Matthew 25-26 March 30, 2009
Posted by Sparky in Gospels, Matthew.Tags: faith, Gospels, Jesus, Judas, losing faith, Matthew
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Scripture:
Matt 25:20-25
When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”
Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
Observation
What was going through Judas’ mind in these days and hours? This is what I kept asking myself while reading this chapter, and this passage in particular. Before this, Judas had gone to the chief priests, just after the disciples get all angry over the waste of perfume that Jesus refers to as a beautiful thing. It’s interesting to see those two events side-by-side, as if the one had led to the other in some capacity. Was Judas becoming convinced that he had ended up following a madman? Secondly, it is interesting to note the change of language used by Judas in the passage quoted above. He refers to Jesus as ‘Rabbi’, whereas the others call him ‘Lord’. So can we derive from this that Judas respected Jesus as a teacher, but was no longer sure that he was the Messiah (if he ever had been sure of that), and so his claims of being God’s Son were blasphemous and he needed to be got rid of. It’s possible.
Application
So Judas lost faith in Jesus. Not an uncommon part of Christian life, whether we like it or not. And if our faith wanes, or we lose it completely, we have choices to make, just as Judas did. Do we carry on pretending to keep people happy, but feel an inauthentic fraud, as maybe Judas had done for some time? Do we just get out, probably hurting others along the way but not perpetuating a lie. Or do we hold on, trusting that God will reveal himself at some point in the future, and trusting that the experience of our past and the history of others is a true representation of God’s faithfulness. This, for me, is true faith – holding on and trusting when it seems like madness to do so, when all the evidence is against you, still believing that God is good and real and active and loving.
Prayer
God, you know how personal what’s in this post has become. Please do something. I love you and I trust you!
