Luke 22: 5,6
“They (the Chief priests) were delighted and agreed to give him (Judas) money. He consented and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.”
“They (the Chief priests) were delighted and agreed to give him (Judas) money. He consented and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.”
The things we do in the dark betray our own capacity for evil. Whatever performance we muster for the benefit of others, it is what goes on in our minds when no one is around that speaks more of who we really are. It takes little inspiration to betray Jesus.
Should we ever make a stand for righteousness, the label “hypocrite” is never far away. We know that original sin still lurks within us, and can only be curbed by a determination to turn 180 degrees the other way i.e. repent. Having done so we become available for the Lord to have his way with us once again. Old sins may be forgiven, but they rarely die. They can however be negated by simple choice each time they emerge, and we have our friend and champion, the Lord Jesus, to give us all the encouragement we could need.
Jesus’ betrayal brought to light the manoeuvrings of Satan: “Then Satan entered Judas’ (vs 3) It was all the explanation given to what was to follow, as otherwise it would seem unlikely that someone who had spent so much time with Jesus could think that He deserved to be destroyed. What weakness in Judas did Satan exploit? How prone are we to being “entered” by Satan? Do we offer him footholds in our thinking and actions? All of us no doubt can attest to having thoughts or urges that we know are dangerous to pursue. How often have we let Satan triumph?
It’s good to remember that, like Jesus, there is a price on our heads. Thirty pieces of silver did the deal for the Son of God; how much would our betrayal be worth? Do we represent Jesus well enough to make out that we pose a threat to Satan’s plans? In the build up to Easter Friday this week, a momentary pause to confess our shortcomings would be good.
Barry Struthers
Should we ever make a stand for righteousness, the label “hypocrite” is never far away. We know that original sin still lurks within us, and can only be curbed by a determination to turn 180 degrees the other way i.e. repent. Having done so we become available for the Lord to have his way with us once again. Old sins may be forgiven, but they rarely die. They can however be negated by simple choice each time they emerge, and we have our friend and champion, the Lord Jesus, to give us all the encouragement we could need.
Jesus’ betrayal brought to light the manoeuvrings of Satan: “Then Satan entered Judas’ (vs 3) It was all the explanation given to what was to follow, as otherwise it would seem unlikely that someone who had spent so much time with Jesus could think that He deserved to be destroyed. What weakness in Judas did Satan exploit? How prone are we to being “entered” by Satan? Do we offer him footholds in our thinking and actions? All of us no doubt can attest to having thoughts or urges that we know are dangerous to pursue. How often have we let Satan triumph?
It’s good to remember that, like Jesus, there is a price on our heads. Thirty pieces of silver did the deal for the Son of God; how much would our betrayal be worth? Do we represent Jesus well enough to make out that we pose a threat to Satan’s plans? In the build up to Easter Friday this week, a momentary pause to confess our shortcomings would be good.
Barry Struthers
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