HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS?
HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS? Luke 22:1-6, 22:47-53
Edward Song
Free Methodist Church of Santa Barbara Sunday, 17 March 2024
“Judas has been called a thief, a money lover, a devil from the beginning. His betrayal has been called the act of a greedy man, a disappointed man, a man chosen for an ugly task, a man trying to force Jesus to act by precipitating a crisis. Here is one who was chosen after a night of prayer to be in the inner circle of Jesus. He was taught and then sent to minister with apostolic authority. He enjoyed the same success as the others on those missions to preach, to heal, and to cast out demons. He was in every sense of the word an apostle. What happened?” -Fred Craddock
“Despair has been called the unforgivable sin—not presumably because God refuses to forgive it but because it despairs of the possibility of being forgiven.” -Frederick Buechner
INTRODUCTION
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
It is a very great privilege to be able to share a word with you all today…but if I’m being honest, preparing this sermon has been stressful. For today’s readings are unusually challenging. We are looking at the two sections in Luke 22 that focus on Judas’s betrayal of Jesus.