The Revelation Of Betrayal Series

Now, you can tell I’m leading somewhere with this. Jesus KNEW who was going to betray him. He even revealed him. But then, what did Jesus do? “What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him. . . As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. Instead of commanding the disciples to hold Judas down and keep him from doing what he was about to do, Jesus not only told him to do it, but he told him to do it QUICKLY!

However, this was not the sign of a traitor? Instead, this reveals two things to us about our Savior. First of all, he does not make us to be robots. He could have forced Judas to stay there and not betray him. But God creates all of us with a free will to do evil. And you and I, even as Christians, have the full freedom to walk away from Jesus. He doesn’t put a 12 foot barb wire fence around our faith and say, “you can’t leave!” Just as with Judas, he implores us to stay with his gentle compassion, but he doesn’t force us. If we want to leave, we can. Jesus let Judas go and betray him of his own volition.

Secondly, this command reveals the compassion and resolution of Jesus in his attitude. He knew that this was going to be a painful night for him - an excruciatingly painful night. Not only was Jesus going to be crucified, but He was going to have the sins of the world be put on HIS shoulders and be punished with eternal HELL! This was the only way that Jesus could redeem the world from it’s sin. Like a warrior heading to a painful battle, Jesus wanted to get the show on the road. Jesus didn’t want time for his human flesh to think about this pain that he would go through. And so he told the now hardened Judas, “get going already!” What a compassionate and determined Savior we have!

When President Bush was faced with his first real crisis in America with the bombings, most believe that this brought out the best in him. It showed his fortitude and his resolution and character that he had within. Whether you agree or disagree with that, it is true that times of trial will either bring out the best or the worst in you.

When Jesus was faced with the betrayal of a close friend, he didn’t turn ugly. Instead, it brought out the best in Him. Jesus revealed the compassion he had for this close friend as he tried to reach out to him. He revealed to us his resolve to die on the cross for us. Jesus’ Revelation of the Traitor also revealed to us what a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus. Amen.