Acts 1:12-21

            {Prayer}

            During the regain of Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, a man by the name of Victor Hugo was exiled to Jersey. Not New Jersey, but the island of Jersey which is between England and France. Hugo was exiled for openly condemning the emperor.

            While in Jersey between 1851 and 1870, Victor Hugo produced many different literary works like The Punishments, The Toilers of the Sea, and probably the most iconic novel, Les Misérables.

            While in Jersey, Victor Hugo was deeply moved by the death sentence on the neighboring island of John Charles Tapner. Hugo protested and requested a pardon that he didn’t obtain. The condemned man was executed by hanging on February 10, 1854. This hanging motivated Hugo to produce four different drawings. One of them titled, “Ecce Lex”, which is Latin for “Behold the Law.” In this painting is a dark and shocking portrait of a man hung for his crimes. Hugo is riffing off the Latin phrase which Pilate spoke when condemning Jesus, “Ecco Homo”, “Behold the Man”.

            Hugo’s painting provides a reflection of the darkness of sin and the Law. The Law of God confronts our soul. We see this in the disciple Judas. Judas stands as a tragic figure leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. If you remember, before Jesus gets together with the disciples to celebrate the Passover, Judas meets with the religious leaders and agrees to betray Jesus for 30 silver coins. Judas gives them all the information they need in order to find and arrest Jesus. After supper, Judas then leads the religious leaders and the officers of the temple guard right to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. After watching Jesus bound and taken into custody, Judas is racked with regret and guilt. He goes back to the religious leaders looking for grace and mercy but finds none. In the darkness of his guilt and regret, Judas, in the darkness of night and sin, hangs himself.  

            Judas represents the path of regret without repentance. It’s the path that ends in despair and heartache because it turns away from the light and love of Christ. It’s a path that condemns and cannot save. But this can’t be the only path, there has to be another way.

            And there is another path. It’s the path of Jesus, who was betrayed, but did not betray in return. The path of Jesus is a path of grace. It’s a path where guilt is met not with “What is that to us? That’s your problem” (Matthew 27:5), but rather, guilt is met with, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The path of Jesus shows mercy, it delivers undeserved grace, and turns sorrow into hope. This is the path walked by the disciples. It’s the one that leads not to death, but through death and on to everlasting life.

            We see this in Acts 1. Following the ascension of Jesus up into Heaven, the disciples go back to Jerusalem. They go back to an upstairs room where they were staying. Luke tells us they “all joined together constantly in prayer” (Acts 1:14a). You see, they knew that even though Jesus had ascended to heaven, the story wasn’t over. They weren’t to return to their old way of life. There was more for them to do.

            You see, the disciples had walked with Jesus. They witnessed the miracles, they learned from Him, they ate with Him. But they also fled from Him. Peter, in the courtyard warming himself by the fire, denied knowing or having anything to do with Jesus. But here’s the thing … the disciples had been restored. Jesus came to them, showing them His hands and feet, saying, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). Jesus had breathed on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (20:22). And now in our reading from Acts 1, the disciples are waiting. Waiting for power from on high, waiting for the promise, waiting for what comes next. The disciples didn’t scatter in guilt. Instead, they came together in grace.

            Life has a way of putting us at crossroads. Sometimes the path is obvious. Other times, it’s like following a GPS that suddenly says, “Recalculating.” Maybe you’ve been there, driving down a familiar road when you miss a turn or the route changes. You’re left wondering, “Did I mess up? Am I still going the right way?”

            The grace of God often works like a divine GPS. It recalculates when we wander, not to shame us, but to redirect us. That’s what makes the path of Jesus so powerful. It isn’t always the path we would choose, or even recognize at first … but it is the path that leads to life.

            The poet Robert Frost captured this same feeling in his famous poem, “The Road Not Taken.” He writes, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both … I took the one less traveled by, And that made all the difference.”

            Frost’s words reflect something true about our spiritual lives. Every day, we come to moments of decision. We stand at crossroads … paths that diverge in heart and mind. One may look easy, well-worn, and comfortable … like the path of Judas. But it ends in regret and despair.

            The other pay might look uncertain, even painful. It might look like Peter denying Jesus or the disciples hiding behind locked doors after the burial of Jesus. But it’s also the path where Jesus meets you. It’s the path of grace. The road less traveled. And it makes all the difference because Jesus has already walked it ahead of you.

            Jesus comes to the disciples. Jesus steps in and He breathes His Holy Spirit into their fears, restores what was broken, and sets them back on the path. The path doesn’t always feel clear in the moment, but it is guided by grace. And that makes all the difference for you and me.

            Just like Judas, we too can end up on the wrong path. It may start small. It may start with justifying a compromise here or there. It may start with nursing a grudge. But little by little, inch by inch, we find ourselves veering away from Jesus and we’re headed down the wrong path.

            The Law of God confronts us like Hugo’s painting. It is stark, honest, and even offensive. It says, “This is what sin earns. This is what guilt leads to. This is where the road of self-reliance ends.”

            And if we’re honest … we all know what it’s like to try and “recalculate” our lives in our own strength. We know the Judas path of regret without repentance. And when we hold on to our shame, hide our sins, or try to fix them without Jesus … that road leads to isolation. It’s a road that cannot save.

            But then comes Jesus. “Ecco Homo” – Behold the Man!

            Behold the Man who takes away your guilt.

            Behold the Man who doesn’t leave you in regret.

            Behold the Man who chooses the cross so that you might walk a different path, a narrow path, a path not of shame but salvation.

            While Judas was overtaken by guilt … Jesus overcame it.

            While Judas died under the weight of the Law … Jesus died under the weight of grace … for you.

            So what path are you on? Are you stuck in shame over the past? Are you walking in silent guilt? Or are you willing to stop, turn, and hear the voice of Jesus say, “Peace be with you”?

            You might feel like a failure … but remember this. Jesus didn’t die for people who had it all figured out. Jesus died for those who had wandered and lost their way. Jesus died for the Judases. For the Peters. For you!

            So here’s your challenge … take the path of grace. Let God’s Word be the voice that guides you. Come back to the cross again and again, not to stare at judgment to look beyond it to the empty tomb and receive grace and mercy.

            There are two paths. One ends in guilt. One leads through grace. Jesus walks with you on this path that leads through the cross, through death, and into eternal life. Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.