Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him. – John 6:70-71
We have all had moments in our lives where we have felt absolutely betrayed by a person or people we have loved. It may have been a boyfriend or dear friend doing a 180 and walking away, even more difficult our spouse. The hurt we experience when this happens can be severe, leaving us broken and finding it difficult to heal and move on. Bitterness, unforgiveness even, has a way of taking root in our hearts in these vulnerable times if we are not careful. Reminders of these individuals through mutual friends, shared experiences, social media, and things in our environment that remind us of them can be like abrasive salt to a wound for a very long time.
Having experienced this very thing last year around this time, with a person I considered a dear friend and another supposed friend/acquaintance, these two verses amaze me. First of all they put most of our experiences into perspective. Jesus experienced the worst kind of betrayal, a betrayal to death. I wager none of us can say that any betrayal we have experienced was to that degree. After all I am writing this and you are reading, which means neither one of us is dead! For most of us, the daggers we pull out of our backs are of the figurative variety. It’s difficult to imagine the depth of emotional pain and turmoil that would come from having our very lives betrayed by one who claimed to love us. Let alone, live with them day by day KNOWING that it was going to happen. Wow, that must have been incredibly difficult! It certainly puts my very real pain into very real perspective. How about you?!
Back to the knowing it was going to happen thing. This is something that absolutely amazes me about Jesus. This alone folks, if we didn’t have the incredible testimony of the rest of scripture, is a great indicator of his deity. We are told by Jesus that he chose the twelve disciples knowing that “one of you is a devil”. So unlike the rest of humanity who goes along unaware of betrayal until is plays out, Jesus chose to be in a situation where every, single day he was living life with a person (eating meals, allowing him to manage finances, sharing truths about himself and the father, hearing this person claim love and commitment, serving him, even to washing his feet with the rest of the disciples) all the while knowing who he really was and what he ultimately would do. And not once did Jesus sin in his interaction with this person. No bitterness, no ungodly anger, no hatred. Not one single drop. Yet Jesus was human with emotions like you and I and just as vulnerable to hurt and pain. Imagine knowingly submitting yourself to that level of emotional stress, on top of all the other stress of Jesus’ public ministry. Seriously, does this not blow you away?!
I also found it interesting that Jesus uses very clear language to describe his situation. He certainly does not sugar coat it. He calls his betrayer a devil. Yeah, to have the God-man Jesus call you a devil, is a pretty, serious accusation. While we may feel the person who betrayed us is a devil, especially in the heat of the situation, how many of us can truthfully say that person is a devil. If we were completely honest with ourselves, we would have to admit a certain amount of blame on our own part. If not leading to the betrayal, certainly in the aftermath of the betrayal. Bitterness anyone? In my own recent little betrayal it has been helpful to remind myself of this. Thankfully it has gotten much easier with time! While I have attempted to repent of any offense I may have caused and the other party has chosen not to, this person is not a monster. They may be selfish, immature, possibly even sinful, but they are no devil. It was also good for me to remember that that person was NOT obligated to remain in a close friendship with me. Other than the marriage relationship, friendships and relationships are not covenants. Like Jesus, it is important for us to honestly assess our situation. When we have been wounded by another person or people it is easy to allow that offense to cloud our judgement of that person. It becomes easy to view them as a devil or monster, even to speak of them in that way, when really they are not. Judas on the other hand…
Oh, to be like Jesus and not sin when we face betrayal! To recognize that our value does not come from other people, whether they think we are great or not…whether they even stick around. To fully know from the tops of our heads to the soles of our feet that our value comes from God. And that he sees the pain we experience even when we are harmed in unspeakable ways and even better, he cares. To be like Jesus and be willing to love and serve and forgive, even when those who hurt us show no remorse or repentance. To be like Jesus and not allow the sins of bitterness, or ungodly anger, or jealousy (which likes to creep in when things seem to go well for that person who hurt us so deeply), or hatred even. Oh, to be like Jesus, who while hanging on the cross after the ultimate betrayal by mankind said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” To be like Jesus.
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