The Betrayed Christ
Scripture Reading: John 18:1-27
Meditation
For Jesus, the Garden of Gethsemane is a familiar place. He and his disciples have gathered there many times. It’s quiet, still, and intimate.
It’s also his favorite place: a place of peace and prayer, love and laughter, comfort and companionship. The Garden is one of those places to which only the closest of friends are invited.
But on this night, a familiar face leads an invasion of strangers into the secret place of Jesus’ Gethsemane.
“Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.”
A few hours earlier, Judas was part of Jesus’ family.
He sat next to his Messianic Brother at the Passover table. Together, they took the bread and dipped their hands into the bowl of fellowship. But now Judas is walking hand in hand with the enemy. He’s the one in front carrying the torch. He’s the one leading the way through the maze of the Garden. He’s the one in front of the six hundred armed Roman soldiers. He’s the one betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
Tonight, this betrayal isn’t going to happen in foreign territory; it’s going to happen on the family porch. It’s not going to be a stab in the back; it’s going to be intimate, face-to-face, with the pierce and then twist of a kiss. It’s not going to be at the hand of a hidden assassin, but from the heart of a trusted friend.
Though Jesus knows all that is about to happen, he doesn’t run, hide, or try to escape. He’s aware that his hour has come and so he has resolved to live purposefully within the redemptive minutes that remain. He doesn’t delay the timetable. He doesn’t stall the salvation plan.
He goes out and meets the mob.
He finds his captors before they have a chance to find and capture him. He identifies himself before they identify him.
“Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, ‘Who is it you want?’
‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied.
‘I am he,’ Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.”
And though he is able to drop a detachment of armed soldiers to the ground with a three-syllable phrase of identification, he still allows them to bind him and take him away.
It’s clear tonight that the one with the power is the one without the sword.
But Peter doesn’t see it that way.
“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
Jesus commanded Peter, ‘Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?’ ”
Peter’s the big brother in the band of disciples.
He’s the one Jesus calls “Rock”, a man of boulder size conviction and avalanche-like action. Once he begins to roll down a hill, he doesn’t stop until he hits the bottom. That’s why he’s in the Garden next to Jesus. He’s the one who promised that, though all others would desert Jesus, he would never fall away. He’s the one who pledged to be with his Brother to the end, even if it meant death. He spoke those words out of conviction and now—passionately convicted—he’s standing by them.
As the detachment of soldiers approaches, Peter draws a sword. He lunges forward and the avalanche begins. He swirls. He tumbles. He falls. And on the way down, he strikes and severs the right ear of a servant named Malchus.
As Peter hits bottom, Jesus grabs his arm and says,
“Put away the sword! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
It’s not a question. It’s an order. It’s as if Jesus is saying,
“Stop fighting for me, stop fighting with me, and stop fighting against me. Let go of me and let me go to the cross!”
As the soldiers bind and take Jesus away, Peter sits shattered in the Garden. He was ready to die with him. He was willing to stand by him. He had promised to be there when all others left and he had the bloodstained sword to prove his fidelity.
He had kept his word.
But now, Peter, the “Rock” is pulverized by the hammers of sorrow and confusion. His convictions have been crushed. The man who was willing to fight six hundred men with a single sword and who—in his zeal—cut off the ear of Malchus, now turns and, through the sharp blade of denial, slashes the ear of his Brother.
Three times Peter is asked if he’s one of Jesus’ disciples. As Jesus listens, three times Peter cuts off any association with him.
“I don’t know the man!” (Matthew 26:74)
From now on, Jesus stands alone.
Abandoned. Denied.
Betrayed.
Prayer
Father,
On the eve of your Son’s crucifixion, he stood alone.
The adoring crowds, which had lined the road at his triumphant entry, had dissipated. When the detachment of soldiers came to the Garden with their torches, lanterns, and swords, no legions of heavenly angels had been dispatched. And when the wolf of Rome growled, bared his teeth, and bound the Shepherd, the little flock scattered.
On that night, he was more than alone; he was abandoned. He was more than abandoned; he was disowned. He was more than disowned; he was betrayed. And these acts came not from the hands of strangers or the mouths of the nameless mass that had once followed him, but from his disciples: the ones he loved; his friends; those he called “family”.
One brother handed him over with a kiss. Another washed his hands of him and disowned him three times. On that night, your Son stood alone.
During this day, help me see all of the ways that I have abandoned, disowned, or betrayed my Brother, Jesus. And as my eyes are opened, help me understand why these acts are so painful.
Help me realize that it’s not the blow that comes from the hand of a stranger that hurts most but the betrayal that comes from the heart of a friend. And though I have abandoned Christ many times, assure me that he will never abandon, disown, or betray me.
In the name of the Betrayed Christ I pray. Amen.
Reflection
What does it feel like when a friend hands you over into the grasp of an enemy? What does it feel like when someone washes his or her hands of you?
In what ways have you abandoned, denied, or betrayed Christ?
Has the Betrayed Christ ever told you to put your sword away? If so, what were you fighting for and what was he asking you to do?
What comfort is there in knowing that, even as he was betrayed, the Betrayed Christ was still in control?
All Scripture references in the meditation are marked by italics and are taken from the Gospel reading for the day (John 18:1-27). Those verses quoted outside of the chosen reading for the day are noted in parenthesis. All Scripture quoted on this site is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.