Betrayal

"When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples.  3Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.  4Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”                                                        John 18:1-4.  NKJV

It is an awful thing to be betrayed by someone that is close to you. You may have had so much trust in this person and they threw it in your face and betrayed you. It would have been like this for Jesus, although He knew this would happen, it still hurt Him and the other disciples were totally in shock.

Judas Iscariot had agreed to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver which would had been roughly around the cost of two months work by a labourer. Today, this could equate in certain quarters, to around $25,000. He arranged to take a detachment of soldiers to where Jesus would be found. Now, a detachment would be 600 men, but here it was more likely to have been a third of that - 200 men. Still a lot to catch one man. Judas had agreed that, he would walk up to Jesus and kiss Him and this would show them who He was. Judas blatantly did this; he walked up to Jesus and pointed Him out.

How could he do this to Jesus? How could he betray the Son of God who was about to give him much more than 30 pieces of silver? It's difficult to know why he did it. It may have been greed; it may have been that Judas was governed by Satan and persuaded to do this. Whatever it was, it was pure evil. Let us not forget that Jesus told us that wolves will come in sheep's clothing: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 

As I say, betrayal is horrendous and very difficult to accept - 'How could they do this to me?' You may have suffered this in the past or, just lately. You may be in the state of shock. You may have lost your money on a deal that you were assured was certain, only to find that you have been scammed or chested out of everything. Your spouse may have walked out on you, taking you by complete shock. Together with this, your bank balance may have been cleaned out and you are left with nothing. It is called being betrayed!

Jesus knows all about this type of thing; He knows the pain and loss of it all. However, He didn't react like you feel you'd like to right now. When Judas had done is dirty deal, He stood and addressed the soldiers and asked them who they were seeking. They replied they were after Jesus of Nazareth. His reply was amazing, 'I am He. With this, they all drew back and fell to the floor. They hadn't a clue what had happened to them. But Jesus knew - He had just declared that he, Jesus, is God and the Holy Spirit came down at that moment. Jesus though, still had His duty to complete at the cross before His suffering would end.

One more thing Jesus did, was to ask His Father to forgive everyone, from the cross because they didn't know what they were doing. He was suffering that is true but, there was more to come until His mission was over.

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

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