He Knows the Pain of Betrayal

‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26:50‬, 56 [50] But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. [56] But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

I talk to many people who no longer fellowship with other believers because of painful experiences of being betrayed or hurt in some fashion by people who were supposed to be brothers and sisters in Christ, and friends. They hold onto the bitterness and refuse to forgive; only to allow those very same people to unnecessarily "rent space" in their heads. We who are born again followers of Jesus have One who completely understands this kind of pain. During the Last Supper, Jesus gave Judas a place of honor at the table. He gave him several opportunities to turn from his act of betrayal, to include washing his feet. In today's verses, we see that Jesus, in the Garden, made one last attempt to give Judas another chance to repent of what he did, by calling him "friend". At this point, it was too late, as all the rejection of these opportunities ended in Judas being possessed by Satan himself. We don't often stop to think of the pain that must have caused Jesus, as He loved Judas as much as He loved the other eleven disciples. We then read that at the moment Jesus needed the support of His followers, they all forsook Him and fled. How many of us have ever been in a place where we were dealing with a hurt, going through a time of depression, or battling a dark season in life, and needed others to come and at least stand with us? How many of us found that instead we discovered that those we called "friends" turned out to behave like enemies or like strangers who did not care? May I remind us all that in those times there is One who sticks closer to us than a brother? He is the One who wad betrayed and abandoned in His time of greatest need. Yet, He is the One who keeps His promise never to leave us, nor forsake us. The truth of the matter is that there will be times in life, for many of us, that the Lord will allow such betrayal and abandonment so that we realize that there is One who is always with us, and desires that we draw closer to Him. Our God will sometimes allow us to be forsaken and left all alone so that we come to the realization that we are never alone; and that the One we need most in times like these is Jesus Himself. So when those times come, forgive, turn to the Lord, and know that He is the only One who truly understands the pain of being betrayed and forsaken by "friends". He is a "Friend" who never forsakes His own.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on the Name of Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation (Romans 10:13).