Thursday Thought -- August 11, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

“Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.” (Luke 22:1-6)

I am appalled at the depth of human sin and blindness.

The chief priests and teachers of the law were the premiere leaders of the people of Israel. They were the spiritual leaders. They should have been the most spiritually sensitive men in the world. Yet, they either realized that Jesus was the Messiah and intentionally rejected Him because He would interfere with their lives of power and privilege or they were blind to the reality of who Jesus was. Either way, it is appalling to think that they would not just reject Jesus but intentionally seek to get rid of Him.

Judas was one of the twelve closest followers of Jesus. He had lived with Jesus for years. He heard Jesus teach. He watched Jesus work miracle after miracle. He knew who Jesus was; there could be no denying that. Yet Judas betrayed Jesus for money.

Was Judas that greedy that the little money he received was worth betraying the One he knew to be the Messiah? Or perhaps he didn’t trust Jesus and thought he needed to help Jesus show Himself as King – surely if Jesus was arrested and threatened He would reveal His power and take His rightful place as king. Or where there other reasons for Judas’ betrayal? Whatever the reasons they were about Judas’ sin or his blindness. That’s appalling from someone so close to Jesus.

Yet, I look around me and see the depth of human sin and blindness in people today. I can even look into the church and see men and women making decisions that are clearly wrong and sinful. Is it intentional sin or blindness? I am appalled.

And I wonder what sin God sees in my life and what blindness. I desperately need His patience and His grace.

His, by Grace,

Steve