Betrayal

"When Jesus had said these things, 

He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, 

“Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”

- John 13:21

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We are in Holy Week as Christians, remembering the steps Jesus took for us this week, thousands of years ago, which ultimately led Him to the cross, where He gave up His life, and died for our sins. 

This is a holy time for us, because we are remembering, walking with, and identifying with our Savior. This week is what our entire faith comes down to, understanding that Christ had to die for us. Understanding that The Perfect Lamb had to be the final sacrifice for our sins, shedding His blood, and in so doing, washing us clean. Christ was sent to this earth to die, for you, and for me. He had to lay down His life, there was no other way.

Jesus was sent to earth by God The Father. Jesus, God's Son, was completely God and completely human at the same time. This means that Jesus, as a man, was tempted, hurt, had feelings like you and I had, got hungry, got tired, and had human emotions. But being fully God, also, meant that Jesus did not sin, He knew all, and His love was pure. Being God  meant that though Jesus was a man, He was perfect in every way, because God is not capable of sinning. Jesus' intentions were pure and holy. He came here for a purpose, and nothing would sway Him from fulfilling that purpose. 

He came here to die for us, knowing who we were, and knowing how the scene would play out. 

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This verse in John demonstrates the pure heart of Jesus in such a simple way, a human way that we can very much understand. This verse is speaking of Christ knowing His betrayer: Judas. Jesus says: "I know one of you will betray me" just hours before He will be led to Calvary, where He will be hung on the cross. 

The human element I'm speaking of here, that we all know so well, is betrayal. We have all felt it, all experienced that kind of heart pain before. If it had been you or I, there's no way we would willingly and lovingly lay down our life for someone who had hurt us so deeply. You or I could never make that kind of sacrifice, because our love is not pure. We have sin within our hearts, and we are not able to love and sacrifice the way Christ did for us. 

The beautiful thing about Jesus, is that despite knowing that we would hurt Him, knowing how much pain He would be in, and knowing all He would suffer...He laid down His life anyway. He loved us so purely, so deeply, and so infinitely, that He was willing to go through the most anguish and torture that you or I could ever imagine, to ultimately die, for you, and for me. 

Jesus' love was that great. Can you imagine? Have you let that sink down into your bones? 

You were so loved by The Creator, that He sent His Son, Jesus, and Jesus, being perfectly God and perfectly man, sacrificed His very life, so that we wouldn't have to die. But through  His shed blood on the cross, He paid the penalty, and took upon Himself all of our sins, so that we could be forgiven. 

Jesus did this, knowing how you and I would betray Him. Knowing all that the human race would do over the course of existence, knowing how we would hurt him. 

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See, this verse is speaking of so much more than just the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, this verse is also alluding to the betrayals that you and I commit everyday. Judas was just an example, of how we as Christians would ultimately love our God, and even through our best intentions, how we would all at one time or another betray Him. 

None of us are perfect, as our LORD was, but what I want you to see, is that Jesus knew all that. He knew that we would be ashamed at times, He knew we would be weak, He knew we would give into temptation. He knew we would lie, steal, and cheat. He knew we would lust, murder, and covet. He knew how ugly our hearts would be, how selfish and jealous we would be. He knew how we would treat one another, and He knew how at times, we would turn our backs on Him completely. 

He knew the sinful condition of us humans, and He loved us anyway. 

Loved us so much, that He willingly gave up His life, covering all of our sins, and offering us eternal life with Him. 

He loves you that much.

He loves me that much. 

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We are in Holy Week as Christians, remembering the steps our Savior once took for us. And as we remember, may we also hold in our hearts the deep love that brought Jesus there, knowing that it was by that love that Jesus laid down His life for you and I. 

How great our God is, how magnificent His name.