“I Have Sinned, For I Have Betrayed Innocent Blood”

a Maundy Thursday a
Matthew 27:3-5

I’m sure that many, if not all of us have heard of “buyer’s remorse.” Buyer’s remorse is an emotional
condition where a person feels regret or remorse after making a purchase. Buyer’s remorse can be a brought on by
one or a combination of many different factors: the person’s concern that they bought the wrong product, that they
overpaid for something, that they purchased an “old” model, that they purchased on credit instead of paying cash,
or that they purchased something in an unethical way (perhaps pricetag switching). Boiled down simply, buyer’s
remorse is when a prospective buyer initially feels positively towards a purchase, justifying it in the moment, but
later regrets giving in to the impulse, a feeling that is accentuated when the purchase absolutely cannot be returned.
Buyer’s remorse is not uncommon. You have probably experienced it yourself. I wonder, though, if it
works in reverse, if people can have seller’s remorse? There certainly seems to be enough examples where a person in
the moment undervalues one of their possessions and sells it impulsively, in the moment, to the first prospective
buyer, only to look at the pittance in their hands afterwards and wonder, “What was I thinking? It was worth so
much more to me than this!”
There was no buyer’s remorse on the part of the chief priests and elders who had Jesus in their possession
early Friday morning. In their estimation, they had gotten Jesus for a steal, a bargain, 30 pieces of silver, some
estimate to be around $10,000-$15,000 today. But with Judas, there definitely was a bit of seller’s remorse, as he
looked at the pittance (relatively speaking) in his hands, for which he traded the Son of Man into the hands of
sinners, seeing so clearly in his own hands how, in his sinful greed, he had shamefully and ignorantly undervalued
Jesus. Tonight, the words of Judas cut us to the heart, as we find an identity with the disciple whose tendency
towards instant gratification drove him to the unthinkable sin! “I have sinned, for I have betrayed innocent blood,”
a sermon preached by a regretful betrayer, and still a precious soul that Jesus purchased with that innocent blood,
the high price demanded for sin’s wages.
Christians cringe when they hear the name “Judas,” that name which has become synonymous with betrayal,
with shady behavior, with greed and avarice. One has to wonder, how had it come to this, that Judas was so weak
and frail spiritually that any amount of money, no matter how large it was, would trigger in his heart and soul a
desire to hand Jesus over to certain death? How had it come this far that Judas would do truly the “unthinkable”?
Well, we learn in the gospel of John that this was not the first time that Judas had shown a deep love for money over
the Savior and his ministry. He had developed a pattern of such behavior. “3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure
nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the
fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this
perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 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.”
Judas had developed a taste for instant gratification, a taste which had grown from something small and
seemingly unnoticeable, dipping ever-so-slightly into the disciples’ treasury, into an insatiable appetite which no
amount of money could possibly satisfy. He had become accustomed to stealing, accustomed to thievery,
accustomed to the love of money and the instant gratification that it could bring into his life, so much so that when
he was offered this great sum of money by the chief priests and the elders to hand Jesus over to them, he didn’t even
think twice about. His conscience didn’t trigger even one bit, because he had dulled his conscience to the natural
law that God created in him, and even to the general and generic sense of morality that exists in every person - by
constantly giving to the devil’s schemes, who always offers the trading of one’s eternal welfare for instant
gratification. The question I would be asking is not, “How did it come to this end that Judas betrayed Jesus for (x)
amount of dollars,” as if such a thing were really “unthinkable.” The question I have is “How could it not come to
this when Judas had increasingly valued temporary earthly riches over eternal heavenly treasure? How could it not
come to this extreme when the pattern of sinful greed had been established, had become Judas’ lifestyle and
continued to grow and spread like a deadly disease?”
That’s how sin works, you know, like a disease. James writes in his epistle: “13 When tempted, no one should
say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when,
by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin,
when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Judas was caught up in the moment, caught up in the instant gratification that the devil offered him, and
only when he stopped for a moment and really considered it, only when he looked into his hands and counted the
pitiful pittance for which he sold the Savior of the world, did he finally get it, did he finally realize in his thick skull:
“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” Certainly you did, Judas! But what’s equally as disturbing is that the
chief priests who heard the seller’s remorse of Judas, did not direct him to absolution, to the forgiveness of his sins,
but rather they replied to Judas’ confession, “What is that to us, see to it yourself!” They elevated their hatred of Jesus
over their sacred calling to minister to sinners who are in despair over their transgressions, leaving Judas to deal with
his sin rather than directing him to God’s grace, which of course, as we know, drove him to despair, to suicide, and
to death in unbelief, outside of God’s grace and kingdom. “5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then
he went away and hanged himself.”
We live in a world and in a culture of instant gratification where the devil is constantly in our ears asking us
the same question he baited Judas with, “How much is Jesus really worth to you right now?” That crafty serpent,
the ancient foe of Eden, places in front of us a buffet of worldly goodness and invites us just to try, just to take a
nibble so that the taste of transgression is on our lips, so that we savor the sweetness of sin and desire it more and
more, with the hope that the stomach of our sinful nature gets used to it, accustomed to it and learns to crave it all
the more, to the point that no amount of instant gratification will actually satisfy. And once that insatiable craving
is in our hearts and minds, and our consciences have become so absolutely dulled to the point where we don’t even
think about what our sins will cost us in the end, the devil places even more in front of us, knowing that we will just
dive right in. And there that crafty enemy stands, watching us as we devour the food he offers without showing the
cost. And in the end, after souls have fully given in to the gluttony of transgression, then the provider of the feast
shows the bill, “I’m glad you enjoyed my feast. Now get ready to pay for it for an eternity!”
Judas couldn’t bear the thought of the cost! There he was with those 30 pieces of silver in his hand that, at
one time he loved so much, now wondering, “What was I thinking? What in the world could have been going
through my head and heart that I would do such a reprehensible and unthinkable thing?” And when the chief
priests refused to minister to him in the overwhelming despair of his sin, when he was left to deal with his sins, he
killed himself, dying an accursed man’s death – bringing the devil’s scheme to a successful conclusion.
Friends, it never has to end that way for sinners who have feasted on the devil’s offerings, no matter how
much one has indulged. As the One who was ordained from all eternity to be the substitute, the vicarious
atonement for the sins of the world, Jesus gathered up all of our bills, the debt of sin that we are responsible to the
Father for (because of our indulgence in Satan’s offerings), and paid for every last one of them in full with his body
and blood, given and shed for you on the cross of Calvary. Interesting and compelling, isn’t it, that the very blood
which we betray with our transgressions, is the blood that was accepted by the Father as full payment for our
transgressions, so that we are left paying for absolutely nothing, so that no check is left for us to be responsible for.
It has all been paid in full for us and for our salvation.
And, as if it were not gracious enough that Jesus paid our bill for us, he also offers us today different food,
better food, the best food, in fact, his body and his blood, the very things that he gave on the cross for our salvation
which are in, with and under the bread and the wine - so that we find eternal satisfaction for our souls in him, the
satisfaction that we could never find, achieve or enjoy by indulging in the devil’s sin buffet. He offers us the bread
of life and the living water, the gospel in Word and Sacrament, the only food which can quench our spiritual thirst,
and fill us up with truth and purity unto eternity. With that food in front of us, there’s no need to go dumpster
diving for garbage that kills! Instead, by the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith, let us all the more acquire a taste for the
finest of foods, the gospel, so that we are not left holding pittance on Judgment Day, wondering, “What was I
thinking? Was Jesus worth that little to me,” like Judas. Instead, holding firmly to the faith, rejecting the devil and
all his ways, we look forward to the unending marriage feast of heaven, the indescribable riches and glory and
wonder of an eternal dwelling beyond compare, an eternal life that money can’t buy, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.