DAY 310 - Lord, Have Mercy

Matthew 26:14-16, 47-50 (NIV) ¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. ⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁵⁰ Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.

Matthew 27:3-5 (NIV) ³ When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver 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.” ⁵ So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

Jesus is Divine mercy breaking in the reality of human misery, with the authority to heal and to free, but also with the willingness to suffer. From the time that Jesus rode into Jerusalem till he was mocked and was crucified Jesus was out to conquer us with the mercy of God. He means to break us of our prideful self-reliance, of our blind seeking for the illusions of happiness. He means to invade our life with the Spirit, to gain more influence on our thoughts, to shape the desires and passions of our heart, and to direct our behavior toward the fulfillment of God’s purpose for our life. Jesus means to conquer, but He conquers with mercy.

If mercy is the way God in Christ seeks to conquer us, then resistance to mercy is not merely disobedience or even rebellion. Resistance is betrayal, and is there anything more painful than betrayal? We can disobey a boss, but we betray a friend who cares about us. We can disobey the government, but we betray a husband or wife who believes in us. And so, Judas is not simply disobedient. He is a betrayer. He sees the mercy of Jesus toward a woman who is a known sinner, but then sought an opportunity to betray Jesus. And, rather than accept the mercy of God regarding his betrayal of Jesus, He hanged himself.

Betrayal violates a trust. Betrayal is hypocritical and deceptive. Betrayal harms the one who cares about us the most. Only one who is loved and trusted can become a betrayer. It is fairly easy for us to think of our sin as doing something wrong or as not being perfect or as disobeying God. We can live rather comfortably with that kind of failure. But if God is seeking us in mercy, then to refuse that mercy and to reject that mercy is not merely disobedience. It is betrayal of one who cares. The bottom line in our relationship to God is not “am I obeying God or am I disobeying God?” The bottom, line is, “Am I being faithful to God or am I betraying Him?”

From a sermon  preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March 31, 1996

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell (Broyles)