Author: TechCommittee

March 26, 2023             Text:  John 11:1-45

Dear Friends in Christ,

Years ago, a young woman became seriously ill.  After being in the hospital for a time she returned home to wait for her eminent death.  Her husband knew the situation but their eight-year-old daughter did not know her mom was terminal.

One afternoon, the little girl overheard the doctor say to the father and mother, “The time is not too far off.  Before the last leaves have gone from the trees you will die.”  The girl went to her room and cried.

A few months later, the father came down for breakfast and the daughter was not there.  He couldn’t find her in the house.  He finally saw her out in the front yard.  His heart was broken as he watched her picking up the leaves that had fallen to the ground.  She was using string to tie the leaves back on the tree.

This dramatically shows what we go through when a loved one is about to depart this world.  We don’t want to let go of those we love.  It also exemplifies a child-like faith.  We know the leaves aren’t going to stop this mother’s death, but this daughter believes in the impossible.

Our gospel is the raising of Lazarus.  Brother of Mary and Martha.  The sisters are distressed as their brother progresses toward death.  They don’t want to let go of their brother, and they hope Jesus can prevent his departure from this world.  By the time Jesus gets there it is too late – Lazarus has died.

When Jesus arrives in Bethany Lazarus has been dead for four days.  Martha goes to meet him.  She says, “’Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’”  Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again,’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’  Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?’” (v. 21-26)

Let’s make that our sermon title.  How do we see death?  And life?

“DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

Jesus is telling Martha Lazarus will not see hell.  Instead, he lives and his body will rise again to new life.  The Savior of the world holds the keys to death and life.  And so the question, “Do you believe this?”  Or to put it another way, and with great liberty, Jesus is saying to Martha, “Do you believe that I can keep the leaves from falling to the ground even when they have changed color and they want to blow away?  You do not need string.  I am the string.  I am the one who brings life even to those who are physically dead.  Do you believe that I can do what is impossible?”

This morning the Lord probes our hearts.  “Do you believe this?”  Can we confess it like Martha?  “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”  Yes, the faith of a child.  “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Now we get to an interesting part of the story.  We see Jesus’ humanity.  Like many of us what touched off his crying was seeing others cry.  The Lord felt the death.  He had compassion.  We need to remember this when our loved ones die.  Jesus didn’t cause the death.  He cares for you and I.  He is there through prayer and our fellow Christians to comfort us.  Here for Martha and Mary He also shows His divinity.

Deeply moved, he goes to the tomb.  He tells Lazarus to come out – and the dead man, now alive, comes out.  What if you were there?  The rot of death in the air?  Would your heart be pounding?  Would you believe what you are to see?  Silence . . . something in the shadows . . the dead man is coming out with his burial clothes still on!

Our loved ones who have died in the Lord are Lazarus.  You and I who believe in Christ are Lazarus.  This is what will happen to all the children of God.  For the sake of Christ even though we die, we live.  Because Christ lives, we never die.  We will be with the Lord in heaven and our bodies will one day rise from the grave.  There is one difference.  Lazarus ultimately died again.  What we have here is only a momentary picture of the last day.  This was to confirm that Jesus was the one sent from God above.

The return of Lazarus to his family was designed to be a picture of the reunion that all of us will have with those who have gone before us to heaven.  After Lazarus came back to life, they gave a dinner to honor Jesus.  

On the last day, we will see loved ones again.  Whether in heaven or on earth, God will provide a great reunion.  This reunion is described as a great banquet.  Sound familiar?  Even now we taste these things by faith in the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In the Eucharist there is communion with Christ.  Where Christ is there is forgiveness and life.  

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

Amen.   

March 22, 2023 – Lent       Text:  Matthew 27:27-31

Dear Friends in Christ,

With my sociological mind I enjoy watching shows on the mob or the mafia if you prefer.  It is always a wonder why people get involved in this line of work and why have they wielded such power?  It can be whittled down to one word:  bullying.  The mob is made up of bullies.  Pay up or we hurt you, ruin your business etc.  They push people around or kill them just to show their power.  They are sick individuals.

Bullying is a problem in our society.  It happens at school, on social media, in the workplace, and between spouses.  The government has a website:  www.stopbullying.gov.  It names three types of bullying.  Verbal – name calling, threats.  Social – excluding a person from a group.  Physical – pushing, kicking, using your fists.

Jesus was a victim of all three.  The Pharisees and Sadducees verbally bullied him with their “gotcha” questions.  Socially the Jewish leaders discouraged people to follow him, and they spread rumors about him.  We see the physical bullying in tonight’s text.

Beginning late Thursday evening the physical violence against Jesus escalated.  Tonight, we see Jesus suffer the soldiers’ . . . 

“HANDS OF BRUTALITY”

This is the second instance of brutality.  We heard about the first last week in front of Caiaphas.  Jesus was blindfolded, slapped and spit upon.  He was then sent to Pilate.

That is where we find him in our text.  Pilate wanted to set Jesus free as we heard in the Passion reading.  But he was a politician first and a humanitarian second.  So, he hands Jesus over to the battalion – an estimated 600 men – to do their worst. (v. 27)

For a Roman soldier, being stationed in Judea was like being sent to the end of the world.  Nothing to do.  The Jews were a pain.  They needed entertainment and Jesus was the show.  The trial was about Jesus being “King of the Jews”, so they put a scarlet robe on him and a crown of thorns and reed in his right hand.  “And kneeling before him, they mocked him saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (v. 29b). They spit on him and struck him on the head.  This act was so torturous that many considered it an act of mercy.  You were so weakened by the beatings that you’d die more quickly when crucified.

Jesus had told his followers to “turn the other cheek” (Mt. 5:39), “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt. 5:44), and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt. 7:12).  This man is now under the microscope.  Would He practice what he preached?  He did more than that.  He fulfilled the Scripture from Isaiah 53:  “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

Jesus let himself be brutalized.  He offered his back.  He didn’t object to his oppressors, because he was the King of the Jews.  He was the King of the Gentiles.  He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Why didn’t he punch those bullies in the mouth?  He did it for you.  Jesus let himself be treated this way.  This was the cup of suffering Jesus asked God to take away.  But God wouldn’t take it away; Jesus was made to drink every last drop.  If He didn’t do it, there is no forgiveness of sins and God’s wrath is still in play.  

Look at the brutal treatment tonight.  That is how thoroughly forgiven you are.  

A bully will try to leverage power and control.  People can feel powerless and alone.  Sin is a bully; it tries to coerce us into crimes against the commandments.  The devil is a bully; Satan browbeats us into bad behavior.  Because of Jesus these spiritual bullies can’t demand our milk money any longer.  Paul writes, “Sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Rom 6:14). Since the forgiving love of Christ lives in our hearts, we happily submit to his gracious rule rather than to the empty threats of any evil bully.  “Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

Freedom from sin and Satan give us reason to rejoice.  When we join Jesus in his gracious rule, we see what liberty looks like.  As the Holy Spirit enables us to take on Jesus’ attitude we can turn the other cheek, pray for our enemies and treat others the way we want to be treated.  Because Jesus made peace with us through his suffering, we can live peaceably with all people.

It is no wonder why the world is so unhappy.  People living without Christ who are bullied by sin and Satan.  They feel alone and powerless as the bullies dictate their lives.  How much better it is to have God as your Father.  He raises happy kids!  Our brother, Jesus, suffered under the soldiers’ hands of brutality, and as a result we will never have to suffer God’s wrath.  And, as happy kids in God’s family, we delight to bring our brother’s peace to people who are still being bullied.

Amen.       

March 12, 2023             Text:  Exodus 17:1-7

Dear Friends in Christ,

Marriage changes things.  “Wow, Pastor you really went out on a limb with that statement.”  Remember the euphoria of dating?  Being on your best boyfriend/girlfriend behavior.  Looking your best.  When I was at the seminary and dating Toni, in the summer I would hire a classmate to cool my car.  He would drive the air-conditioned vehicle to the dorm, and I would get in.  I didn’t want to show up for a date sweaty.  I wanted to smell the way Calvin Klein intended on a date with my girl!  But then we say “I do” and promise for “better or worse” and our carefree lifestyle diminishes.  When my car sits out in the summer, I am not hiring anyone to cool it down before I go home to Toni.  Marriage is never the smooth sailing, continuous high we all imagined.

This is what happened to the Israelites.  When they left on their exodus they came to a place called Elim.  Elim had twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees.  Elim was a bit of paradise.  But they couldn’t stay there.  They had to move on.  In our text they are camped at Rephidim.  But there is a problem – no water.  This doesn’t sit well with the people.  Grumbling and quarrelling are the elixir of the day.  

“I’M THIRSTY – CAN I GET A DRINK?”

The people are accusing God of abandoning them, even though He promised them sustenance in their journey.  They are testing the Lord.  The people wanted to strike the messenger by going after Moses.  The people were concerned about their families and just as concerned with their livestock.  Look at the words Moses’ used when he cried to the Lord.  “What shall I do with this people?  They are almost ready to stone me.” (v. 4). Moses did not call them “my people” or “your people.”  I hope no one does this but sometimes parents can say “that son of yours” or “your daughter” when they do something wrong.  It creeps into estrangement.  It really should always be “our son, our daughter, our children.”  We don’t leave them just because they grumbled about something.

The Lord understands this.  He didn’t leave “His people” just because they got a little “salty.”  He sends Moses and the elders of Israel to the rock at Horeb.  Moses strikes it with a staff and the water gushes out.  There is plenty to drink.  Their thirst is quenched.  Liquid gold flows down the throat.  “I’m thirsty – can I get a drink?”  They got one and many more.  God upheld His promise.

“I’m thirsty- can I get a drink?”  When we are stricken, do we ever thirst for His deliverance?  We can be stricken by things we didn’t bring on ourselves.  Violent weather.  Trouble at work.  Our own sickness.  Suffering as we watch loved ones battle health problems.  We also are stricken with our own sinful nature.  We go against God’s Word.  We create more problems for ourselves by our behavior.  We quarrel and grumble and complain and test the Lord.  We thirst for deliverance from our afflictions.

God’s Son is stricken to be our deliverance.  Christ the Rock was with God’s people at Horeb.  Christ is stricken and water is supplied.  Isaiah and Zechariah both prophesy that Jesus will be stricken.  Jesus Himself announces that He will stricken.  “The Son of Man will be…mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.  And after flogging him, they will kill him.” (Luke 18:31-33). When all of this happens, He does not complain.

He is doing all of this for your benefit.  His pierced side yields water and blood.  This water and blood still flow.  The waters flow in Baptism.  His blood flows in the Lord’s Supper.  The blood and water from the side of the stricken Christ quench your thirst for deliverance from your afflictions.  

The last verse of our text asks a question that has been around as long as man and woman, “Is the Lord among us or not?”  Well, how do you answer?  Like the Israelites, we are in the desert, and we still have some wandering to do.  We should not be surprised to have some hot, thirsty days.  And maybe…just maybe…we might grumble a bit.  Bring your grumbling and complaints to the Lord because He hears your pleas and answers your prayers.  Not always the way we like or as quickly as we expect, but the Lord is among us.  The answer is a definitive “yes, yes, yes” when we wonder if He is here with us.  He will never leave us even when we ask, “I’m thirsty- Can I get a drink?”  Step right up to the water fountain of Christ’s grace, drink and be satisfied.

Amen.       

March 8, 2023 – Lent Text:  John 18:4-11

Dear Friends in Christ,

Have you ever watched some of your favorite actors in roles you didn’t expect?  My all-time favorite comedy as many of you know is the Andy Griffith Show.  Well, one day years ago I am watching my favorite all-time crime drama, Hawaii-Five-O, and Andy Griffith is on the wrong side of the law.  He makes mistakes with his family that he would never do as Andy Taylor.  Another episode of Hawaii-Five-O had Buddy Ebsen of Beverly Hillbillies and Barnaby Jones fame, play a professor involved in murder.  It was hard to see these men out of their element.

The same thing occurs in our text.  Peter, the disciple who made the great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” (Mt. 16:16), the one who jumped out of the boat to meet Jesus in the water, and the one who pledged loyalty to the Savior, is the same guy committing a crime tonight – assault with a deadly weapon.  Now maybe you are not surprised.  Peter is a little tempestuous.  

Jesus enemies came to the garden because they hated him.  They came with weapons to kill Jesus.  Peter wielded his weapon for a different reason – he loved Jesus.  Peter was full of righteous zeal – but it was misguided. 

You and I love Jesus too.  We get angry when His name is dragged through the mud, or His Word is ignored or ridiculed in our world.  We want to do something about it.  We want to defend Jesus.  Good and godly impulses to be sure, but we don’t want to go too far.  We don’t want to do something against God’s Word, we don’t want to become guilty of having . . .

“HANDS OF MISGUIDED ZEAL”

As we step into the garden, notice who is in charge.  Not the men with clubs.  It’s Jesus.  He meets his would-be captors.  “Whom do you seek?”  This capture is only successful because Jesus’ time had come.  Jesus declares, “Jesus of Nazareth…I am he.”  Looks what happens before they take him away.  They drew back and fell down like bowling pins.  Jesus demonstrates His divine power.  Jesus wasn’t finished.  Though vastly outnumbered, He was giving the orders.  “If you seek me, let these men go.” 

Peter watched all this.  Except he didn’t read the situation correctly.  He reacts in haste and anger.  “Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear.”  

How do you see Peter?  Can’t believe he did it?  Or do you understand emotions getting the best of a person?  He convinced himself that this night he would give up his life for Jesus.  When the Savior needed help, he would come to the rescue.

Nothing wrong with wanting to help a friend, right?  Well, not so fast my misguided compadre.  Jesus doesn’t need our help.  Jesus is true God.  He is omniscient (knows all), He is omnipotent (controls all).  Peter should have known that.  He hopped out of the boat and watched Jesus for three years.  Jesus gave him many convincing proofs of who He was.  Peter demonstrated a lack of trust in God.

Christians can have their moments.  The Crusades.  A Christian extremist bombing an abortion clinic.  For the most part, modern Christianity is a peaceful religion.  Don’t we all agree that any kind of violence directed at another is against the Lord’s fifth commandment?

Doubting God’s power, that is something I can relate to.  Not trusting God is a sin my mind knows well.  Thinking I can help God is a trap that Christians fall into far too often.  “If we would only elect the right people or pass the right legislation, we could get back to the days of being a Christian nation.”  “If our church would have more for families and talk less about sin, we would grow quicker like this or that church.”  If we only did X, Y, Z then we could make things better.

If you want to identify the problem, look at the pronouns.  If you are not good in
English grammar, then try this, look in the mirror.  You don’t have to hold a sword in your hands to identify with Peter.  Think of when your thinking has been misguided.  Yes, we want God-fearing leaders and healthy churches.  Yes, God wants Christians filled with godly zeal, but before we put our faith into practice, He wants us to put our trust in Him.  He wants us to make God’s Word and God’s will our guide.  And He wants us to understand how quickly things can go sideways when we don’t.

Jesus reprimanded Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me.”  Why was Jesus upset?  Because He knew what was at stake.  Because He knew there was only one way for sins to be forgiven and only one path that leads to heaven.  God the Father’s plan demanded that His Son be arrested this night and executed the next day.  The perfect substitute died in our place.  He took the cup of suffering to show His misguided disciple – and our misguided actions – how much He loves you and me.

John doesn’t tell us what happened to the soldier who had his ear cut off.  But Luke does.  Jesus reached out His hand, touched the servant’s ear and healed him. This was the Savior’s final miracle before His crucifixion.  Why did He do it?  Why heal?  Why help the enemy?  Because that is who Jesus is.  Because that is what Jesus does.  Jesus came into the world to seek and save.  Jesus has the greatest love for lost souls.  Jesus is full of compassion and mercy, and why a few hours after he healed Malchus, He reached out his hands one last time.  He stretched out His hands on the cross to redeem us from misguided zeal.

Amen.         

March 5, 2023 Text:  Genesis 12:1-9

Dear Friends in Christ,

A man became a Christian at an older age and loved to tell others about the Lord.  One day at a meeting, he gave a beautiful witness to his Savior.  One person who had heard his words was disturbed by something.  “The man has told us God’s part,” he said, “but he forgot to tell us his part, the part before he was converted.  Tell us more.”

The aged man stood up again.  With confidence he responded, “Friends, I forgot to tell you about my part.  I sure did my part all right.  I was running away from the Lord as fast as I could for 30 years, and the Lord just took me until he ran me down.  I did the sinning.  The Lord did the saving.  And that was all the part I had.”

In our text we have the calling of Abraham.  Another old man – 75 years old – who had worshipped other idols in his past.  God called him and made a change.  You still hear his name today.  It all started here in chapters 11 and 12 of Genesis.  Abraham was . . .

“SEEING THROUGH FAITH”

Again, Abraham’s heritage and lineage was not as a follower of the one, true God.  Martin Luther writes, “If you should ask what Abraham was before he was called by a merciful God, Joshua answers that he was an idolater, that is, that he deserved eternal death and eternal damnation.”

Abraham was commanded by God to leave his country.  This meant a loss of security and protection of law.  We have people in our church this morning who have experienced the same thing.  They left their country of origin.  That takes great trust.

Abraham was commanded to leave his relatives.  The ones he left were the ones worshipping the idols.  This enabled him to be consecrated for service to the Lord.  He got away from the bad influencers in his life.  Verse 5 said he went to the land with “people that they had acquired in Haran.”  Who were these people?  Servants, laborers, and children and relatives of the same.  Luther writes, “Not simply his household but the true and holy church, in which Abraham was the high priest.”

Abraham was to go to the land God would show him.  He went “seeing through faith.”  He did not know his destination.

Have you ever left home and didn’t know where you were going?  Many of us in our marriages have probably done this with our spouses.  Toni and I have done it for each other.  Pack a bag.  It can be fun.  We go because we trust the other person.  Maybe your mom and dad did something similar.  Get in the car.  You do, because you trust.

Abraham knew a few details.  He didn’t know the place, but God gave him seven promises.  “A great nation.”  Israel has become the “holy nation” of God that spans the globe.  “I will bless you.”  God blessed Abraham in so many ways.  His grace and favor were upon him.  “I will make your name great.”  His name is still revered among God’s people.  Abram means “great father” – Abraham means “father of a great nation.”  “You will be a blessing.”  By blessing Abraham, Abraham could in turn bless others.  “I will bless those who bless you.”  Here Rahab the prostitute comes to mind.  She is in the lineage of Abraham/Jesus and the Lord used her for good.  “Who dishonors you I will curse.”  Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans all experienced the fulfillment of this promise.  “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  The Messiah came through Abraham to bless the world. 

Abraham knew these seven promises.  He had no idea how they would come about.  He needed to be “seeing through faith.”  In our Epistle lesson for this morning Paul writes, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”  From this calling forward, faith in God would be a part of Abraham.  He builds altars when he reaches destinations.  What was important?  Worship.  Worship keeps us in the faith.

This “blessing of Abraham” continues to be a part of us through God’s grace.  The Messiah, Jesus Christ is, was, and will be a blessing to us.  When we are “seeing through faith” we know how the Lord works in our lives.  We like Abraham have God’s promises.  He forgives when we don’t put Him first.  He calls us to faith – in baptism, the journey began.  He will hold on to us when we stumble and fall.  He will guide the path.  He provides us possessions as we make our way in this world.  He even tells us the destination.  He sent his Son on ahead to be ready for our arrival.  When we get there?  We too will be around the altar of the Lord.  We get a glimpse of that in coming to the communion rail.

The Holy Spirit allows this “seeing through faith.”  Like the spouse or the child, we trust.  We will not be led to the desert when Sybaris is in sight.  We leave behind what holds us back.  We see in Christ our righteousness and the fulfillment of all our hopes.  In receiving God’s blessing, we can in turn bless others.

“And Abram journeyed on.” (v. 9a)  So do we . . . SEEING THROUGH FAITH.

Amen.       

March 1, 2023 Text:  John 13:21-30

Dear Friends in Christ,

King David’s life was filled with more drama than Game of Thrones.  One of his confidants was his nephew Joab.  Joab was fiercely loyal to David when he sent Uriah to the front to be killed so that David could marry Bathsheba.  This loyalty took a U-turn when Joab backed Adonijah instead of Solomon to succeed David as king.  David lamented betrayal when he wrote in Psalm 41, “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, who shared my bread, has turned against me.”

Is there anything that hurts more than betrayal?  We might expect office politics or someone to slam the door when canvassing the neighborhood, but we expect loyalty from our friends.  That is why they are our friends.  If a friend shares a secret, manipulates a situation or steals a spouse, the betrayal burns like the sun.

David wasn’t the first person to be betrayed and he won’t be the last.  Like Joab, Judas was close to Jesus.  He was part of the inner circle.  He broke bread with Jesus. . . and Judas lifted up his . . .

“HANDS OF BETRAYAL”

Since the 1940’s nobody names their child Adolph.  Since biblical times nobody names their kid Judas.  Was Judas instinctively evil from the womb?  Why would he do this to Jesus?  He was evil from the womb but just like we are, and Andrew was or Philip was.  Jesus called 12 sinful men to follow and to serve.  

We know from earlier in the Book of John that Judas was a thief.  As the keeper of the money bag, he took for himself instead of giving the money to the poor.

This love of money was just what Satan needed to get him to change teams.  “You’ve already stolen, how about 30 pieces of silver to hand over Jesus?”  His greed unrepented and unchecked corroded his soul over time, and eventually put Judas’ betraying hands at the table.

Betrayal hurts because it is personal.  Judas’ double life even fooled the other eleven disciples.  They didn’t see the greedy darkness in his heart.  But Jesus knew.  “One of you is going to betray me.”

For many of us when we get together for Thanksgiving or Christmas, we check our baggage at the door.  No politics, no news that we might see differently.  Husband and wife put on the happy face even if a fight occurred the night before.  Siblings clean up their act.  There are certain expectations, and it is a celebration after all.  Jesus is with his disciples having a celebration.  His accusation of a betrayer brings tension.  These men get defensive.  They deny.  They deflect.

My family has seen this tension.  People fought and stormed off to their rooms.  There was silence.  Nobody knew what to do.  Our family of four will never forget that incident.  It made everything uncomfortable.

That is what the disciples experienced.  Tension.  Uncomfortable.  In Matthew it says they “stared at one another.”  Jesus gave no names.  He gave only a clue – “One of you will betray me.”  That set off all kinds of thoughts.  “Is it me?”  “What does he see in my heart?”  “Am I capable of this?” 

Well, are you?  What secret sins are you hiding?  Ever sold-out Jesus for money?  Is there something unrepentant in your life that it is corroding your soul?  Greed?  What is the devil waving in your face?  We are all capable of any sin, if left unchecked or unaddressed.  

As the accusation hung in the air, they are all scrambling to avoid blame.  Peter wants John to ask Jesus who He is talking about.  “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread, when I have dipped it.”  Jesus had exercised pastoral care with Judas throughout these three years.  Now He is trying to jar his conscience by calling him out publicly.  He is trying to encourage repentance in Judas.  It is too late.  The public shame will not change his heart.  His hands except the morsel and the betrayal is set.

Judas would go ahead and identify Jesus with a kiss.  It must have hurt.  Jesus went to the cross and uttered these words, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  God treated Christ as though He had committed Judas betrayal, as though He had turned traitor like Joab.  God banished Christ to suffer hell’s punishment for our greed, our self-righteousness, and for every secret sin we insist on hiding.  They have been punished in full.  They have been paid in full.  “By his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

How could Jesus love Judas?  Well, He did love him and did forgive him.  Judas thought Jesus would return the betrayal.  In an act of unbelieving despair, Judas took his own life.  The Gospel teaches that God doesn’t betray sinners; instead He turned His back on His Son.  He reconciled the world.  Banish the thought that God will banish us for our sins, and don’t let Satan or anyone else convince you otherwise.  God made peace with man in Christ.  Ask not how God could love and forgive a traitor like Judas.  Ask “How could God love and forgive a traitor like me?”  In Christ alone.

Amen.