“The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.” Matthew 26:24-25
It’s one thing to secretly betray a friend without them knowing. There’s a sense that maybe they will never find out what you have done. It’s another thing to betray a friend when you have looked them directly in the eye right before the damaging deed and you are certain they know what you are about to do. I would think for most people this would give them great pause and may even hault their plans.
Not only did Judas look Jesus in the eye, but he also heard Him express woe upon him, stating that it would’ve been better that he had not been born. Such harsh words but so true as Judas would still follow through with his evil deed and have to face grave consequences because of it.
I am not Judas sitting face to face with Jesus, nor are you, yet we know He sees all that we do. Sometimes I forget that or deceive myself into thinking I can hide from Jesus and His Father; and in my mind I try to deny my faults — pretending they don’t exist — feeling like I got away with something. Then, it comes to the forefront, being exposed by God’s chastening through His word, my conscience, people, consequences, or whatever other means is necessary. When confronted with my sin, it is then that I must make the choice either to continue to betray Jesus or to turn away from my evil deed in repentance. His grace will save me if I repent, but woe to me if I willfully choose to become a slave to my betrayal without any resolve to seek to do better. My eternal fate would make it better that I had never been born.
For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. II Peter 2:20-21
Prayer:
My omnipresent Father, You see all and You know all. There is no place that I can hide from You. You see my every move, know my every thought, and can count every hair on my head. When I sin sometimes I deceive myself in thinking I can hide from You, yet You chasten me by Your word and any other means necessary to allow me the opportunity to repent. It is in these moments that I fervently seek Your forgiveness through the knowledge of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is these moments that I turn away from the pollutions I have escaped before I become entangled in them again. Having known the way of righteousness, I will continue to turn to Your holy commandments in anticipation of my immortality. Praise Jesus in the grace He has bestowed upon my betrayals! It is wonderful that I have been reborn to a new life through Him, and I can memorialize that today by eating His body and drinking His blood! Amen!
Truth in love,
Heather
Truth in Love 