Betrayed

Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭10‬-‭11

“Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you have ever been betrayed by someone you understand the pain and hurt it can cause. No one wants to be betrayed. When someone is your friend have been loyal to you and then they turn their back on you and turn against you it will create grief and heartache. It hurts.

When I talk about betrayal, I am referring to the pain, anger, or disappointment of being deceived by someone you trusted. Today, we are going to look at Jesus being betrayed by Judas.

Mark began with the enemies of Jesus plotting His death. It now ends with one of Jesus own close followers offering to betray Him to death. How sad.

Rather than looking closely at Jesus ministry and hearing what He had to say, His enemies were looking for the right time and place to kill Him while Judas was looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Jealousy and hate blind us to the truth about other people. That is why Jesus was so critical of the self-righteous religious leaders.

Let's remember that hate always blinds us to the truth about others and closes down our hearts about their true identities and value.

From the very beginning, the Judas story sent a message to all who would follow Jesus that the possibility of their betrayal would be as devastating as anything that religious or political authorities might throw at them.

Traitors are even worse than enemies.

The function of the role played by Judas is to hold all of us who seek to follow Jesus in our lives accountable to not selling Jesus out for our own selfish motives.

But I don’t really think it was about the money. Money, in and of itself, is nothing but a means of exchange. It isn’t money itself, it is what money signifies, what money buys, how money functions as an identifier of social standing and social worth.

THAT is where money moves from being a means of exchange to exchanging one God for lesser, idolatrous, gods. I think it runs even deeper than money, even though we are so easily wowed and cowed by people who have a lot of it.

I think the simplest explanation is that the religious authorities needed a scapegoat, a fall guy, someone who could take the heat off of them even as they hatched their self-serving, insidious, plan to rid the world of Jesus.

To the one who has been hurt by betrayal. Jesus knows how you feel. He knows the disappointment and the pain that comes from betrayal.

As Jesus is being nailed to the cross, He says something significant, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” They know they betrayed you, but they don’t know the full extent of their actions. Jesus is showing you to forgive them.

To the one who has betrayed another. Go and ask for forgiveness. Tell them you were wrong. Make it a right as you can.

How could someone who had been so close to Jesus, heard all his teaching, saw his miracles, and was his friend, betray him to death? It is truly shocking.

Yet Jesus also knew what was in people’s hearts, and knew who was going to betray Him. So throughout His ministry, the very person who would betray Him was with Him and He was aware of it.

But He was also aware of the victory that would be His. We are to live in a similar awareness, knowing that while there are trials in this life, there is also victory in this life and in the life yet to come!!!

Father thank You for this day and forgive us when we have judged the actions of others negatively because of our ill feelings toward them. Lord pour out Your abundant blessings over my friend and family today. Lord lead us gently to love others more generously and fully. Lord Judas has long been for us a warning of how easily we can be misled into doing the wrong thing, even though we are convinced that we are right. Lord Judas reminds us of the danger of turning money into an idol. Lord Judas convicts us in that we know how easily we can be swayed. Lord lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil in your name. Lord use my friend to be the touch of Your love today. Daddy we love You amen. Be a blessing. Love ya !