Matthew 26:47-75
"This was also a telling time among those who knew Jesus more personally. The most difficult to understand in this group is Judas Iscariot. We know the divine plan required Jesus to be crucified, but it is wrenching to think that one of His special witnesses who sat at His feet, heard Him pray, watched Him heal, and felt His touch could betray Him and all that He was for 30 pieces of silver. Never in the history of this world has so little money purchased so much infamy. We are not the ones
to judge Judas’s fate, but Jesus said of His betrayer, “Good [were it] for that man if he had not been born.” 7
Later, after Jesus’s arrest and appearance at trial, Peter, accused of knowing Jesus and being one of His confidants, denies that accusation not once but three times. We don’t know all that was going on here, nor do we know of protective counsel which the Savior may have given to His Apostles privately, 12 but we do know Jesus was aware that even these precious ones would not stand with Him in the end, and He had warned Peter accordingly. 13 Then, with the crowing of the cock, “the Lord turned,and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord. …And [he] went out, and wept bitterly."
"This was also a telling time among those who knew Jesus more personally. The most difficult to understand in this group is Judas Iscariot. We know the divine plan required Jesus to be crucified, but it is wrenching to think that one of His special witnesses who sat at His feet, heard Him pray, watched Him heal, and felt His touch could betray Him and all that He was for 30 pieces of silver. Never in the history of this world has so little money purchased so much infamy. We are not the ones
to judge Judas’s fate, but Jesus said of His betrayer, “Good [were it] for that man if he had not been born.” 7
Later, after Jesus’s arrest and appearance at trial, Peter, accused of knowing Jesus and being one of His confidants, denies that accusation not once but three times. We don’t know all that was going on here, nor do we know of protective counsel which the Savior may have given to His Apostles privately, 12 but we do know Jesus was aware that even these precious ones would not stand with Him in the end, and He had warned Peter accordingly. 13 Then, with the crowing of the cock, “the Lord turned,and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord. …And [he] went out, and wept bitterly."
- Elder Holland, None Were With Him
These men were his disciples, his friends, his companions. With few exceptions they had been traveling together for nearly three years during Christ's ministry. I know that just having a mission companion with me constantly for three months created a unique and profound bond and I can hardly fathom the depth of love and devotion between Christ and his disciples. So it is instructive for me to think about these two episodes in the life of Christ with myself in the role of disciple. Previously, I have always considered these instances as more examples of Christ's complete understanding and suffering for our betrayals and rejections in this life- which is still true and very meaningful to me. However, in viewing myself as the disciple I have to ask myself, "are there ways I betray or deny my Savior?". Though I would never sell my testimony for 30 pieces of silver, do I in small ways betray Him? When I fail to live up to my covenants, when I am less than kind and loving to another, when I do less than my best in magnifying my calling. Do I in part deny Him when I miss opportunities to share the gospel or fail to acknowledge his blessings and guidance in my life? This Christmas season is a good time for me to reflect on how I can, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, more fully love and worship Him.
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