Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 286: See to That Yourself

Good evening, everyone!

Today I read Matthew 27-28.

Today's reading is all about Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

And this morning, that's what I intended to talk about. But tonight, I'm pretty sure there is something else I need to talk about instead.

I'm sure most of you know the story of Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection, so I think this is okay. And if you don't, don't worry. Mark, Luke, and John all wrote about it as well; it's very important - the most important part of the gospels - so we will definitely get there. But for today, let me talk about something else.

Matthew 27:3-5 - Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver [probably about $600] to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!" And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.

Now, we've been through the whole book of Matthew at this point, and we read how the Pharisees try to trip up Jesus. We read how they condemned the disciples for minor infractions of the law. And we read how they pointed fingers at everyone but themselves.

And what happened with Judas in today's reading is a prime example of what was wrong with the attitude of the religious leaders of the time.

"I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."

Judas was guilty of betrayal. He was guilty of delivering Jesus up to those who hated Him for money.

He was guilty. And he confessed. He told the leaders that he was wrong.

And they said....

"What is that to us? See to that yourself!"

See to that yourself.

What does that have to do with us?

The religious leaders of the time hated Jesus so much, that they were willing to condemn Him on any charge they could fabricate, at any cost. Just to make Him stop talking. Stop teaching. Stop preaching.

Because...well, because it had to happen that way. Thank goodness for us that it did. And that Jesus went through with it. If He hadn't been willing to endure the pain, the torture, the beatings, the slander, and the death, none of us would have a chance.

But they also did it because He made them look bad. They were sticklers for the Law. In public. They went nuts when someone broke the Law. Unless they did it.

And that's how they treated God's people. Jesus' people.

What is that to us? Handle it yourself.

Oh! That person didn't bring in enough money to the temple, their sacrifice isn't "good enough", because they didn't make enough money. Shame! 

No matter that the husband broke his leg and is out of work, or that the kids are doing jobs they're not old enough for, or that they barely have enough to eat because of it.

What is that to us? Why should we help?

Now, before this becomes a tangent...because it could...think about this with me for a moment.

What if...

What if Judas had seen Jesus and said "Lord, I sinned by betraying You." What if Judas had told Jesus that instead of the elders?

What happens when we repent and confess our sins to God? He forgives us. Without question. Wholeheartedly. When we cry out to Him, Jesus always steps in and takes our hand and pulls us back up from the ground.

Jesus never says "What is that to Me? See to that yourself."

Jesus is never too busy, never too proud, never too tired, to help us.

Are we too busy to help each other? Are we like Jesus? Willing to teach, to speak truth, and to help others like He did?

Or are we like the religious leaders?

"See to that yourself," they said, and sent Judas away.

He threw the silver on the ground, and went and took his own life because he felt his sin would never be forgiven. He had found no help, no forgiveness, and no friends in God's Temple.

Because the religious leaders were so corrupt that they did not care about doing the right thing. They cared about the appearance of doing the right thing. Does this make me look good? Does this make me look holy?

And then, they took the money back anyway. They knew they could not use it for the Temple, since it was blood money, but they used it to buy the Potter's Field, which is a grave site, now called the Field of Blood, because of the silver they used to purchase it.

I don't want to be like the Pharisees and Sadducees. I don't want to just have the appearance of doing good. Because it doesn't get you anywhere.

Oh, I'd go to church, and people would say "Wow. There goes Sarah. She's got it all together. Man! Isn't she righteous? Isn't she holy? I want to be like Sarah."

I don't want that. I don't have it all together. I'm very much still messed up. Jesus is the only one who keeps me together some days.

But He hasn't given up on me.

And He won't give up on you either.

Don't be like me. Be like Jesus. Don't just act good. Be good.

Now, that's really hard. The flesh does not want to be good. It wants to have earthly fun. It wants to wallow in sin, and laugh while doing it.

I don't want to act good. I want to do good. In private. In public. Everywhere. Whether people can see me or not.

That is not easy. So, before you close the browser because you feel I'm preaching at you, please wait. I'm preaching at myself.

I am not perfect. I will never be perfect. But Jesus is loving, and forgiving. And He gives us the tools we need to be good. To do good.

Now, what was I talking about?

Oh, yes.

Judas.

What if he had found the help he needed that day? Would he have killed himself? Would he have gone on to preach the gospel as the other disciples did?

We'll never know.

But it raised a lot of questions for me today.

What if we all made sure that we never said anything like that to anyone?

"What is that to us? See to that yourself!"

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read Mark 1-3.