Loving God, we don’t always understand your ways, but we come to you, trusting in your love.  Help us to know that you are with us, whether in joy or sorrow, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Today, as we enter into Holy Week, we hear the perspective of Judas Iscariot – the one who betrayed Jesus.  The “Iscariot” part of Judas’ name most likely refers to where he is from, which is Kerioth, in southern Judah.  It is added to distinguish him from another Judas, who was also a disciple of Jesus (Lk. 6:16).  We imagine that these are some excerpts from the journal of Judas Iscariot:

         “Today I thought that Jesus was finally going to take his place as Messiah and king.  He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, just like the prophet Zechariah had said (Zech. 9:9).  People waved their palms and shouted “Hosanna!” – a fitting welcome for the Messiah, and a good victory parade for any king.  It seems that people were finally recognizing Jesus as the Messiah – especially after he had raised Lazarus from the dead with so many witnesses.

         But even after this kingly welcome, Jesus kept on talking as if he was going to die soon.  Of course, I knew that the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus, but surely, if he could raise the dead, he could also outwit the religious leaders, and get rid of the Romans to boot!  Still – Jesus kept on saying and doing things that were really hard to figure out.

         Even before he rode into Jerusalem, he had allowed Mary to waste a whole pound of expensive perfume on him.  I had suggested selling it and giving the money to the poor instead, but Jesus actually defended her!  Even then, he was already talking about his burial.

         At the same time, he kept on talking about being a servant.  Why would he, who obviously had such great power, keep talking about dying?  And why would he, who should have been ruling the people of Israel as God’s Messiah, keep on acting as if he were a servant?  It was especially embarrassing when we were having supper and he got up to wash everybody’s feet.  He seemed to think that he was teaching us, but what a strange way to teach!  I kept getting my hopes up, and then he disappointed me over and over again.

         Finally, I knew I had to force his hand.  I knew I had to try and get him to show his power, once and for all.  So, I made a deal with the religious leaders to do exactly as they had asked.  I would show them where he was, and they would give me the price for a slave (which seemed to be what he wanted to be).  And so, they arrested him and took him to the house of the high priest.

         I was sure that Jesus would do something to show them his true identity and take his rightful place as the Messiah.  However, as time wore on this seemed less and less likely.  They kept him there all night, slapped him around a bit, strung him up, and then took him to Pilate in the morning.  Once he was in Pilate’s hands, it soon became clear that Jesus would be crucified.

         This wasn’t at all what I had intended, but it was too late.  The chief priests wouldn’t take back the money, and an innocent man was going to be crucified.  What have I done, Jesus?  What have I done?  And when did things go so horribly wrong?”

         Judas, it seems, had misunderstood what kind of a king Jesus was going to be – and he certainly wasn’t the only one.  While earthly kings give the orders to put others to death, Jesus is the king who dies for the sake of others. 

         In the gospel of John, soon after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he speaks to his followers about a grain of wheat falling into the earth and dying.  When this doesn’t happen, it remains just a single grain, but when “it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn. 12:24). Undoubtedly, Jesus was not simply talking about wheat, but was referring to his own death.  Sure – Jesus had the power to give life to those who had died, like Lazarus.  However, it would only be through his own death and resurrection that Jesus could bring life to all people.

         His followers, though, did not understand this at the time, and were absolutely devastated when Jesus was crucified.  Those who knew him couldn’t bear to see him suffer like this.  Many people today feel the same way when they see what is going on in our world – particularly in Ukraine right now.  Yet, our sorrow is not just for one person, but for millions.

         Jesus, as one who suffered himself, is right there with them – and with us – sharing their sorrow.  And we continue to look to the God who can bring life out of death, and who came in love for the life of the world.  Amen.

Palm / Passion Sunday (NL 4)      John 12:12-19; 19:16b-22

April 10, 2022

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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