Betrayal

The subject of John 18 is betrayal. Can you see yourself in the story ?

1. Judas was intent to hand Jesus over to the authorities, it is not clear why. Did he want to provoke a revolution ? Maybe he thought Jesus would use his power to overcome the Romans. Maybe he thought Peter and the other disciples would rise up and fight, Peter and the others had stated they were ready to die for him. Was Judas angry at Jesus for exposing his sin of being a thief when Mary had poured the jar of perfume over Jesus ? Was he so consumed with having money that he just wanted the 30 pieces of silver ? Certainly the love of money is the root of all evil. But the love of fame, of power, of influence in this world are also great temptations that lead to evil. These are the very things Satan tempted Jesus with in the desert and he offers them to us as well. As John said, do not love the world or anything in it (1 John 2:15)

2. Fight or flight ? When the enemy attacks and fear rises up inside us, will we run or stand. So often, we will run in an attempt to preserve our own life. The disciples all ran away and thus betrayed Jesus. I’m sure we can all remember times when we haven’t stood up and been counted to those we love, when we’ve backed down and run away. Jesus is faithful even if we are not. He protected them from harm even in that moment - he told the soldiers to let them go. It fulfilled prophecy. 

3. Jesus was first taken to Annas the father in law of Caiaphas the high priest. This indicates some sort of religious dynasty and who was really behind Jesus’s arrest that in the first instance they went to the father in law not the actual high priest. Caiaphas was probably in on the plot but he may not have been. At the same time, it could have been Caiaphas using Annas to rubber stamp the arrest. Have you ever felt like you’re a pawn pushing someone else’s agenda, betraying who you really are or want to be ? 

4. John was known to Caiaphas and got in the front door. He went in to support Jesus but honestly he had no impact on the proceedings. Despite our best intentions, we can fail to identify with Jesus when the chips are down. He didn’t outright deny Jesus like Peter did but nevertheless he didn’t speak up when he knew he could of. John would have had some regrets in that moment. It was a passive betrayal.

5. Peter lied, he actually denied knowing Jesus. Interestingly, John came to the gate and told the servant girl to let Peter in. When he walked in, Peter would have known it was important not to let on who he was otherwise he could be thrown out. He was already in the wrong head space the moment he was let in to a place he was not meant to be. Often we set ourselves up to betray. We are better off to avoid the place of temptation in the first place.

6. Pilate ignorantly betrayed Jesus, he claimed not to even know what truth was. He lied to himself, his wife had warned him that Jesus was a good man. Pilate condemned an innocent man to death, an unbelievable act of cowardice. We can never say we didn’t know. 

He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

John 19:39

Did you know that aloe is used to relieve sunburn and heal wounds and that myrrh is used as an antiseptic in mouthwashes, gargles, and toothpastes. It is also used in some liniments and healing salves that may be applied to abrasions and other minor skin ailments. The Father used their offering to heal Jesus wounds in the tomb !