John
18:1-19:42
What
must it be like to be completely betrayed?
For Jesus, betrayal had a name…actually, many names. Judas bears the burden of Jesus’ betrayal,
but he didn’t act alone. Yes, he brought
the soldiers to the garden, but when the rough hands of the temple guards bound
Jesus and took him to Caiaphas, the other disciples joined this betrayal as they
ran in fear. Peter followed at a distance, but his betrayal was compounded as he
denied knowing this man he had earlier promised to die for. Condemned by the religious leaders whose
heritage he shared, and reluctantly sent to the cross by a Roman governor, Jesus
is thrust into the street, forced to carry his cross while the crowd who hailed
him as king days before, now celebrates his condemnation. On the cross, there seems a final betrayal as
God turns away. The work of betrayal is complete. “It is finished,” Jesus cries.
Yes,
betrayal had many names; many more than the story reveals. Anyone else you
recognize?
Prayer:
Forgiveness is a gift of the cross, Lord.
As one of your betrayers, I humbly ask for that gift, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
Jim
Abernathy
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