Daily Devotional for Thursday 21st March
Too important a decision not to share!,
Jesus didn’t do this lightly, loving His own even though one would betray Him. It hurt Him deeply. Verse 21 says that Jesus became troubled in His spirit, burdened and upset. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you that one of you will betray Me.”
This upset and puzzled the disciples. Jesus had just gotten done showing them a beautiful and humble way to love others; He had just washed all their feet! And now He was saying that one of them would betray Him. Who was it, they wanted to know!
Like a group of kids, Simon Peter asks John who was nearest Jesus and one whom the bible calls “one of His disciples whom Jesus loved”, to ask Jesus who it is and tell them.
It is at this point that the bible says that Jesus gave Judas Iscariot some bread, and after that “Satan entered into Judas, and Jesus tells him “What you have to do, do quickly.” And Judas Iscariot leaves the room.
Now, Judas had already decided to betray Jesus to the Pharisees for money, the deal had been made. He had made his choice, and unfortunately, he chose evil over good, Satan over God.
Scripture then says, that Judas went out immediately and it was night. He went out into the night, the dark, having made his choice and become an instrument of Satan’s. We can feel sad for him, for that choice and that final destination he chose. He regretted it later, but it was too late (Matthew 27:1-10).
Time to reflect…
We all have a choice to make as to where we will spend eternity. It’s either in heaven with God or it is in hell with Satan. We should carefully reflect on the decision that Judas Iscariot made and make sure that we have made the right choice for ourselves.
Who do we know who may not realize that this choice is life-changing for eternity? Let’s plan to share Jesus with them!
Pause to pray…
Dear Father God, please help us to take sober note of the decision that Judas Iscariot made. Please help us to correctly evaluate the reasons and motivations for the decisions we are contemplating, and may they be the right reasons and the right choice. Shine Your light in our hearts and perfectly reveal what needs to change, what needs to grow, and complete the maturing of our life in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
