Acts 1:12-26 (Easter 7)

Acts 1:12-26 (Easter 7)                                               
St. John, Galveston 5/17/26
Rev. Alan Taylor
                                   
+ In Nomine Jesu +
 
Grace and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

"Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”
 
    "You, me and Judas Iscariot.” What do we have in common with one another? While you might be inclined to say, “pastor, we don’t have anything in common with Judas, after all, he’s the one who betrayed Jesus.” While you might be inclined to judge Judas for that last sinful act, one of betrayal and unfaithfulness, you shouldn’t conclude too hastily that you have nothing in common with him. After all, doesn’t the Bible say elsewhere that “there are none righteous, not even one?” Doesn’t it also say, “we all, like sheep, have gone astray, and we have turned each to our own way?” Oh, and back in the days of Noah, didn’t God say, doesn’t it also say, “every intention of the thoughts of (the heart of man) was only evil continually?” In thinking about Judas and his sin, it’s like we try to run in different directions in order to separate ourselves from him, but down every path, every road, we run headlong into Scripture passages that say, “you’re just like Judas.”

    Some, I suppose in order to protect their “once saved always saved” understanding of faith, question whether Judas ever actually believed in Jesus.  Of course, if you believe that once your saved you can never lose your faith, you would have have assume that Judas never did believe. But how could know that he never believed in Jesus? Well, because if he did, he wouldn’t have fallen away from that faith! Do you see how that works?

    There is actually a third way to deal with the question of whether or not we have anything in common with Judas, and that is to distance ourselves from him by putting him into another category altogether. Judas, some would say, was not like the rest of us. No, he was destined to do what he did, that is, to betray Jesus. In that sense, God didn’t love him the way that He loves you. He wasn’t brought into the world to be saved. No, he was brought into the world to betray Jesus and ultimately to be damned! That’s why Jesus chose him to be counted among His twelve disciples, so that he could get close to Him and betray Him. After all, it had been prophesied that Jesus “would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.” This view of Judas is what is known as double predestination, that God destines some people to saved, and He destines others to be damned. 
 
    The problem with this view of Judas is that it portrays God as cruel and arbitrary in His judgement. And, in a rather insidious way, it ultimately robs the believer of his or her certainty of God's grace toward them in Christ Jesus. The point is really very simple, if there is even one person that God brought into the world for the express purpose of damning them, then none of us can be certain that God’s intent toward us is any different. God's grace is either universal, that is, it is either for all people, or it's particular, meaning, it’s only for some people. If His grace is particular, or limited, we can only hope that we’ve been chosen for salvation, but we can never really be certain that we’ve been chosen to be saved.
 
    Let's go back to the original question for a moment. What do you and I have in common with Judas Iscariot? Well, to begin with, we are all sinners in need of God’s grace and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. As the Scriptures say, “we’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Our sins may differ in type, but not in their ability to separate us from God in this life and ultimately to damn us for eternity. An old preacher once said, "How idle it is to talk of other men being greater sinners than we are—to flatter and deceive ourselves with that! A person who has his or her head beneath one inch of water drowns as surely as the one who, with a millstone hung around his neck, has sunk a hundred feet down into the sea."
 
    How grateful we are that God’s grace in Christ Jesus is universal, that it is for all people. The Scriptures tell us that “God would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." That includes you, me and Judas. "For God so loved the world (literally, the cosmos) that He gave His only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life." God loved and cared for Judas as surely as He loves and cares for you.
 
    For a reason unknown to any of us, Judas rejected God's grace toward him in Christ. Oh, the external signs of his rejection are evident, but the 'why' remains a mystery. In the end, he chose temporal wealth over eternal wealth, the favor of Kings and governors, over the favor of the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the praise of men over the praise of God. Why Judas choose things of this world over the things of God, when you I didn’t, is a mystery.  After-all, we all face the same temptations Judas faced, don’t we?
 
    Matthias was chosen to replace Judas, in part, because we are all like Judas and God’s word must be proclaimed to all us. As Luther reminds us, "we can't believe in Christ or come to Him, unless we have been called by the Gospel, enlightened with God’s gifts and sanctified and kept in the one true faith."  For us to be "called by the Gospel,” someone must preach it. As St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, “how then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”

“And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and aMatthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” 
 
    My friends, forsake the question of why Judas didn't believe, and hear the word of Christ, the word preached by Matthias and those who would come after him, the word of God's love for you, a love that moved Him to sacrifice His own Son for you!
 
    A traveler in Europe once noticed a carving of a lamb high up on a stone near the top of a church tower. He had seen such carvings of a lamb before, but never in such a place. Usually they would be inside the church, near or on the altar or pulpit. Asking for an explanation, he was told that in the days when the church was being built, one of the workmen lost his footing and fell from the scaffolding just when that particular stone was being laid. His fellow workmen hurried to the ground and they were shocked to see the man standing there brushing the dust from his clothes. He had fallen into the midst of a flock of sheep. One lamb in particular broke his fall. The man, looking at the lamb said, "he was crushed, but I live.” The workmen carved a lamb on that stone so that all might remember the miraculous escape of the workman. But more than that, it also points everyone to “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” 
 
    Jesus was crushed that you might live! He broke your fall as you were heading headlong into the abyss of hell. He lifted you up in the power of His resurrection to live before Him in innocence, blessedness and peace. He gives you, even today, His pledge of His forgiveness and grace, His broken body and His crimson blood, given and shed for you, that you might have life and salvation in His name.  
 
“You, me and Judas.”

"Lord, I believe, we’re sinners more
Than sands upon the ocean shore,
Thou hast for all a ransom paid,
For all a full atonement made."

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ Amen.
 
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.
 
                                   + Soli Deo Gloria +