Betrayal

"3Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  4So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  5And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  6So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude."

                                                                         Luke 22:3-6   NKJV

Betrayal must be one the most awful things that can happen to someone. Spies do it, sometimes to their own country. Some husbands and wives do it to their partners - adultery. Betrayal, is dragging someone's trust and honour, through the mud. It is one of the worst things that a human being can do to another. And yet, people who do this kind of thing, appear to have no values; they just get on and do it, without a care.

Betrayal literally means 'delivered up' or 'handed over.' When Judas betrayed Jesus, he was taking advantage of the intimate relationship he had with Him. He was one of the trusted; one  who sat with Jesus at the Last Supper and then, delivered Him up to the authorities. Look at his actions, he had done this by night, in the secret of darkness and kissed Jesus to signify that it was Him. He did it all for money. He had sold his soul to the devil (v3). Judas knew that Jesus was innocent of crime but still went ahead and violated the confidence and trust that Jesus had placed in him. Of course, Jesus knew that he would do this, He had foretold this at the Last Supper (Luke 22:21), but He still honoured Judas.

We tend to take people on face value, even though we may be wary of some at first. The thing is, we never know if one of our so-called friends are going to betray us. Many a marriage has broken down because one of the partners has let someone get too close to their partner. When disaster has struck, it may be too late to change things; families become totally torn apart. There are quite a few well-known names coming up in the news just lately. Trust has broken down; confidence in that person is lost and betrayal has found another candidate to devastate.

It is hard to ever think that we may be guilty of betrayal at some time in the future. But, taking our eyes off Jesus and, placing them on the world is the start of it all. Don't ever think that this will never happen to you, 'Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.' 1 Cor 10:12 NKJV. Trust Jesus, not yourself.

There may be someone who has come under conviction whilst reading this. Don't ignore it, God is showing that you are in error and need to repent and put it right. Don't leave it too late.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out