Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew 26:14-15
Dear Church and Friends.
Every year we are confronted by the subject of betrayal. I don’t know about you but I never enjoy thinking about Judas’ villainy. Reading through the passion you can feel his anger and disappointment in Jesus. Could one of the twelve really do this?
We hear his motivation in verse 15 when he asks them to name a price. He wanted something for betrayal. This is why I don’t like this passage, because I too feel the impulse to deny Him when it might be pleasing to my desires.
Judas has a way of pulling a chair up to the table and forcing us to sit there an ask the question, “Is it I?” Yes, it is I. I have willingly dipped my hand into the dish with him. I have received the sop from him. I have rejoiced in him. I have even arranged the supper for him; and yet there I sit – guilty.
Consider Judas today. Ask yourself these questions and whether you too would betray, have betrayed him.
Music: Matt Boswell and the Boyce College Choir.
Poetry: Enjoy this piece from Edmund today, “Bright Blue Dark Dim Piano Keys.” Check out more of his poems on the website RawEmotionDough.
Prayer Request: A request for Central Asian Peoples.
Dave* lives in a large city and is working to take the good news to a minority people in the country. He has had a difficult time finding these minority people in his neighborhood, so he often goes to villages an hour or more away to meet them. One day, his wife went to a new hair salon close by their house to get a haircut. She discovered that the young man working there was from this people group. She told Dave about him, so he asked for the young man the next time he needed a haircut. Dave went to him for a haircut two different times and was able to share the gospel with him during his visits. Unfortunately, the next time Dave needed a haircut, he found that the young man appeared to no longer work at that salon. Please pray for this young man, asking that he will believe in the good news he heard from Dave. Please also pray that either Dave or another believer will come into contact with him and be able to continue sharing with him. (*name changed)
Catechism: The Principles of the Christian Religion.
- Question 55: What is required of man for obtaining the benefits of the gospel?
- Answer: That he receive Christ Jesus whom God does freely offer unto him.
- Question 56: By what means are you to receive Christ?
- Answer: By faith, whereby I believe the gracious promises of the gospel.
- Question 57: How do you receive Christ by faith?
- Answer: By laying hold of him, and applying him with all his benefits to the comfort of my own soul.
“The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.”
All my best.
The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
Matthew 26:24
The Bible Bistro 