Betrayal - 04/23/2023

Have you ever been betrayed? The thing about betrayal is that a friend can only betray you. Trust had to exist in the relationship at some point for this to happen. Jesus' spirit was troubled at the knowledge that the moment was coming. He knew Judas would betray Him. However, He was unwilling to give up on Judas. He brought Judas into the group. He discipled him, loved him, washed his feet, and invited him to the last supper. Often the place of honor was left to the host. It appears from this scene that, most likely, it was Judas who was sitting there. John was on His right, and Jesus was close enough to Judas to have a dialogue that the others could not fully hear. The first morsel was also reserved for the place of honor. In Jesus' last effort, He dipped a morsel of bread in the bitter herbs and handed it to Judas. Yet Judas responded by embracing anger, hatred, and disappointment. We knew that Judas was already listening to the enemy's lies (vs.2), but Satan entered Him after he took the morsel from Jesus. He fully embraced his plan of betrayal at that moment, and Jesus released him to do physically what he had already done in his heart. Jesus knew this moment was coming. He had referred to this betrayal several times, but Jesus chose love regardless of the outcome. He loves us unconditionally. Even in betrayal, He offers freedom.