HIS BLOOD BOUGHT LIFE
We have before us one of the most depressing endings to one of the most tragic figures in all of Scripture tonight. There seems to be nothing positive that one could say about this story because it is filled with such heart-breaking sorrow and irreversible mistakes. It is the account of the guilt-induced misery and the unfortunate suicide of Judas Iscariot. And it is sad. It’s awful. It’s so depressing that it’s almost uncomfortable to talk about. But even here in the midst of this appalling situation of betrayal and guilt and despair, we can still find Christ. Because although Judas could see no way out but death for what he had done, the blood he betrayed actually bought life.
1Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. 3When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4"I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." 5So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. 6The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." 7So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
No one wanted the money. That’s the ironic part of this sad story. In the end no one wanted the blood-money that was paid for Jesus’ betrayal. Judas himself, the one who regularly stole money from the disciples’ treasury, the one who once rebuked a woman for pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet because he wanted to keep the profits from the sale of that perfume for himself, the one who sold out his Lord for a chance to fill his pockets, threw those 30 pieces of silver on the floor of the temple in disgust after he realized what he had done. And the chief priests and the elders, leaders of the people who loved to see large amounts of money put in the collection plate, some of whom were Pharisees that Scripture says loved money and valued their expensive robes, didn’t want to touch these coins. They didn’t even think that God himself would want this money because it had been used in a corrupt and sinful way - even though they had a hand in the whole ordeal! And so they used this money to buy a section of ground near Jerusalem in which foreigners could be buried. This graveyard soon became known as the Field of Blood because Judas had used the money to betray the innocent blood of Christ.
Those 30 silver coins that nobody seemed to want certainly made a life and death impact on the events of the day. They led to Jesus’ death and supplied for the deaths of others. But they also supplied Jesus with the opportunity to buy life for all people through his blood. This “blood money” is literally the “price of blood.” And this price of blood that bought death led to the price of blood that bought life. It’s a shame that Judas didn’t understand that.
I almost feel sorry for Judas in a way. Yes, he betrayed my Savior and sold him out because of his greed - and I despise Judas for that. But he seems so pitiful and vulnerable here that I have a hard time hating him. Because in this story he truly regretted what he had done, he felt tremendous sorrow because of his sins; he felt so bad that he even hung himself in despair. Judas doesn’t seem like such a bad guy in the end. He seems more like a man who made an awful, awful mistake and just couldn’t find his way out. A sinner whose conscience bothered him so much that he didn’t know what to do to fix the problem. He tried to fix it, of course! He ran back to those who had given him the money and confessed his sins. He admitted that he was not only guilty, but that Jesus himself was innocent. And after the chief priests and the elders told him that they didn’t care about his sudden moral dilemma, he tossed the coins on the floor in a vain attempt to rid himself of the dirty money he had accepted to the Lord’s detriment. But his desperate plea to the chief priests to make things right and the immediate return of the 30 pieces of silver did nothing to soothe his guilt; it did nothing to fix the problem. Instead of throwing the coins at the feet of the elders, he should have thrown himself at the feet of Christ. Instead of confessing his sins and appealing to the ones who paid him off, he should have confessed his sins and believed in the one he had betrayed. Judas should have gone to Christ. Even though Christ was in that position because of Judas, Jesus was in that position for Judas as well. And Jesus would have loved to see him come back! He would have accepted him with open arms and would have given Judas the forgiveness he so desperately needed. But unfortunately Judas didn’t see that as an option. And this disciple regrettably hung himself for his sins just hours before Jesus hung on the cross for those very same sins.
It is human nature to try to fix a problem by ourselves - especially the problem of sin. There are times when we may look back into our past and still feel a little bit guilty about all those sinful things we did in years one by. And prompted by our uneasy conscience we try to make up for it now by being a little nicer, by helping out a little more, by walking the “straight and narrow” a little more faithfully. And it doesn’t cross our minds that we should fall at the feet of our Savior, take our sins to his cross, and ask for his forgiveness again and again and again. We know that Jesus died for our sins, of course, but when that guilt is still lingering after so many years we think that we need to do something ourselves to get rid of that nagging shame so that we can somehow feel better.
But that’s exactly what Judas tried to do! He tried to make things better by doing something himself. He first of all tried to reverse the decision of the chief priests and the elders - which was the right thing to do. And then he returned the money that he never should have taken in the first place - which was also a commendable action. But he did not take his sins off his shoulders and put them on the shoulders of Christ. He did not take the innocent blood with which his hands were stained and wash it off in that same innocent blood of the cross. Judas did not go to Christ. And so Judas died without Christ. And Jesus died without him.
Jesus was murdered probably just a few hours after Judas committed suicide. A lone hanging happened unnoticed on the south side of the city at almost the exact same time Jesus was marching out to a very public crucifixion on the north side. If Judas would have only known that Jesus’ blood on that cross would forgive his sin of betraying Jesus’ innocent blood! But it was a ransom price that Judas would never enjoy. If Judas would have only known that Jesus’ blood would buy life for him later that afternoon, but Judas would be dead by the time it happened. It is a sad story of a fallen disciple, but it is a wonderful story for us.
And it’s a wonderful story for us because this blood-money really was blood-money! These coins led to Jesus pouring out his blood on the cross! These 30 pieces of silver made it possible for our sins to be forgiven! And so because of how the Lord used Judas’ greed and the chief priests’ hate, because of how the Lord took sin and worked it out for our good, now all of our offenses, all of our mistakes, all of our errors, all of our guilt, and all of our shame have been drowned in the innocent blood of Christ. Your conscience does not have to bother you again. The weight on your shoulders has been lifted! The chains on your ankles have been shattered! The dark clouds over your head have been parted! The noose is no longer around your neck! You do not have to grieve like Judas and you do not have to die like Judas because you know what Jesus’ death accomplished later that afternoon. You know that he bought you life with his blood. And you know that you will live with him forever.
Amen.
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Cor. 15:55-56
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