Sunday (Holy Week) Worship Service April2, 2023

Call to Worship Zechariah 10:9
Hymn JBC # 232 On the cross of Calvary
Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Scripture Matthew 26:47~56
Prayer
Sermon “Do What You Came For, Friend”
https://youtu.be/izYTTJBOlCI
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 230 On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction


This week in Christianity is known as "Holy Week". It is a week in which we especially remember the last week of Jesus Christ's life before he was crucified (killed on the cross) and died.
Jesus was crucified and died on a Friday. Therefore, this Friday of this week, we remember, repent, and show gratitude to God for the suffering that Jesus endured on the cross, carrying the burden of our sins.
Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day after his death, on a Sunday. Next Sunday, we will celebrate Easter, which marks the resurrection of Christ.

Beyond the cross is the hope of resurrection. But that hope of resurrection becomes more evident only when we understand how much grace was accomplished for us on the cross and how Jesus walked the path to the cross.
Therefore, let's remember today the burden that Jesus bore for us, and focus with all our hearts and minds on the path He took to the cross.
Today's Bible passage is about one of the disciples of Jesus, Judas, who led a crowd of people armed with weapons to arrest Jesus. Judas is remembered in history as the "person who betrayed Christ."

In the first verse of today's passage, Judas is referred to as “one of the twelve disciples.” Judas was one of the first disciples who were chosen by Jesus to spread the word of God's kingdom to people.
Judas was one of the disciples who served Jesus more closely than any of the others in spreading the message of God's kingdom to the people.
　Judas arrived with the crowd sent by the high priests and the elders to arrest Jesus, in order to betray him and hand him over to the high priests.
In the previous part, in verses 14-16 of chapter 25, Judas went to the high priests and promised to hand Jesus over to them in exchange for money.
He asked the high priests, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?" The high priests decided to pay him thirty pieces of silver.

　It is uncertain how much the thirty pieces of silver were worth because there were multiple types of silver coins at that time, and it is unclear which coin Judas received.
As one possibility, if the silver coin is the "denarius" that appears in another section of the Gospel of Matthew, we can estimate its value.
In Matthew 20:1-16, there is a parable told by Jesus in which laborers who were hired early in the morning and those who were hired around 5 pm and worked only for an hour were all given one denarius as promised by the master. Then, the workers who worked longer were angry.
It is said that one denarius was the average daily wage of a worker at that time, so it is often considered to be about 10,000 yen.
If that's the case, 30 silver coins would be worth about 300,000 yen. Did Judas really betray Jesus because he wanted that money?

I used to think that one of the reasons that Judas betrayed Jesus was because he wanted money. However, that was something I couldn't quite agree with fully.
As one of the 12 disciples who was closest to Jesus and witnessed Jesus' work up close, it seems unlikely that Judas would betray Jesus simply because he wanted money.
With this thought in mind, I read the section where Judas made a promise to the chief priests to receive 30 silver coins multiple times and contemplated on it.
And this is was my conclusion. Perhaps Judas wanted others to recognize the value of what he was doing or his own value (purpose) as an individual.

We do not know clearly why Judas wanted to betray Jesus, but it may have been because he thought that Jesus did not fulfill all the expectations he (Judas) had for him (Jesus).
Perhaps Judas had expected Jesus to be a strong military leader who would overthrow the Roman Empire, which was ruling over Judea at the time.
However, Jesus continued to preach about the kingdom of God through God's love and peace. Judas might have felt limited by this approach and thought, "This will not be enough to overthrow the Roman Empire." Perhaps he even became disillusioned.

Or maybe Judas became confused and didn't know what was right anymore. At such times, one quick way to judge whether what he was going to do, or whether he himself had any value, was "money."
"There are people who say they will pay me 30 silver coins' (about 300,000 yen) to do what I am about to do.
So what I am about to do has at least that much value," "It is a meaningful (valuable) thing to do," Judas may have thought to convince himself.
How do we measure our own value? How do we evaluate ourselves? Do we not measure our own value or other people’s value by how much money or income we earn?

Why did the laborer who worked all day get angry when he got the same pay as someone who only worked for an hour? It was because he thought that he deserved to be evaluated more (was more valuable) than someone who only worked for an hour.
However, the Bible shows a completely different standard. God does not see people that way.
Whether one works all day from morning or only one hour at the end, God pours out the same amount of love and gives what He promised—such is the love of God that is expressed in the parable of the laborers.
Jesus told Judas, who approached him to betray him, "Do what you came for, friend." (This is also the title of today's message.)

Jesus called Judas, who was about to betray him, "friend." Normally, we do not call people who betray us "friends" or even think of them as such.
But God's standard is different. He calls those who would betray him "friend.” Not only does he call them "friends," but He really regards them as His "friends." This is what the Bible teaches us about God.
No matter if you work all day or only work for an hour, or even if you betray the teacher for a small amount of money — even then, the God of heaven calls you "friend." That is the grace of God.

God is repeating the same message to us today, "You are not worth only 30 silver coins," "Your worth is not in doing better than others or because you are more capable."
“I call you my friend, no matter what anyone else says. I love you” Such is the unthinkable kind of love that God still gives us through Jesus.
Only because of God's love can we live forgiven, no matter how sinful we may have been before. To prove this, Jesus offered his life on the cross.
Let us look up to the cross of Jesus Christ, and let us remember and give thanks that it is in the crucified Jesus Christ that our true worth, how priceless we are, is found.

　When Jesus was arrested, one of the men with him drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear (verse 51).

Then Jesus said in verses 52-54.
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

A "legion" was a Roman military unit consisting of 6,000 soldiers at that time. So Jesus said that if he wanted to, his Father in heaven would send an army of 72,000 angels.
However, Jesus declared that he would not use such a powerful military force to subjugate his opponents and force them to obey him.
He said that he could do that if he will but if he did, "the Scriptures would not be fulfilled." It is unclear which part of the Bible Jesus was referring to at that time.
He may well be referring to the message of the entire Bible: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
　Jesus took it upon himself to go to the cross to forgive us for all the evil and wickedness in our human hearts and for all the sins that separated us from God.
To fulfill that mission, Jesus said he will not use the powerful armies of heaven to defeat those who oppose him.
　For there is no other way for us human beings to truly repent (turn to God), to experience God's love, and hope to be made alive, except through the grace of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The endless love of God shown on the cross of Jesus, and the word of God spoken to us through the Bible, are what truly guide us, transform us, and give us true hope and joy.
During this Holy Week, let us reflect on the suffering, hostility, and ridicule that Jesus suffered, look up to the cross where he overcame it all, and offer our heartfelt thanks to the Lord.