Maundy Thursday Sermon 2022
Jesus gives the Supper to Judas. He knew that Satan had entered into Judas’s heart. He knew that Judas would receive the sacrament unworthily. Many have used this truth to say that pastors should not withhold the sacrament from people, since the founder of the sacrament did not withhold it from someone who unworthily partook of it.
But this is sheer wickedness. Jesus knew what He knew because He is God. He knows the thoughts of men’s hearts. We do not. Jesus would never teach us to judge men’s hearts, since all judgment has been committed to Him. And He Himself says in John,
“I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”
It is the word that judges. Jesus places all judgment into the word. Therefore Jesus will be deceived, just as He allows Himself to be betrayed. He forces no one to believe the word. He only speaks it and leaves the power entirely to the Word. Those who reject the word are judged by the word.
Therefore do not hide your heart when you come to the sacrament. Confess your sins. This Supper is for the forgiveness of sins, as Matthew tells us. It is not some trite ritual where we all feel togetherness and pretend to be united. The word unites us. But the word does not unite Judas, because he did not believe. The word does not unite the unrepentant to Jesus, because they do not desire forgiveness from Him. Judas did not desire to be freed from his greed. And he betrayed Jesus.
It would have been better for him if he had not been born. That is the sad state of those who hear God’s Word and consistently reject it until it can no longer take root. If Judas, who saw Jesus’ miracles, heard His words of judgment and grace, and followed Him even in trials, fell away because he harbored in his heart the sin of greed without repentance, then let any man who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Let no unrepented sin prove hurtful to you here. Do not hide what is known to God. Confess as sin what God’s word calls sin. Listen to the Word of God that tells you your need. Do not think that you can control sin, but come to this feast precisely for the freedom from sin that Jesus freely gives to poor sinners.
Come with forgiveness for others. How can you desire forgiveness while you withhold it from those who have done you wrong? Repent of any grudges in your heart. Be intent on doing all you can to be reconciled and at peace with others. Come with no bitterness for anyone but yourself; it is then that you will taste the sweet pardon that is placed on your lips from the bitter sufferings and death of Christ for poor sinners.
Judas continued to steal from the money bag, though he knew that Jesus knew the thoughts of the Pharisees and others. Therefore when you come to this Supper, resolve in your heart to amend your life with the help of God’s mercy and grace. This Supper is the power to change your life. How? He forgives you. He lays the foundation. He shows His great love for you and other poor sinners. He shows you how serious your sins are by giving you the body that had to die for them. He shows you deep His love is for you by giving you that body to eat. He shows you how His grace abounds more than your sin has increased by pouring out the blood He shed on the cross into your mouth, so that you might be assured and certain that the power to change your life is not in you, but only in Him and in His words, which remove sin, cleanse your conscience, and show you the favor and mercy of God in Christ.
See how he goes to die even for Judas, who fell so far. Do not receive the grace of God in vain, but cling to it. The difference between Judas and the other disciples is repentance and faith. The disciples were still sinners. A discussion about who it was who would betray Jesus turned into an argument about who was the greatest. They were still sinners. Do not think that you can come to this Supper except as a sinner. But do not come as someone who plans evil. Do not come intending to continue to do what you know destroys your soul. Repent, and come with all that burdens you, with all the sin you know and don’t know, with your weakness, but most importantly with faith in these words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
Because Christ died for you. He truly bore your sins in His body on the tree that you might no longer live for yourself, but for Him who loved you and gave Himself for you. There is life. If you see no faith in you, then listen to the word which says, “For you.” If you say, “I have eaten and drunk unworthily in the past!” then eat what forgives that sin again, but this time with faith that the blood of God’s Son cleanses you from all sins, including having eaten and drunk unworthily.
Finally, when you leave this altar, go in peace. Go with the peace of God in your heart, knowing that God is at peace with you through the death of His Son which you just proclaimed by eating and drinking the fruits of His death. And let this peace so rule your hearts and minds so that you see others in peace, so that as Christ as given Himself to you to assure your heart and strengthen your faith that God loves you, so let this peace flow out in your life, so that you become more patient with others who have done you wrong, more merciful to those who do not know mercy, and as much as in you lies, at peace with everyone. This is the Christian life that is strengthened by this meal. It makes people who deny Jesus confess Him. It changes you from being afraid of sin and death and judgment into having courage in the face of sin and able to say, “I have sinned, but I am justified freely through the redemption, the body and the blood that Christ gave to God on the cross and now to me in this Supper. I have all of God’s favor. I have His peace that surpasses my understanding. In the world I will have tribulation, but I do not fear. I have Christ, who has overcome the world. Amen.