Today’s Reading Isaiah 7-10; Psalm 22; Matthew 26
Betrayal: the act of betraying someone or something or the fact of being betrayed: violation of a person’s trust or confidence, of a moral standard, etc. as defined by Webster’s Dictionary.
Synonyms for betrayal are treachery, deceit, faithlessness, lying, trickery, treason, disloyalty, sell out, to name a few.
Matthew 26 is packed with riveting scripture that follows the last few days of Jesus’ life on earth. Betrayal is the word that jumps out at me while reading today’s text.
The Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious leaders, betrayed Jesus. They believed His teachings were blasphemous and sought His death. Even though Jesus was a Jew, they betrayed Him.
Judas was one of the disciples that traveled with Jesus during His ministry and is a known villain of the disciples who made the deal to bring the authorities to capture Jesus. Judas betrayed Jesus.
One of Jesus’ most beloved disciples was Peter. In chapter 26, verses 31-46, Jesus told Peter that he would “deny Him three times before the rooster crows.” One of Jesus’ most trusted earthly confidants and friends betrayed Him, three times as outlined in verses 69-75. Peter betrayed Jesus.
Maybe as you read this today, you are carrying the heavy burden that someone betrayed you. Perhaps you have been lied to, hurt, or disparaged by someone. Maybe it was a co-worker, maybe it was a neighbor, maybe a close friend, or worse yet, maybe it was someone in your family.
Jesus was betrayed by a “co-worker,” his neighbors, and his closest friends. Yet, He still forgave them.
What I am learning is that carrying the anger, angst, and burden of someone else’s betrayal only continues to negatively impact us and those around us. Yes, it is awful. Yes, it is not fair. Yes, it is life changing. Yet, it does not have to continue to “follow us around” and ruin the rest of our life, as well as negatively impact those around us. As I like to point out in my posts, I am far from perfect and work on applying the very things I write.
Forgiveness is about following the ultimate example that Jesus showed us by dying on the cross. Jesus experienced all the hurt, sadness, devastation, and BETRAYAL that we have experienced, and His message to us is to forgive. I believe this is how we can relate our lives to Jesus’ life.
