Sorry or Repentant?
A contrast between Judas and Peter shows that remorse turns inward, but repentance runs to Christ for absolution.
Palm Sunday Sermon
Zion Lutheran Church,
Guttenberg, Iowa
and
St. Paul Lutheran Church,
McGregor, Iowa
29 March 2026
Rev. Michael Brent Keller
Dear saints, the Jewish leaders have wanted to kill Jesus for months, if not years. Finally, they get their chance. Judas goes to the chief priests and asks, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” The answer, thirty pieces of silver, was enough for him, and he started looking for the opportunity to earn that silver.
Jesus is not ignorant of this scheme, and He speaks of it in the Upper Room. He had always known His hour was coming; that He would be handed over to those who hated Him and be crucified. But that also does not mean He wanted Judas to commit treason against his God. But the time does come. Judas brings a mob to the garden, and Jesus is arrested, and your Lord’s passion is well underway.
Something else occurs in the Upper Room. Jesus warns of what is coming, and Peter boldly proclaims that, even if the rest run away, he would never. “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!”
But they all run in the garden. And Peter enters the courtyard near where Jesus is tried. During the trial, two different slave girls asked if Peter was a disciple. Finally, a different bystander asks. The denial turns to oath and culminates with invoking a curse upon himself. And then, the crow pierces the air, and Peter begins to weep bitterly.
As this happens, Judas is also paying attention. And when he sees Jesus condemned, he regrets what he did. He changes his mind. But notice what Scripture says he does not do: repent. Nonetheless, he feels the weight of what he has done, and it leads him to return to the chief priests. Those who are supposed to be the shepherds who guide and share the word of the Lord. He confesses his sin and brings back the silver. But whatever absolution Judas sought, he did not find. These religious leaders have no compassion for Judas, and in their hatred of Christ, they also dismiss his remorseful disciple. They leave it to him to care for his sin. And in grief, Judas throws the silver at their feet and flees the temple.
But the guilt remains. And it breaks him. Sorrowful for his betrayal, Judas fails to seek his Lord. Perhaps he feared what would happen if he did. Even after he sought those who hated Jesus and who treated him with contempt. And now, instead of looking to Jesus for absolution, he takes the priest’s advice. And to make matters worse, he decides that he must be the one to pay for the curse he has put himself under by betraying innocent blood. He judges himself guilty, sentences himself to death, puts himself on a tree, and hangs himself. He knows the Law. He knows the penalty. And so, he takes it all upon himself. He condemns himself and dies for his own sin.
But Peter does not deal with it himself. He does not try to fix it himself. Instead, he stays with the rest of the disciples. On the day of the Resurrection, he is with them in the upper room. He is with them in the days that follow when he decides to go fishing. And he is with them when they encounter Jesus on a seashore. Where Jesus questions and absolves him, restoring him to the Twelve. And when he leaves, he is unburdened.
Judas betrays our Lord, and Peter denies Him. But afterward, Peter is repentant while Judas is remorseful. Peter receives absolution from his Lord. Judas is counselled by the priests to deal with it himself. Something he does with tragic consequences. When you sin against your Lord and God, the same options stand before you. You can feel bad for what you have done and try to fix it yourself, or you can run to your Lord and know that His absolution is there for you.
Today, the week that leads to the cross begins. Your Lord enters Jerusalem as King and will soon take up His throne on Calvary. There, He wins for you salvation…redemption… absolution. We see the effect of Judas’ betrayal. But even more, we witness the place where absolution for Peter…for you…is claimed. Amen