[The following devotional is a part of our 2015 Easter Season Devotional Book “Passion Road.” We will be posting a devotional each day on this blog between February 18 – April 5, 2014.]
Judas Betrays Jesus by Jonathan Holmes
Read: John 18:1-11
The private ministry that Jesus had with His disciples has now ended, and we are moved to watch the dramatic story of redemption play out in front of our eyes. It all begins with Judas, a disciple, betrays Jesus and leads Him into arrest. It still amazes me today that Jesus was betrayed by one of the twelve closest people to Him. If one who saw, touched, and heard Jesus can betray Him then we should be assured that there will never be a perfect church. We will see others, even in our midst, betray the love of Jesus.
Judas accomplished the worst deed ever committed. Judas was flawed; he was less than perfect. But, who isn’t? I am not making excuses for Judas or making light of the fact the he committed the worst deed that has ever been committed. What I am hoping you see is that we are all flawed. All of us have been born broken (Psalm 51:5, Eph. 2:3) and are capable of betraying the love of Jesus by denying the Truth of His gospel. Judas’ betrayal reminds us of our complete depravity and how even those who appear faithful can prove to be faithless.
We are saddened, shocked, and even disgusted by Judas’ betrayal. That is a natural response to sin, but don’t fall blind to your own sin. We are all flawed and have moments in which betray Jesus through sinful actions. Even in our moments of disgust of Judas’ sin and even our own we must remind ourselves that Jesus loved the betrayer even as he betrayed. Jesus loves the gossipers even as he gossips. Jesus loves the idolater even as he worships idols. Jesus loves the lustful even as he lusts. Jesus loves the liar even as he lies. So for you, Jesus loves the ____________________ even as he ________.
Questions:
- Do you make light of your sins by comparing them to others?
- How can Jesus be our example of faithfulness (v. 11)?
Prayers for Lent
- Thank the Lord that He loved us even while we were still sinners AND He died for us. Meditate on the fact that He seeks you even though we aren’t worthy of seeking.
- Ask God to reveal in your heart areas that are resistant to His love.