 |
| Judas before the Sanhedrin - by Alexandre Bida |
TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 27:1-26
TO CHEW ON: "Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders." Matthew 27:3
I have thought a lot about Judas. What drove him to betray Jesus? What inner need was he giving in to?
Our passage today implies (when it says "…seeing He had been condemned, was remorseful…") that he may have thought his actions of betrayal would force Jesus' hand. Perhaps he thought that Jesus would again slip out of the grasp of the scribes and Pharisees as He had at other times. And this time, He would assert Himself as Messiah and show Himself to be the human King of the Jews.
We know that the other disciples had co-ruler ambitions. The mother of James and John asked that her sons have special positions in Jesus' kingdom. How much more Judas, who handled the money and already dipped into their common purse for his own use? In other words. I believe Judas thought his relationship with Jesus was a means to improve his own fortunes.
Are we so different? Don't we also often think of ourselves as the privileged chosen who, because of our relationship with Jesus will escape sickness and money problems, will have good families and successful businesses? What happens when things don't turn out the way we expect? Might we also be tempted to try to manipulate Him to follow our agenda? (You didn't hold up your end of the bargain, so I'll turn my back on You. Pout, pout.)
But Jesus had told them that following Him would include more than blessing and well-being:
"'Assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters of father or mother or wife or children or lands for My sake and the gospel's who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—house and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life'" - Mark 10:29,30 (emphasis added).
Let's be watchful over our own motivations, careful to recognize and deal with any selfish ambition that might, if left to grow, sabotage our loyalty to Him when His plans for us turn out to be entirely different than we had imagined.
(Jesus' description of Judas is strong: "…one of you is a devil" - John 6:70.)
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to love and follow You, not for selfish gain but because You are truth and life (John 6:67,68). Amen.
MORE: Maundy Thursday
Today is Maundy Thursday, the church feast that commemorates the Last Supper Jesus celebrated with His disciples. Here is the Collect that begins the day's liturgy.
Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
*********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
