Matthew 20:17-19And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the Chief Priests and unto the Scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, And shall deliver Hm to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him: and the third day He shall rise again.Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Betrayal,-Of-Christ/type/kjv
Mark 14:43-45
And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He; take Him, and lead Him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed Hm.
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Betrayal,-Of-Christ/type/kjv
John 13:21
When Jesus had thus said, He was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray Me.
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Betrayal,-Of-Christ/type/kjv
Have you ever been a betrayor or betrayed by anyone? Maybe you’ve been on either side of the situation. For one who does the betraying, you sometimes aren’t alone in the activity.
There was a girl in my neighborhood that I was friends with and even rode to school with when our moms carpooled. She was mentally challenged, so when we got to school, the idiot Beth wanted nothing to do with her. As a neighbor, sure. I didn’t live close enough to my friends for them to see me associate with her, but out in public, in school, I was rude and dismissive. I always seemed to think that she really didn’t understand, she did. I saw the hurt in her eyes when I obviously ignored her when I was around others. To this day, I can still see the smile she had when she approached me and the disappointment it caused when I turned away as though she wasn’t there. That same self-absorbed attitude surfaced later when I stopped by her house, to give her the thrill of my visit! Boy, what a fool I was!
One of my great friends has been telling me for YEARS, not to trust everyone with personal information. It took me a long time, and several experiences with things being divulged, I had no intention of being passed along to grasp this concept of discretion. One such incident was when I confided in a friend, only to have HER MOTHER advise me about what to do! I understand sharing things with a parent or husband, but if something is said as what I told her, I completely expect 100% confidentiality! I just listened to the mom, nodded my head and decided from that point forward, my days of quick confidence were done! I had become friends with this girl fast, as we had similar traits and our spirits just bonded. She had issues, I had issues, we both loved Jesus, we made each other laugh, we listened and heard one another’s problems and concerns, so I was completely caught off guard when I heard something I said, come from someone else.
Jesus, Who had taken these twelve men to teach Himself, abandoned Him at the point that was most crucial .Judas was greedy, finding out how vain and empty his lust actually was. Peter was frightened to be associated with Christ, assuming he would face horrible consequences, and where did the others scatter, concerned for themselves? Where were the people Jesus healed? Lives that were changed by Christ? No one was willing to step forward and claim Jesus. He suffered and died alone. Certainly there were mourners at the foot of the cross, but the loud shouts of those who didn’t get the king they expected, chose to disgrace Him.
No one stepped up ,in or out, even attempting to proclaim Who they knew Him to Be. The crowd was too strong and angry for anyone willing to bear witness. Would you have been the one to confront them, facing certain death yourself? One day, we may have to be the one to either proclaim He is our Lord and perish, or deny Him and spared persecution. At that point, we had better choose to accept the consequences of following Christ, because what we do at that moment is critical.
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O God our Father
Thank You for today and every day You give us
Please forgive our sins against You, others and ourselves
Please give us a boldness for sharing Your Word with a lost and dying world
Thank You for Your Word
The Truth
With You, we are never alone As You were on the cross, As You bore our sins
In Jesus Name
Amen
wordbraid 