"Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, 'Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.' "

 

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."

 

         This past week we have been following the progress of the Iditarod dog-sled race. There is an excellent Internet site you can follow. So it is fun to read and see the pictures. Each year it seems a story from the trail fits well with the sermon.

This year it has been unusually warm along the 1,100-mile course from Anchorage to Nome. The snow has been soft and wet, and that slows down the dogs. When they got near the halfway point of the race, Paul Gephardt was in the lead by some distance. But because the trail was so slow, he got confused about just where he was and felt that perhaps he had missed the checkpoint. So he turned his sled around and went back, and about a mile or so down the trail he met Dee Dee Jonrowe and her team coming towards him. Then he realized he had made a terrible mistake, an error in judgment, that he was sure would cost him the race. Having to turn around again and get to the halfway mark in second place took too much energy out of the dogs. He felt they would not be able to recover and then maintain enough speed to finish the race in first. He got confused and did not know where he was, and it caused him to turn his back on his goal.

         Today we talk about Judas, a disciple of Jesus who somewhere along the way got confused, got lost and turned his back on Jesus, causing him to fail to finish the race. The Scripture tells us very little about Judas, and nothing about his thinking or his reasons for betraying Jesus. He was a disciple of Jesus, following him for three years. He was not a rebel or a troublemaker in the group. When he turned against Jesus is not known. None of the other disciples suspected him. He was in fact an honored member of the twelve; he was the treasurer.

At the Last Supper he was given a prominent seat, close enough to Jesus that Jesus was able to hand him a piece of bread after dipping it into a bowl. The most troubling thing about the secrecy of Judas is that he allowed Jesus to wash his feet just hours before he would betray his Lord.

         Somewhere along the way Judas turned back, he lost hope, he gave up on Jesus. He was so close to the light, and yet he chose the darkness. He decided to betray Jesus. Then he pretended that everything was fine.

         Why did Judas lose faith in Jesus? We are not told in the Gospels. All the reasons you have heard are speculation.

• Some have said he became disappointed in Jesus because Jesus failed to strike his enemies.
• Others feel that Judas objected to the way Jesus treated the law and oral tradition.
• Some think he resented how Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners.
• Some feel he hoped Jesus would lead a decisive battle with the Romans in Jerusalem.
• Some feel he was simply greedy and dishonest and preferred personal gain to the uncertain life of following an itinerant preacher.
• Maybe he simply became afraid when it appeared Jesus would die.
• One recent theory even makes him a hero, by saying he followed the orders of Jesus, who wanted to be captured.

But the Gospels do not give any reason. Judas comes to a place of confusion in his life, no doubt a hard place. He experiences doubt or despair or disappointment and that leads him to unbelief. He keeps it to himself, remains silent, and does not ask for help.

         I do not know how much we can learn from Judas. I do know that when we get confused or hit a hard place in our lives, and then do not ask for help, or pretend that everything is fine when it is not, then that is when we are vulnerable. That is when we are lost.

         Judas hides his unbelief from the other disciples. They do not suspect him. When Jesus tells them that one of them will betray him, they are at a loss. "Lord, who is it?"

         But Judas also thinks that Jesus does not know. He tries to hide this secret from Jesus. But Jesus knows. He hands the piece of bread to Judas and says "What you are to do, do quickly." Jesus knows that the hour has come, and the betrayal sets in motion the events of the cross. To be betrayed by a close friend is the beginning of the agony of the crucifixion.

         At that point Satan entered into Judas. This is, I believe, the only time in the Gospels when Satan is said to enter into a person. But the truth is that even Judas, in his unbelief, is incapable of carrying out a betrayal of the Lord in his own strength.

         Then Judas walks out into the night. This is surely symbolic language that John uses. Gary Burge writes, "Night is the darkness of unbelief and opposition. It is frightening to watch Judas run out into the night, where people stumble." Judas "gets absorbed by the darkness." Later he is filled with regret and tries to give back the money. It is too late. He does not finish the race.

         Where is that place of vulnerability in your life?

         Where do you find yourself confused?

         When do you feel lost?

         In what ways do you hide what you are really thinking?

         Do you find yourself pretending everything is fine, so you do not have to ask for help?

         In Ephesians chapter 3, Paul prays for Christians who might be feeling lost or confused or vulnerable. He is not accusing them of being unfaithful or turning against Jesus. But he is praying them into the light. He is in a sense praying them to the finish line.

         "I pray that he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."

         Renewal is that experience of the indwelling Christ in our hearts.

         Christ who dwells in you, to wash your feet.

         Christ who dwells in you, to invite you to his table.

         Christ who dwells in you, and in his death and resurrection draws you to himself.

         I invite you to welcome Christ into that lost or confused or hurtful place in your life today. Through the cross there is forgiveness of sin. Jesus restores and renews.

Let the power of the cross and the love of God renew your strength.

Let the presence of Christ and the victory of Christ heal what has been broken.

        Let the light of Christ replace your disappointment.

         Let the peace of Christ allow you to feel the presence of God.

         "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!"

         Amen.