Despair

Despair

Good Friday (Chief Service) – 4/18/2025

John 18:1-19:42

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer - St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this afternoon is our Gospel reading from the holy Gospel according to St. John in the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters with special emphasis on chapter eighteen, verses four through eight which read as follows:

“Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Good Friday is a day of contrasts. Light and darkness. Justice and injustice. Life and death. Victory and defeat. Tonight we heard the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. John. We heard the details of our Lord’s betrayal, His suffering, and His death. And among the many people in that record of the history of our salvation, Peter, Pilate, the Roman soldiers, Mary, John, one figure stands out next to the Lord Himself: Judas the betrayer.

John tells us that Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus. But John doesn’t paint the traitor as a venomous creature of pure evil. Instead, the Evangelist, that is the writer of a Gospel, reminds us that Judas walked with Jesus. He was among the Twelve. He saw the signs. He heard the Word. He reclined at the same table. And on that last night, Jesus dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas. Judas, who would betray Jesus was afforded the gift of being in the Lord’s presence in the inner circle of the twelve Apostles.

Judas betrayed Jesus. That is true. But the tragedy doesn’t stop there. Tragedy is not found only in the betrayal of the Lord, but is also in what came after. Judas fell into despair.

St. John does not tell us what happened to Judas, but St. Luke and St. Matthew do. Matthew tells us, “When Judas… saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver… saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’”[2] This is nothing if not a confession of sin. He admitted his guilt. But then he went away and hanged himself.

Why? What would lead this man, who seems to have been contrite, sorrowful for his sins to such depts of despair and hopelessness that he took his own life? If the first tragedy of Good Friday is the betrayal of our Lord Jesus by Judas, the second is Judas’s despair unto death. Why didn’t Judas find forgiveness?

Judas listened to the wrong voice. He went to the priests and the elders, those who were appointed by God to handle the sacrifices and bestow on the people of Israel through them the things that God had promised. Judas went to the pastors of the Old Testament people of God. He confessed his sin; he poured out his heart in guilt and sorrow. And what did these supposedly righteous men do? The turned him away. “What is this to us? See to it yourself.”[3]

This is a great tragedy that is repeated again and again in history, the failure of those who have been set up by God to dispense forgiveness on His behalf and to assure the faithful that God’s mercy is for them. But Judas did not find mercy, forgiveness, or biblical counsel. He was cast out. These men saw his sorry state, the innocent blood that was on his hands, and sent him away without any good word from God for him. Perhaps this was to cover their own guilt, as they too were complicit in the betrayal and murder of the Lord, perhaps it was they simply callous, thinking that Judas was beyond redemption. Perhaps they didn’t see that Judas did any wrong, believing that Jesus deserved all these things. It doesn’t matter much why, but they failed in their duty to give the medicine of the promises of God to a sin-sick soul.

The great and tragic irony of all of this is that Jesus was at this time shouldering the burden of sin, being mocked and ridiculed and scrutinized by Pontus Pilate. The things needed for salvation were in the works, but the way was barred to Judas by incompetent priests and elders.

But this is not only for this time. Whenever the sin-sick are robbed of the blood-soaked forgiveness earned for them by Christ, whenever the contrite and despairing have the pure remedy of the Gospel stolen from them by foolish and wicked pastors, whenever those who stand condemned and guilty are not given the salve of forgiveness, this tragedy is repeated again. There is nothing more wicked than having the wrong medicine given to those whose sins and guilt have cut them deep. Too often churches and pastors and well-meaning Christians misdiagnose the issue and instead of giving the sweet, cooling relief of the saving work of Jesus, instead heap the hot and miserable coals of legalism and further drive people into despair.

Make no mistake, we have many sins, a great amount of guilt, and rightly stand condemned by them. But when a person is broken, despairing, sorrowful, this is not the time to tighten the screws. No, this is the time to give what Christ died for them to have: mercy, salvation, righteousness, and the ready relief of forgiveness.

Despair is one of the great lies foisted on us by the Devil, by our sinful hearts, even by the world around us. You see, our enemies do not simply want us to betray Jesus in sin, they want all those for whom Christ died to be destroyed as well. Our existence as those for whom the blood of God, Jesus Christ, was shed is an affront to these ruinous powers. And it does not much matter which one crawls up onto our should to whisper into our ears the like that there’s no way back for you, no remedy for the evils you’ve done, no recourse for betraying the Lord, these lies do nothing by lead us to the ruin of unbelief, doubting in God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

Judas believed this lie. Despair is the devil’s tool. When Judas brought the thirty silver coins back, the priests dismissed him: “What is that to us?” they said. “See to it yourself.” Cold. Unbending. No mercy. Judas stood before the law with no Gospel, before men who would not forgive.

And yet in that very city, a Man was being unjustly condemned, a Man who would march to Calvary, Golgotha, the Place of the Skull after being tortured, mocked, and mistreated in every way, a Man who would willingly suffer a death He did not deserve. And why did He do this? To relieve us of the burden of despair, to earn for us a remedy to the hopelessness that comes by sin, and to ensure that forgiveness would come by blood atonement. Make no mistake, this was not an accident. Blood was demanded by the evil of sin, but none on this earth was sufficient. Only the very blood of God Himself, Jesus Christ, was sufficient to pay the debt of your sins, indeed the sins of the world. And so the debt is paid, the ransom sent, forgiveness earned, and death made captive. Christ gave His life so that we, Judases and betrayers that we are, would not be forced into despair, but would have life and mercy through Him. Judas’s condemnation was foretold by Christ, this is true, but it is not the size or scope of his betrayal that did him in. It was the despair of unbelief, of not seeing the remedy for sin that comes by Christ. But, dear friends, such remedy is here for you. This is, after all, why this Friday is Good: Christ gave Himself so that you would be saved from sin, death, and the Devil.

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] John 18:4-8 English Standard Version. All subsequent citations from the Bible are from the ESV.

[2] Matthew 27:3-4

[3] Matthew 27:4b