SKIPPING EASTER
Easter Sunday 2006
Luke 23-24
April 16, 2006
INTRODUCTION:
A year or two ago a movie came out in theatres called “Christmas with the Kranks.” The movie starred Tim Allen and was based on a book by best-selling author John Grisham titled “Skipping Christmas.” The movie told the hilarious tale of what happened to the Kranks when one year they decided to skip Christmas.
The story I have to tell may not be nearly as hilarious, but it has been a part of many major motion pictures and most recently “The Passion of the Christ” directed and produced by Mel Gibson. It also is based on a book – the best selling book of all time – the Holy Bible. It is the story of what happened to a man named Judas Iscariot when one year he decided to skip Easter. And not just any Easter either, but the very first Easter – the Easter Sunday to which all Easter Sundays look back.
Judas had been a faithful follower of Jesus Christ for several years. He had been one of the select few specifically chosen by Christ himself to be a part of his inner circle – to be one of the twelve disciples – to be an apostle. For three years he traveled with Jesus as he was trained by Jesus and taught be Jesus – all in preparation for his role as one of the leaders – one of the pillars of the future church.
Everything seemed to be going so well, but as in all great dramas, something then went wrong – tragically wrong. Judas inexplicably turned on his friend/mentor/rabbi, partnered with a conspiracy of Jewish leaders and betrayed Jesus to his death at the hands of Roman executioners.
But why? Why did Judas do it? This question has been asked for nearly 2,000 years. Why did Judas turn on Jesus? Many suggestions have been offered:
1) The name Iscariot is likely a combination of two Hebrew words – Ish and Kariot, which literally mean Man of Kerioth. If so that means that Judas was the only non-Galilean among the disciples. Perhaps because of this he was considered to be an outsider by the rest of the disciples. All we have to do to see what feeling like an outsider can do to someone and what lengths it can drive them to is to look back at what happened at Columbine a few years ago. Perhaps the same thing that drove the Columbine gunmen drove Judas.
2) Maybe when he learned that there was a Jewish plot to assassinate Jesus he panicked and betrayed his friend in order to save his own skin. Maybe it was that simple: a desire for self-preservation.
3) It is also possible that it was simply good old fashioned greed that motivated Judas. We know that he was greedy for money because the Bible tells us that as Jesus’ treasurer Judas used to cook the books and pocket some of the money when he thought no one was looking. I’ve heard people ask why Judas would do something like this for only thirty pieces of silver. Well, according to my research those thirty pieces of silver would have been worth around $10,000 in today’s money. People have been killed for far less.
4) It has also been suggested that maybe Judas came to hate Christ because Jesus could look straight into his heart and see him for who he really was. Others might look to him as someone who was really somebody. An elite follower of Christ. The one trusted with the finances. But every time Jesus looked at him Judas could see the disappointment in his eyes for Jesus saw a thief and a traitor.
5) It is also possible that Iscariot wasn’t a derivative of Hebrews words, but of Greek. If so his name may have meant “Dagger Bearer.” The Dagger Bearers were an elite group of violent Jewish nationalists who would do anything – even assassination – in order to see Israel freed from Roman control. Perhaps he thought he saw in Jesus the makings of a political Savior who would unite the people and overthrow the Romans. However, when it became apparent that Jesus had no such ambitions Judas grew disappointed and disillusioned and betrayed him in disgust.
6) On the other hand, it is possible that Judas never intended for Jesus to die that day. He may have been disappointed when he realized that Jesus had no intention of using his supernatural powers to deliver the Jews from Roman rule and so Judas decided to force his hand. Judas may well have believed that when they came to arrest Jesus and kill him that he would call upon 10,000 angels to destroy the Romans and set him free.
So why did Judas turn on and betray Jesus? We may never know, but one thing we can be sure of. The consequences were devastating, disastrous and deadly. And I’m not talking about the consequences for Jesus, but the consequences for Judas. For when Judas realized that Jesus wasn’t going to call on those 10,000 angels, but was going to allow himself to be tried and tortured it was more that he could bear. Judas broke.
Matthew tells us what happened to Judas in Matthew 27:3-5:
3Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” 5And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.
Judas’ betrayal of Christ was not the end of Christ, but it was the end of Judas. While the story of Judas came to a premature end the story of Christ unexpectedly went on, but Judas missed it. So what all did Judas miss out on because he took the ‘easy’ way out? In Luke’s account we see at least four significant things that Judas missed when he tragically chose to skip Easter. Granted he didn’t realize that he was skipping Easter because he didn’t know that Easter was coming in only three short days. Had he known that maybe he would have waited, maybe he would have hung on a little bit longer and maybe the outcome would have been gloriously different. But he didn’t. So let me just say here that if you are feeling that you are at the end of your rope and you feel like throwing in the towel – don’t! With God things can change unexpectedly and dramatically for the good. Your situation might seem hopeless, but Jesus Christ specializes in hopeless cases.
The following story was told by “Dear Abby.” A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. In the affluent neighborhood in which they lived it was customary for parents to buy a car for their children when they graduated. So the boy had spent hours looking for and picking out his favorite car. And of course he made sure that his dad knew which one he wanted. Well, when graduation day came there was no car. Instead his father handed him a gift-wrapped box and inside the box was a Bible. The young man threw the Bible down in disgust and stormed out of the house and never again spoke to his father.
It was only the news of his father’s death years later that finally brought him back home again. As he was going through some of his father’s possessions he came across that Bible which his father had saved all these years. He picked it up and opened it and to his shock he found, tucked in the front cover, a check for the exact amount needed to purchase the car he had picked out.
By rejecting his father’s gift he not only missed out on the greatest book ever written, he not only missed out on the car of his dreams, but he also missed out on a relationship with his father who obviously loved him very much. When we reject our heavenly Father’s gift of Easter we too are missing out on much more than we might think.
Let’s look together at what exactly Judas missed out on when he skipped Easter – what all who skip Easter even today miss out on.
1. JUDAS MISSED OUT ON A PARDON FROM CHRIST.
After Jesus was betrayed by Judas, he was arrested and tried on trumped up charges with several witnesses committing perjury in order to have him convicted. The Jews found him guilty of blasphemy, turned him over to Pilate who in turn sentenced him to be crucified after having him flogged to within an inch of his life. After flogging him the soldiers put a purple (the color of royalty) robe on him and placed a crown of thorns on his head and then mocked him saying, “All hail the king of the Jews.” Then they strapped the cross beam to his back and led him away to Golgotha or “The Place of the Skull” where they nailed him to the cross with spikes through the wrists and the feet.
After they had done all of this to him Jesus looked down on them from the cross and said in Luke 23:34:
34And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
People have held life-long grudges toward others for far less than all of that. And yet Jesus graciously offers pardon to those who were undeniable guilty of the most heinous criminal act in all of human history. But this just goes to show that Jesus literally lived and died by his teaching: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28).
It is one thing to talk the talk, but here we see Jesus walking the walk under the most difficult circumstances imaginable. We also see that Judas wasn’t the only one to blame for what happened to Jesus – not that the fact lessens his guilt. But if Jesus could forgive the members of the Sanhedrin who conspired against him and if he could forgive the false witnesses who lied about him and if he could forgive Pilate who was too spineless to uphold the law and if he could forgive the soldiers who murdered him, then he certainly could have forgiven Judas who betrayed him. But Judas skipped Easter and missed out on the pardon of Christ.
2. JUDAS MISSED OUT ON THE PEACE OF CHRIST.
I imagine that Judas took his own life because he was so tormented in his soul over “betraying innocent blood” that he couldn’t stand it or himself any longer. His spirit was filled with guilt because he had missed the pardon of Christ and his heart was filled with grief because he had missed the peace of Christ. But the peace of Christ was coming on Easter Sunday, if only he hadn’t skipped it.
On resurrection Sunday Jesus had appeared to some women in the graveyard, to Peter and also to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The disciples had gathered together in Luke 24:36-38 and…
36As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”
Indeed, why be troubled when Jesus has returned from the dead and he has brought the gift of peace of mind and soul with him? If only Judas hadn’t skipped Easter, his pressure could have been replaced with Christ’s peace.
And Judas would have known that this peace was coming if he hadn’t also skipped out on another key event. Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples, including Judas, in what we now refer to as The Last Supper. During the meal Jesus prophesied that one of the Twelve would betray him and Judas left the meal early to go do just that. Shortly after Judas skipped out Jesus told his disciples in John 14:27:
27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Jesus made it plain that he wasn’t offering a worldly kind of peace that one has when all is well, but a spiritual, supernatural peace that one has even in the midst of testing and trying times. This was the peace that Judas needed so desperately and it is the same peace that people living in our world today need every bit as desperately as Judas did.
Many of you are going through difficult times right now. Family problems and financial problems. Physical problems and psychological problems. Problems at home and problems at work. Not to mention all of the problems that we read about in the newspaper or hear about on the nightly news. Christ does not promise to preserve us from problems, but he does promise to provide peace in the midst of our problems. Don’t make the same mistake Judas did. Don’t skip out on Easter and miss out on Jesus’ provision of peace.
3. JUDAS MISSED OUT ON THE POWER OF CHRIST.
Today when almost anything of significance happens, it seems that there is always a reporter there, covering the story for a news outlet. If the arrest of Jesus had taken place in modern times one would assume that there would have been a number of reporters on hand, shoving their microphones in Judas’ face and asking the million dollar question, “Why, Judas? Why did you betray your mentor? What did you hope to get from it? What were you seeking?”
I suspect that the one thing that Judas had craved all his life, but never had was power. He was a nationalist and as such he craved the political and military power to overthrow the Roman occupation of the Holy Land and liberate his people. He longed for the power to make a difference in this world. He longer for the power to change the status quo – the power to do good. But in the end by doing things his own way the only power he found was the power to take his own life and by doing so he missed out on a power that was far greater than anything he could ever have imagined.
For shortly before Jesus ascended back into heaven he came to his disciples saying in Luke 24:49:
49And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
You see, those who “stay[ed]” got the power, but Judas skipped out on Easter. It may not have been the kind of power that he was expecting, but it was a power so great that eventually even their enemies in Thessalonica would recognize that they had “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). All Judas wanted was the power to change the political scene in a tiny little country in the Middle East, but the disciples received the power to change the whole world.
The Greek word that Jesus used for power (dunamos) is the word from which we get our English words like dynamic, dynamo and dynamite. This was a dynamic and explosive spiritual force that was unleashed on the world through the faithful followers of Christ. It was the power to preach and see sinners convicted and souls saved. It was the power to pray and see the sick healed, the lame walk and the dead rise. It was the power to change the entire world one life at a time. It was a power whose life changing properties have not been diminished even by the passing of some 2,000 years of history. Kings have come and gone, empires have risen and fallen, but the power of Jesus Christ is just potent as it was on the day of Pentecost. But Judas missed it.
And it is important for us to realize today that this power was not only made available to the first disciples, but is also available to all of Christ’s disciples even today. Paul wanted us to understand this when he said, “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:19-20, NLTse). The very same power that raised Christ from the dead is accessible today “for us who believe [in] him.” It is the power to keep on keeping on in spite of your problems and pain. It is the power to live a life of holiness – a life of noble character – a life of integrity – when it would be much easier to cut corners like everyone else seems to be doing. It is the power to resist sin and temptation and to do the right thing in the right way and for the right reasons. It is the power to love the unlovable and to forgive the unforgivable. It is all the power you will ever need for every situation you will ever face. So don’t miss out on it like Judas did.
4. JUDAS MISSED OUT ON PARADISE WITH CHRIST.
The Bible tells us that Jesus was not the only one to be executed that day. For in addition to Jesus two criminals were crucified as well. Luke tells us that while they were hanging on their crosses dying the following verbal exchange took place:
39One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40but the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43And he said to him “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
This promise could just as easily have been given to Judas if only he hadn’t skipped Easter. These were hardened criminals who quite frankly were getting exactly what they deserved. Regardless of how you may personally feel about the death penalty the facts are that they committed the crime and were being punished as the law called for. And yet to the criminal who was repentant Jesus promised that he would be with him in paradise that very same day. The point is that this criminal wasn’t any more innocent than Judas so if this criminal could get to go to paradise then so could have Judas had he not skipped Easter. This means that if those men were candidates for paradise then so are you if only you will follow the example of the penitent criminal. No matter what you have done, no matter how bad it was and no matter how many times you have done it, if you are willing to repent of your sins and look to the Lord Jesus in faith, then you too can experience the pardon of Christ and look forward to experiencing paradise with Christ for all of eternity.
CONCLUSION:
The November 2001 issue of Sports Illustrated was covering the baseball World Series in which the Arizona Diamondbacks came back to beat the New York Yankees in the last inning of the last game. That great comeback got the editors to thinking about other great comebacks in history and so they put together a top ten list of the greatest comebacks of all time.
It was a list that was broader than just sports. Elvis Presley made the list as a result of a TV special in 1968 that revived his sagging career. Muhammad Ali made the list for his comeback from a seven year forced exile from boxing to once again become the undisputed heavy weight champion of the world. Harry Truman was listed because of his 1948 victory over Thomas Dewey when all of the polls had shown him trailing significantly. Michael Jordan made the list because of when he went from baseball back to basketball and won another three championships. Humanity itself made the top ten list for its comeback from the Black Plague which killed 25 million Europeans in the 14th century. Number two among the all time comebacks was a tie between Germany and Japan for coming back from being devastated by World War II to become economic powers within only a generation. And the number one greatest comeback of all time according to the editors of Sports Illustrated – Jesus Christ, A.D. 33.
Now I don’t know if one of the editors was a Christian and was trying to make a point or if Jesus’ listing was purely in jest, but regardless of the editors motivations they certainly got that one right. Jesus Christ’s comeback from death to life was the greatest comeback of all time. And unlike all of the other comebacks that made the top ten list, this is one comeback that we can get in on as well. For in Romans 6:5 Paul said, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
That is what Judas missed out on when he skipped Easter – he missed out on Christ’s comeback and therefore he missed out on his own comeback. What an incredible comeback story Judas would have been. His would have been one of the greatest comeback stories in scripture. He would have been right up there with Moses who committed murder and fled from Egypt in fear only to comeback and lead the Israelites out of slavery. He would have been right up there with Peter who denied with oaths and curses that he even knew Jesus only to comeback and become the pillar and leader of the early church. Just imagine what Judas’ comeback story could have been. He could have written scripture and planted churches and performed miracles, but he missed out on all of that.
And so this is the sum of it: Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on that first Easter morning we have the promise of pardon for our past sins, peace and power for our present living and paradise for our future. So whatever you may do this Easter Sunday don’t make the same mistake that Judas did. Don’t skip Easter and miss out on the offer – the comeback – of a lifetime. And obviously I’m talking about something more than skipping church because you obviously haven’t done that – and I commend you for that.
You see, Jesus Christ died on the cross in order to pay the penalty for sins committed, but not for his own sins. Rather he died to pay for the sins of the world – your sins and my sins. He did this so that we wouldn’t have to get what we deserve – that’s called grace or unmerited favor. We don’t do anything to deserve it, but by the grace of God, which we access through our faith, we receive the forgiveness of sins. That is what Easter is all about. Don’t miss out on it!
