"And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, 'Judas, are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss?' Luke 22:47-48 NKJV
Have you ever been betrayed? If you have, you'll know how painful this is, especially when you have known and trusted the betrayer well. It is a devastating experience. Whatever led Judas to betray Jesus has been debated over the years. Some say it was out of greed; what he had, was not enough and he wanted more - money and status. He could have worked out that he would be on a good earner if he told the authorities where Jesus was. Others focus on satan being the sole cause. Obviously, it can't be denied that satan was very much behind what was happening, but what was Judas' motive for this act. Others say that he was a thief. After all, he was the treasurer and could easily have had his hand in the bag. Other deeper theories, say that he had become disappointed in Jesus. He had expected Jesus to come and take His rightful place and head up a rebellion against the Roman authority. Whatever was his motive, he betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and this led to Jesus' arrest and subsequent crucifixion.
Hard to understand Jesus having to go through this kind of hurt, but it paved the way to show others how to handle this type of thing and warn that, if Jesus suffered betrayal then, we would too, at some stage of our walk with Jesus.
The Greek word for betrayal is paradidomi, and means to surrender, yield up, betray, deliver up and put in prison. It can also mean to inform on which can be a violation of trust together with being a deceiver, a traitor and an insincere person who will sell someone down the river if necessary.
Judas fitted all of these categories and it broke Jesus' heart. It is beyond reason to imagine someone doing this when they have been a follower of Jesus for some time; but sadly it happens, and you may have met a betrayer or two since you became a Christian. How do you spot a betrayer? You can't, they look just like you and I. We just have to go on trust. However, we should never trust anyone as much as we do Jesus. That is putting someone in God's place and if you do, you will get hurt at some stage, Jeremiah 17:5. But those whose trust is in God will be blessed. Jeremiah 17:7-8.
The bottom line is, we can't change the situation but, we can learn by it and forgiveness is the way forward. Whatever may have happened to you, you will go no further in blessing, until you forgive. When you do, God will open the blessings of Heaven to you.
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
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