Prayer Practice
Lectio – Read today’s passage through once. Then spend some time praying and asking God to show you what you need to pay attention to in the text. Read it again. Now ask the Holy Spirit to help you see what this text, and the part that has stood out, may mean for you. Don’t expect to get a clear word every time but always be ready to really hear from God’s Spirit through this Word.
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
A Study in Betrayal
by Dan Kidd
Honestly, you’d think Jesus had enough enemies. His life was at least twice threatened already; first by a jealous and bloodthirsty king, and then by murderous mob of Nazarenes. His life’s work had been devoted to contests against sinfulness, sickness, death, demonic spirits, and the devil himself. The last thing Jesus needed—the last thing he needed, was to be betrayed by his friends.
First, was Judas Iscariot--the one entrusted with the meager wealth this band of disciples had to live off of. John tells us he’d been pocketing the money for himself. It appears the devil saw an opportunity in Judas’s greed and “Satan entered Judas,” and led him to the priests and temple guard, where he sold off his allegiance to Jesus. Can you imagine the flood of emotions that overtook Jesus and his disciples when Judas approached them, leading the mob of priests? And the audacity to cloak such cruelty in a gesture of intimate affection! Clearly their hearts were a stew of confusion, sorrow, hurt, fear… and enough rage to turn a disciple into maimer.
And then there’s Simon Peter, who only hours before had professed he would follow Jesus into prison and into death. But when the hour came, Peter trailed Jesus from a safe distance. After years of walking faithfully in the footsteps of Jesus, even out onto the water, of course he couldn’t conceal their friendship. But his fear overcame him and thrice he denied his true identity as a fellow fisher of men. Then, he locks eyes with Jesus and he knew what Jesus had known—that when it came down to it, discipleship was too steep a cost for him too.
Lastly, there’s the betrayal of the priests. Let us not forget that Jesus, at the age of twelve, sat with these priests in Jerusalem and amazed them with his wisdom and insight. These priests were meant to be the gardeners of the faith—the emissaries between God and humanity. But when God came, in the person of Jesus, to be with and among humanity they despised him, accused him, and turned him over to be executed.
Betrayal after betrayal after betrayal.
Perhaps you’ve felt the piercing pain of being betrayed? Maybe you’ve failed a someone who expected and deserved more from you? Take notice. These three instances offer three distinct paths: Judas was overcome with guilt and saw no hope for redemption—and his hopelessness killed him. The priests were so self-righteous or self-serving that they were oblivious to their betrayal. In a few short years they would be crushed by their temple as it collapsed around them. But Peter would be given his opportunity for restoration. The resurrected Jesus would meet Peter at the shore and Peter could undo his denial by professing, three time, his love for Jesus. As devastating as betrayal can be disaster does not have to be the final word.
Lord, I pray that you would protect us from disloyalty. But whenever betrayal occurs, Holy Spirit, I pray you will lead us in the path of restoration.
4 comments:
Dan, thanks for your blog post today. I had never taken the time to look at the three betrayals side by side. Thanks for the insight! Jody Slemmer
Dan:
Your blog is so well written and composed there is no wonder UALC has asked you to write. I thank God for those of our body of Christ that use their gifts to the glory of God and to the benefit of us as blessed members of this church body.
I thought your summary was great, but my favorite line was, " .....the last thing, the last thing"... It was the last thing in His lineup of tasks to complete before the last cry, "It is Finished"..
Thank you and may God bless you. Happy Easter!
Robin Lorms
Thank you, Robin. That is very kind and encouraging. Indeed, these are the last things before Calvary. It's remarkable, given all this cruelty and betrayal, that Jesus was willing to forgive them in the midst of his crucifixion, and that he would offer them redemption and restoration through his death and resurrection. What incredible mercy!
And I agree, Jody. Put together, we see just how tragic and painful Jesus’ final hours were. Thank God he didn’t abandon humanity in our ugliness.
Thank you, Dan. My sister pointed me to your reflection this morning. I appreciate your tone, your insightful commentary, and especially your prayer at the end.
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