The betrayal of Jesus

Jesus gave a prophecy to His followers concerning some difficult days that were soon to come. In Matthew 17:22-23 we read, “Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.’ And they were exceedingly sorrowful.”

Jesus knew well ahead of time about the betrayal of Judas, the death He would suffer on the cross, and of His resurrection from the dead. But instead of running away, Jesus would still be willing to go through each of these in order to provide salvation for mankind. With great determination, Jesus would allow nothing to prevent those important events from taking place.

You and I are not given knowledge of future world events. As human beings, God does not choose to reveal ahead of time things that will come to pass in this world. Like any newspaper, man must wait until events occur in order to report on them. Only God knows the future.

The Lord knows everything about America and the world. Just as He knew what was going to happen in His own life, Christ is not surprised by the moral decay taking place in our world today. So, what does He expect of us? The Lord expects us to go right on with the work He gave His followers to do.

No human is allowed to know when Jesus will return for the resurrection on the Day of Judgment. Mark 13:32 says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” In the meantime, our responsibility is to obey the Lord (Mark 16:16), be faithful doing His work (Mark 13:13) and so remain prepared for the time He does appear.

When Judas betrayed Jesus, it was for the price of 30 pieces of silver (about $15). But Judas would not be the last person to betray Jesus for a cheap price. It happens every day.

We betray Jesus when we are disloyal to His word, His church, or His work.

We might call ourselves Christians, but if our lives are not lived in obedience as He has asked in His word, would we not be betraying Jesus?

When Judas betrayed Jesus, he did so with a kiss of friendship (Matthew 26:47-50). Wouldn’t we be doing the same if we hinder the Lord’s work by our lives, rather than supporting His work with our faithfulness? When we choose to live in ungodly ways (Jude 4), fail to let our light shine for Christ (Matthew 5:14-16), become unfaithful and inactive in His work (Hebrews 10:25-27), or substitute doctrines of men for the doctrine of Christ (Matthew 15:7-9), are we not betraying Jesus?

Christ gave us the test of true friendship. In John 15:14 He said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” The Lord also stated, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). With these words, Jesus described the evidence He requires that will show whether my love for the Lord is genuine or not.

The simple message of the Bible is, “God is going to win!” Those wishing to be with the Lord in eternity must be on His side now by submitting to His will.

God’s obedient people will be taken care of for eternity (Mark 16:16). Hebrews 5:9 says, “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”

Numerous are the Bible passages that teach us of the Lord’s desire in our obedience. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).

Never be found to betray the Son of God with your life. Instead, give Him your love, your trust, your obedience and your faithful service. The future is always in the hands of the Lord.

But that future will include where you spend eternity.