A Circle of Friends
Text: Acts 1:12-26.
Shakespeare’s tragedies usually deal with a man of greatness who possesses a tragic flaw. In the crucible of life, that flaw is exposed, and the plot unravels the ugly destruction that follows. There was a man called Judas, who was one of the Twelve apostles of Jesus whose life follows this same pattern. In Luke’s two-volume work—Luke-Acts—Judas’ life forms a real-life three act play.
Act 1 sees his rise to greatness, as Judas is chosen from among the many disciples who follow Jesus to be one of the Twelve whom Jesus names as apostles. At the end of this period, there is satisfaction and fulfillment as the Twelve return to Jesus and report a successful mission.
But in Act 2, Judas’ tragic flaw is revealed, and he becomes a traitor. The last verse of this section tells us the story: Jesus says to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?"
Act 3 is the sad story of the consequences of Judas’ deed. His end tells the story. He dies from a fall, and becomes one of the great tragedies of biblical history.
Judas’ career begins against the background of Jesus’ early ministry in Galilee. As Jesus travels about the countryside, preaching in the synagogues, and teaching on the hillsides, and healing the sick, great crowds follow him. Some from the crowds become disciples. Eventually, Jesus chooses twelve from the disciples to be his close companions and to share in his ministry.
Jesus names the Twelve, apostles, and in time, he sends them forth with power and authority to preach the gospel and to heal diseases and to cast out demons.
But, this is not all. Jesus has great plans for the Twelve. Future plans. As King of the restored people of Israel, Jesus intends to assign the Twelve a kingdom, just as one would bestow upon another a piece of property. For they are to "judge the twelve tribes of Israel." And, as his closest associates in the kingdom, they will sit at privileged places at the kingdom banquet, at the very table of the King himself.
Judas is one of those numbered among the Twelve. This circle of friends is each allotted a share in Jesus’ ministry. They share life together. They share beliefs and commitment and loyalties and practices. And they are destined to exercise effective rule within the people who will be gathered by the power of Jesus’ resurrection.
Nothing of the flaw that lay within Judas is revealed in Act 1. He is one of the Twelve, and he holds all things in common with them. He hears the same teaching; he sees the same healings; he is assigned the same tasks. They travel together; they eat and sleep together. And in all that Luke narrates, Judas is one with the Twelve.
It is not until a few days before Passover that Judas separates himself from the Twelve. It is only then that his fatal flaw comes to light. The scripture says: He went away, and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Jesus to them. The circle of friends is then broken.
It is said that a false friend is one who is not available in a time of crises. A time of crises has now come. The chief priests and the scribes are seeking a way to put Jesus to death. But, they have a dilemma. When Jesus is among the crowds where he can be seen and taken, they fear to do so, because they are afraid of the people. So, they seek to take him in secret when the crowds are not present with him. But the trouble is, they do not know where Jesus goes when he leaves the temple. Where might they find him alone, unprotected by the crowds?
A true friend would be available to his friend in such a time of crises. He would if necessary even lay down his life for his friend. But Judas is not only not available to Jesus; he makes himself available to Jesus’ enemies. For you see, Judas can supply the priests and scribes with the information they need and he can lead them to him.
It is also said that a false friend is one who has only his own betterment in view. He has not his friend’s interest at heart but his own. As this time of crises arrives for Jesus, Judas sees it as a time of monetary gain for himself. Judas has information to sell. He will be a guide, but only for a price. He is willing to enter into a conspiracy to gain this money.
The priests and scribes are delighted with Judas’ proposal, and they agree to pay him the money he has determined for his assistance. So, from that time on, Judas waits for the opportunity he seeks when Jesus is away from the crowds.
Passover arrives and Jesus shares the feast with his circle of friends. Judas is present. Then, after the meal, Jesus comes out from the upper room in the city, and goes, as is his custom, to the Mount of Olives. This Judas knows, and this is the moment Judas has waited for. The Mount of Olives is outside the city. It is the place where Jesus goes to retire for the night. It is away from the crowds—the perfect place for the officers to arrest him.
And so, for a second time, Judas separates himself from the Twelve. He goes in search of the chief priests and the scribes. The circle of friends is now broken beyond repair. Never again will Judas have all things in common with the eleven who follow Jesus to the Mount of Olives.
Later in the night, he comes to Jesus, this man called Judas, who was numbered with the Twelve. He, who was allotted a share in the ministry and apostleship of Jesus, he comes to the place where Jesus is. He comes leading the crowd that is aligned against Jesus. He draws near to Jesus to kiss him—false friend and flatterer that he now proves himself to be.
But Jesus says to him, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?
Afterwards, with his deed of betrayal done, Judas receives from the chief priests and the scribes the monies they had agreed upon, and straightway, Judas goes forth to purchase a field with his gain, a dwelling-place of his own. He abandons the apostolic circle by buying a field.
I say a field. But, it must have been more like a farm or a country estate, because it had buildings on it. It was from the roof of one of these buildings that Judas accidentally fell one day. Perhaps, he had gone up on the roof to survey his new purchase. He may have been gazing out upon his field and his buildings, his grand estate, when he stepped a little too close to the edge. What pride he must have been feeling in his new acquisition just moments before he slipped. I doubt he even gave a thought to the life that it cost his friend in order for him to buy it.
Nevertheless, whatever may or may not have been going through his mind at the time, suddenly, Judas fell from a great height to the ground. It is uncertain whether the fall itself caused him to burst open, or whether he lay on the ground so long, injured internally, that he swelled up and burst open. In either case, Judas came to a violent end. He did not even live long enough to enjoy his ill-gotten gain.
This was the fate of a man called Judas, who became a traitor. He turned aside from his place in the ministry and apostleship of Jesus to go to his own place. He gave up his allotted share in the kingdom for a field.
And where were you the day Jesus asked: what does it profit a person if he gain the whole world—everything that he should ever want—and lose or forfeit his true self—the self he was intended to be?
The self God intended him to be?
Shakespeare’s tragedies usually deal with a man of greatness who possesses a tragic flaw. In the crucible of life, that flaw is exposed, and the plot unravels the ugly destruction that follows. There was a man called Judas, who was one of the Twelve apostles of Jesus whose life follows this same pattern. In Luke’s two-volume work—Luke-Acts—Judas’ life forms a real-life three act play.
Act 1 sees his rise to greatness, as Judas is chosen from among the many disciples who follow Jesus to be one of the Twelve whom Jesus names as apostles. At the end of this period, there is satisfaction and fulfillment as the Twelve return to Jesus and report a successful mission.
But in Act 2, Judas’ tragic flaw is revealed, and he becomes a traitor. The last verse of this section tells us the story: Jesus says to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?"
Act 3 is the sad story of the consequences of Judas’ deed. His end tells the story. He dies from a fall, and becomes one of the great tragedies of biblical history.
Judas’ career begins against the background of Jesus’ early ministry in Galilee. As Jesus travels about the countryside, preaching in the synagogues, and teaching on the hillsides, and healing the sick, great crowds follow him. Some from the crowds become disciples. Eventually, Jesus chooses twelve from the disciples to be his close companions and to share in his ministry.
Jesus names the Twelve, apostles, and in time, he sends them forth with power and authority to preach the gospel and to heal diseases and to cast out demons.
But, this is not all. Jesus has great plans for the Twelve. Future plans. As King of the restored people of Israel, Jesus intends to assign the Twelve a kingdom, just as one would bestow upon another a piece of property. For they are to "judge the twelve tribes of Israel." And, as his closest associates in the kingdom, they will sit at privileged places at the kingdom banquet, at the very table of the King himself.
Judas is one of those numbered among the Twelve. This circle of friends is each allotted a share in Jesus’ ministry. They share life together. They share beliefs and commitment and loyalties and practices. And they are destined to exercise effective rule within the people who will be gathered by the power of Jesus’ resurrection.
Nothing of the flaw that lay within Judas is revealed in Act 1. He is one of the Twelve, and he holds all things in common with them. He hears the same teaching; he sees the same healings; he is assigned the same tasks. They travel together; they eat and sleep together. And in all that Luke narrates, Judas is one with the Twelve.
It is not until a few days before Passover that Judas separates himself from the Twelve. It is only then that his fatal flaw comes to light. The scripture says: He went away, and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Jesus to them. The circle of friends is then broken.
It is said that a false friend is one who is not available in a time of crises. A time of crises has now come. The chief priests and the scribes are seeking a way to put Jesus to death. But, they have a dilemma. When Jesus is among the crowds where he can be seen and taken, they fear to do so, because they are afraid of the people. So, they seek to take him in secret when the crowds are not present with him. But the trouble is, they do not know where Jesus goes when he leaves the temple. Where might they find him alone, unprotected by the crowds?
A true friend would be available to his friend in such a time of crises. He would if necessary even lay down his life for his friend. But Judas is not only not available to Jesus; he makes himself available to Jesus’ enemies. For you see, Judas can supply the priests and scribes with the information they need and he can lead them to him.
It is also said that a false friend is one who has only his own betterment in view. He has not his friend’s interest at heart but his own. As this time of crises arrives for Jesus, Judas sees it as a time of monetary gain for himself. Judas has information to sell. He will be a guide, but only for a price. He is willing to enter into a conspiracy to gain this money.
The priests and scribes are delighted with Judas’ proposal, and they agree to pay him the money he has determined for his assistance. So, from that time on, Judas waits for the opportunity he seeks when Jesus is away from the crowds.
Passover arrives and Jesus shares the feast with his circle of friends. Judas is present. Then, after the meal, Jesus comes out from the upper room in the city, and goes, as is his custom, to the Mount of Olives. This Judas knows, and this is the moment Judas has waited for. The Mount of Olives is outside the city. It is the place where Jesus goes to retire for the night. It is away from the crowds—the perfect place for the officers to arrest him.
And so, for a second time, Judas separates himself from the Twelve. He goes in search of the chief priests and the scribes. The circle of friends is now broken beyond repair. Never again will Judas have all things in common with the eleven who follow Jesus to the Mount of Olives.
Later in the night, he comes to Jesus, this man called Judas, who was numbered with the Twelve. He, who was allotted a share in the ministry and apostleship of Jesus, he comes to the place where Jesus is. He comes leading the crowd that is aligned against Jesus. He draws near to Jesus to kiss him—false friend and flatterer that he now proves himself to be.
But Jesus says to him, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?
Afterwards, with his deed of betrayal done, Judas receives from the chief priests and the scribes the monies they had agreed upon, and straightway, Judas goes forth to purchase a field with his gain, a dwelling-place of his own. He abandons the apostolic circle by buying a field.
I say a field. But, it must have been more like a farm or a country estate, because it had buildings on it. It was from the roof of one of these buildings that Judas accidentally fell one day. Perhaps, he had gone up on the roof to survey his new purchase. He may have been gazing out upon his field and his buildings, his grand estate, when he stepped a little too close to the edge. What pride he must have been feeling in his new acquisition just moments before he slipped. I doubt he even gave a thought to the life that it cost his friend in order for him to buy it.
Nevertheless, whatever may or may not have been going through his mind at the time, suddenly, Judas fell from a great height to the ground. It is uncertain whether the fall itself caused him to burst open, or whether he lay on the ground so long, injured internally, that he swelled up and burst open. In either case, Judas came to a violent end. He did not even live long enough to enjoy his ill-gotten gain.
This was the fate of a man called Judas, who became a traitor. He turned aside from his place in the ministry and apostleship of Jesus to go to his own place. He gave up his allotted share in the kingdom for a field.
And where were you the day Jesus asked: what does it profit a person if he gain the whole world—everything that he should ever want—and lose or forfeit his true self—the self he was intended to be?
The self God intended him to be?
posted by Rev. Jo | 11:59 AM
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