Daily Devotional for Monday 15th July
Betrayed by friends
We read in these verses how Jesus was betrayed not only by Judas, but some of His other disciples.
We all know that it was Judas who decided to hand Jesus over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law, however he didn’t do it boldly, instead deciding on giving a signal. We see that Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss and calling Him Rabbi – this is extremely bold of somebody who is in fact turning his Rabbi over to the authorities for a death sentence!
A Rabbi would’ve been somebody who was highly respected and honoured and Judas is doing the exact opposite here.
In response to Jesus being arrested, His other disciples started to defend Him, with one cutting the ear off one of the high priest’s servants’ ear. Even at the point of His arrest Jesus didn’t tolerate violence including that of loyalty from His disciples. If we look in Luke 22:51 it shows the Jesus healed the man’s ear for him. Even at the point of His arrest and in front of those who doubted Him, He physically performed a healing and yet the authorities still arrested Him.
We then see that the other disciples with Jesus fled. Not a few hours earlier (Mark 14:31) the disciples stated “I will never disown you” and yet we have them doing that exact thing.
I wonder what hurt Jesus most at this time, the betrayal of Judas, even though it seemed it was expected (Mark 14:42) or the fact His other disciples fled too?
Time to reflect…
1. We may have been betrayed ourselves before, both by people that we aren’t surprised by and others that we are. How do we feel when it occurs?
2. Have there been times for us where we have fled instead of standing firm in our faiths?
Pause to pray…
Heavenly Father
At the start of this coming week, we thank you for giving us this time to delve further into Your word. Lord, we ask for your forgiveness for when we have fled to save ourselves instead of standing strong in faith. Help us to remember this lesson we learn in the future. Help us to forgive those who have betrayed us in the past just as You forgive us.
In Jesus name
Amen.
