I have to admit it. I have always been a “Judas Sympathizer”. I said sympathizer not fan. Let me explain. The other day at work, a discussion arose about the Life of Jesus series on the History Channel. (And get this! No one fought about religion and no Christians were fired for discussing God in the workplace!!) The focus of the conversation was the sympathetic portrayal of Judas. “He caused this”… “He betrayed Him.”… “Well, Peter denied even knowing Jesus.” … “But that wouldn’t have happened without Judas’ betrayal.” I always felt we never really knew the full Judas story.
As the conversation continued focus shifted to the High Priests and Sanhedrin. They were the villains. Then it moved to the Roman occupiers. Pontius Pilate saw that he was innocent, but took the easy way out. He is the one responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion. Another concluded, “Well, we are all responsible for it by our sins.”
All of a sudden, someone said, “Ultimately, there is only one person responsible for the death of Jesus.” We looked on and what continued stopped the conversation. “Jesus. He was responsible. He gave himself into all of their hands. He surrendered himself to Cross for us…even them.” TRUTH surrendered to sin and death.
The Surrender of Sacrifice is the reality of Christ’s ultimate acts as Messiah. The work of the Messiah began with the first surrender. The Incarnation. When the Second Person of the Triune God, left his place in Heaven to become flesh and dwell among us, he surrendered his majesty. Not His freedom, not his relationship to Father or Holy Spirit, not even his authority…but he surrendered his place. He humbled himself, as St. Paul tells us in the letter to the Philippians, and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. THINK OF THAT. God created us in HIS IMAGE and LIKENESS…and in order to save us…is born IN OUR IMAGE and LIKENESS. Pilate will say rightly to the crowd, when he points to a scourged and beaten Jesus “Behold the man”. (John 19).
Judas, Peter, Chief Priests, Herod, Pilate, the Crowd…they had no power over Jesus. It was as Savior He said yes to the path to the cross. The surrender to sacrifice was his choice and his alone. Two beautiful words…surrender and sacrifice. Surrender means to give in or give up. Used most often in the context of war or conflict, surrender has both a negative and positive connotation. The negative of course is loss. The one who surrenders loses. The positive meaning is that the conflict is over. But there is a deeper reality for the one who surrenders. The one who surrenders gives in or gives up because there is a knowledge or belief that what lies ahead is better. The one to which he surrenders has a duty or obligation to do something different on their behalf. No longer at war, peace begins…and it begins with the one who surrenders.
Jesus does not surrender to Judas, Peter, the Chief Priests, Herod, Pilate, or the Crowd. Jesus surrenders to the FATHER. And it may look like it is just Jesus nailed and bloodied on that wooden crossbeam on Calvary, but it is not. In Jesus, the innocent victim is Judas, Peter, Chief Priests, Herod, Pilate, the Crowd and you and me.
Again, as Paul tells us, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor. 5:21
And finally, sacrifice. Things aren’t always what they seem. Think about it. If you are a parent, think about the things you have done for your children. Didn’t you sacrifice (or aren’t you sacrificing for them right now) for them? Why? Because there is something better for them in the future. And you want to be part of that. You want to help make that happen. Maybe it is day care, work schedule, school tuition, cellphone, a car insurance, health insurance, a friend on vacation, new clothes for them and not you…you know what you sacrifice…and you would do it again, right? Yes.
Sacrifice is a beautiful word. It means TO MAKE HOLY. At the Cross, the Father Son and Holy Spirit are united in such an explicit and implicit moment of sacrifice – FOR US and FOR OUR SALVATION. The Father spares nothing for us. He sacrifices HIS Son. The Son surrenders to the Father, because He knows the Father can be trusted and the future he offers is real. And this whole loving drama happens within the communion of love between them in the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Good Friday – the surrender of sacrifice, for us and for our salvation.
Let us surrender to this gift and offer a sacrifice of praise through our lives.
