Incredible Love

The message given at the Maundy Thursday service in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish.  The Bible verses used are Mark 14:12-50.

            I would think that the events we read about tonight were the saddest time of Jesus’ life on earth.

            Maybe you disagree.  Maybe you think that the beatings and mockery were worse.  Maybe you think his actual death on the cross was worse.  And you could be right--we have no way to know.  

            But to me, this would be the worst.  To be betrayed by one of his closest friends, someone who had been traveling with him for three years or so.  Someone who’d heard all that Jesus had to say about loving our neighbors, loving even our enemies.  Someone who’d seen Jesus heal people, feel people, drive out demons, even raise someone from the dead.  Someone who’d been put in a position of trust.  To be betrayed by someone like that--well, that’s a very tough thing.  It’s a very sad thing.

            But that’s not all.  On that night, all of Jesus’ friends abandoned him.  They said they would not.  They swore they would not.  But they did.  He told them to keep watch, and they fell asleep.  And then, when Jesus was arrested, they scattered, making sure they would not be arrested, too.  At the lowest point of Jesus’ life on earth, at the point when Jesus needed his friends most, they all abandoned him.  Not one was faithful.  That had to be incredible sad for Jesus.

            None of this came as a surprise to Jesus, of course.  He knew it was going to happen.  He told the disciples it was going to happen.  They did not want to hear it, of course.  They claimed Jesus was wrong.  But of course, he was not.  Jesus knew.  Jesus knew what was going to happen.

            I wonder at what point he knew.  Did he know it from the start of his ministry?  Did Jesus know, when he started his ministry, that he would be crucified?  Did he know that it would happen because one of his disciples would betray him?  Did Jesus know, when he called Judas to be his disciple, that Judas would be the one who would betray him?  Did he know, when he called all the other disciples, that they would all abandon him?  Did he know that, in the end, he would be left alone?

            He certainly could have.  He is Jesus, after all.  The divine Son of God.  It may have been exactly that way--that at the time he started his ministry, he knew exactly what would happen and exactly how it would all end.  That he knew who would be responsible for its ending and when it would all happen.  Jesus may have known exactly how it would all happen all along.

If so, think about what that would mean.  It would mean that Jesus invited Judas to be part of his inner circle, his closest friends, knowing that Judas would betray him.  It would mean that Jesus allowed Judas to be put in a position of trust--in charge of the group’s money--knowing Judas would betray him.  It would mean that Jesus allowed Judas to take part in everything the disciples did--traveling with them, sharing their meals, hearing him preach, being part of the miracles, everything--knowing Judas would betray him.  

            But it’s more than just Judas.  It would mean that, at the time Jesus invited each and every one of the disciples to become part of his inner circle, Jesus knew they would abandon him.  It would mean that Jesus allowed himself to become close to, and even love, people he knew were going to abandon him in the end.  It would mean that, knowing exactly how unworthy and untrustworthy these people were, Jesus took them in and loved them anyway.

            That’s a pretty incredible love.  If that’s really how it happened, that Jesus knew exactly how these people were going to treat him, and yet he did all this for them and with them anyway, that would be an amazing love.  That would probably the greatest love the world has ever known.  

            But we don’t know that it happened that way.  Jesus makes no reference to his death and resurrection during the early days of his ministry.  Now, that may have simply been a choice on Jesus’ part.  He might have thought the disciples were not yet ready to hear about that, or that they might choose not to follow him if they knew what was coming.  There could’ve been any number of reasons why Jesus would choose not to tell the disciples what was coming right away.  

            But it also could be that God the Father chose not to reveal everything to God the Son right away.  The Bible does give examples of things God the Son does not know, the most notable being the time he will come again.  It could be that Jesus himself did not know how or when it would end when he started his ministry.  It could be that God the Father revealed these things to him gradually, that first he was told he would be crucified, then he was told that he would be betrayed, then he was told who it was that would betray him, then he was told when it would happen, and then he was told that all the other disciples would abandon him, too.

            If so, think about how Jesus would have felt, when he found these things out.  Learning that he would be crucified would be bad enough.  But then, to find out that he was going to be betrayed by one of his closest friends.  And then, to find out which one it would be.  And then, to be told that it would not be too long before it happened.  And then, to find out that all of his closest friends would abandon him.

            Think about what that would mean.  Think about the love that would show.  Because the thing is, as Jesus was learning all this, nothing ever changed about the way he treated the disciples.  We’re never told that Jesus distanced himself from the disciples when he found out one of them would betray him.  We’re never told that Jesus treated Judas any differently, when he learned that Judas would be the one to betray him.  We’re never told that Jesus’ love for any of his disciples ever lessened, even when he found out they would all abandon him.  In fact, it seems like Jesus got even closer to them, and loved them all the more.

            Jesus told us to do a lot of hard things.  To love our enemies, to go the extra mile for them, to forgive completely and totally no matter what, to treat others with love and respect even when they treat us like dirt.  But the thing is, that was not just talk.  Jesus did all those things.  Jesus lived them out.  Jesus never asked us to do anything that he would not do himself.  And Jesus paid the price for doing them.  In fact, he paid the ultimate price, being killed on a cross.

            Those were hard things for Jesus to do, too.  As fully human as well as fully divine, there had to be at least a part of him that did not want to do them.  There had to be part of him that wanted to exclude Judas, that wanted to distance himself from the disciples.  After all, while a betrayal always hurts, it hurts even more if it comes from someone you’re close to.  If he’d distanced himself from them, the hurt would’ve been less.  

            But Jesus did not do that.  Knowing exactly what Judas would do to him, knowing exactly what all the disciples would do to him, Jesus continued to love them.  Jesus continued to open himself up to them.  Jesus continued to go the extra mile for them.  And he never stopped doing that, even knowing that it would lead to his death on a cross.

            How many times have you and I betrayed Jesus?  Not in the same way, of course.  But how many times have we not done what Jesus told us to do?  How many times have we failed to show love to our neighbor?  How many times have we failed to forgive someone?  How many times have we failed to treat others with love and respect, no matter what?  How many times have we refused to go the extra mile for someone?  How many times have we even failed to go the first mile, for that matter?  If you and I say we love Jesus, if you and I say we believe Jesus is the Savior, the divine Son of God, then we should be doing what Jesus told us to do.  We should be living the way Jesus told us to live.  Every time we don’t, we betray Jesus.  Every time.

            But here’s the good news.  Every time we betray Jesus, Jesus continues to love us.  Every time we fail Jesus, Jesus stays close to us.  Every time we distance ourselves from Jesus, Jesus forgives us and calls us back to him.  Every time.

            On the saddest night of Jesus’ life, when Jesus was betrayed and abandoned by the people closest to him, Jesus continued to love them.  His love for them was so strong that he died for them in an incredibly painful way.  He did that so that their sins could be forgiven.  He did that so that our sins could be forgiven.  He did that so that they, and we, could join him in heaven, through our faith in him as the Savior and through God’s love and grace and mercy.

            This was the saddest night of Jesus’ life.  But by his love, he turned it into what eventually became the greatest day of our lives.  On this night, let’s try to fully appreciate the incredible love Jesus has for us.  Let’s stop betraying Jesus.  If we do, we’ll make this a great day for Jesus, too.