Betrayal

Betrayal
Matthew 26: 14-16    
Sis. Carolyn J. Satcher

How much would it cost you to betray someone whom you say you love? Betrayal can cause one’s marriage to be dissolved, friends to break up, even at times a person’s life can be lost because the other person is unable to forgive.

Betrayal hurts human beings more than anything. When someone you say you love goes out and does something against you, it hurts. Christ was able to get beyond the betrayal of Judas because he knew he would be betrayed. His love had not been lost for Judas because he is a God of love. Judas must have watched the ongoing conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders and concluded that they were winning, and Jesus was losing; therefore, he decided to cut his losses and join the winning side. The Scriptures present no sense of reluctance in Judas, and only one motivation: greed.

The Bible says what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Remembering the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-25. A rich young ruler came to Jesus and wanted to know how he could inherit eternal life. He stated he had followed all the commandments since his youth. Then Jesus asked him to sell all he had and give to the poor. If he did, he would receive eternal life. But the rich young ruler was not willing to give of his goods to the poor. He seemed to be filled with greed like Judas. He cared more about having money.
 
Judas went to the chief priests, and he said unto them, what will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time, he sought the opportunity to betray Christ.
 
The thirty pieces of silver that Judas betrayed Jesus for was a price that was predicted in prophecy in the Old Testament in the book of Zechariah 11:12,13. And then it was told also by Zechariah that the silver would be cast down in the house of the Lord and used to buy a potter's field. Thirty pieces of silver was the price that you would have to pay to your neighbor if you had an ox who was always goring people, or going around butting people with his horns, and he happened to gore your neighbor's servant and killed him. You would have to pay your neighbor thirty pieces of silver for his gored slave, in order to compensate him for the loss of his servant.

Jesus gave Judas a last opportunity to repent. As they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?" He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray me. Judas dipped his hand in the water and Christ told him to go and do as he needed to do. When Judas, who had betrayed Jesus, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. He took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and other leaders. "I have sinned," he declared, "for I have betrayed an innocent man." Maybe he was asking for forgiveness, only God knows.

Prayer: Lord, please keep me from betraying those whom I love. Let me always show them how much I love them. But if I do, please show them that forgiveness is the way. It is in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.