Luke 22:1-6
And now the Passover celebration was
drawing near—the Jewish festival when only bread made without yeast was
used. The chief priests and other religious leaders were actively
plotting Jesus’ murder, trying to find a way to kill him without
starting a riot—a possibility they greatly feared.
Then Satan
entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he
went over to the chief priests and captains of the Temple guards to
discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were, of course,
delighted to know that he was ready to help them and promised him a
reward. So he began to look for an opportunity for them to arrest Jesus
quietly when the crowds weren’t around.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Do you remember when you
were a little kid, and maybe a group of other youngsters wanted to do
something that they knew they shouldn’t…so they sought a scapegoat?
Maybe they wanted to bust some windows in an old building…and they
encouraged a younger sibling or friend to actually do the dirty work
while they watched. Wanting to please…and maybe motivated by some sort
of incentive (like a candy bar or a special toy – or merely the approval
of the older children)…the younger child agreed to “do the dirty
deed.” And then, when the damage was discovered, the older kids
scattered like marbles…leaving their “patsy” to suffer the consequences.
I’ve
read the scriptures about Judas Iscariot…I’ve examined some writings
about his life and speculations on his motives. And here’s what I have
concluded…Judas loved Jesus. And Jesus surely loved Judas. But Judas
was “one of those people” who could be easily swayed, and this passage
from Luke 22 says that the devil took advantage of this character flaw.
He (the devil) started small…planting seeds of doubt about the
effectiveness of Jesus’ ministries…filling Judas’ mind with questions
about why such expensive perfumed oil was used to wash Jesus’
feet…creating seemingly tiny “frictions” between Judas and the other
disciples.
From there, it escalated to a point that Judas found
himself accepting a paltry 30 pieces of silver in exchange for a “kiss”
that he agreed to plant on Jesus’ cheek. I don’t know that Judas ever
in his wildest dreams imagined that the horrors of this Holy Week would
occur. At the most, he probably thought the Romans would rough Jesus up
a bit, detain Him for a few days, then release Him and maybe tell Him
to “hit the road, Jack - and never come back!” Judas’ suicide indicates
to me that he was remorseful…frightened…distraught over his mistake.
Taking his life was ultimately Judas’ worst transgression, because I
believe that Jesus would have forgiven him, had he repented.
But
this is how these things happen. They start small…often with something
that is seemingly innocent. We listen to a comment here…we laugh and
snicker at a racist remark there…we turn and look the other way when
someone is mistreated or discriminated against. And the first thing you
know, we’ve signed on for bigger “jobs”. We’re openly calling people
derogatory names…picking up our bag and moving to another row or seat
when someone we deem to be offensive sits beside us…or teaching our
children to hate certain races, ethnicities, people of different
lifestyles, those who do not fit our “model” of socio-economic success,
and those who are too fat or have a wild hair color or body art and
piercings. We “plant the kiss” that says, “This is the person to
persecute!” And it never even occurs to us that in doing such things,
we have just betrayed Jesus as surely as Judas Iscariot did that fateful
night in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Hear the Good News…just as
surely as Jesus loved Judas – He loves each of us. And just as I
believe that Judas could have been forgiven and set upright, I believe
that each of us can experience forgiveness – and salvation/restitution
through the blood of Jesus. THIS is the Good News of Holy Week!
We
are all potentially “Judas”…but we can turn this around…today…now…this minute! We
can close the door on the devil, drop the money bag, and “turn this car
around”! Don’t you want to do this? Aren’t you ready to sit at the
feet of Jesus once again…free of any guilt, shame or remorse? Will this
be the day that you seek His forgiveness and get started? Don’t you
think it should be?
©2015 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment