Gospel Message & Recording
Judas was one of the Apostles of Jesus. This means like the other Apostles, he walked with Christ, eat with Christ, etc. When Jesus was teaching, preaching and healing, Judas was there. There was a certain level of intimacy that Jesus shared with His Apostles, and Judas, like it or not, was a recipient of that. Jesus invested time and energy into Judas, and even, we can assume, a certain level of trust. But in the end, Judas betrayed Jesus. We can only imagine the feelings of betrayal that Jesus was experiencing. The definition of betrayal is the action of being disloyal or deceitful towards a person, country or group.
We all have once, in one form or the other, experienced betrayal. It might have been with a friend, a relationship we were involved in, a co-worker, or a family member. The pain is real and it hurts because we invested time and energy with that other person. Most of all, we put our trust in that person. That is, we let our “guard” down and allowed that other person to see our vulnerabilities, weakness, and struggles. Furthermore, he or she might have been privy to sensitive information about our personal lives. Whatever the case might be, in the end, we were betrayed.
Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ knows what we are feeling and what we are going through. Even though Christ felt betrayed, he fixed his eyes on Calvary and accomplished his mission—to die on the Cross and to rise again. Likewise, our friends, family, a co-worker may have betrayed us but we should not lose sight of our end goal—salvation in Christ. Betrayal makes us worried, anxious, sad and even depressed. These are all distractions that turn us away from our Lord and the wonderful plans that He has for our lives. Remember, stick to the goal, and no matter what happens “finish the race.”
For reasons that are mentioned above, dealing with betrayal is extremely hard. However, we can make sure that we safeguard ourselves from becoming extremely emotional and overly consumed with the situation. First, with the exception of your spouse (due to the divine nature of marriage) only put your “complete” trust in Christ and never in people. People may one day disappoint you, but God will be faithful until the end. I am not suggesting we can’t ever trust anyone other than God or our spouse; rather, I am suggesting that it is extremely hard, and in some case not advisable. This doesn’t mean that someone has to be become anti-social or a recluse. It simply means we have to be careful when developing relationships or forming any type of friendship. The key point is: always leave some space so that we protect ourselves from being hurt. Second, forgive the person that betrayed you. God wants us to forgive for the sake of our own wellbeing. When we forgive we are emotionally and physically healthier people. Third, pray for the one who betrayed you. Jesus taught us to love our enemies. This means we are to pray for people that hurt us. Sometimes we might not be ready to do that. Understood! Under pastoral care, take baby steps and take it one day at a time. Fourth, believe and have “strong” faith in the Lord Jesus that He will deliver you out of your hurt and into a place of joy and contentment.
In conclusion, live as Christ lived, open and loving toward everyone but never compromising his mission or his standards for anyone.