Who Is Jesus? Betrayed by Judas

Verses:

' “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’ “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. '

John 13:18

'When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. '

Luke 9:1

'He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. '

John 12:6

'When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. '

Mark 14:17

Devotional:

So often we see people whom we respect or follow, famous celebrities or even pastors, fall from grace and we think, “I never saw that coming!” We wonder how we missed the signs that should have been obvious and apparent to all. But what we fail to realize is that it usually doesn’t happen in one fell swoop, or in one bad decision; it’s the result of a slow, steady descent away from where they started to where it all falls apart. One of the most famous heel-turn narratives ever is the story of Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus.

While we do not have any biblical narratives of how they met, we know that Jesus personally invited His disciples to leave their previous lives and follow Him. We assume the same was true with Judas. In Luke 9, we read about all of the disciples receiving power and authority from Jesus to drive out demons and heal diseases, and that would include Judas. He also was an eyewitness to Jesus’ miracles: the healing of the lame/blind/leprous, the feeding of the 5000, the calming of the storm, and even raising Lazarus from the dead. Surely Judas was riding a spiritual high!

But then he did what so many have done…he left the door to his heart open for Satan to walk in. He began to get greedy and would steal money from the offering. He began to live in the shadows with his secret sin, and it led him to leave his first love and to betray Jesus.

Reflect:
If you have gone through something similar, you might have guilt about not being able to recognize it. Even when Jesus told them one of them would betray him, the disciples had no idea which one it would be. They all asked who it was. That’s because none of us can see the heart—only God can. But it does serve as a warning to us to protect our hearts. Satan cannot overcome us or exhibit control over us…unless we let him.

Respond:
Have you left the door to your heart open and allowed Satan to enter? Do you have a secret sin that you’ve kept hidden in your heart? You must bring it into the light. You must repent and allow God to cleanse you. You must trust that Jesus forgives instantly and completely.

Pray:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Your amazing grace! Help me to walk in the light and not let my sin hide in the darkness. Help me to protect my heart from the evil one, and may I desire You alone, God. In Jesus’ name, amen.