Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 22 : 47-53 (Psalm 41, Psalm 55, Zechariah 11) "THE BETRAYAL BY JUDAS"
Day 297 – Luke 22
Text: Luke 22 : 47-53 (Psalm 41, Psalm 55, Zechariah 11)
THE BETRAYAL BY JUDAS
The hour of prayer was over. Jesus roused His Disciples from sleep. Through prayer, Jesus was thoroughly prepared for what lay ahead.
The first thing that He had to face was His betrayal from His erstwhile disciple. We must read the following words with great carefulness.
“And while He was still speaking,
behold, a multitude, and he who was called Judas,
one of the twelve, went before them
and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.
But Jesus said to him,
‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’ “
Luke 22:47-48
Jesus had already warned His Disciples that one of them would betray Him. He had actually revealed the identity of Judas to John. The absence of Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane with the rest of the Disciples must have been conspicuous.
Let us recall the words of Jesus when He foretold that He would be betrayed.
“But behold, the hand of the betrayer is with Me
on the table.
And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined,
But woe to the man by whom He is betrayed!”
Luke 22:21-22
Woe had indeed come to Judas! Satan had entered his heart. He was now the tool of the Devil! What greater woe on earth could there be?
What did Jesus mean when He spoke about His betrayal as something that had “been determined”? Let us take time to look at two psalms that had prophetic Messianic allusions.
PROPHETIC ALLUSIONS TO THE BETRAYAL OF JESUS
Let us take a look at Psalm 41, written by King David. While this psalm had personal significance, it was also an allusion to the betrayal of Jesus.
“Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”
Psalm 41:9
Judas had certainly broken bread with Jesus many a time. At the Passover Feast, Jesus had especially dipped a piece of bread and had given it to Judas (John 13:26). That was a special act of love and tenderness. Betrayal may well be described as lifting up a heel against a friend! Jesus had been more than a friend to Judas. Jesus had been their Teacher as well. How could a pupil lift up his heel against his Teacher?
David wrote another psalm. In Psalm 55, David wrote with an even greater sense of pain. Let us look at this psalm.
“My heart is severely pained within me…
and horror has overwhelmed me…
For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
Then I could bear it.
Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted
Himself against me;
Then I could hide from him.
But it was you, a man my equal,
My companion and my acquaintance.
We took sweet counsel together,
And walked to the house of God in the throng.”
Psalm 55:4, 12-14
Not everything that David wrote would have direct reference and application to Jesus. An “allusion ” would not require all the details to fit the circumstances of Jesus in order to apply. David recalled how his “companion and acquaintance” had betrayed him. He remembered all the things they had shared together. In this Psalm David wrote of the pain he felt at being betrayed.
The allusion to Jesus is not difficult to understand. Judas was that “companion and acquaintance” who had risen against Jesus. Allusions have their limits. The references to David’s friend as his “equal” would certainly not apply to Judas.
THE PRICE OF BETRAYAL
Matthew recorded a sobering fact. Judas had agreed to sell his Master for just 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15; In Exodus 21:32, this paltry sum was the price of slave)!
What is even more amazing is that in the Book of Zechariah, the story of thirty pieces of silver was recorded. The prophetic allusion to Jesus is unmistakable.
Zechariah is more easily understood when the storyline is outlined (Cf. Zechariah 11:4-17).
The story begins with a good shepherd who looked after the flock. However, this flock was most unresponsive. It was described as “the flock for slaughter” (Zechariah 11:4).
The “owners” of the flock did not care for the flock at all. They were more concerned about being wealthy (Zechariah 11:5).
The good shepherd took his usual tools of his trade, two staves. One was called “Beauty” and the other called “Bonds” (Zechariah 11:7-8).
The good shepherd found that there was constant conflict between himself and other shepherds (Zechariah 11:8).
Realising that the flock would not respond no matter how he shepherded them, the good shepherd broke the first staff. This represented the breaking of the covenant which had been given earlier (Zechariah 11:10).
There were some who understood the good shepherd though. They recognized and understood this symbolic act. They knew that “it was the word of the Lord” (Zechariah 11:11).
The good shepherd sought to discharge himself from his duty as shepherd. He was ending his work. He asked to be paid. What was he worth to the rich owners? The owners weighed out to the good shepherd “thirty pieces of silver” (Zechariah 11:12).
The money paid to the shepherd was obviously an insult. Was the good work of shepherding the flock only worth thirty pieces of silver? That was the price of a slave way back in the days of Moses (Exodus 21:32).
The shepherd then threw the money back to the owners, in the house of the Lord, and the second rod, “Bonds” was broken (Zechariah 11:13-14; Judas, filled with remorse after Jesus was condemned by Pilate to be crucified, returned the money that the chief priest and scribes paid to him. This money was used to buy a field from a potter to bury strangers in. Cf. Matthew 27:3-10)
How do we understand these allusions in Scripture? There are enough points of correspondence in the storyline in the Book of Zechariah to help us understand that these allusions applied to Jesus. Yes, the betrayal of Jesus was indeed alluded to very strongly in the Scriptures.
“THAT THE SCRIPTURES OF THE PROPHETS MIGHT BE FULFILLED” Matthew 26:56
Matthew described with great detail the betrayal and arrest of Jesus. We read,
“In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes,
‘Have you come out, as against a robber,
with swords and clubs to take Me?
I sat daily with you, teaching in the Temple,
And you did not seize Me.
But all this was done that the Scriptures
Of the prophets might be fulfilled.’ “
Matthew 26:55-56
The enemies of Jesus had come fully prepared to arrest Jesus. They had expected resistance from Jesus and His Disciples. Judas had informed the enemies as to how he would identify Jesus.
“Now his betrayer had given them a sign, saying,
‘Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.’
Immediately, he went up to Jesus and said,
‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed Him.”
Matthew 26:48-49
The multitudes obviously did not how to respond. When Jesus offered no resistance, but in fact identified Himself, they were so shocked they fell down (John 18:6). Knowing the Scriptures as He did, Jesus was totally prepared for this moment. His time spent in prayer had also fortified Him further, and strength exuded from Him even as He faced His captors. “But we see Jesus…” Are you not deeply moved?