He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.
The Son of Man goes as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
Judas, who would betray him, answered,
“Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”
Matthew 26:23-25
Last night our pastor spoke about Matthew 27, where Judas Iscariot, who had been given 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus, realized too late his wicked scheme's consequences, and took his own life, doomed to an eternity separated from the One this zealot mistakenly thought would be the new earthly king. The Scriptures say nothing good about him, and yet somehow he had all of the disciples fooled into thinking that he was a good man. No one suspected him of his thievery and deception. He was "one of them." He was considered one of the 12 elite whom Jesus loved and trusted. Only the Lord Jesus knew who he really was.
The pastor said something that really stirred my heart. He said to look within, not to look at others and think how they might be like Judas. As I walked this morning, I meditated on this. Might I be a Judas? Would I be willing to sell Him out if my life or my freedom were at stake? What about if the lives of my children or grandchildren? Oh, how I love them! I would be willing to die for them if necessary. Would I sell Him out?
Two thousand years ago my Lord suffered the most tragic of deaths, completely innocent of any crime. He did that for me. For me, who can't even know in my own heart what I would do if confronted with the proposition that if I deny Him, then my grandchildren could live in freedom. Freedom? There is no freedom apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.
My prayer is that if ever I have to choose whether or not to remain faithful to my Lord, I WILL BE FAITHFUL! Somehow, I believe that that decision must be made long before the situation arises. I DO NOT WANT TO BE A JUDAS!
Contemplative,
Gloria
2 comments:
Last night I said 'I wish I felt as good as everybody says I look.. I feel like a Judas'
Just meaning I don't want to be deceptive in any way.
So true - there is NO freedom apart from Christ. He is everything. I remember when my mom was in the hospital and in severe pain. She told me later that she remembered what Jesus had had to go through and yet [my mom] had the assurance that God was with her every moment of the way, that when Jesus was on the cross, God turned his back on him and Jesus suffered separation from him. I cannot even comprehend that. We as believers have such hope and a sure knowledge that 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' Jesus suffered more than a crucifixion...all of God's wrath for our sin...all of our punishment.
Sorry, this got a little long. Just wanted to relate what my mom had told me. It really stuck with me. And even though both of my parents are now with the Lord, I still wish they could just pop in and spend an evening with us.
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