WHICH OF US WILL BETRAY HIM?
Luke 22: 1-22
On the internet, which can become the land for the lonely
when people seek a relationship there, one can find whole websites on betrayal;
on it people vent their anger and bitterness about being betrayed. Here is a brief
one that I found during my research on this subject. The story was written in
August of 1998:
The reason I'm writing is because I have a story to tell.
Back in May, I placed a very sincere ad citing exactly what I was looking for
in a relationship. After about 30 responses and one personal meeting (which
didn't work out), I met my ex-boyfriend. I was very particular
about what I wanted in my ad. After 2 1/2 weeks of dating he asked me to be his
girlfriend. I accepted because he stated he was searching for the same things I
was. Last week (4 months later,) he told me he wasn't happy anymore and walked
out on our relationship without trying to work things out. I was left with no
alternative or choice in the matter. He's a 30 yr. old man who acted like a 10
yr. old and like a jerk. I feel humiliated because all my closest friends and
family met him and we shared a lot of time together. I feel used and betrayed.
Betrayal; in almost anyone’s book it is a deal breaker- those
who betray a girlfriend or boyfriend, a husband or a wife, an employee or
employer, and especially a friend have found themselves “kicked to the curb,”
to use one expression, “in the doghouse” to use another, and almost always with
a relationship severed. I wonder how
many people are walking around in our world, mean, angry, or bitter because, in
their heart of hearts, they had a child-like faith that their relationship
would work out and that innocence was taken away by a
thoughtless, stupid, or deliberate act. Those people are changed forever; they
feel like a victim and they are hurt; it often takes much time and good therapy
to get them to trust again. Time alone
just makes someone bitter longer. Maybe you have been the betrayer; perhaps you
live bothered by your action; or, conversely, you may not have a conscience
about it; or perhaps your own hurt caused you to hurt someone else. There can be no doubt that there are betrayers, along with those who have been betrayed, among us
today.
Although our passage is from Luke, I want to take you first
to the very same scene in Matthew’s gospel. In Matthew 26 we read: “When Jesus
had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, you know that after
two days, the Passover is coming and the Son of man will be delivered up to be
crucified.” Jesus knew then that as a
part of his Father’s plan, a betrayer was already among him and would bring the
authorities to him. Notice what words had he just shared: He shared the wonderful words that our Outreach
Division and many other ministries use as their mission statement: To those on
his right hand who had given drink to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothes
to those who had none, and who visited prisoners, the Lord said “Inherit the
kingdom prepared for you!” To those on his left, he said “Depart from me; for I
was thirsty and you gave me no drink, hungry and you gave me no food, without
clothing and you gave me none, and a prisoner and you did not visit me.
Whenever you did any of these things to the least of these, you did it to me.” Hold that passage in mind.
Now to Matthew 26 and to Luke 22: Like us today, or even more like us Thursday
night remembering the Upper Room, Jesus shared the bread, the cup, and told
them their meanings. Then, perhaps with the biggest burden he had had to date
on his heart, he said what perhaps one of you have said in your mind before:
“There is a betrayer with me.” He
actually says “the one who is my betrayer is eating with us today.” If you ever
realized that, would you suddenly have no appetite? Would you leave? Would your
stomach be in knots? What we read is a
lesson for us all; Jesus does nothing vindictive, but only says “I know who you
are and I know what you’re doing.” So we know the agony our Lord suffered in
the
Betrayers can be anywhere: beside you; behind you; even
you! Today we learn two things: to the
one betrayed, our Lord Jesus knows the poison that can fill your heart at
betrayal. Anyone can be betrayed, even Jesus; but look what he did with it.
With hurt and disappointment during his arrest in the Garden, he looks into
Judas’ eyes, and calls him by name: “Judas, would you betray me with a
kiss?” Now hear this: there is nothing
else Jesus did or had to do to Judas.
Even though his time was short, he did not swear death on him, he did not say
“revenge is a dish best served cold;” he did not spend his remaining hours with
hate in his heart. There is only one unforgiveable sin in the New Testament,
and this is not it. Now the words of Jesus from Matthew 25 need to
come back to mind: “Whenever you do anything to the least of these, my
brothers, or sisters, you do it to me.” Your
hate over betrayal is like a stake in the heart of your Savior. “Please do
not hate,” his actions cry out to his Father, to the thief on the cross, and to
us. “Forgive, forgive, forgive. That is what our dying
Lord said on his deathbed; it was the way to be at the right hand of God. If
you forgive your enemy, you bless your Lord Jesus. Conversely if you betray your mate, your friend, your family, or your co-worker, know that Jesus also feels betrayed by you. All your fighting and venom or callousness
or lack of conscience: it is also directed toward the one who has the power to
judge your soul! “No way!” you say, “I just cheated on my spouse, or lied
to my friend, or took some money from someone else. I didn’t betray Jesus,
Lord, no!” “Yes,” says the Lord, with the disappointment in his voice that he
used in the garden with Judas in Luke 22:48. “You, even you would betray me, after all I’ve done for you!”
Today, if you have been
betrayed, know that Jesus feels your pain as if it were his own; know also
that even that can be forgiven, for
only Judas condemned himself. Jesus’ deathbed hope for his followers was to
forgive one another. If, on the other
hand, you have betrayed someone else,
may the eyes of Jesus ignite your conscience if you want forgiveness.
Judas couldn’t forgive himself and took his own life. But there is a way out of such darkness: show true
remorse for your betrayal; repent of it, and make things right with the one you
hurt. What an amazing Lord we have! He turned out not to be the superficial
marauder for whom Judas had hoped; instead, he’s the one who, when his
teachings are followed, can make hearts of stone begin to beat again, rebuild
bridges with one another, and open the stairway to Heaven. Are all your
relationships so good, that you are not willing to try the way of the King of
kings and Lord of lords today?
Jeffrey A. Sumner April
1, 2007