Jesus had shared the Last Supper with his disciples, then washed their feet. Finally his troubled spirit led him to say, “One of you will betray me!”.  The disciples all looked at each other, wondering, questioning, “Lord, who is it?” (John 13:25).  In the same chapter, Peter says to Jesus, “I will lay down my life for you!”.  Jesus replies, “Truly…you will deny me three times before the rooster crows.”

Betrayal and denial…we are all a part of it!  As Paul says in Romans 3:23, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Yet, the disciples are all shocked and asking, “Who is it?”…”Is it I?”

“Surely it’s not ME!”

“Would you betray me with a kiss?”

“The Taking of Christ” by Caravaggio, (1602)

Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, ran away, and hung himself.  Peter stayed and became a leader in the church, realizing and claiming his need for a Savior.

When I was on a mission trip to Africa, the people of the church there graciously provided our lunch each day on the work site.  It always consisted of a sandwich and a banana in a brown paper sack.  I always ate the banana, but the meat turned the bread orange and I was afraid it would make me sick.  I would pretend to eat the sandwich, but would inconspicuously push the meat down with my finger, then take a bite of bread.  I would continue this until I was close to the bottom, then shove all the meat and what was left of the bread into the paper bag, pretending I was finished.  One day as we were all eating on the bus, the lady from the church gathered up our brown paper bags.  Apparently we had all done the same thing and she knew it.  She opened up the doors of the bus and began to toss the bags out to the children who were gathered outside of the bus…

The children all ran and scrambled for the leftover meat that was in the paper bags.  They began stuffing it into their hungry mouths while we sat in shame watching from the bus.  I felt like I had betrayed.  “Who is it Lord?”…”Is it I?”

Sometimes we get it, and sometimes we don’t, but we are all a part of it in some way.  We are all in need of a Savior.

Pondering…

Is there anything you would do over again if you could?

How might you express your need for the saving grace Jesus brings?

nk