2nd Mid-Week Lenten Service, (2-28-07)
Sir, we would see JESUS!
Emmanuel, Asheville, NC
John 13: 30b

In the Name of JESUS!

?¨And It Was Night!?Æ

Precious people of Christ, please pray with me:

O Christ, Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us!
O Christ, Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us!
O Christ, Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; grant us Your peace. Amen. 

In the name of Jesus, our crucified, yet victorious Redeemer, dearly beloved:

With pathos the Scriptures tell us, ?¨As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.?Æ It was night outside in the city of Jerusalem, somewhat aglow with an almost full moon that Passover evening as Judas left the Upper Room. It was much darker, pitch black ?± utterly without a glimmer or a ray of light ?± in Judas?? soul. Why is that so?

Judas had previously covenanted with the high priest to betray his Master for 30 pieces of silver. Of his own free will he walked out of the light into the darkness of the night, because he preferred the absence of light. Once again, how true are our Savior??s words to Nicodemus, ?¨This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed!?Æ {John 3: 19-20] Judas started out being one of the fortunate ones who for three years walked in the company of ?¨the Light of world,?Æ the very Son of God. But that night he forever drew thick dark curtains over his soul against that Light, Jesus Christ. How sad! How foolish! How everlastingly fatal!

How did this happen to Judas? He had the same chance as the other eleven apostles did to be numbered among the Savior??s closest associates. He truly did! Disastrously he threw away that blessed opportunity.

Leading up to his betrayal was what the world might consider a ?¨little?Æ sin ?± though there is no such thing in the eyes of God. Believe Holy Scripture! Every sin is equally sin and just as damning to our holy and perfect God. Judas, perhaps even by self-appointment, became the treasurer of the meager funds given to Jesus?? inner group of associates. Gradually he got ?¨sticky fingers,?Æ embezzling some of the coins. That began his headlong slide down into darkness away from ?¨the true Light of the world.?Æ Keeping his sin hidden and not repenting, his love of money kept growing and his darkness increased in intensity. Finally that uncontrollable urge to sell his Savior overtook him. Why, that sum of money was no more than the price of slave back then! Even after that dastardly betrayal, Jesus would have forgiven him just as our Lord forgave Peter his denial and all the other disciples for cowardly forsaking Him, but instead the Bible tells us Judas walked away into everlasting damnation. The Bible does tell us of Judas?? remorse over his betrayal, but tragically he never turned back to his Master for forgiveness and cleansing. 

Judas sold Jesus! Would you? Could you? John Bunyan, taking seriously what the Bible teaches about our sinful nature, tells us that long after he came to faith in Jesus as His Savior, he could not eat a meal ?¨nor stoop to pick up a pin or chop a stick?Æ without hearing the voice of Satan say, ?¨Sell Christ ?± sell Him for this ?± sell Him for that! Sell Him! Sell Him!?Æ The Tempter hasn??t changed his ways at all. He does the same with us.

Sell Christ for a moment of pleasure! Sell our Lord to gain public acclaim! Sell Jesus for the acceptance of the people gathered around you for the moment! Sell Christ to get ahead at work! Sell our Master for a better grade at school! Sell Christ for a few fleeting moments of false fulfillment ?± lusting in the flesh for someone other than the spouse whom God gave to you in marriage! Sell Him! Sell Him! Judas and his end are a stark warning against covetousness, the love of money, the pursuit of ease and pleasure, selfish ambition and the ways of our fallen world, which, as Scripture says, ?¨have caused some to wander from saving faith, piercing themselves through with many griefs.?Æ [Cf. 1 Timothy 6: 10] 

And all of our selling out of our dear Redeemer doesn??t begin to touch upon our daily painful betrayals of our holy God by breaking the spirit of all His holy Commandments in doing evil or leaving the good undone. In view of all this, is there hope for us? Is there any light?

Thank God! There is indeed! Just as the rising sun dispels the darkness of night, so Jesus shines far more brightly than the darkness of our sinful nature and every evil thing we??ve done and every good we??ve left undone. When we trust Him as our Savior with the aid of the Holy Spirit, Christ now with the light of His forgiving love disperses the gloom and doom into which those demonic opponents seek to hurl us to our destruction. 

Jesus does that because He loves us with a brilliance and depth beyond our highest imagination. Christ stands at all times ready to pardon all our sin. His willingness to forgive us can even be seen in the very moment Judas actually betrayed Christ. Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane turned to Judas and compassionately called him, ?¨Friend.?Æ 
Knowing full well what Judas was sinisterly about to do, Jesus nevertheless in obedience to His heavenly Father willingly went to the cross to suffer and die in our place. By not only suffering the intense physical torment of crucifixion, but by bearing while on the cross in our place the essence of the eternal darkness of hell ?± separation from His divine Father ?± and coming out the winner, the brilliant, unending light of God??s grace now purges every dark corner of our sin when we trust Jesus as our one and only Savior. 

By the empowering might of the Holy Spirit, we can say and trust with the Psalmist, ?¨The LORD is my Light and my Salvation; the LORD is the Strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid??Æ [Psalm 27: 1] In our heart of hearts we can also know for sure that this is true. Christ??s empty cross and open tomb are God??s shining guarantee that the light of His merciful cleansing is etched upon us by the all-powerful Light of Jesus?? unfailing love and grace. 

Beloved, I cannot urge you and myself too often or strongly enough to keep seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit to trust Jesus as our Savior, so that we do not foolishly forever walk away from Christ and His saving love as did Judas. Amen.

To GOD alone be the glory!

© The Rev. Frederick A. Stiemke, DD
Vacancy Pastor