“But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was pit into it.)” John 12:4-6

Judas—what was Judas’s motivation for betraying Jesus?  Greed?  Possibly, the gospel tells us that Judas was a thief and that he often stole from the common purse that the disciples and Jesus shared.  However, just because a person has a problem with stealing, it certainly doesn’t mean they are willing to betray a friend into hands that want him dead.  Nonetheless, Greed is a real possibility.  Or maybe Judas’ motivation to betray Jesus was the more sophisticated suggestion that it was misguided zealotry.  This is the theory that Judas was a Jewish Zealot who was seeking the violent overthrow of the Roman occupation of Israel.  When Judas realized that Jesus was not a political revolutionary but the one who came to suffer the humiliation of the cross, Judas became disillusioned and distraught and, therefore, betrayed Jesus to the religious authorities who wanted him dead.  Or, perhaps, similarly, Judas thought that Jesus’ betrayal would infuriate his followers gathered in Jerusalem for Passover causing a massive insurrection that would lead to direct confrontation with Rome. 

The truth is that John and the other Gospels are not entirely clear as to Judas’ motivation.  Everything I just suggested is shear speculation.  The truth is no one really knows why Judas betrayed Jesus, and, maybe, just maybe, that is the point of the gospel writers.  The motivation is not important, the sin, which is the betrayal itself, is.

Each of us, including myself, has a tendency to try to justify our behavior.  It’s like we truly believe that if our motivations are somehow justified any action, even when terribly hurtful to ourselves or others, is somehow made understandable if not acceptable.  If any of you have spent any time with small children, I am sure you have heard this come out of his or her mouth, “It’s not my fault, he hit me first!”  Or perhaps the thought, “Well everyone is doing it,” has crossed your mind at one point or another.  Or, maybe you have heard someone say, “It’s a dog eat dog world, I’m just trying to survive.”  Does the motivation behind betraying our Lord Jesus ever justify it?  I just don’t think so.

Walter Wangerin Jr., a Lutheran pastor and author, writers, “Does the motivation of a sin—its rationale, its reasons—make it any less a sin?  Isn’t betrayal of the sovereignty of the Lord in our lives always a sin, regardless of the factors that drove us to betray him? Yes!  Yet we habitually defend ourselves and diminish our fault by referring to the reasons why we “had to” do it.  We sinners are so backward that we try to justify ourselves by some condition, which proceeds the sin.  Motives console us.  That’s why we want so badly to have and to know them.”

Now here’s the problem with this process of justifying our sins.  It blinds us from the true justification that can only come from God’s forgiveness.  Our motivations don’t justify our sins.  Instead, the forgiveness God offers in Christ’s death and resurrection justifies our sins.  As long as we seek to justify our own sins, we are made slaves to sin.  In other words, as long as we make excuses for our mistakes, we have to live with them and most likely will repeat them over and over.  It’s not until we repent of our sins.  Repent means turn.  It is not until we turn to God, letting go of all our motivations and excuses, that we receive the free gift of God’s forgiveness which liberates us from the bondage of sin.  We are freed from the guilt and resentment that are associated with the sins that we carry. 

Wangerin continues, “If by excuses I duck my responsibility, I’ll never truly repent, and the forgiveness of Christ will seem incidental to me.  Oh what a wretched state that would be!  But if I own my responsibility, own up to the sin and so repent, then that forgiveness will justify before God even the most horrendous betrayer of Jesus.  Even Judas Iscariot.  Even me.”

When we come forward to receive the Eucharist, the food of new and unending life, we are offered the opportunity to repent—to turn to God.  We are offered the opportunity to bring before God our sins, without the excuses that accompany them, and receive the forgiveness that God offers us through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Imagine, if you will, that the altar rail is a flowing river and as you come forward and stand or kneel before God, with and open and honest heart, image that the river is washing over you and taking far, far from you all that is sinful and broken in your life.  Then be at peace.  Amen.                    

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