Good morning, and welcome to the Wednesday devotion for Holy Week, as we walk with Jesus from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday. Today’s passage is in John 13:21-30, and 36-38. It’s a passage about betrayal. Betrayal is heart wrenching. If you’ve ever experience betrayal, it probably affected you very deeply, and maybe you still suffer affects of that betrayal today. In His final hours, Jesus experienced two separate blows of betrayal. Let’s hear John 13:21-30, 36-38.
“After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me. His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night…Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”
Here we have slightly similar situations, but disciples presented with an opportunity to betray Jesus, both disciples that Jesus loved and had ministered alongside for several years. Yet, what was in the heart of these two disciples is completely different. Judas had his heart set on betrayal and was intent upon turning Jesus in, while Peter just sort of stumbled into an accidental betrayal that he didn’t realize was betrayal until after he had already said the words to deny Jesus.
Knowing that Jesus was fully human, and He experienced the same emotions that we do, how do you think He felt about these betrayals? Scripture records how He responded and acted, but do ever think that Jesus was just as deeply crushed by these betrayals as we are when we are betrayed? Do you think in private moments He may have cried for the pain that was caused?
Matthew 27:3 tells us that Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver for Jesus. 30 pieces of silver to totally sell Him out. He tried to give the money back, but it was too late, Jesus had already been delivered over to the authorities.
It is easy to gasp at Judas in shock that he would sell out Jesus. It’s easy for us to point our fingers at his wrong. What about Peter? Was walking on water and being rescued when he sunk not enough to secure his love and devotion? Would he really deny the Christ that had done so much for him?
That’s more familiar to us, isn’t it? But there is good news for us: Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We can’t mess this up. Nothing you could do would change His love for you. Nothing you could do could change the work that He has done in you. Nothing you could do will separate you from His love.
I don’t know what choices you’ve made or betrayals you’ve experienced, but I do know this: you have a Heavenly Father who deeply loves you and wants to talk to you, and nothing you could do will change that.