The Betrayal, Part 2
The Disciples’ Confusion

John 13:22
The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking.

Jesus had just declared that one of those in their midst was going to betray Him. The shock must have been astounding. This is a small group of men who knew each other very well. They had all participated in the ministry. They had all made great sacrifices to serve together. They had all been hated because of their association with Jesus.

What do we learn about Judas from this simple verse? The disciples were all at a loss to know who Jesus was speaking about.

Judas certainly played his role well. He was able to maintain an outward appearance that gave every indication that he was a faithful follower of Christ while on the inside his motives were completely self serving. Judas is a hypocrite of all hypocrites. He was able to fool every single one of the disciples.

Sadly, Judas failed to understand the true nature of Jesus. We can fool everyone in this life that is human like us, but we will never fool the One who created us. Proverbs gives us an encouragement when we are walking with the Lord, and a warning when we are not!

Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good.

What do we learn about Jesus from this situation? Jesus demonstrated the same love and respect for Judas as He did for every other one of the disciples. Jesus did not treat Judas as he deserved! Certainly this is a reminder of God’s common grace to all people.

Matthew 5:43–48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Jesus illustrated these verses perfectly in His relationship with Judas. What an incredible example to follow!

Rocky Wyatt
2013-05-13

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What is Staying the Course all about?

There is an overwhelming amount of material on the internet today. Who could possibly keep up? There are not sufficient hours in the day to read all of the books, blogs and tweets, or to listen to all of the CDs, mp3s and podcasts.

The purpose of XL Ministries is quite simple: We desire to train people for ministry within the context of the church. We are also committed to providing encouragement and ongoing training for those who are currently serving in the ministry.

Staying the Course is simply another avenue to accomplish these purposes. Our desire is to offer, in a brief format, biblical encouragement and practical insights to remind us of who we are in relation to who our great God is, what we are doing, and why we are doing it. The intent is to provide some scriptural thoughts for meditation for the week.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.