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April 7 Tuesday of Holy Week Betrayed


The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. ~Proverbs 12:5

Forgive my hidden faults. Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgressions. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. ~Psalm 19:12B-14

Now the feast of unleavened bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.   Then, satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the twelve.  And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.  They were delighted and agreed to give him money.  He consented and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. ~Luke 22:1-6

Have you ever witnessed someone, or, perhaps you are that someone, who has done something that created dire consequences, that might deserve a sign placed overhead that declared: “What were you thinking?”  I think that most people would agree that Judas probably deserved one of those signs.

No one knows exactly what caused him to betray Jesus.  John, in the twelfth chapter of his gospel, lets us know that Judas was outspokenly upset about Mary’ anointing Jesus with her perfume. That may give us a clue as to what was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We’re told that Judas loved money, got to be the treasurer and helped himself. Perhaps it bothered Judas that Jesus being a king wasn’t necessarily going to make Judas rich. And we also know that the love of money is the root of all evil. So, there’s that.

John also lets us know that Judas had character issues before that.  We don’t know if Judas’ preoccupation with money was noticed before he betrayed Judas or was it something realized after his death as the disciples began comparing notes.  All we really do know is that Judas was willing to betray Jesus, for some reason, only known to him, and that he was willing to be paid for it.  Everything else is speculation.  We won’t know his true motivation with certainty until we know it in eternity.  That’s just the way God wants it.

“The advice of the wicked is deceitful.” Judas was certainly deceitful as he went back to the group and lived with them for two more days with no one suspecting anything.  The leaders were deceitful as they crafted their plot against Jesus.  In fact, we get the impression that they may not have even been straight up with Judas, since he flings the money back as the moment of truth reveals to him what he has truly done.  (Matt. 27:1-10) There is so much evil, so much deceit and so much treachery in the air this day while the other disciples don’t seem to suspect a thing.

Yet, “the plans of the righteous are just.”  Jesus, the righteous King continues to move forward.  He is aware of the unseen, but he doesn’t let it overwhelm Him.  He continues to debate with the religious in the temple courts and speak words of wisdom that finally silence the critics for good.

It’s humbling to realize that we are all capable of being Judas, in the right situation.  Judas must have justified his behavior in a way that made sense only to him.  We can do that too.  None of us are pure.  While it is true that we are in Christ, we still battle a sinful nature that can help us justify things that we know aren’t quite right. 

I’m so grateful for God’s patience as I continue to wrestle the sinful side of me to the floor.  I’m grateful for His examinations that help me review and encourage me to do better.  I love that saying, “Jesus loves us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way.” I want to be counted as one of the righteous, with Biblically just motives in my heart that don’t require any rationalizations on my part, because they are already justified in Him.

Prayer: Forgive my hidden faults. Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgressions. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, today, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. In Jesus’ name. amen.

Praying Psalm 19:12B-14

Song:  Man Of Sorrows

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