Betrayal Part II - Judas, Real Disciples Only

“…This is my body, which is given for...hey, not you Judas! No way…Real disciples only...” ~ J Martin

Who was betrayed by Judas? The obvious answer - “…Judas, the one called Iscariot....one of the Twelve ... conferred with the high priests and ...Temple guards about how he might betray Jesus [later that night] Judas came ... to Jesus to kiss him ….Judas, you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” Luke 22    

I’m wondering aloud here: Did the 11 remaining disciples feel betrayed by Judas, too? Do you recall that hot flash of pain at the recognition that someone you knew very well acted treasonously?  The acts of Judas had to pull the reality rug out from under the disciples.  Betrayal is never pleasant. Mostly it sucks. But it always seems to hurt just a little bit more when it comes from a person who you were once close to, and the twelve disciples were pretty tight, for three years, at least. Friendship is supposed to be one of the things that makes life worth living, but betrayal, it’s an egregious expression of our darkness. Conversely, forgiveness is the strongest evidence of our faith in the world’s Light. I suspect, and this is purely speculation, the disciples ultimately forgave Judas. 

The word forgiveness includes the word give. When we choose to forgive someone, we actually give that person a gift—the freedom from our retaliation. That’s a theme, and orthodoxy, I can embrace. Can you?

#RealDisciplesOnly #MetroLifeChurch #minmchurch  #SeasonofBetrayal