The Beginnings of Betrayal

Luke 22:6; Psalm 41:9; Matthew 26:14-16, 47-50; Luke 22:19-23

"Even My close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against Me." Psalm 41:9 NIV

"And he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the multitude." Luke 22:6 NIV

David wrote the prophecy in Psalm 41 about a thousand years before Jesus' birth. Those familiar with Jesus' life will recognize the "friend" in this verse as Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus.

It's difficult to figure out what caused Judas to do what he did. We do know that he was money oriented. He was the treasurer for the disciples, handling the ministry's funds. We know he got bent out of shape when Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus' feet, saying she was wasting money. So perhaps thirty pieces of silver was just more than he could resist. Or perhaps Judas was trying to push Jesus into showing His hand. Perhaps he thought that if Jesus was backed into a corner, He'd come forth as the powerful Messiah Judas thought He was supposed to be. Because he was a Jew, Judas might have still been stuck with the thought of a conquering Messiah, and, as such, he wanted Jesus to get on with the program and free the Jews from their oppressors. Or perhaps Judas was just evil, period. Scripture does say that Satan entered him just before he betrayed the Master. (Luke 22:1-6 NIV) So maybe he was just rotten to the core. Or maybe, just maybe, Judas was no worse than most Christians walking around today.

When a Christian ignores Jesus' words and goes about doing what he pleases, how different is that from what Judas did? When a Christian has more faith in his car than he does in his Savior, how different is that from what Judas did? When a Christian worries about having enough money or focuses so greatly on his possessions that they become his "god", how different is that from what Judas did? When a Christian worries more about what other people think of him than what Jesus thinks, how different is that from what Judas did? When a Christian fails to acknowledge Jesus in front of non-believers for fear of being rejected, how different is that from what Judas did? When a Christian lives a life that is a reflection of the world rather than a reflection of Jesus, how different is that from what Judas did?

Think about it.

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