In all seriousness, the answer is simple. But, the rationale is more complex. At the time of the Reformation, the practice concerning confession (penance) had become onerous upon the people. The problem was that the Papists demanded every sin be recalled accurately and confessed in order to be forgiven. Furthermore, penance needed also to be rightly performed in order for absolution to stick. This is impossible for human beings and makes forgiveness dependent on our work instead of the work of Jesus.
In the Augsburg Confession (1530 AD), Lutherans say: “Our churches teach that private Absolution should be retained in the churches, although listing all sins is not necessary for confession. For according to the Psalm, it is impossible. ‘Who can discern his errors?’ (Psalm 19:12)” [Augsburg Confession 11]
There’s a curious shift in language here. The author, Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther’s close friend and fellow reformation teacher, speaks here of the practice as “Absolution.” the shift in language in this discussion identifies our unique Lutheran perspective. For us the point is hearing Jesus words of forgiveness to us from our pastor. This is very different than the Romanist practice of enumerating sins, hearing conditional forgiveness, and performing penance in the hopes of receiving what has been promised.
The papists continued to push back against the Lutheran reformers in many of the articles of the Augsburg Confession. This sparked a response from Melanchthon in the form of the Apology to the Augsburg Confession.
Concerning confession, the Apology to the Augsburg Confession (1531 AD) says, “It is well known that we have made clear and praised the benefit of Absolution and the Power of the Keys. Many troubled consciences have derived comfort from our teaching. They have been comforted after they have heard that it is God’s command, no, rather the very voice of the Gospel, that we should believe the Absolution and regarded as certain that the forgiveness of sins is freely granted to us for Christ’s sake. … Previously, the entire power of absolution had been kept under wraps by teaching about works. For the learned persons and monks taught nothing about faith and free forgiveness.” [Apology 11]
There are two important notes for us to observe here. The first is that our understanding is that Absolution is to serve in calming and comforting the troubled consciences of sinners who confess. As we say in the Small Catechism, “…but before the pastor we should confess only those sins which we know and feel in our hearts.” Private Confession and the Absolution delivered therein is for Christians to have confidence that the forgiveness of sins promised to us in the Gospel is indeed delivered directly to us. We all struggle in understanding and believing that even our sin can be forgiven. That’s exactly why we Lutherans retain and uphold the practice of private absolution.
The second point Melanchthon makes cuts back again to the practice of penance as the central part of confession in the Romanist understanding. The learned persons and monks continued in teaching directly and indirectly that our work of confession was somehow involved in receiving the forgiveness. Moreover, that our work of penance played a part in earning this same forgiveness. That’s wrong. We have rejected that teaching for 500 years and continue to do so today. Forgiveness from God is free.
The confidence we receive from hearing that forgiveness privately from our pastor for those specific grievous sins that trouble our hearts most is the very Word of the Gospel in our ears. God does not expect us to find confidence within ourselves in our struggle and tribulation. He gives us the very words of his forgiveness in which we may hear and trust as often as we have need.
Dear Christians, Let us live joyfully from the words of forgiveness!
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
We Lutherans have two ways to speak about Absolution. In some instances Absolution is spoken of as a Sacrament, and in other places, it is not. It might be a good time to remind ourselves how the Evangelical Lutheran Church defines a Sacrament. How we define the term Sacrament makes all the difference.
Absolution does not have a physical element. It merely is the Word of Christ of forgiveness. There is nothing to which the Word of Christ is added. By Augustine’s definition Absolution is not a Sacrament.
That’s kind of a tough question. Different translations have different attributes, which make them good. The one thing leading to different translations is the simple fact that translation is absolutely necessary.
The Bible comes to us in a few languages. The Old Testament is primarily written in Hebrew with some Aramaic near the end. The New Testament is written in Greek. There are also two ancient translations that can help us understand God’s Word in its time frame. The Septuagint (LXX) is an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament from around 325 BC. And the Vulgate is a Latin translation of the Old and New Testaments from 405 AD.
The LXX can help us by way of its translation methodology. The pre-Christian Jewish scribes who translated the LXX made conceptual decisions from their understanding of their native tongue into the Greek. That reveals understandings that may have otherwise been lost through the loss of a Hebrew culture. It’s also worth noting that all of the Old Testament quotations by Jesus, the Apostles, including St. Paul, and the Evangelists appear to come from LXX.
The Vulgate was written very close to the close of the canon. The Bible as we received it is called the canon of scripture. At the council of Nicaea in 325 AD, we determined which books were to be included and excluded from the Bible.
The Vulgate gives us a view of translation from a native Greek speaker. St. Jerome finished translating within 80 years of the first time many Christians had seen all of the books of the New Testament together. In a 2000 year old church, that’s a significantly narrow window for understanding. That’s akin to hearing firsthand about the struggles of the great depression from one of those surviving folks, who were alive to see it.
In the LCMS, we are currently using the English Standard Bible (ESV) as our altar Bible. We have used other translations including: the New International Version (NIV), the Revised Standard Version (RSV), and King James Version (KJV). These are all good translations in their own way.
I will frequently use those and other translations in my studies and preaching. I will also stumble through some of my own translation. The process of struggling with the source languages helps us to understand conceptually rather than only in a word-by-word sense.
Sometimes you will hear Christians say things like, “our Bible is a translation of a translation of a translation of a translation going back for centuries.” And then, there will be some claim place upon that statement. None of the claims are valid, because the basis is untrue. We have the Bible in its original languages. Our English translations come from the original source, Our English Bibles have only been translated once.
That’s true of most Bibles available throughout the world. Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT) and other organizations have spent over a century translating the same Bible from its Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek sources into the languages with which they’ve come in contact.
So, let’s compare a few translations concerning just one passage of the Bible. Ephesians 2:8-10 in our altar bible (ESV) reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
This passage is central to our Lutheran understanding of how grace and faith work. In the life of a Christian, grace and faith are given to us by God. They are not works we do. Nor can they be earned in any way.
Now, how else have we heard this text? The older English of the King James Version (KJV) reads, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
In the KJV, the works we do sound as if they are ordered by God in our modern ears. In the ESV, the works are prepared for us by God. The ESV is more faithful to the Greek in this case. It gets at the sense of who’s doing the doing here. And, it’s not us.
Compare those with the RSV, NIV, and New King James Version (NKJV)
RSV: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
NIV: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
NKJV: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
You’ll notice they are all very similar. In particular, the NKJV has moved in the same direction as the ESV regarding that verb concerning our works. They are “prepared” rather than “ordained.”
Now there are some Bibles called translations that are not. The New Living Translation (NLT), The Message and The Voice are not translations. They are paraphrases — a restatement of the Bible from English into English is a paraphrase. Calling those a translation implies that we can translate from English into English. Since, there is no consultation with the source text. These Bibles are nothing more than a what-this-says-to-me scribbling by the authors.
You’ll notice The Message sounds very little like those texts above: “Ephesians 2 7-10 “Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”
These paraphrases aren’t useless for Christians. But, they also aren’t the Bible in any sense. A best, they are like a study guide. The study guides are written by non-Lutherans and will contain different interpretations than we might use.
I would suggest the following translations on your shelf at home. If you can only get one, start with the first. Then add them in sequence from there. In your studies, start from the top and work through the others. These are they: ESV, NKJV, OSB (Orthodox Study Bible – we’ll discuss the attributes of that one another time), KJV, RSV, NIV, and then others. Please avoid paraphrases in general. Most of us spend so little time in God’s Word. An interpretive reading isn’t as good as a plain, clear translation.
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Luther began his journey to the Imperial Diet at Worms during the first week of April 1521. Yet he was by far not alone. The Imperial Herald Caspar Sturm escorted him. Augustinian monk Johann Petzensteiner accompanied him, along with Nicholas von Amsdorf, his Wittenberg colleague and friend. Peter von Suaven, a Pomeranian noble and several students came along. The city of Wittenberg supplied a cart and the University paid him traveling expenses. Judge Justus Jonas joined them at Erfurt. Melanchthon could not go, since he had teaching obligations.
The route took them across the river to Leipzig, whose city council presented him with a gift of wine. From there it was on to Naumburg, Weimar, Erfurt, where he attended University and then on to Gotha and Eisenach, where he was born and would die 25 years later. In Naumburg, he was the guest of the Burgomeister. In Weimar, Duke John, the brother of Elector Frederick, presented him with a gift to cover travel expenses. He there learned of an imperial order to confiscate his books. The herald asked if he wanted to continue. Luther replied that only force to prevent him would stop him from presenting himself before the Emperor.
On April 6, he entered Erfurt, escorted with an honor guard of sixty horsemen. He was greeted with a celebration, complete with public speeches. Luther could not help but compare the reception to the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It was not a very comforting thought. Luther preached to a packed Augustinian church on April 7th, Notes were taken and the sermon immediately published. He would also preach in Gotha and Eisenach. He fell ill in Eisenach, but soon felt better. The procession reached Frankfort on 14 April, where he felt well enough to party with his friends and play the Lute. There Georg Spalatin met him. He told the elector’s secretary: “But Christ lives, and we shall enter Worms in spite of all the gates of hell and the powers in the air … even if as many devils were in that city as tiles on the roofs.”
The Law required that Jesus be buried before the start of the Sabbath Day. So, Joseph takes his body and quickly prepares it for burial, but he does not have time to fully prepare the body. This is why the women were taking spices to the tomb early on Easter morning. They were going to complete what could not be done on Friday.
But remember what the chief priests and Pharisees do on the Sabbath. They go to Pilate and ask for a guard. They know full well what Jesus said and want to make sure there are no shenanigans. At least, none that aren’t their own doing. It seems the disciples have forgotten, but these men remember that Jesus said that no sign will be given but the sign of Jonah. They remember that He said He would be raised on the third day. So, they ask Pilate to station guards at the tomb to make sure the disciples don’t steal the body of Jesus.
Soldiers are stationed at the tomb. It is made secure by sealing the stone. No one will be getting by these soldiers to steal the body of Jesus. If the tomb is to be made empty, the only way it will happen is if Jesus really is who He said to be.
The chief priests, the elders, and the Pharisees act like they do to prevent a faked resurrection. How ironic that this act of unbelief is what will provide strong and compelling evidence of the actual and factual resurrection of Jesus Christ!
As for Jesus? He is resting. He is taking his Sabbath. He is waiting for the morning and His resurrection, His victory march through hell, and His revealing to his disciples. He has completed all that He came to do. And rest assured that His work is totally sufficient to save even you from your sins. Do not doubt but believe. Do not fear, but with boldness and confidence await the glorious resurrection of your Lord. It is coming. He has promised He would rise. And your God does not lie.
This Holy Week, we have traveled with our Lord. In your churches, you have celebrated the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday. You have read again His passion, and tomorrow we celebrate again His glorious Resurrection. We shall rejoice that through His work – His suffering and death – you are freed from all your sin. No longer are you a slave to sin. In your baptism, you are made a child of God, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and stand justified before the Father. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
We are all used to darkness falling at the end of each day over the earth, but we aren’t used to it happening at noon. Yet this is exactly what occurred. From noon to 3 pm there was darkness over the land. According to the prophets, darkness was a sign of judgment and of sorrow. And to be sure, judgment is taking place in this darkness. Your sin is being judged right here in this text. And it is taking a toll on the One who is suffering it. Finally, about three in the afternoon, the Man cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus, in His agony, cries out the beginning of the 22nd Psalm. Near the middle of the Psalm, the Psalmist writes:“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.” It is not hard to imagine how this fits Jesus. He is thirsty. He is beaten. His is zapped of all his energy. He is near death.
Upon hearing His cry and thinking Jesus is calling Elijah, He is given some sour wine to drink. Then the people wait. They want to see if Elijah will save Jesus. Of course, he won’t because Jesus isn’t crying out to Elijah. He is crying out to God. His very Father. Jesus cries out once more and gives up His Spirit.
To those there watching, it would seem that’s all there was to it. Until the earth starts shaking. And rocks break apart. Even more, a short distance away something even more dramatic was taking place: In the Temple, the curtain that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place is ripped from top to bottom! It was no longer necessary. Our sins have been atoned for once and for all. No more blood of bulls and goats need to be shed. The blood of Jesus has been poured out for you. It is what we read in Hebrews 9: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest…he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”
In this dark hour, at the death of our Lord, we may rejoice. For your sins are atoned for. Your guilt is washed away. You are redeemed.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
Note: The following is greatly indebted to the edifying sermon from the Rev. Dr. Robert Preus, preached at Concordia Theological Seminary on Maundy Thursday, 1988. Find it here.
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The day we know as Maundy Thursday was a very full day for our Lord. The day began with His disciples asking him where He wished to have what would be the last Passover meal. He likely taught in and around the Temple, as was his custom when He was in the holy city. And then in the upper room, our Lord institutes what we know as the Sacrament of the Altar, where our Lord gives us His body and blood to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. In so doing, He ushers in the New Covenant in His blood. Even later that same day Jesus then went to the Garden of Gethsemane as was His custom to pray there. While there He would be betrayed by one of his own into the hands of sinners. He was tried before the chief priests, scribes, and elders. And He looked on in love when Peter denied him those three times. A very long day in deed.
But particular to this service for Maundy Thursday, we will recall the events in the upper room recorded for us in St. John. Jesus gave himself over to His disciples in love and service. As John aptly states, He loved His own to the end. Not just Thursday or at the beginning, but that He loved them to the very end. And I suggest He still is in the process of loving His own until the end of the age.
What does Jesus’ act of washing His disciples’ feet on the night he was betrayed and instituted His Supper mean? What should we take away from this act that John records for us? It certainly teaches us his love for his own. He displays divine love, a love that is humble, a love that is unlike any love known to man in the world. A love not of this world. It is a love that motivates the incarnate God to go to the cross for his fallen creation. The love he displays in the act of washing his disciples’ feet is made even more manifest and apparent when he is nailed to the cross for our sins.
Washing feet is an act of humility. And Christ our Lord calls His disciples to imitate this act of humility. But people do not understand humility. The act of Jesus washing feet and any other act of humility is more often than not understood as a sign of weakness rather than a virtue that should be emulated. Peter, speaking for all of the disciples, gives this vibe when he says that he will not be washed by Jesus. “It’s below my master to do this thing.” It’s eerily similar to the event when Jesus told Peter and the disciples what the Christ must do, suffer, die, and then rise. There Peter thought it all beneath his Master to suffer in that way. But like there, Jesus rebukes Peter, “If I do not wash your feet, you have no part in me.” Peter takes the rebuke and gets the hint that what Jesus is doing is at least signifying something very important. So, he goes whole hog the other direction, “not just my feet but also my head.” He wants it all. But then Jesus teaches him that its only his feet which are dirty and need washing.
Another lesson that we receive from our Lord’s washing of his disciples’ feet is not so different than our first lesson. But now we see that Jesus teaches that his forgiveness is also perpetual. Sometimes we are led to believe that I have to do something first before I get forgiveness. That forgiveness is dependent upon me rather than dependent upon the work of Jesus at the cross. But this night Christ our Lord teaches again that the forgiveness of sins is His to give, and He gives it abundantly.
Think about the times that Jesus walked the earth. There were no sneakers or boots like we have nowadays. The roads were dusty, people wore sandals if they wore shoes at all. People did not drive cars, some rode on the backs of various animals, but more often than not people walked. If people were walking around, even after a bath, their feet were always dirty. And it was custom that servants would come and watch the feet of anyone sitting at the table. They would wash the part of the body most susceptible to being dirty from the day, feet. So it is with the spiritual life.
One final lesson which our Lord clearly wants to teach his disciples on the night before His death is that his disciples follow in his example. So, does that mean we should have had a ceremony to begin the service where we all washed each other’s feet? Not exactly, so what does it mean that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and what does it mean for us to follow in his example? Washing feet is not something that we do just one day a year but it is a command. That is why we call this Thursday Maundy Thursday. Maundy comes from the Latin word Mandatum. This is where we get the word mandate. Jesus gives his disciples a new command. Its Command Thursday. And feet washing is the command. To wash feet means to humble ourselves as our Lord humbled himself.
This is what feet washing looks like. And it is hard! It is hard because you are commanded to wash the feet of not just your friends but your enemies! And you are called to do this daily. Humble yourselves before your enemies? Daily you will meet people with dirty feet need to be encouraged, who need to hear the good news that Jesus died for their sins and that they are forgiven. These people will not always be nice people even though they are Christians. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are gloomy, others proud, arrogant, mean.
In the book and class called Love and Respect, there’s a lesson about the different cycles. One is called the crazy cycle. In the crazy cycle, the wife won’t show respect until she is shown love and the husband won’t show love until he is shown some respect. You see how that makes the cycle a continual spiral downward. But we find a connection here. It would be easy to serve those who were nice and appreciative. It takes someone to be mature to break the cycle. To get over the fact of being disrespected or unloved. To show love and respect when it isn’t deserved.
Christ our Lord did that. He came to His own and they did not understand. He came and died while we were still His enemies. He washed the feet of those men who would run away from him when he was arrested. He showed love and forgiveness to His enemies, and He commands us to do this as well. We are commanded to wash feet.
Have in your own mind the mind of Christ Jesus our Lord. Receive His life blood and His body into yourself and be enlivened to live in righteousness and purity before him. Receive the washing which Christ has given to you in Holy Baptism. Return to the promise of the Gospel often. Receive the forgiveness of sins. Go wash your neighbors’ feet. Love them as Christ loved. Humble yourself before them. And the love and the forgiveness He has goes until the end.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp St. Peter’s Lutheran Church La Grange, MO
After his Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem a few days ago, our King is now made ready to take his throne. He is given a scarlet robe, a crown, and a scepter. He is hailed as King! But hold on, for details matter.
Our King is delivered to be crucified into the hands of the masters of cruelty that were Roman soldiers. After they whip Him, these soldiers strip Jesus and put a scarlet robe on Him. Scarlet is the color of royalty. They place a crown upon His head, but it is no jeweled piece of metal, but rather thorns twisted together. And I doubt seriously that any care was taken to place it carefully. A symbol of power is given to Jesus: a reed that was to resemble a scepter. And then the King is mocked. Spiting on Jesus, these scoundrels bow and proclaim, possibly with laughter and scorn in their voices, “Hail, King of the Jews.”
After they have their fun, they lead Him away to be crucified. They force another man to carry the cross, and finally, at long last, they arrive at the throne room. But hardly anyone noticed. Interestingly, Jesus is crucified at Golgotha, the Place of a Skull. A hill that was shaped and looked like a skull is under the feet of Jesus when he is killed. And just before they crucify Jesus, they offer Him gall, a bitter drink of herbs mixed with wine. But He did not take it. No, Jesus was there to suffer for the sins of the world. To suffer hell in your place. He would not have this drink null His senses or numb his pain.
Finally, Jesus is crucified. The sign of His sentence is put over His head: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. The King has taken His throne, but even still, the mocking does not end. Now it is the turn of the passersby and the robbers crucified with Him.
Listen to their blasphemy against Him! Hear the devil tempting Him even here at the cross! “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” Alas, for Jesus to rebuild the temple in three days, He first had to be destroyed. And notice their assumption that He would be seeking self-preservation. They think that surely if this man were the Son of God, He would use his power to save Himself!
The chief priests and elders take their turn in mocking Him: “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.” The reality is they don’t believe He saved others. If they did, they would already believe in Him. And since many of them still refused to believe after the Resurrection, then they are lying about what they would believe if He came down off His cross. Here the teachers of the Law understand so little of what they were experts in, they do not see that the fact that Jesus is God and it is precisely because He is the Son of God that He doesn’t come down off the cross! In order to save you, He cannot save Himself.
God would have been just to zap every one of these blasphemers. But in His mercy, on the cross and listening to them do it, He is winning forgiveness for them. For all who have and all who will sin against Him. They may not trust in Him for this salvation, but from Judas to Pilate to the people here mocking, the battle is being waged on their, and our, behalf.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
I feel for Pilate. He’s in a tough spot. He knows that Jesus is before him out of spite. But at every attempt to free our Lord, the chief priests and elders would rile up the crowd. Even up to risking a riot erupting before him!
Yet there was also a custom. The governor would release a criminal to the crowd. So seemingly in a move of desperation, Pilate offers the worst of the worst for them. An insurrectionist. A man who was guilty of the very thing Jesus was being falsely accused of. His name was Barabbas. Are you aware of what the name Barabbas means? Son of a father. While Jesus usually uses the term Son of Man for himself, he is the Son of God. He is the true Son of the Father.
So, Pilate gives the Jews a choice: He can release to them the terrorist Barabbas or the actual Son of the Father. Pilate must be thinking that, given this choice and even with their leaders’ hatred of Jesus that they will ask for Jesus to be released. Surely, they wouldn’t ask for and receive a murderous rioter. But given the choice between the Son of Man and the son of a father, the crowd chooses Barabbas.
Dumfounded, Pilate asks, “Why, what evil has he done?” Notice the crowds do not answer the question because there is no evil that Jesus has done. So instead of answering, they only shriek all the more, “Let him be crucified!” Jesus has done nothing but good. And in an unenlightened, morally upside-down world, this is precisely the reason that He must be opposed, slandered, and, finally, killed.
And just as the guilty man is let go to be free among the people, the just and righteous Son of God is condemned to death. He is to die for the same people that are crying out for his blood. Pilate understands that Jesus is innocent and tries to absolve himself by washing his hands and claiming to be innocent of the blood of Jesus. But because he too is a sinner, he is just as guilty as the Jews who answer, “His blood be on us and our children.”
On that day, Pilate didn’t want to be responsible for the injustice of condemning an innocent man to death. Meanwhile, these Jews were happy to see Christ murdered. But what does it mean for us today to have the blood of Jesus be on us and our children? Simply this: Since He is the Christ, He has taken all our sins upon Himself, even those of Judas, Pilate, the crowd, and Barabbas. And He has been crucified for them, as we will hear shortly.
And now? You are washed clean by the blood of Christ. The holy, precious, and innocent blood of Jesus spilled because of your sin.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
Part 1: Jesus before Pilate and the Death of Judas (Matthew 27:1–14)
Already at this point in the lesson, Jesus has endured some week. It began with what looked like a coronation. People meet Jesus as he comes into town and are throwing palm branches onto the ground before him. They are shouting, “Hosanna!” Shouting essentially, “Save me!” And those who witnessed Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead were still bearing witness to what Jesus had done. Could things get any better? Then again, do you remember how the Triumphant Entry reading ended? Listen again to what the Pharisees were saying to one another: “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him”
There is also the fact that the One coming in on the donkey has repeatedly said he must die. And the Pharisees are happy to help that happen, if only they could find someone to help them. And find someone they did with Judas. For a measly 30 pieces of silver, Judas agrees to hand Jesus over to those who hate him and want him dead. And on Thursday night, he does just that. But by Friday morning, he regrets what he has done. He has changed his mind. But the Scripture doesn’t say he repented. Nonetheless, feeling the weight of what he has done, he goes to the chief priests and elders, silver in hand, and confesses his sin. And while Judas may have been looking for absolution, he finds none. These men, whose duty it was to care for the people of Israel, have no compassion for Judas. In their hatred of Christ, they dismiss this remorseful disciple. They tell him to go and deal with this himself. Judas throws the money at their feet and leaves.
Judas, in his despair, does not seek his Lord. Perhaps he feared what would happen if he did. He sought those who hated Jesus and was treated with contempt by them. And now, instead of looking to Jesus for absolution, he takes their advice. And to make matters worse, he decides that he must be the one to pay for the curse he has put himself under by betraying innocent blood. He judges himself guilty, sentenced himself to death, put himself on a tree, and hangs himself. He knows the Law. He knows the penalty. And so, he takes it all upon himself. He condemns himself and dies for his own sin.
In his actions, Judas committed treason against his King. But his King, who through His parables and His actions so often demonstrated the vastness of His mercy and would certainly have forgiven him of even this, is not who Judas turns to. He decided it was better to suffer himself for what he had done instead of casting his burden of guilt on the One he betrayed. The very One who had come to take the sin of all the people, even Judas’, upon his own shoulders to forgive it.
Yet our King’s journey has a long way to go. He is carted before Pilate where He confirms his identity but refuses to defend Himself against all the accusations. Soon, his sentence if pronounced.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
