How To Think About Betrayal
Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.
Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.
And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.
Luke 22:1–6 ESV Read More
There are volumes written by much more dedicated theologians about what all went on here. So much of it is beyond me. But there is a section in here that we can probably all grasp and relate to.
Betrayal.
This isn’t just a typical heat of the moment betrayal, either. I’m familiar with that. Where you say something you shouldn’t have said, without thinking, because it was clever. But it hurt. Or it divided. Or it showed you didn’t care.
That is one level of betrayal and our conscience can weigh heavy on that. It can be a real burden until we forget about it in a day or so.
This level of burden from Judas was premeditated, articulated, and structured betrayal. It took some work. It took some time and had a couple speed bumps to give him a chance to change his mind.
You might wonder for a second, how could Luke even write this down?! This is so sinister and hurtful! This is so low-down that Satan was even embodied in Judas to pull off this betrayal.
I think it’s because Luke knew the end of the story. Luke knew what came of this betrayal.
When we’re in the middle of it, oooooh we want to punch somebody or see them get “justice” (by which we often mean judgment and a suffering revenge). We want to see people pay for their betrayal!
But when it’s all over and we see how God works (sometimes we get to see that!) and how God used the situation, the betrayal isn’t so bitter, is it?
When we see that God was bigger than the betrayal and is bigger than the betrayer, our hurt begins to heal. Our scars get smaller.
That awful job or that terrible relationship has less and less of an impact as God gives us a new present to fill us up today. He continues to work long after the betrayal fire has gone out and blows away like campfire ashes.
What the betrayal did is over, but God is still with us, even today, to work new work and to draw us closer to Him.
Whether the betrayal was by a tangible person, or by anonymous circumstances, God’s grace for you is bigger. He is at work in you today to heal you and strengthen you, no matter how crafted or premeditated that betrayal was. He wants to show off that your betrayal isn’t your Lord, Jesus is.