Devilish Judas spirit

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.

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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.

Pray!

"Sleep of the Disciples" - Alexandre Bida (1813-1895)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 22:24-53

TO CHEW ON:“And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail…’” Luke 22:31-32


If we look at the Bible as the story of the fight between good and evil, God and Satan, is it any wonder that Satan’s tracks run all through the account of Jesus’ passion, when the time of bruising heels and heads had come? Yesterday we saw how Satan entered Judas’ heart. In today’s reading that cagey serpent is working behind the scenes to “sift” Peter. Later on in the Garden, his wiles are in evidence again. Jesus finds the disciples sleeping while he has been agonizing in prayer and He warns them, “'Why do you sleep? Rise and pray lest you enter into temptation.'”

I sometimes wonder if we would be so nonchalant about our faith if we saw what was happening behind the scenes in the realm of the spirit. We can’t – and that’s probably a good thing. But we know there is a battle going on. And we have been given a means of attack and resistance. It is prayer. Telling of Satan’s request for Peter, Jesus said, “But I prayed for you that your faith should not fail.” When He finds the disciples sleeping, Jesus urged them, “Rise and pray…”

How do our prayers work to deflect, weaken, or hinder Satan’s attacks and keep him from victory in our lives and the lives of others? I don’t know. But I do know that we have our orders.

Luke 21:36
Ephesians 6:18
Philippians 4:6
Colossians 4:2
1 Thessalonians 5:17

PRAYER: Dear God, forgive my casual attitude toward prayer. Please remind and help me to use this weapon more faithfully and intentionally. Amen.

MORE: Maundy Thursday

Today the church celebrates Maundy Thursday. The day's liturgy begins with this collect:

"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."

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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.

The silence of Jesus

"Christ Before Caiaphas" -  Matthias Stom

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 23:1-25

TO CHEW ON: "Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing." Luke 23:9

I always marvel at Jesus's silence. His silences really, for quite a few times He remained silent when I know I would have babbled on and on.

Isaiah predicted this silence:

"He was oppressed and He was afflicted.
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth" - Isaiah 53:7 (see also Isaiah 42:4).

Jesus sometimes ministered without words.

• When a herd of Jewish men brought to Him a woman caught in adultery, "… Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He didn't hear" - John 8:6.

• In the closing days of His life, He announced to His disciples: "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me" - John 14:30.

The story of His arrest and trials are taut with the tension of His silence:

• He was silent before the High Priest (Caiaphas) - Matthew 26:62-63.

• He answered Pilate's question: "Are you the King of the Jews?" with "It is as you say." But when the chief priests continued to level accusations at Him, He remained silent so that Pilate was amazed (Mark 15:2-5).

• He was silent in front of Herod - Luke 23:9.

Does the explanation of His silence to the disciples carry a clue about His wisdom in this, especially at the end of his life? Here is John 14:30 again, this time from the Amplified Bible:

 "I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me" (emphasis added).

Amos 5:13 speaks similar wisdom: "Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time."

Perhaps we should consider silence more often. After we have explained ourselves, defended our position, made clear where we stand, instead of arguing and getting into verbal fisticuffs—silence? It is a form of passive resistance that is hard to counteract and may shield us from giving the devil that foothold that comes with self-justifying, angry and sometimes abusive words.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I need the wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent. Please give me insights into this. Amen.

MORE: Maundy Thursday
Today the church celebrates Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday or the Thursday before Easter. It is a day of special emphasis on the Last Supper. It may have got its name from the English king's practice of distributing "maundsor baskets" or "maundy purses" to the poor before attending the evening service.

["the term 'Maundy' comes in fact from the Latin mendicare, Old French mendier, and English maund, which as a verb means to beg and as a noun refers to a small basket held out by maunders as they maunded" - Wikipedia on Maundy Thursday]


Here is the collect that begins the Maundy Thursday 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."

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Amplified Bible (Amp) - Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation  - Used with permission.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.