April 9 devotion

 

Matthew 26:1:16

So the curtain rises on the final act. This chapter begins with a description of how "the chief priests and elders gathered in the palace of Caiaphas the High Priest and conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him." (26:3-4)

In the next scene Jesus is eating in the house of Simon, and a woman named Mary anoints Jesus with costly, perfumed oil. In Matthew's version, the disciples got angry by the waste of such costly ointment. John says it was Judas who got angry, but Matthew acknowledges that the others were angry as well. They suggested that the oil could have been sold for a large sum of money and given to the poor. Jesus tells them to give her a break because there will always be poor, and she was doing a kindness for him preparing him for his death.

Although Matthew doesn't blame Judas for reacting negatively, he does immediately follow this incident with a description of how Judas went to meet with the chief priests to strike a bargain to betray Jesus.

Judas is the consummate villain. Few of us can conceive the level of cynicism or narcissism, or greed, required to sell out a friend to his or her death. True friends are one of life's greatest treasures. We share our joys with them, and they are near in times of sorrow. No person is poor if she has true friends. Gay author E. M. Forster once wrote, "If I have to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the courage to betray my country."

That may be a bit strong for some of us, but there is little in life that is more reprehensible than betraying a trusting friend. Friendship is such a sacred treasure that to desecrate it is evil, which is why history has been so unkind to Judas. Dante suggested the lowest level of hell was reserved for Judas.

Contemporary Christian singer Michael Card asks in one of his songs:

Why did it have to be a friend that chose to betray the Lord?

And why did he have to use a kiss? That's not what a kiss is for.

The song goes on to offer a partial answer:

Only a friend can betray a friend; a stranger has nothing to gain.

And only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain.

If you've ever been betrayed by someone you trusted and cared for, you know firsthand the searing pain that Judas caused Jesus that night in the garden when he betrayed him with a kiss. Why would Jesus kiss Judas knowing what he was about to do? Probably the same reason that if you will be still enough you can feel Jesus kissing you.

Blessings,

Michael Piazza
President, Hope for Peace & Justice