This week's Bible Study - October 18, 2009
The Hero Betrayed
 Background Scripture:
Mark 14:27-38; 43-50
Quote of the Week:
Betrayal does that -- betrays the betrayer
-- Erica Jong
What do you know about betrayal? You may think in terms of treachery or disloyalty to a country. What do most people remember about Benedict Arnold? He is still primarily considered a traitor to most people, even if you don't remember why. You may think about a relationship in which a trust has been betrayed. You may also think of a friendship that has been betrayed, as disappointment sets in. You may be the victim of (or perpetrator of) gossip spreading, which can be considered as betrayal of a trust. We may know of betrayal from the side of being the one who was betrayed, or being the one who has betrayed another in a relationship. Unfortunately, we can all think of times where betrayal has happened. We may know it by different names, but we all know of betrayal.
There are many types of betrayal that we can think of, but the one that is most astounding is the betrayal of our Savior, Jesus Christ. In Scripture, you can read of the passion that Jesus had for people. He healed many diseases, accomplished many miracles in the lives of others and shared the love of God in a tangible manner. It seemed that the only ones who were against him were the religious elite. He cared for sinners and those who were lost. If there was someone who did not deserve to be betrayed, it was Jesus. However, in Old Testament prophecies, it was apparent that the Messiah would be betrayed. None of that caught God off guard. Likewise, it didn't catch Jesus the man off guard, but I am sure it was hard for Jesus to stomach.
As Jesus' earthly ministry was coming to a close, he tried to let his disciples know that many difficult days were coming. They had seen him rise to a level of prominence among the people and they obviously thought it was going to continue. They had given their all to follow him and they weren't expecting it to end soon.
Jesus told his disciples that they would all fall away. I'm sure that they thought that was beyond possibility. Jesus alluded to a prophecy in Zechariah that said "I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered". The disciples couldn't see it, but we know the rest of the story. Jesus continued to say that after he had risen, he would go ahead of them into Galilee. I doubt that statement registered with them. He had just said "after he had risen" - probably words they had never heard, as they were fixated on the first part about falling away.
Peter, who often took the lead response for the disciples, responded to the statement of the sheep falling away. Peter said that even if the rest of the disciples were to fall away, Peter would not. Peter's faith was legitimate, but it was based on what he could do. Perhaps he was stronger than the other disciples, but no man's faith is enough on his own.
Jesus responded to Peter and told him that even in that very evening, before the rooster crows twice, Peter would disown Jesus three times. How do you think Peter felt when he heard that? The passage said that he insisted emphatically that, even if he had to die with Christ, he would never disown Jesus. The others agreed - none of them were going to give up on Jesus. They truly thought they could stick with him, but none of them knew what was coming.
Just after this highly charged moment, when the disciples pledged their undying allegiance to Jesus, they went to a place called Gethsemane. You would think that they would have been on edge. However, Jesus told them to sit, while he prayed. Jesus took Peter, James and John with him. He was deeply distressed and troubled. Did the disciples not see that they would be needed to be there for Jesus? Jesus told them that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. He asked them to stay there and keep watch.
When is the most difficult time for you to stay alert? For many people, as long as they are doing something, they can stay on top of things, but when they are idle, they find it very difficult to stay awake. And, sometimes, it is harder to stay awake when you are really trying to stay awake - you might think of a classroom setting or a prayer at church. I'm not really sure why prayer can be so likely to make us drowsy. I think it might be because we try and get rid of other thoughts, and things can get rather ritualistic. I know that there are times when I am praying that I find my mind at some other point before I am done. It's somewhat like driving down the highway for miles upon miles. At some point, you may realize that you can't remember the last 30 miles or so, but you know that you traveled them. It was perhaps even more difficult for the disciples - they sat and waited while Jesus was praying.
Jesus went a little further from then, and prayed that if it was possible that the hour might pass from him. Do you think Jesus was excited about what he was getting ready to endure? I feel sure that Jesus did not 'feel' like going to the cross, yet he was committed. Are we more focused on our commitments or our feelings? With our world, it is very easy to think that it should all be about what we want or what feels right. Sometimes we try and line up what we want to happen with what God intends, making our wants supersedes God's plan for our lives. Jesus wrestled with this as he prayed for the Father to take this cup from him. In the end, however, he said that it was God's will that he was interested in doing, and not his own.
After a deep time in prayer, where Jesus was physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually drained, he returned to his disciples. He asked Peter why he could not keep watch even for one hour. This was the same man who said he would never depart from the Lord. I'm sure he thought that to be true, but even in this difficult time for Jesus, Peter was more caught up in his own situation. Jesus told Peter to watch and pray so that he would not fall into temptation. He knew that Peter's spirit was willing, but his body was weak.
This is the same thing that we all deal with. As believers, I believe that, deep down, we all want to do the right thing. We pray for God's strength as we go through life, and we ask for forgiveness when we fail him. Are we watching and praying, or are we just expecting to be strong when the need arises? We need to realize our extreme reliance upon God's power. The more that we expect to do on our own, the more likely that we are to fall. We may think that we can stand strong in our relationship with Christ, but if it is on our own, we are likely to scatter, just as the disciples did.
Jesus went away again and prayed as he had prayed before. Even though he was committed to what he was going to do, it still weighed heavily upon his heart. His disciples, once again, slept and rested. They did not understand the gravity of the situation, or else they would have been more alert. I'm sure that they thought that Jesus was getting more outdone with them than what they deserved. You can think of how a child might get outdone with a parent when they seem to take something too seriously. Chances are that you have seen this as a parent and as a child, or even as a friend.
Jesus told them that the time had come and the Son of Man was being betrayed into the hands of sinner. They needed to go face the betrayer. This likely confused the disciples, especially as they saw Judas, described as one of the Twelve, coming towards them. Did the disciples not know that Judas was the betrayer? Judas started out just as they had, and he likely had more grandiose plans for Jesus than what Jesus aspired to. Do you think that he shared his ideas with the other disciples? Perhaps Judas thought he would push the issue and force Jesus to make the decision to establish his kingdom.
Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared with a crowd that was armed with swords and clubs. They had come from the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. Judas had arranged with the group to identify Jesus by kissing him. I wonder if that really needed to happen - the religious elite knew who Jesus was. They had followed him, seeking to find his words that would indict himself - they had heard him teach and had seen the miracles. None of this caught Jesus by surprise, and according to prophecy in Psalm 55, it was foretold that his betrayal would be by one who was his acquaintance and had taken sweet counsel together with him. Judas had indeed been a friend, yet he was the one who had turned on Jesus.
The men seized Jesus and in the midst of the scuffle, Peter chopped off the ear of one of the servants. In the book of Luke, we learn that Jesus healed the ear. I would imagine that didn't do a lot for Peter, who thought he was doing the right thing. This wasn't one of the things that Mark focused on - yet another miracle. Some people will point at things like this and talk about contradictions in Scripture, yet if any four of us saw the same thing and recorded what we saw, we'd all focus on specific points. The real message was that Jesus was being betrayed and that is what Mark focused on.
Jesus told his captors that there was no need for them to come after them as they had. He was not leading a rebellion. Can you imagine the rebellion that Jesus could have led, if he had the desire to do so? Of course this wasn't his purpose, but that is exactly the type of thing that Judas wanted him to do. There was no need for swords and clubs to be used in his capture.
He told them that he was with them, everyday. He taught in their temple courts, which was their home field. He was there in open view, yet he was never arrested. He never hid from them or tried to evade capture. However, Jesus realized that this, too, was in accordance with Scripture. Then every one deserted him and fled. It had not been too much earlier that Jesus had told them about the sheep that would scatter. Until the going got really tough, they were willing to stand to death. When Jesus was arrested by crowds with swords and clubs, they fled. Peter put up a bit of a resistance, but Jesus told him there was no need for that.
Rather than submitting and potentially being taken away, they took off. This would be the natural instinct, which is what comes up when we face difficult situations. We often have the best of intentions, but sometimes those intentions go to the back of our minds when we are put to the test. It is important that we keep our intentions in our hearts and in our minds, so that we are consistent with what we meant to do.
Closing
There are potentially many conclusions that could come out of this lesson. Here are a few.
We live in an imperfect world, so to say that we haven't had to deal with some form of betrayal would be lying. There are some that keep those issues near and dear to their hearts, and would just as soon make the life of another person miserable forever. None of us can even come close to feeling the betrayal that Jesus dealt with. How did he deal with betrayal? Although we think of Judas, we all know what it is like to betray Jesus at one point or another, as we choose our will rather than his. Jesus dealt with betrayal of humanity by going to the cross to die for our sins. If we are to follow the lead of Christ, shouldn't we at least be willing to forgive?
The disciples were Jesus' closest friends on the earth and none of them thought that they would ever betray or deny Jesus. They thought that they were going to stick by him, come thick or thin. They truly intended to do that, but they could never see what was coming. Jesus, who cared for these men more than any other would, would be denied by them. He had told them to watch and pray - their strength would come only from the Father. They intended to do what they could on their own. We have been given the Holy Spirit and we don't have to face life on our own. Are we walking in step with the Holy Spirit or are we making our own way?
Jesus struggled with following through in obedience to God's will. He remained committed and continued, despite his own reluctance to go. If Jesus struggled with commitment to God, what makes us think that we won't experience the similar struggles? What did Jesus do? He spent time in prayer. Often, when we are struggling with doing what we know we should do, we find ourselves doing anything but praying. Or, we continue to ask God to make our desire the answer to prayer.
What about Judas? Unfortunately, many of us can relate to Judas more than we would like to admit. He was a disciple, and obviously participated in ministry with the other disciples. He was respected by each of them. While he did fulfill prophecy as one who would betray Jesus, everything else seemed to be in good order. His problem was that he was expecting Jesus to be somebody different than the person Jesus was. Have we ever had this issue in our lives? Is our relationship with Jesus based upon our circumstances or how things turn out? I know people that have experienced tremendous loss. It's not what they thought would happen. For some people, they tend to turn away from God, because there is a sense that everything was supposed to work out fine. For others, it causes them to grow closer to God. Will you follow Jesus wherever he leads you, even if it is not where you want to go? Or, will your commitment be situational?
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