Reading: Mark 14-16
And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray Him unto them (Mark 14:10). And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with Me shall betray Me (Mark 14:18). And he that betrayed Him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He; take Him, and lead Him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to Him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed Him(Mark 14:44-45).
In all of the Bible, no man is more universally hated than Judas Iscariot. Called by Jesus as one of the twelve, he had been privileged to be among those that Jesus called “friend” (Matt. 26:50). Yet Judas betrayed that friendship in the most horrific of ways, as Jesus had known from the very beginning that he would. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray Him, being one of the twelve (John 6:70-71).
For most of us, Judas is not someone that we spend much time contemplating. We prefer to think of him as evil incarnate— basically the devil in human form. We don’t like to think about the fact that he was a man, a creation of God who knowingly betrayed the Son of God of his own free will. We are uncomfortable with the realization that it was a choice because then we are left to wonder, “Why?” Was it done out of hatred? Greed? Jealousy? Was it done in an attempt to manipulate or change God's plan? Did he believe that by doing so he would force Jesus to defend Himself and thus bring about the return of God’s independent, earthly Kingdom of Israel? Could he honestly have believed that he was working for the ‘greater good’?
As we consider these questions, we are forced to admit a painful truth. We are not that different from Judas, after all. Each of us has willfully betrayed Christ—not just once, but over and over, sometimes on a daily basis. Any time we resort to lies (even so-called ‘little white lies’) or other forms of manipulation to get our way, we betray God's trust. Every time we intentionally break one of His laws, even for a ‘good’ reason, we are saying that we think we are smarter than He is. The Bible warns us, repeatedly, that God's plans are too complicated for us ever to be able to understand them (Job 36:26; Is. 40:13; 55:8; Rom. 11:34; I Cor. 2:16; Phil. 4:7), but we still regularly attempt to ‘force His hand’ by jumping into the middle of situations He has not yet prepared us for. Regardless of our motivations, each action adds to the sins that Jesus carried with Him to the cross. As surely as did Judas, we, too, have turned Him over to be crucified.
What then can we do? How do we make amends? Judas tried desperately to undo what he had done, only to discover that it was impossible (Matt. 27:3-4). We, too, must realize that we cannot change what we have done in the past. Yet instead of reacting to that realization with despair, we must turn at once into the arms of our Savior. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved(Ps. 55:22).
Thought For TodayUnrepentant sin leads to death; the nature of it does not matter.
Cross Reference: For Mark 14:27: See Zech. 13:7. Mark 14:62: See Ps. 110:1; Dan. 7:13. Mark 15:24: See Ps. 22:18. Mark 15:28: See Is. 53:12. Mark 15:29: See Ps. 22:7-8. Mark 15:34: See Ps. 22:1. Mark 16:19: See Ps. 110:1.
Word Studies:14:31 spake the more vehemently = protested emphatically; 14:65 buffet Him = hit Him with their fists; 15:15 scourged = whipped; 15:38 twain = two; 16:16 damned = condemned to eternal hell.
Pray For Country:Equatorial Guinea (722,254) Western Africa • Major Language: Spanish • Religious Freedom • Nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices • Prayer Suggestion: Rise early in the morning to lift up your prayers to God and hope in His Word (Ps. 119:147).