Thursday, April 21, 2011

A Traitor Loved And Forgiven?

Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.

-- Mark 14:43

Betrayal. Jesus knew it was coming. He’d told His disciples that one of them would betray Him. Still, it had to hurt. This wasn’t some stranger who had done Him wrong. This was a man Jesus loved and spent time with. They had traveled together and shared meals. Judas had seen the miracles and heard the words of the Messiah. And yet for 30 pieces of silver, Judas handed over his friend to a face an almost certain death.

Why? Did Judas betray Jesus out of greed? Did Judas expect Jesus to rise up and lead a revolt? Or was Judas inherently evil and, thus, easy for Satan to use? We really don’t know. What we do know is that Judas returned the money and was in such despair afterwards that he committed suicide.

We call this day Maundy Thursday. The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin word “mandalum,” which means commandment. It refers to the command Jesus gave His disciples at the Last Supper. That command? To love one another.

We don’t think about love when we think of Judas. Even today Judas’ name is symbolic for “traitor.” Are we being too hard on him? After all, every one of Jesus’ disciples abandoned Him. Are we refusing to do what Jesus commanded and love one another? Are we any better?

Because we’ve all betrayed someone at some point in our lives. We’ve given up a confidence. We’ve let someone down. We’ve changed our minds and gone a different way. We’ve put ourselves first. We’ve chosen money over family or friendship. I could go on and on. We fail the people we care about. We just do.

And, yet, there is love. Do you think Jesus still loved Judas? I do. I have no proof. There is no one sentence in the Bible I can point to and say for sure. It’s just that I know Jesus loves me, no matter how many times I mess up. I know He does. Yeah, I still need to ask for forgiveness. But He loves me whether I do or not. So, yes, I believe Jesus still loved Judas even as he betrayed his friend. Do you love your betrayers? Do you forgive? Are you following Jesus’ command to love one another? Think about it.