Betrayal

"After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, 'I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.'"  John 13:21

More times than I can remember, I have had conversations with individuals who prefaced the discussion with something like this, "The last time I trusted a pastor and shared confidential information with them, they turned right around and broke their word."  In short, they felt betrayed.  I once had a "friend" who decided that it was their job to judge me and then pass his judgment along in the form of gossip.  I was absolutely floored when I found out it was him.  On the other side of the coin, having betrayed others in some form or fashion myself, it is nothing short of heart-breaking, adding one more rock to the pile of regrets.  Regardless of what end of the betrayal equation we may find ourselves, "troubling" is a very appropriate description of its impact.  Betrayal is brutal.

The Bible captures for us a handful of times where Jesus was described as "troubled".  During the last supper with his disciples, he experienced one of those moments.  So what had him troubled here?  Was it the torture he was about to endure?  Was it a fearfulness regarding his death?  Was it the thought of leaving his friends and family?  Of all the possibilities, John connects his troubled spirit with betrayal.  His friend, one who's feet he had just washed, was literally hours away from escorting a maniacal mob who was single-mindedly committed to murdering Jesus.  This harsh reality troubled Jesus.  Later that night, with mob in tow, Judas approached Jesus.  Matthew records Jesus saying, "Friend, do what you came for."  Luke records Jesus saying, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"  Friend, betraying, kiss ... troubled in spirit.

You and I, whether we are willing to admit it or not, know betrayal from both sides of the coin.  We have felt its sting.  We are equally in need of forgiveness as we are in need to extend forgiveness.  Looking ahead, we are all fully aware of the fact that there are people who are counting on us -- our spouse, our children, our friends, our neighbors, our employer just to name a few.  They want to know that betrayal will never be a part of our relationship with them.  Let's not cause anyone to be troubled in spirit nor allow anyone's betrayal of us to trouble our spirit.  Motivated by love, Jesus is willing to meet us with his grace on both sides of the coin.

In Christ,

Tom

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