Every year around Easter I find myself in tears. Some might say that this is understandable given the holiday’s purpose. Perhaps you yourself have been brought to tears of joy over our redemption, or maybe, in sorrow, you weep over the pain and mockery Christ endured on your behalf. But every year my heart wrenches over something else.
My wife and I like to watch crime TV. Whether it’s the new documentary on Netflix about Ted Bundy or an old rerun of Forensic Files, we like to hear the story behind a real “who done it” case. But in every. single. episode there’s one common theme– the victim is always made out to be “completely innocent” and “immediately loved by all that met them,” and the murderer is, without fail, this “cruel, monstrous COWARD that has a special place in hell reserved for them.” That may be the case; I don’t know. But take it from someone who’s seen every episode of Forensic Files yet posted to YouTube… there are a lot of “innocent victims” out there that met their end because they were involved in a drug deal gone bad or involved with a spouse that was not their own. At the very least, I guess they weren’t “loved by all that met them.” I mean…they are on Forensic Files, after all.
You may be surprised how often I run into people with that same mind-set in their spiritual life– the “good people” are completely innocent, and they can’t wait for the “bad guys” to get what the have comin’. The saddest part about it is that, when I have these conversations, I’m rarely talking to someone who’s a part of the Church. Most of the time that conversation happens with someone who claims they don’t need God, because, “Well… you know, I’m a good person,” or “I do more good than bad,” or they aren’t, “like those people.”
But guess what… there are no “good people.” In the Old Testament one reason the Law was given was to show God’s people that they can’t be good! NO ONE can! Big or small– Sin merits death. It’s the same today, and the same for us.
Paul writes this to the believers in Rome:
“There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
–Romans 3:22-23
We all mess up. But, somehow, we try to hide or justify our sin by the creation of this imaginary scale, ranking everyone according to their “badness,” and “bad” seems to begin just beyond where we find ourself in the standing. Hitler was a bad guy! (And seems to be everyone’s “ultimate bad”). Deserving of Hell? Absolutely. But what about the lesser sinners? Those that commit the seemingly harmless, day-to-day sins– a little impatience with the kids, the slip of a little dirty word, the ignored sin of gluttony? Hell deserving? Is it any less wrong that taking a bite of fruit you were told not to eat?
It’s easy to forget how guilty we are isn’t it?
But, Praise the Lord, he didn’t stop there…
“…all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.”
—Romans 3:24-25
God stepped in to save us when He didn’t have to, and He did it as great cost to Himself. Could there be a more joyous reason for an Easter celebration?
Yet, every Easter I weep… for Judas.
Judas lived by the Law. His whole life he lived under the Law– He knew it well. He knew what good was, and he knew what guilt was. Though he wasn’t using it to judge others, he was using it to judge himself. He found himself guilty, and he killed himself in remorse.
Did he deserve it? Yep. Peter even says in Acts 5 that Judas left his Apostolic ministry to “go where he belongs.” And here’s the thing, with out Christ, we all belong in the same place– Hell. But I weep for Judas, not because his just destination is terrible, but because he missed mercy by 3 days. The resurrection of Christ was the transition point from the Old Covenant to the New, from living by the Law to abiding in Christ. Judas could have had mercy, new life and an incredible ministry showing others the Savior he had come to know, and you still can!
Soon after Judas threw in the towel something happened that, I’m guessing He didn’t count on. Huddled together in a small upper-room in Jerusalem the Apostles were introduced to the Holy Spirit. Empowered by the Spirit, Peter, who had betrayed Jesus three times himself, found himself preaching to the masses a message of hope, urging his listeners to repent and be baptized! In light of Easter’s arrival, I urge you to do the same if you have not already done so.
Don’t miss mercy.
What is He saying?
What are you doing?
Newfound Ramblings 