Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

January 18, 2019

by Pastor Hawtree

BIBLE READING:  MARK 14

 10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.

   18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.

   19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?

   20 And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

   21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.

   43 And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

   44 And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely.

   45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.

   46 And they laid their hands on him, and took him.

 

This is a discouraging chapter in many ways. Jesus is surprisingly betrayed by some of the men that He was closest to. Jesus was DELIVERED by Judas to the scribes, and Jesus was DENIED by Peter during His suffering. No wonder the Bible says to “have no confidence in the flesh”.

 

How convicting it must have been for Judas to be sitting with Jesus and his fellow inner circle of disciples and to hear Jesus say, “One of you which eateth with me shall betray me”. Could you imagine as Judas quietly swallows and sheepishly clears his throat. He knew full well that he and Jesus were the only ones who knew who Jesus was speaking of. Then comes the dagger. Jesus had allowed Judas to work this whole plan without saying anything to Judas, not even embarrassing Judas in front of the others by telling them. But Jesus did have something to say. Here it is: “woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born”. Wow! A dagger right in the heart of Judas.

 

Let me ask you a question. Could you imagine how many times, while Judas has been burning in hell, he has replayed that dinner in his mind? Judas has been burning in hell now, give or take, about one thousand, nine hundred, and eighty six years. That is about 724,890 days without sleep, water, light, food, relief, or Jesus. How many times has he thought about it? How many times has he longed to go back and talk some sense into himself? He was so close to Jesus, and yet now he could not be further away. How many times I wonder, just today, has he wished that he had never been born. “Woe to that man”. His last contact with Jesus was a betraying kiss on the cheek.  Oh how he must wish to go back. I wonder how often in these hundreds of years in hell has Judas called out for Jesus, but he never receives an answer, and he never will.

 

Do you know that your saved today? Maybe you’re in church, maybe you are religious, maybe you’ve been “close” to Jesus for most of your life, but do you know Jesus. Judas  lived with Jesus, and yet now lives in hell. If you are reading this, it is too late for Judas, but not for you.