The Strangle of Greed

Monday after Easter


Matthew 27:4-5

He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But [the Chief Priests] said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.

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The road I cruise is a bitch now
Ya know ya can't turn me round
And if a house gets in my way
Ya know I'll burn it down

You ran the night that you left me
You put me in my place
I got you in a stranglehold baby
That night I crushed your face

"Stranglehold" From 1975's "Ted Nugent"

If you want to peg one of the seven deadly sins on Judas Iscariot, it would be impossible. Everyone on earth has been hooked by all seven of them at one time or another, and Judas' sins are probably the most public of sin since the Original. Was he deceived by envy? Was he prideful? Was he greedy? Scripture certainly pins greed squarely upon his chest.

Judas took thirty pieces of silver to betray the Lord and he did it with a kiss. It didn't take long for "Judas Kiss" to enter the language as a term of betrayal.

Forgiveness comes from the Lord. If no sin is unforgivable, then this sin wouldn't be unforgivable. What scripture tells us is that Judas did not even seek forgiveness from God. Instead he went to the temple elite. The same men who paid him to betray Jesus would not offer him absolution from the sin they asked him to commit. Pilate washed his hands of Jesus' death, but it was the temple leadership that washed their hands of Judas.

Sin had a stranglehold on Judas, and on the leaders who exploited him. Judas was not able to live with his sin. Based on the silence of scripture, evidently the leaders were. Judas tried to receive absolution by returning the payment for his betrayal. The leaders were not willing to take it back, afterall, it was blood money.

They provided the silver that fed his sin, but were not willing to accept his repentance. Of course, they weren't able to either.

Pardon my French, but let's just say the road Judas cruised was a bitch. His own sin and the sin of the men who tempted him put him in his place. In the end it was sin's stranglehold that took Judas to the noose.

What if Judas had sought forgiveness from the Lord instead of the temple elite? Sure, he wouldn't have been worthy but none of us are worthy. Would it have changed Judas' life? I have to believe that yes, it would have changed his life. I believe that absolution is as close as the kiss from Jesus, but most of us wallow in our own version of the Judas kiss. If Judas can find absolution in God, then who are we to say our sins are too big?

I would like to imagine when Judas received his eternal reward, Jesus kissed him again. Jesus forgives. Jesus knows what happened and why it happened. Sin had a stranglehold on Judas, strangling that ultimately went to his throat. It is the Lord who releases the hold of sin on our lives, even the life of Judas.

Ted sings, "Some people think they're gonna die someday, I got some news you never gotta go." Here's what's funny, Jesus proved that even God can die. He also proved that God can overcome death. When death is defeated, all other bets are off. So while Ted may be right, we know that only with God, all things are possible.