Key Texts: John 13: 13 – 30; Luke 22: 1 – 23, 39 – 53; Luke 17: 1 – 4; Mark 14: 10 – 53
Additional Texts: Romans 12:19; Matthew 27:3-4; Psalm 55: 12 – 14; Mark 11: 25; Matthew 6:14-15; Judges 6
As usual the texts will enhance your understanding, but go ahead and dive in if you’re unable to read them prior to reading this article; it is still possible to understand the key messages. This ‘Show and Tell’ series is an exploration of how Jesus often did and said seemingly surprising (but all righteous) things as He revealed some elements of His character (as God in the flesh). Part 7 enables us to consider His attitude and demonstration about how to cope with betrayal, and gives us more candid words for our growth.
One of the most important lessons (or skills) that we may learn is to have a strong sense of identity; the resilience that life requires is more manageable when there is a strong sense of identity, especially when it is grounded in morals or positive values. I’m thankful that I was taught much about my value and identity as a child through my mother and extended family, including their reinforcement of my identity in Christ/who God says I am. This was further reinforced through church and the school curriculum. Others acquire a sense of their true identity and develop the accompanying confidence later in life. Either way, I’m sure you’ll agree me with that even with the greatest resilience and confidence in our identity at some point we doubt ourselves, or allow the pressures of life to cause us to question whether we are capable of handling them. This is true whether we are committed Christians or not; even in my walk with God, especially with the pressures that mounted in recent years, in my lowest moments I doubted whether God was with me and considered temporarily whether He had abandoned me. Despite my faith in His presence and promises – foundations of my identity, ironically, times of strain and intense challenges have caused me to question my identity. Like Gideon (Judges 6), I wondered whether God’s words and thoughts about me were true, and whether He could be with me when He allowed such trials into my life. Like Gideon, who God addressed as a mighty warrior, even with the best will, we too may question our identity as victors in Christ when we are overwhelmed or make decisions which do not align with our true identity.
In the key text, it was a couple of days before the Passover celebration, the time for Jesus’ sacrificial crucifixion as ordained by God. Similar to capital punishment for heinous crimes today, Jesus knew He would die a violent and painful death. He already had enough to be concerned about! We know from Mark 14 that even though He was assured of His purpose, after the Last Supper, He agonised in the garden, asking God to achieve redemption in another way. It did not soothe His fears knowing that one of the twelve disciples would be the one to betray Him.
Let’s be honest – if you discovered that someone who was close to you planned to betray you in a way which would lead to a gruesome death, your reaction may be somewhat different. You and I would perhaps not invite them to the sacred Last Supper! No jerk chicken, macaroni and cheese or rice and peas for them! We also may not want to treat them as honoured guests – indeed, we may tell everyone what they had planned! Instead of reacting like we would, Jesus’ confidence in His identity resulted in His response to the betrayer – Judas.
Though Jesus spent a lot of time with the disciples, He also spent a lot of time with God. Though while He was on earth He was God in a human form, in the Trinity, He is eternally God’s Son. Jesus understood His role, purpose and identity, and undoubtedly, those times with His Father strengthened His identity. He was confident in His identity as God’s Son (John 5: 19 – 20), relied on Him, glorified Him consistently, and was confident about their physical reunion when His earthly mission was accomplished.
It was this strong and unwavering identity which allowed Jesus to treat Judas as He did before He betrayed Him that night. I strongly believe that if He did not have this assurance of Himself as God’s Son (and the fact that He too is God), He perhaps wouldn’t have been able to avoid inciting the other disciples against Judas. We do know that later in the key text (Luke 22), when they witnessed Judas’ betrayal, one of the disciples chopped off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants (possibly aiming for his neck!). Jesus knew they would have been angered and would perhaps have harmed Judas, but chose to maintain the focus of the Last Supper – He protected His betrayer, knowing his crucial role in His story. Instead of naming and shaming Judas, Jesus told them the one who would betray Him was the one who He gave the dipped morsel to. It doesn’t seem that the other disciples clearly realised what He meant. Despite Jesus’ foreknowledge that Scripture would be fulfilled through Judas’ betrayal, He did not lie to the other disciples, but only subtly identified Judas. It was a custom to give the dipped morsel to the honoured guest in their Jewish tradition, so in addition to inviting him along with the others, Jesus even treated Judas honourably! He was confident in His identity, including the role Judas would play in God’s plan, and He left vengeance to His Father. So confident was He, that He treated the ultimate betrayer, ironically as a noble guest; without Judas, I would not have direct access to God through His Son! Jesus also knew that a spotless lamb was what God required for our redemption, and despite the agony of betrayal, did not only treat Him as an honoured guest, but demonstrated forgiveness towards Judas. Jesus was aware that vengeance belongs to God, and as seen in Judas’ demise, He knew that there was no benefit in harbouring resentment against him. Judas later realised He condemned an innocent Jesus and wanted to withdraw his offer to the soldiers, but it was too late; God’s divine plan was already in motion. Jesus had no bitterness in His heart against Judas, and did not risk losing His position to die on the cross as the one God chose for redemption. He practiced what He preached in Mark 11 – if we do not forgive, it damages our relationship with God. Jesus ultimately prioritised obedience to God – His stable identity provided the foundation for this resilience.
After subtly revealing Judas’ – the betrayer’s identity to the unsuspecting disciples, Jesus also gave Judas a candid command: ‘Whatever you are about to do, do quickly.’ Imagine saying that to one who will betray you! Jesus was already suffering emotionally, but in His confident identity, demonstrated His sovereignty – He was in control. His frankness with Judas reveals His understanding that His destiny was in motion, and the key players were predetermined. Judas’ plot could not destroy His identity! Indeed, it actually helped in the revelation of it to those who previously were dubious or unaware of it. When faced with betrayal, Jesus’ command sounded almost like a sarcastic challenge to the enemy who was desperate to prevent Him from fulfilling God’s plan. The Life Application Bible states that Judas may have wanted to see if Jesus would be prompted to establish the earthly kingdom he imagined. In the end, Judas’ motive(s) did not matter – as Jesus said, the betrayal was a fulfilment of Scripture, a prerequisite for the fulfilment of the greater prophesy about God’s plan for redemption. The reality was that amidst betrayal, He was still fulfilling His purpose – a mark of assured identity.
Additionally, prior to Jesus’ open admittance of the pain of imminent betrayal, He also demonstrated His confident identity by washing the disciples’ feet (including Judas’!). Jesus’ strong sense of self-awareness and the accompanying purposefulness gave Him the confidence to know that betrayal was powerless in hindering God’s plan or changing His identity. Instead of elevating His emotional pain above the betrayal, (He was fully God but at that moment also fully a man who faced anxiety about the imminent cross), He was still busy preparing the disciples for ministry. His demonstration of servanthood would later guide them about how to lead others to Him. Jesus was kind to Judas when he deserved punishment.
Could we likewise be so gentle with betrayers? Part 5 of the ‘Show and Tell’ series (‘Who can you trust?’) focuses on Jesus’ refusal to entrust Himself to everyone. He must have taken this approach with Judas despite Him being one of the key/twelve disciples. We do know, regardless, that the gospel accounts of the Last Supper predominantly state that He was in much agony when He spoke about the betrayal. Again, Jesus was hurt to know that one that He walked with would harm Him in such a manner. Yet, His ultimate response was forgiveness and a focus on His identity and what it demanded of Him. (See the previous article about ‘Flint-faced Jesus’ for more about His fixation on His purpose).
As I said before, everything I write is firstly for me; personally, forgiving betrayers is easier said than done – it is not an easy feat! I still need to work (with God’s help) at forgiving every offence as readily as Jesus. Yet, I acknowledge that Jesus’ candid words in which He essentially hastened Judas to go ahead and betray Him, indicate His assured sense of identity, a trait which will likewise stabilise us in those moments when we are betrayed. Interestingly, Judas left immediately afterwards to activate his plan against Jesus – he actually left at Jesus’ (God’s) command! Deeply embedded in Jesus’ identity is His deity; though it seemed He would be disadvantaged, Judas left to betray Jesus for Him to fulfill God’s promise of redemption! It is Jesus who was (and still is!) actually in control! Embodying love, forgiveness and the knowledge that all the heart wrenching experiences would work for His good as well as ours, Jesus did not expel Judas from the twelve though He knew all along He would betray Him; He maintained His relationship with him even at the Last Supper before he left to betray Him.
Why is this helpful to know? Betrayal may obviously come from varied relationships, sometimes with people we are very close to. Sometimes it is manageable to sever those ties, and move on, but at other times, life and relationships are more complex – we are sometimes still called to be in relationships with proven traitors. In the key text, Jesus declared that He knew all the men He chose very well – He is indeed God! Therefore, He chose Judas knowing he would fail Him. Jesus was fully aware of man’s/Judas’ fallen nature but did not withhold His presence – Judas exercised His free will and chose to betray the Lord. I am in no way advocating that you put yourself in a position to be mistreated, but I am suggesting that you and I become so aware of our identity in Christ that if we ever find ourselves in situations where we still need to interact with those who betray us, we don’t lose sight of who we are. Perhaps we could also prepare ourselves for betrayal like doing what Jesus demonstrated on the issue of trust, a topic closely linked to betrayal (see Part 5) – He loved people, but did not blindly entrust Himself to them. Even His inner circle fell asleep when He wanted support in the garden of Gethsemane – though this was not betrayal, it was hurtful. Yet, He chose them. Perhaps we are not always able to choose the people we are in relationships with, but we might grow to the point where we accept that we are, and when we anticipate their duplicity, we may tell them in words or attitudes to ‘Do it quickly’, knowing that despite the disappointment , God will ultimately use it for our good as He did for and through Jesus when He faced betrayal.
If betrayal or any other offence ever leaves you or your loved ones reeling, join me in a quest to remember my true identity in such moments, and like Jesus, refuse to do anything that compromises that identity. I still have work to do on becoming like Jesus in this area, and if you do too, there is hope for us to follow His model. Jesus cautioned us that it is impossible to avoid offence in relationships, but woe to Him through whom the offence comes. He knew that Judas would meet his demise and left vengeance to God. The betrayal was real, caustic and searing, but He ultimately chose to forgive and demonstrate love despite disloyalty. His identity as God who had come to redeem us overrode the pain and spurred Him onwards to the cross. This gave Him confidence to tell Judas to go ahead and ‘Do it quickly’, though He knew what Judas did would be painful. Even in His lowest moments, Jesus did not compromise His identity: betrayal (which led to His unfair trial and crucifixion), did not weaken His resolve to die for me. The expectation of betrayal did not break Jesus, and it doesn’t have to break us either if we approach relationships knowing two truths:
1. As Jesus said, offence in relationships is inevitable (including betrayal);
2. We must forgive offenders, regardless of how long it takes, how painful the offence and whether the relationship continues. Hard words – I know!
Perhaps some offence (perhaps betrayal) has left you broken. Perhaps you are even angry at yourself, as you discerned the betrayer’s ability to do so and still trusted them. (Try to more discerning in the future!). (See the previous articles about discernment for more on this). Even worse, perhaps you had no idea they could hurt you in that way! Perhaps you did not respond appropriately, and thought nothing of Jesus’ gentleness as you did. Perhaps you and I are even similar to Gideon, sometimes feeling dubious about our identity due to circumstances or unique challenges, and needing reassurance from God. Perhaps you are also guilty of betraying someone’s confidence. Regardless of our experiences of betrayal, we are humans, but can access help, whether in the form of healing or forgiveness through the Holy Spirit. One way to start is through simple prayers to God, even if all you can muster is questions or simply words to tell Him your feelings with reverence. He can handle it – He already knows what you think! If all you can manage is a line, a minute or five today, start there – He hears.
Heartfelt Prayer:
Dear Lord, Your Son’s demonstration of how to handle betrayal is admirable but also quite a challenge! I’m far from being as good as Jesus. Help me to learn how to approach situations involving deep betrayal, without losing my identity in You. Help me to remember that despite betrayal, You are at work in my life at all times and will ultimately use all my experiences for my good. I ask these mercies in your Son’s – Jesus’ name. Amen.
