Betrayed By A Friend Or 2
Scripture: Mark 14:10-11, 69-72
"10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus...When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it again. A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean. 71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept."
Observations:
Mark opens and closes this chapter with two separate stories of Jesus' betrayal- once by Judas and then by Peter. On both accounts Jesus predicted it would happen. On both accounts the motive was roughly the same in that neither Judas nor Peter at the time could come to terms with the cost involved in following Jesus (vs.4 & 71). It would cost each of them something significant in order to continue their individual committment to Christ. For Judas, a year's wages (the value of the oil); for Peter, persecution and possible death. For two totally separate reasons, two separate individuals who had followed Jesus betrayed Him in a single day. At some point in their minds their love for Christ was superceded by their love for themselves and the result was devastating. Even though all the disciples swore their alliegence to Christ (vs. 50), their deepest loyalty was revealed when the cost of following Him exceeded their committment level.
Application:
In a lot of ways, we're no different than Peter or Judas in that we often find our love for ourselves competing with our love for Christ. Just like God tested these disciples' love for Jesus, He tests ours today, hoping that we will pass the test and come to know Him more. But many times, like these disciples, we end up betraying Christ with our actions when our allow our lives to begin becoming more about us than they are loyalty to God. It costs us nothing to say, "I surrender all" until we actually are required to start giving up that which competes for our devotion to Christ. In that moment we discover who we truly are and with whom our true loyalty lies. It's no wonder that Jesus asks those of us who seek to follow Him to count the cost upfront (Luke 14:27-28). Every day we commit ourselves to follow Christ we must also remember to take into account the cost involved and come to the conclusion that there is nothing more valuable and no one more worthy of our loyalty than Jesus Christ. Otherwise we too run the risk of betraying Christ when our love for God requires that we walk the talk.
Prayer:
Father, help us today to recommit ourselves to following Christ. Reveal to us the places in our hearts that our loyalties are divided and give us the grace to count the cost and willingly sacrice whatever it takes to follow You. Help us to see Your infinite worth and give ourselves wholeheartedly to Christ today. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
"10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted when they heard why he had come, and they promised to give him money. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus...When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” 70 But Peter denied it again. A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean. 71 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept."
Observations:
Mark opens and closes this chapter with two separate stories of Jesus' betrayal- once by Judas and then by Peter. On both accounts Jesus predicted it would happen. On both accounts the motive was roughly the same in that neither Judas nor Peter at the time could come to terms with the cost involved in following Jesus (vs.4 & 71). It would cost each of them something significant in order to continue their individual committment to Christ. For Judas, a year's wages (the value of the oil); for Peter, persecution and possible death. For two totally separate reasons, two separate individuals who had followed Jesus betrayed Him in a single day. At some point in their minds their love for Christ was superceded by their love for themselves and the result was devastating. Even though all the disciples swore their alliegence to Christ (vs. 50), their deepest loyalty was revealed when the cost of following Him exceeded their committment level.
Application:
In a lot of ways, we're no different than Peter or Judas in that we often find our love for ourselves competing with our love for Christ. Just like God tested these disciples' love for Jesus, He tests ours today, hoping that we will pass the test and come to know Him more. But many times, like these disciples, we end up betraying Christ with our actions when our allow our lives to begin becoming more about us than they are loyalty to God. It costs us nothing to say, "I surrender all" until we actually are required to start giving up that which competes for our devotion to Christ. In that moment we discover who we truly are and with whom our true loyalty lies. It's no wonder that Jesus asks those of us who seek to follow Him to count the cost upfront (Luke 14:27-28). Every day we commit ourselves to follow Christ we must also remember to take into account the cost involved and come to the conclusion that there is nothing more valuable and no one more worthy of our loyalty than Jesus Christ. Otherwise we too run the risk of betraying Christ when our love for God requires that we walk the talk.
Prayer:
Father, help us today to recommit ourselves to following Christ. Reveal to us the places in our hearts that our loyalties are divided and give us the grace to count the cost and willingly sacrice whatever it takes to follow You. Help us to see Your infinite worth and give ourselves wholeheartedly to Christ today. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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