THE FALLOUT OF SIN

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

Matthew 27:3-10

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In life, we only have one of two forces leading and guiding us: the Lord or Satan. We may bounce back and forth between them (and I think every person does) but they won’t be in control of us at the same time. In fact, Satan can’t even be present when the Lord is and so a concurrent presence is impossible.

As we look at our scripture passage today, we see how Judas Iscariot is a classic example of this truth. It’s obvious that at one time of his life, he was a very respectable person, a man of God who Jesus thought would make a good member of His special inner circle. He wouldn’t have made the cut into the membership of the Twelve otherwise.

We can assume that Judas was also seen as trustworthy as he was placed in charge of the money bag containing funds for the group. You wouldn’t just put anyone in charge of a bag containing such value.

But something went wrong along the way as Judas followed along with Jesus and carried out his responsibilities. He allowed Satan to enter in and gain a foothold, leading him off the path of righteousness the Lord walked and onto the wide path of sin that Jesus taught about, the path heading toward destruction. We know this happened because the scriptures share nuggets of revelation.

For example, consider these words from the Gospel of John:

“…one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:4-6

Here we find out that Judas was in the midst of sin as Satan was having his way with him. Jesus was being honored at a dinner in Bethany put on by Simon the Leper. As He was reclining at the table, the scriptures tell us a penitent woman sits at Jesus’ feet, wetting his feet with her tears and then drying them with her hair before anointing them with expensive perfume.

Judas, not seeing the beauty in how the woman was repenting and honoring Jesus, expressed objection to the woman’s actions. He made it appear that he was concerned about the perfume being wasted, proposing it could have been sold to provide for the poor.

But it was all a ruse for we learn the real motive for Judas’ rebuttal of the woman’s actions. You see, he saw an opportunity to steal being poured out onto His Master’s feet. If only he could have sold that perfume instead, he could have done what he had done many times before, help himself to the contents of the money bag.

God had commanded that no one was to steal. Judas knew that but he wasn’t under the control of God. Satan had him convinced that what he was doing was completely appropriate.

And so Judas was a sinful thief, his weakness for money used by Satan to maximize his control and advantage. This is what led Judas to sell out Jesus. In the moment while under the lead of Satan, he loved money more than his Master and Satan led him to people who were willing to pay, the Jewish religious leaders who were looking for someone in Jesus’ inner circle to help them. They would pay Judas thirty silver coins, about five weeks of wages in Jesus’ day, and all he had to do was to identify Jesus through a kiss which would indicate the man to be arrested.  

We know Judas went ahead with his side of the deal. Satan led him to Gethsemane’s garden with a crowd of men armed and ready to arrest Jesus. Judas kissed his Master and placed Jesus’ feet on the road to the cross as a result. At the time, he must have felt it was totally worth it because Satan would have led him to believe so.

But here’s the thing we need to remember about the devil. He leads us into sin and makes us feel like we’re justified in what we do but then leaves us in the wake of the destruction we have caused.

As we see in our passage for today from Matthew’s Gospel, Judas came to his senses after Jesus was condemned. It feels like one of those, “What have I done?!”, realizations. We know that because Judas was “seized with remorse”, so much so because he decided to return the money to the chief priests and elders, confessing his sinful actions.

Ask yourself, would Satan lead him to this?

No, it’s obvious that Satan had abandoned Judas in the wake of the destruction he had caused. The damage was done and Jesus was on the way to His death. And if Judas thought he was going to find any sympathy from the Jewish religious authorities, he was sadly mistaken. For as he tries to return the money, somehow hoping to pay back restitution for his transgressions, the chief priests and elders put the guilt firmly on Judas simply saying:

“That’s your responsibility.”

In other words, they were essentially saying to Judas, “We didn’t force you to betray innocent blood. You made that choice and so you can live with it. But unfortunately, Judas saw where he couldn’t do that. And so he threw the money into the temple and went off to take his own life by hanging.

Did I mention that sin always ends up causing some form of destruction?

Well, I’m sure Satan was more than satisfied with the end result of his influence on Judas. As for the chief priests who allowed Satan to lead them into sin of their own, it should come of no surprise that all of a sudden they are concerned about doing the right thing. This is what hypocritical practice of religion looks like. On one hand, you can lie and scheme to murder an innocent man but then on the other, you put on a pious front, concerned about obedience to a law you already broke by sanctioning murder.

So what happened to the 30 silver coins?

Well, the chief priests knew it was blood money, money paid out to kill Jesus, and so they couldn’t place the funds in the temple treasury. Instead, then used the money to buy the potter’s field where they would bury Gentiles, a fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Friends, we need to make sure we are always keeping our Lord close. I mean, really close. We can’t afford to allow Satan any opportunity to enter into our hearts and minds, leading us into sin and down the road of destruction like he did Judas Isacariot.

For in the case of Judas’, the fallout of his sin led to irreversible tragedy, tragedy he felt he could never live down and indeed as we continue to look at his story more than 2,000 years later, he hasn’t lived it down. The word of God continues to remind us of the perils of falling into sin and we had better believe that Satan will have his way with us, just as easily as he did with Judas, if we let our guard down.

Do yourself a favor.

Draw near to the Lord and never leave His side.

You’ll be never be sorry that you did.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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THE SIDE OF TRUTH

Can I pray for you in any way?

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. So they bound Him, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

When He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He gave no answer.

Then Pilate asked Him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against You?”

But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

Matthew 27:1-2, 11-14

Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate.

“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

The chief priests accused Him of many things.

So again Pilate asked Him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing You of.”

But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

Mark 15:1-5

Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”

So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by His teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

Luke 23:1-7

Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”

Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death He was going to die.

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about Me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What is it You have done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me.”

“What is truth?” retorted Pilate.

With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against Him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!”

Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

John 18:28-40

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The trial before the Sanhedrin was over and Jesus was a convicted man but in actuality, He was doomed the moment He was arrested and He not only knew it beforehand. He expected it as it was all a part of the bigger plan for His life, a plan dictated by the will of God to bring salvation to all people.

So what happened after the trial?

Well, the Jewish religious authorities had carefully calculated the steps needed to eliminate and eradicate Jesus, once and for all. Or at least they thought they would be getting rid of Him. And although all Gospels have an account of what happened as Jesus was taken before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the Jewish region of Judea at the time. Herod was the governor over the region of Galilee and we do see him come into play as we read Luke’s gospel, an indication that it was easier for Pilate to pass Jesus on than to have to make the decision himself but it ended up back in his lap anyways.

For now, I want to focus on the John passage and before I get into the exchange that Jesus had with the Roman governor, I want to first cover why the Jewish religious leaders got the Romans involved in the first place because it’s very important to understand in the overall big scheme of why Jesus ended up executed by crucifixion.

You see, the Sanhedrin could render a lot of different penalties on those they found guilty of violating God’s law but the one thing they couldn’t do is crucify. They were instead relegated to the act of stoning as an act of judgment. Wanting a public spectacle and desiring someone else to do their dirty work since many Jews had actually embraced Jesus, the Jews instead led Jesus to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate and to sweeten up their case, they added that Jesus opposed paying taxes to Caesar.

As the crowd of Jewish religious leaders paraded Jesus to Pilate’s palace, we read where the Roman governor comes out and questions them asking:

 “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

With more than a little sarcasm, they replied:

“If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed Him over to you.”

Sensing that the Jews were passing Jesus on instead of handling their own affairs, Pilate tells the Jewish religious authorities to “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” To which the members of the Sanhedrin replied, “But we have no right to execute anyone.”

And with that, Pilate summoned Jesus to join him in the palace. The scriptures tell us the Jewish religious leaders were unwilling to follow as going into a place of the Romans would make them unclean and unable to observe the Passover. So they remained on the outside, completely unaware of the conversation that would be had between Jesus the accused, and Pilate, the man who held His destiny in his hands.

Now alone with Jesus, Pilate asked Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” In other words, Pilate wanted to know if the charges brought against Him were true and surely expected a “yes” or “no” answer but as we know about Jesus, He didn’t exactly follow conventional ways in what He did.

This case was no different for we find Jesus responding to Pilate’s question with one of His own, asking:

“Is that your own idea or did others talk to you about Me?”

In essence, Jesus was asking Pilate about what he believed about him but Pilate dodged the question saying:

“Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What is it You have done?”

Pilate was not a Jew. He was a Roman and a powerful Roman at that. He had to wonder why Jesus would ask a non-Jew about his opinion regarding Jesus’ position as being over the entire Jewish nation, a position that would certainly place Jesus in a position of great power as well, a position that hardly should have a man facing execution by way of crucifixion.

Well, Jesus was a man of great authority within a kingdom but that kingdom was not of the world. Rather, Jesus’ kingdom was the very kingdom of heaven which placed Him not just above the Jews but the Romans and every other people. To drive this point home, Jesus assures Pilate that if He was indeed a King over just the Jews then His followers would wage war against His accusers to prevent His unjust arrest and trial. But there was no resistance because Jesus had to lose His life on earth to reach His true kingdom in heaven as His kingdom was in another place.

Well, Pilate had listened with intent to what Jesus said and although he obviously didn’t understand all the talk about kingdoms outside of the world, he definitely did understand what it meant to be a king, an identity Jesus attached to Himself. And so we find the Roman governor ask Jesus with emphasis:

“You are a king, then!”

To which Jesus replied:

“You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me.”

I love this response from our Lord and Savior. He could have simply responded to Pilate by saying. “Yes, I am a King!” but instead He made sure the Roman governor knew He was perfectly true in everything He did or said. In fact, truth was at Jesus’ core. He Himself said He was the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). And so Jesus here doesn’t placate Pilate. Rather, He tries to get Pilate to understand that the man before Him was the One in authority and Pilate should submit and listen to Him, the One who was born into the world to testify to the truth. The question was simple:

Was Pilate willing to submit to what Jesus would say to Him in truth? Or in other words, was Pilate on the side of truth?

His response showed us he wasn’t as he simply asked Jesus:

“What is truth?”

And with that, the conversation ended. Pilate went back out to face Jesus’ accusers with his verdict:

“I find no basis for a charge against Him.”

And then, hoping to find a way out of the matter he was in, Pilate tried to play against the Jewish religious authorities, offering them an option to executing Jesus, stating:

“It is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

Such was the hatred the Jewish religious leaders had for Jesus that they asked for a known criminal over an innocent man, shouting back to Pilate:

“No, not him! Give us Barabbas!”

Pilate had no other option except to give the Jewish religious authorities what they asked for. Barabbas was released and Jesus continued on His way to the cross. His destiny remained intact because no one in His path to the cross was willing to stand with Him on the side of truth.

And so the questions our scriptures pose for us today is simple.

Are we like Pilate and the Jewish religious leaders, opposing Jesus instead of submitting to His authority and accepting everything from Him as absolute truth?

Or are we willing to stand with Him on the side of truth, never questioning His guidance or the way He lived His life, the way we are supposed to live our own as Christians?

I’m eternally grateful to have made my decision nearly 30 years ago to stand firmly on the side of truth, to stand with Jesus in obedience to what He has called me to do for Him, carrying on His work here in this world until I am beckoned to join Him in the kingdom that is really my home, the kingdom of heaven where He abides and reigns.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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COURAGE REQUIRED

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”

Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times.”

And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Matthew 26:69-75

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.

“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.

But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.”

When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.”

Again he denied it.

After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”

He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown Me three times.”

And he broke down and wept.

Mark 14:66-72

Then seizing Him (Jesus), they led Him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown Me three times.”

And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Luke 22:54-62

Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.

He replied, “I am not.”

It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”

He denied it, saying, “I am not.”

One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

John 18:15-18, 25-27

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Picture yourself in this scenario.

You are vacationing in a country in which Christianity is not the primary religion. In fact, you know that any practicing of Christian faith can put someone at the risk of dire persecution in the form of attack or even death.

While out doing some sightseeing, you are confronted by a citizen of that nation who asks you in less than polite fashion if you’re a follower of Jesus. He appears very agitated and has adopted what you view as being an almost threatening posture. You wonder how he knows your religious belief and then realize that your cross necklace is out and in full sight. The man is waiting for your response.

What would you do?

Would you deny your belief in Jesus?

Or would you trust that the Lord would protect you in the midst of potential trouble and boldly pledge your faith in your Savior?

This hypothetical situation is equivalent to the actual one that Peter found himself in after Jesus was arrested and hauled off to stand trial before the Sanhedrin.

The scriptures tell us that Peter didn’t abandon Jesus, at least physically anyway. Luke’s Gospel tells us that Peter followed the arresting crowd to the home of the high priest and once there, he remained in the courtyard where there were some guards warming themselves by a fire.

Into this scene comes a girl who was a servant of the high priest. She looks at Peter with great intent and thinks she recognizes him as being in company with Jesus and so she asks Peter:

“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?”

Peter faced a moment of truth. Profess himself as a follower of Jesus and risk being taken into custody and arrested, brought to trial along with his Master or protect himself by way of plausible deniability.

The former would require a great deal of courage and faith. The latter was the easier path, one that would more probably lead to self preservation.

Peter chose the path of least resistance, replying to the servant girl, “I am not”, before retreating to the entryway where he was confronted again about his relationship to Jesus. The different Gospel accounts aren’t in synchrony regarding who confronted Peter but who did it isn’t as important as how Peter responds to the confrontation.

Did he openly pledge allegiance to Jesus the second go around?

Not exactly.

For as we see in the scriptures, Peter once again denied having any association with Jesus saying, this time with an oath, “I don’t know the man!”

Luke’s Gospel shares that Peter was challenged a third time an hour later. John’s Gospel identifies the challenger as someone who was in the garden with Jesus, the relative of Malchus who had his ear cut off by none other than Peter himself. The man asked Peter, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” but for a third time Peter denied knowing Jesus. We read in the scriptures where immediately a rooster crowed before Jesus looked directly at Peter. The stare had to burn a hole through Peter’s heart as he remembered his Master predict that he would deny knowing Him three times before the rooster would crow. Jesus’ words at the time must have seemed cryptic but Peter now fully saw it as prophetic and immersed in his sorrow for lacking the courage to confess his relationship with Jesus, Peter wept bitterly.

He has abandoned Jesus when He needed Peter most because he lacked the general courage required to be a truly faithful disciple.  

Why is this account in the scriptures and covered by all four Gospel authors?

Because it’s of critical importance to every Christian believer.

You see, Peter shows us behavior that we need to avoid as Christ followers. For when the chips were down in the midst of adversity, he folded and lacked the faith to stand firm to his beliefs and convictions.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we need to remember that He told us to expect adversity. He let us know that because He was hated, so too would be His disciples. As we travel the path the Lord puts us on, we need not be surprised when it takes us into places of difficulty because of what we believe. Rather, we only need to keep our eyes on the cross where Jesus would remind us how He willingly drank from the cup of suffering given to Him by God because His devotion to His Father’s will was greater than any fear that might lead Him from it.

Through our Savior Jesus, we find the inspiration and strength to stay courageous for His name and His sake as we carry out His call to make disciples of all nations.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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