Matthew 27:5
“Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
While I do not want to tackle the subject of the eternal destiny of Judas, I do see in him an illustration of how the Christian often deals with personal failure or sin. After the initial pleasure received from sin, we are filled with remorse or guilt. That guilt can become overwhelming and lead to discouragement, depression, and even despair. Too often, we follow the example of Judas, attempting to remove our guilt.
First, like him, we attempt to undo our failure. Since this cannot be done, we spend time wishing we could go back, wishing we had that moment in time again so we could do things differently.
Second, we often attempt to deal with the remorse by going to others. Would Judas have been any better off spiritually if the chief priests had accepted the money? Of course not! While the kind and forgiving words of others are helpful, that is not how sin is removed from the life of the child of God.
Finally, like Judas, we often attempt to get the incident as far from us as possible. If I do not think about it, or I let time work its magic, I know I will feel better. This was Judas’ approach. He cast the money on the floor and departed. Perhaps he thought, if it were no longer in his possession he would not be haunted by it. While dwelling on your failure is not the way God would have you deal with sin, simply ignoring it is not His solution either. God has established a way for the child of God to deal with personal failure and sin.
John wrote,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
God’s method of dealing with sin and remorse is confession. The first step to confession is going to God. It is at the foot of the cross where we will find the release from the haunting guilt of personal sin. While the forgiveness is immediate and we do not have to do anything to receive it (Jesus did it all for us), there are times when we must camp out at the cross. There, alone with only the presence of God and the promises of Scripture, we let Him communicate His lovingkindness to us. We must remain until we can clearly see that He has borne our grief and carried our sorrow.
Perhaps this morning, you need some time alone with Jesus, focusing upon the forgiveness He has provided at the cross. A forgiveness that is unearned, complete, and frees us from the penalty, power, and guilt of sin
“When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.”
“Before The Throne Of God Above”, Shane and Shane
Pastor Jim
We have all faced times in our lives when we have looked up from our circumstances and wondered, “How God could truly love me and let me go through this.” If any man had a right to allow his circumstances to call into question the loving-kindness of God, it was Joseph. I can only imagine the horror he must have experienced when his brothers suddenly turned on him and cast him into a pit. That scene must have played over and over in his mind, perhaps even while he slept. That first bitter act put Joseph’s life on a course that would seem to be leading ever downward, from kidnapped victim, to slave, to convicted rapist; forgotten in a foreign prison cell. Many men, perhaps even most men, would allow these circumstances to harden them as they plotted revenge on those who ruined their life. But Joseph proved himself to be unlike most men when, instead of looking back with vengeful hate, he looked up and saw the hand of God redeeming what had been destroyed. Long before he found himself face to face with his brothers, Joseph had gotten face to face with God, and learned that the hand of God had been guiding his life for a single purpose – the salvation of souls. In what is one of the most beautiful and searching statements in scripture Joseph declares,
Guilt is a powerful emotion, and very effective motivator. We can all think of times when we have been “guilted” into doing something we did not want to do. But perhaps the greatest impact guilt has on us, is not what it gets us to do, but what it keeps us from doing. I can only imagine how the guilt must have haunted Joseph’s brothers all those years. I imagine every time something went wrong they must have, at the very least, considered it to be the hand of God coming against them for their sin. Sadly, these guys are not alone. Many Christians live under the heavy weight of their past failures. Whenever they begin to make any forward progress in the Lord, they are held back by the thoughts of a past decision, failure or deed.
Jim Gallagher 