Grace to you and peace from our loving God, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Luke's second book today recounts the story of how Judas was replaced in the company of the apostles following his death. This morning, I'd like to take another look at Judas and see what might be useful for us.

I felt inspired to deal with Judas in part because of the work of our Sunday School children. What a superb work they did in their series on the apostles—called "Disciple Quest.". Many of you will recall the culmination of that work on Palm Sunday with their re-enactment of the Last Supper in the narthex, including reports from the students about what they learned about each of the disciples.

I wanted to preserve the insights of our children, and asked for copies of their research. I'm not sure yet what we might do with the rest, but let me at least share the three sheets that deal with Judas Iscariot. They aren't signed, so I don't have any way to know who did the work.

The first notes that Judas was the son of Simon. It records that after the Last Supper, Judas told "the guards where Jesus was for 30 pieces of silver." It also says, "Judas is the Greek form of Judah, which is 'praised' in Hebrew. His last name means 'man of Kerioth' for that was his birthplace. Whenever his name is mentioned, it says, something about the betrayal. Jesus called Judas a demon. Judas was a thief. In the gospel of Judas, he tells the story of Jesus." I corrected a bit of the language here, but the statements are all correct according to various traditions.

Another student sheet says that Judas was a "thief and rip-off artist." Colorful. The final sheet looks like the narrative for the Palm Sunday presentation and reads, "Hi! I'm a loser! My name is Judas, the traitor! I was paid to find Jesus! Then they killed him. I hanged myself"

That is the summary of what we often consider to be the full truth about this unfortunate fellow, Judas Iscariot. But the truth about him remains veiled in mystery. There are widely conflicting understandings of this man, whose name has become synonymous with betrayal. Even the biblical accounts do not agree on his role or even how he died. There is even a second century Coptic text discovered only a few years ago called the Gospel of Judas that, as the first student researcher discovered, tells the story of Jesus from the perspective of Judas. In that version, Judas and Jesus enter into a pact. Judas turns Jesus over to the Romans so that Jesus may fulfill God's will.

That's just about as far from our common understanding as it can get.

There are even those who suggest that, as Paul doesn't mention Judas, he was a creation of later Christian tradition with an anti-Jewish intent. The Greek for Judas being very close indeed to the Greek for Jew—or person from the region of Judah. It is very interesting in this connection that both Matthew and Luke record Jesus stating that all twelve of the disciples will be enthroned with him in heaven (Matthew 19:29 and Luke 22:28-30).

Here is the reference from Matthew: Jesus said to [the disciples], "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

My own sense is that Judas has taken far more flack than he deserves, mostly because those who have shaped common perceptions of him have emphasized certain parts of scripture over others, either through ignorance or ulterior motive.

Still, what we read of Judas in the gospels does not exactly endear him to us. From the very first mention of him in the gospel of Mark, he is called the one who betrayed Jesus. There is an allusion in John to Judas as a devil (6:70-71—again rightly identified by our Sunday School scholar). Furthermore, when Judas takes exception ot the use of expensive ointment by Mary of Bethany to anoint the feet of Jesus, John comments that it was not concern for the poor that motivated his protest, but rather it was because he was a thief.

And yet, he seems to have been a trusted member of the group of twelve. He appears at various places to have been treasurer for the disciples, not a position one would normally entrust to a thief. And, again in the gospel of John, Judas has a place of honor at the Last Supper (13:26).

Whatever we think of the man, it is clear that by the time Luke wrote Acts, traditions about this disciple held that he was dead—whether by his own hand (hanging) as recorded in Matthew 27:5 or by an accident as recorded by Luke here in chapter one of Acts. The disciples were, therefore, seeking his replacement.

For this discussion, let's assume that Judas did in fact betray Jesus. Even the gospel that bears his name assumes that much, even if giving it an entirely new context. I am intrigued by the possible motive both for the betrayal and, again assuming suicide, for that act as well. What more might we learn from this disciple that tradition has loved to hate?

Some motives for betrayal immediately suggest themselves. One is greed. He does after all, if we are to believe Matthew's account, receive thirty coins for the deed. But, in fact, that doesn't amount to a large sum, so it seems highly unlikely. It was no doubt a token payment.

Perhaps it was to save his own skin. It is not uncommon for those who sense that they might be implicated in some kind of crime to exchange information for freedom. Jesus was clearly causing a stir in Jerusalem, and his associates could pay a price. Survival is a powerful motivation.

Still, there are two other possibilities that make more sense to me and that bear more fruit in terms of how me might learn from the traditions surrounding this man.

As you know, in Jesus' day there were some expectations that he would be a messianic king, like David. Judas could have been among those who hoped for and saw in Jesus potential for such a king. In his nationalistic zeal, he could easily have attached himself to Jesus only to be disappointed later by his unwillingness to associate himself with political power. That frustration could have led him to reject Jesus and to betray him. Any time we place nationalistic goals ahead of gospel-centered living, we make the same mistake.

On the other hand, Judas' intent may not have been to betray. In his nationalistic zeal, he might have been trying to force Jesus' hand by creating a confrontation between Jesus and the authorities. he may even have been seeking to protect Jesus from himself. Either way, Judas was doing what we often find ourselves trying to do. He "sought to make Jesus into what he wanted him to be." (Barclay, "Master's Men," p. 77). If this was Judas' strategy, he was woefully disappointed at the outcome.

As you might guess, I've saved what I consider to be the best for last. It has to do with Judas' relationship with Jesus and with the other disciples. As our young scholars suggest, "Iscariot" means "man of Kerioth" (a place in Judea).

"If that's true, then Judas was the only non-Galilean in the apostolic band. Perhaps from the beginning he had the feeling that he was the odd man out. There may have been in him a certain frustrated ambition There can be no doubt that Judas held a high place among the twelve-and yet he was not one of the intimate three: Peter, James, and John. it is not difficult to see Judas, the one non-Galilean, quite unreasonably developing the feeling that he was an outsider. It is not difficult to see him, even if he had a very high place among the twelve, slowly and unreasonably growing jealous and embittered because others had a still higher place. And it is not difficult to see that bitterness coming to obsess him, until in the end his love turned to hate and he betrayed Jesus." (Master's Men, p. 74)

Judas may have felt as we all feel at times-alone. He could have manufactured an isolation that grew into a sense of rejection. What led to betrayal may also have led to suicide. It is quite common to discover that someone who takes this terrible step experienced life as closing in upon them.

I remember well a story Garrison Keillor told on an episode of "A Prairie Home Companion," set in Lake Woebegone, Minnesota. He told of a Mr. Lundberg, who, through some humorous series of events found himself in a mess of Super Glue. In frustration, he slapped his hand to his forehead and kicked the bed. What happened, of course, is that he ended up going to the hospital holding the permanent position of a salute, dragging a bedspread behind him.

After finding the proper solvent, the nurse was able slowly to peel the hand from the forehead and the spread from the foot. And only with considerable effort did she do so without cracking a smile.

After telling that story, Keillor reflected that this is the kind of thing we hope people never find out about us. We wonder: "Would people still love me if they knew more about me?" We tend to feed facts about ourselves slowly, so that we can take note of how folks are taking it. We wonder whether when people like us it's a liking based on ignorance.

Too frequently, young persons take their own lives because they think no one knows them or cares about them. Judas yearned to be loved, but he feared being fully known. Mr. Lundberg tends not to bring up the subject of Super Glue. The question is: Do we really want to be known? And can we accept a god who knows everything about us—even our most embarrassing moments (television and internet videos seem increasingly devoted to revealing them to the world). Or would we rather reject and betray such a God—fearful of what such an intimate knowing might mean?

About Judas, we must say at least this much. he was no worse than any other apostle; we cannot condemn him as evil. But we can learn a few things from him. If, in fact, he killed himself, that was perhaps his greatest sign of unfaithfulness. He was surely in a better position than most of us to know Jesus' fathomless capacity for forgiveness. And he might have been better aware of the depth with which Jesus knew him.

Did Judas' betrayal of Jesus deny a part of himself? Could his self-destruction reveal a longing to belong or to be known? Or is this simply another piece of the complete story of how it is that God embraces us all and incorporates us into the story of salvation? Amen.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord unto eternal life. Amen.