“Do you betray me with a kiss?”  Jesus to Judas Iscariot

“Et tu, Brutus?”  Julius Caesar

I would invite you to read John 13.

Jesus is The Way.  As we enter the season of Lent we are on The Way WITH The Way. The Way of Jesus to the cross began in earnest on the day we call Maundy Thursday, which John describes in this thirteenth chapter of his Gospel.  Betrayal is a key theme here.

On His way to the cross Jesus was betrayed.  Not only by Judas, but by Peter, and by all of His disciples with the exception of John and His mother and some of the other women.  He was also betrayed by His own people.  And I wonder if He felt betrayed by His Father, causing Him to cry out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

We are on The Way.  We are following The Way.  Thus, it shouldn’t surprise us when, on The Way, we encounter betrayal.  It is certain that we will experience the stab in the back as Julius Caesar did.  It is certain that someone in our life will play the part of Judas.  It is certain that when we are betrayed we also cry out, like Jesus did, “Why”?  “Why did the person we most trusted in all the world do this to me?”

Betrayal is one of, if not THE most hurtful experiences we will bear in our lives.  What makes it so is that it is done by someone who we love and trust.  It might be a parent who has abused us.  Maybe a close friend who turned their back on us.  Perhaps it was our spouse who was unfaithful.  Maybe a family member who did something to us that we could never have imagined our seen coming.  Who is your Judas?

Betrayal results in a cavalcade of emotions: Shock, disbelief, deep hurt.  In the long term it causes us to question ourselves, and to wonder why we didn’t see it coming.  It also destroys trust, not only for the betrayer, but for those with whom we will come in contact with in the future.

How does one recover from betrayal?  I honestly don’t know. 

What I do know is that I’ve found some comfort and healing by looking at Jesus.

It is comforting to know that He was also betrayed.  He knows what it is like.  The book of Hebrews says that we have a great high priest who empathizes with us in our weakness.  How true!  Jesus experienced the abject pain of betrayal.  And so He knows our pain and as Immanuel, God with us, is even and especially with us during our betrayal.

It is also healing to know that He offered forgiveness.  He completely restored Peter.  And I believe He offered the same to Judas in the garden when He tenderly said, “Do you betray me with a kiss?” 

I have also found that trust starts with God.  One has to be able to trust God before trusting anyone else.  And I do believe that about Jesus, that He is completely trustworthy.  And then one chooses to trust others, for the sake of love, knowing that the price to be paid may very well again be betrayal.

Who is your Judas that you’ve met along The Way?  You probably have many.  So do I.  And truthfully, I have been a Judas to others.  What are the wounds you’ve experienced as a result?  I believe that the wounds Jesus suffered were more than just physical ones.  He suffered the same crushing blows of betrayal, and others sins committed not only by us, but against us, that we have suffered.  And not only does He know what it feels like, He has sent us His Spirit to be with us, to comfort, and to provide hope that not only can we be healed, but we can learn to forgive, trust, and love again.

And one shall say unto him, “What are those wounds in your hands?”  And he shall answer, “Those are the scars from the wounds I received in the house of my friends.” Zechariah 13:6