Scripture: 2 Samuel 17: 23-22 and Matthew 27: 1-5
Sermon: Betrayed
Topics: Judas, Absalom, Ahithophel, betrayal
Rev. Mike Abma
We are going to do something a little different this evening.
Since most of you are pretty Biblically literate, we are going to go a bit deeper into things this evening, and for that, I am going to ask you to simply keep your Bible’s on your lap,
with one finger in the middle of 2 Samuel,
and the other finger at the end of Matthew’s gospel.
In the season of Epiphany we looked a number of Old Testament passages that Jesus himself quoted. These were from the prophets.
But the connection between the Old and the New isn’t simply to be found in the prophets.
Many of the New Testament stories also have echoes or parallels in Old Testament stories.
This evening we are going to look at how
the way Matthew tells the Passion Story of Jesus
has a number of echoes, a number of parallels,
to the story of Absalom’s revolt against his father David in 2 Samuel.
PLOT
Again, because you are a Biblically literate group,
I assume you know the general story of Absalom’s revolt against his father
so I will not retell it all.
But let me begin by saying that Absalom’s revolt
and the Passion Story of Jesus
both involve a similar plot .
In the story of David and Absalom, David is the rightful king in Jerusalem.
But Absalom, his son, begins a movement to usurp his father and take the throne.
In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom, the usurper, is on his way to Jerusalem,
and David, the rightful king, is suddenly under threat, and has to flee.
In Matthew, there is a similar plot, although this time it is the rightful king Jesus who is entering Jerusalem, and it is the illegitimate authorities who resist him and want to get rid of him.
So in both stories, the plot has similarities.
GEOGRAPHY
There is also a similarity in geography in these two stories.
In both stories, much of the action, much of that clash, happens in and around Jerusalem.
Remember how we looked at Jesus celebrating the Lord’s Supper with his disciples, then leaving that Supper to walk out of the city and up into the Mount of Olives. That was a tough walk because, as Matthew describes it, that is when Jesus tells his disciples that they will all desert him – the Shepherd will be struck, and the sheep will scatter.
Turn with me to 2 Samuel 15:30.
The scene is David fleeing from Jerusalem.
David has just been told that all Israel is now following his son Absalom and David’s life is at risk.
30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot; and all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.31David was told that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, ‘O Lord, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
Here we have David,
a man of sorrows,
a man whose life is at risk,
a man rejected by his own people,
making that same walk up to the Mount of Olives,
and beyond that, into the wilderness.
So much like Jesus,
walking up the Mount of Olives,
and beyond that, to the wilderness of the cross.
BETRAYAL
Here is another key similarity – the element of betrayal.
In the passage we just read, David mentions the name of Ahithophel.
Ahithophel was one of David’s key advisors.
Ahithophel was part of
David’s close cabinet,
his trusted team
his inner circle.
It is heart-breaking for David to know that Ahithophel —
someone he considered a friend —
that Ahithophel had betrayed him,
had gone to Absalom’s side,
was now his enemy.
And we see a clear parallel between Ahithophel and Judas.
Judas was one of the 12 disciples.
Judas was trusted – so trusted that he was the one who held the money bag;
in other words, he was the treasurer of the group.
He handled the money.
Judas had been with Jesus for years already.
Jesus considered Judas a friend.
Why did Judas do it?
Why did he go to the authorities and agree to hand Jesus over to them?
* the traditional answer is greed. That Judas did it for the money, for the 30 pieces of silver. And yet, if it was only for the money, why would Judas so quickly return the money?
* others say that Judas had difficulty with accepting Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah. They say that Judas put his trust in the religious establishment rather than in the newness of Jesus.
* others say that Judas was simply impatient with Jesus. He wanted Jesus to show his power and establish his kingdom NOW. By betraying him, Judas was trying to force Jesus to finally show that power.
We really do not know why Judas betrayed Jesus.
But if Judas was anything like Ahithophel,
the Old Testament character who parallels him in so many ways,
we can be sure that to Judas,
what he did made complete sense.
David asks that the counsel of Ahithophel
be turned to foolishness
because Ahithophel was anything but foolish.
This is how 2 Samuel 16:23 describes Ahithophel:
23Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the oracle of God; so all the counsel of Ahithophel was esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.
That is pretty high praise.
And yet Ahithophel chose to betray David and go with Absalom.
At the time, that must have seemed like a “reasonable and rational” thing to do.
I have a feeling Judas was also very bright.
People do not tend to make the dullest person in the group treasurer.
And yet, Judas chose to betray Jesus.
Again, for Judas, it must have seemed like the “reasonable and rational” thing to do.
BETRAYER’S FALL
Now here is part of the Ahithophel story you may need a refresher on.
David, and those still supporting him, flee Jerusalem and go into the wilderness.
Absalom and his supporters enter Jerusalem.
Absalom needs to decide what to do.
What action should he take?
He asks Ahithophel for advice.
Ahithophel tells Absalom
that he will personally take 12,000 men
and immediately set out to pursue David
while he is still on the run.
Ahithophel tells Absalom that all they need to do
is get rid of David
and then the rest of the people will follow him.
But there was another advisor in Absalom’s court.
A man named Hushai.
A friend of David, and a spy planted to thwart whatever advice Ahithophel gave.
Hushai tells Absalom that this time
Ahithophel’s advice is poor.
Hushai tells Absalom that it is better to take his time,
to muster troops from all over Israel
and then attack David.
Absalom takes Hushai’s advice,
giving David time to retreat, to regroup, and eventually to retake the throne.
Ahithophel finds himself in no-man’s land:
he has betrayed David, the rightful king;
he has been rejected by those he supported.
Feeling all alone, this is what happens:
2 Samuel 17: 23
23 When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order, and hanged himself; he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.
Now we turn to Judas.
Judas also finds himself in no-man’s land.
He had betrayed Jesus, and now regrets it.
He wants the chief priests and elders to know
that in condemning Jesus to death
they were condemning an innocent man.
But the chief priests and elders reject him.
Listen:
Matthew 27: 1-5
27When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. 2They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4He said, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’ 5Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.
Ahithophel and Judas.
Both betrayers.
Both people who ended up ending their own lives.
The only 2 suicides by hanging mentioned in the whole Bible.
In many ways, they are both tragic figures.
They both find themselves in no-man’s land:
Ahithophel, unwilling to face David and beg for forgiveness.
Judas, unwilling to face Jesus and beg for forgiveness.
BETRAYAL – No-Man’s Land
Betrayal remains one of the worst forms of pain.
In the Old Testament,
the name Ahithophel meant betrayal.
In the New Testament
the name Judas means betrayal.
We know how just one word, one name
can summon all the toxic pain of betrayal.
Say the word Flint, and we think of political betrayal.
The word Volkswagen, and we think of corporate betrayal.
The name Bernie Madoff, and we think of financial betrayal.
Perhaps there is a name in your own life,
just one name,
that opens the door to all the pain of betrayal.
Betrayal is, at heart, an abuse of trust.
We trust someone,
and that trust is abused.
That is why betrayal is so toxic
In marriages
In families
In churches
In communities.
It rips things apart.
It leaves the betrayed in no-man’s land,
not knowing who to trust.
But it also leaves the betrayer in no-man’s land too,
for they have forfeited trust.
CONCLUSION
What can heal the rift between the betrayer and the betrayed?
What can rescue the betrayer and the betrayed from the no-man’s land
of hurt, rejection, loneliness, guilt?
The way Matthew writes his gospel,
even as Judas is in his no-man’s land
caught between the one he betrayed
and those to whom he betrayed him;
Jesus is in his own no-man’s land,
caught between heaven and earth;
caught between those on earth who betrayed him
and heaven which was silent to his cries.
Jesus entered and occupied that no-man’s land,
And he did so
In order to bring heaven and earth together again;
He did so in order to bring the betrayer and the betrayed together again;
He did so to reconcile to God all things,
To reconcile to God all people
To reconcile the betrayer and the betrayed.
As Judas hung and breathed his last,
Jesus was also hanging — hanging on a cross,
Saying to the very people killing him:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
For me that is enough,
more than enough,
for me to turn to those I have betrayed and ask, “Please forgive me.”
That is enough,
more than enough
for me to turn to those who have betrayed me and say, “I forgive you.”
Amen
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