John 13:21-30
After Jesus had said these things, he was deeply troubled and told his disciples, "I tell you for certain that one of you will betray me." They were confused about what he meant. And they just stared at each other.
Jesus' favorite disciple was sitting next to him at the meal, and Simon motioned for that disciple to find out which one Jesus meant. So the disciple leaned toward Jesus and asked, "Lord, which one of us are you talking about?" Jesus answered, "I will dip this piece of bread in the sauce and give it to the one I was talking about."
Then Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Right then Satan took control of Judas. Jesus said, "Judas, go quickly and do what you have to do." No one at the meal understood what Jesus meant. But because Judas was in charge of the money, some of them thought that Jesus had told him to buy something they needed for the festival. Others thought that Jesus had told him to give some money to the poor. Judas took the piece of bread and went out. It was already night.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
One of my high school classmates lost her mother in 1994 in a tragic shooting. My friend’s parents had divorced when we were young, and her mother later married a man who had become widowed when his wife (and her best friend) died unexpectedly in an “accident.” When my friend’s mother died, her husband insisted that she committed suicide. But things did not add up, and it wasn’t until he tried to kill his next wife that he was finally convicted of murder and sentenced to prison.
For nearly two decades, my friend and her sisters have lived in fear of this man, who threatened to kill them as soon as he was paroled. They have made countless appearances before the prison parole board to beg and plead against his release… the most recent appearance happened just a few months ago. Now in his early eighties, the man had developed cancer and wanted to go home to spend his last days with his family. The parole board denied his appeal, and my friend just received word that this man has died.
My friend says they now can live free of fear and the burdens of worrying about their safety. They can have closure. And as much as they probably wanted to impart some revenge on this man for what he did to their mother, the three sisters sought solace in God instead. They let the judicial system and their Heavenly Father mete out justice. It wasn’t easy for them, but they did the right thing. And this is what Jesus did with Judas. I find his comment to “go quickly and do what you have to do” so interesting… complicated, yet so simple.
Jesus showed us that revenge is not the answer. Betrayal is a tool of the devil, and it will always be with us. Jesus had the power to stop Judas. We do not have such control over those who betray us. But we can choose how we handle things when we are betrayed. We can allow the devil to have control over our emotions and our actions and try to dole out justice ourselves – and make a big mess in the process… or we can put our trust in God and let HIM control the consequences and the outcome.
There’s one more thing… pray for your “enemies.” Jesus did… and so should we. These people are God’s children, too, and He loves them just as He loves us. Ask God to work in their hearts and lives… to help you to forgive them… and to show them grace and mercy - as He does to us each and every day.
It takes a lot of courage and faith to say, “go and do what you have to do”… especially when we know how much the other person’s actions are going to hurt. But revenge is never appropriate… and almost always backfires. Give your fears, your burdens, and your betrayals to God. Allow Him to work things out according to His will... which is always perfect. Share your hurts and disappointments with God and allow Him to heal you. Trust God to provide you with comfort, closure, and complete peace… and thank Him when He does exactly that!
©2011 Debbie Robus
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