Man by himself is priced,
For thirty pieces Judas sold himself, not Christ.
Author unknown
Showing posts with label Judas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judas. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
Betraying lips
And immediately coming up to Jesus he (Judas) said,"Hail, Rabbi, and covered him with kisses." - Matt 26:49
I've always thought that Judas betrayed the Lord with one kiss (Lk 22:48). Only yesterday did I realise that he actually kissed the Lord repeatedly or covered the Lord with kisses. It's the same word used in the father's welcome of the prodigal son (Lk 15:20), in the woman's worship of the Lord (Lk 7:38,45) and in the elders' farewell for the apostle Paul (Acts 20:37). All done out of love for the object kissed. Oh how different was Judas' motive! While to the others the kisses were priceless, Judas valued his lot at 30 pieces of silver! Can't help but think of how much I too 'betray' and 'sell' the Lord for little, worthless, empty pleasures of this world.
But see the mercy of the Lord Jesus. It's one thing to allow Judas to land a peck on the cheek while fully knowing that he has the tracks of betrayal burnt in his unrepentant mind but this is a whole different level. The Lord allowed Judas to kiss Him repeatedly. How much it must have cut the Lord's heart as He would have seen right through every touch of the betrayer's lips upon His pure skin. Seeing right through the hypocrisy. No amount of kisses could hide it from omniscience. But what grace! The Lord allows him the kisses and the Lord still calls him friend. This one who never fully understood how the Lord was guiltless until too late. He who dipped his hand into the money bag but whose greed was still not satisfied that he had to betray the Lord for the price of a slave.
If the Lord showed such mercy to Judas, how much more for us? We who have been redeemed by the price of His guiltless blood. We who have found rest and shelter under His finished work. We who are now called sons of God because we know the Son of God, welcomed and loved by the Father. We whose sins have been forgiven by the grace of God. We who are brought in to be part of the body of Christ, to be conformed to the image of Christ. May we learn to love the Lord more and more, 'covering' Him with the 'kisses' of an adoring heart and praising lips!
I've always thought that Judas betrayed the Lord with one kiss (Lk 22:48). Only yesterday did I realise that he actually kissed the Lord repeatedly or covered the Lord with kisses. It's the same word used in the father's welcome of the prodigal son (Lk 15:20), in the woman's worship of the Lord (Lk 7:38,45) and in the elders' farewell for the apostle Paul (Acts 20:37). All done out of love for the object kissed. Oh how different was Judas' motive! While to the others the kisses were priceless, Judas valued his lot at 30 pieces of silver! Can't help but think of how much I too 'betray' and 'sell' the Lord for little, worthless, empty pleasures of this world.
But see the mercy of the Lord Jesus. It's one thing to allow Judas to land a peck on the cheek while fully knowing that he has the tracks of betrayal burnt in his unrepentant mind but this is a whole different level. The Lord allowed Judas to kiss Him repeatedly. How much it must have cut the Lord's heart as He would have seen right through every touch of the betrayer's lips upon His pure skin. Seeing right through the hypocrisy. No amount of kisses could hide it from omniscience. But what grace! The Lord allows him the kisses and the Lord still calls him friend. This one who never fully understood how the Lord was guiltless until too late. He who dipped his hand into the money bag but whose greed was still not satisfied that he had to betray the Lord for the price of a slave.
If the Lord showed such mercy to Judas, how much more for us? We who have been redeemed by the price of His guiltless blood. We who have found rest and shelter under His finished work. We who are now called sons of God because we know the Son of God, welcomed and loved by the Father. We whose sins have been forgiven by the grace of God. We who are brought in to be part of the body of Christ, to be conformed to the image of Christ. May we learn to love the Lord more and more, 'covering' Him with the 'kisses' of an adoring heart and praising lips!
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