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The Battle of Betrayal

The Battle of Betrayal
Words of Faith 1-18-17
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2017
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 13
[18] "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'
[19] "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. [20] I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me."
[21] After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."

The washing of feet was now concluded. The evening air was drying away the remaining moisture from the feet of the disciples. The room was quiet as the lesson sank in with a tremendous sense of cleanness and refreshment. Then Jesus dropped the bomb. “One of you is going to betray me.”
There were no secrets in this room. Jesus even quoted the words of David when he was betrayed by his trusted table companion Ahithophel, who then hanged himself (2 Sam. 16:20-17:3, 23). Jesus knew exactly what was going on.
Jesus had just taught the disciples the power and blessing of serving in obedience to the Father. But there would be no power or blessing for one of the disciples seated at the table with freshly washed feet. There sat Judas. Perhaps he was gazing at the ceiling or drumming his fingers on the table in an attempt to look innocent. Jesus was still making an appeal to the heart.
Betrayal is a devastating thing. At personal level it is awful. We have seen betrayal in government, business and religion. It is so hurtful. No wonder Jesus was troubled. He knew the betrayal would shatter the group for a time but it did not have to shatter the people forever.
There sat Judas. His feet washed. Acting sincere yet silently plotting against Jesus. The frightening thing about Judas is that we know him pretty well! If we have ever sat in the places of refreshing while secretly pondering our sin, we know something of Judas. If we have ever moved into places of worship or sacrament while secretly harboring our private sin, we know something of Judas. If ever we have taken for granted the repeated grace of God in Christ while deliberately choosing the path of rebellion, we know something of Judas.
Judas is a bit of a problem in the church and theology. We often debate him, his choices and his destiny. The truth is that it is easier to debate Judas than to meet him because he is so terrifying to us. We fear most of all that we might look into the face of Judas and find we are gazing into a mirror.
But the point of Jesus’ prediction is not fear. It is, in fact, reassurance! "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.” I want you to know that nothing is beyond my knowledge or my grasp. “I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me."
You see the great loss comes not in betrayal, but in the refusal of God’s grace, which is big enough even for betrayal! Judas is not lost because of His betrayal. Peter’s denial was just as devastating. Judas is lost when he chooses despair over grace. Self-pity over hope.
For us, our biggest problem is not our sin and betrayal as painful as they are. Our biggest problem is that we often fail to call upon the grace of the Jesus and accept Him as the One who will make us whole.

Lord God, wash my feet. Cleanse my heart. Reveal the secret plans that rebel against You. Draw me close to You by Your grace. Teach me the power of faithfulness. By Your grace make me steadfast. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2017
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.