jesus

Church Hurt often tries to plant the seeds of bitterness and anger deep in our hearts. Causes us to close ourselves off from ever getting hurt like that again.

But God doesn’t want us to stay in that place. God wants to use the pain to draw us closer to Him and teach us to love like He loves.

Loving like Jesus isn’t just about loving in the easy moments….it’s about letting His love fill us so completely that we can love even those who hurt us.

My father-in-law once put it like this:

The evidence of following Jesus is not loving Jesus -- it is being so full of Jesus’ love that I can love Judas.

The wounds and pains we experience are invitations for God’s supernatural love to work in and through us.

Closing

As we stand to close in prayer, I want to briefly speak to two groups in the room.

To those carrying religious wounds:

If you are here, and you are all too familiar with being hurt by religion or the church, I hope today gives you hope.

Jesus himself experienced religious betrayal at the deepest level, and he knows your pain.

But more than that he offers hope and healing.

And I pray that here at TSC Summit Campus Church this church family becomes part of that healing journey for you. You don’t have to walk alone.

To those who haven’t experienced that kind of hurt:

Maybe this hasn’t been your story—and if not, praise God.

But even if you’ve never been wounded by religion, someone around you probably has.

And as the body of Christ, we are to support each other, to carry each other’s burdens, to be a source of encouragement.

You don’t know how God may want to use you to help heal a hurt.

It might be the way you serve on one of our ministry teams.

It might be an encouraging conversation after service at our coffee shop.

It might be the joy and compassion that you carry into every room.

You play a valuable part in the Body of Christ.

Let me pray for us.

Thank God for His church

Salvation Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus I believe you're the son of God. I believe that on the cross you took my sin, my shame, and my guilt, and you died for it. You faced hell for me so I wouldn't have to go. You rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with your father. Today Lord Jesus I turn from my sin to be born again. God is my father, Jesus is my savior, the Holy Spirit is my helper, and heaven is my home. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Benediction

Jude 24–25 “24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”