Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, March 21, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
What motivated Judas, then? It doesn’t sound like it was the money—he told the authorities he’d betray Jesus before they promised him any. In Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, it was about Jesus’ failure to live up to what Judas thought he should be. And maybe there’s some truth to that. The Jews of the time were expecting a messiah who would sweep in and wipe away all their enemies using military might. Judas might have believed that Jesus would do this—in fact, I think most of his disciples did. So for whatever reason, maybe Judas just decided Jesus wasn’t the messiah after all, and this charade needed to stop. We can’t know for sure, of course. We aren’t Judas. We weren’t there.
What it causes me to wonder, though, is this: Do I have expectations about who Jesus should be or what Jesus should do for me? When these things don’t happen in my life, do I find myself ready to betray him by simply walking away from my faith? I suppose Judas could have just walked away, too. Have I felt it necessary to betray Jesus more forcefully, by letting others know of my disillusionment in an attempt to discredit Christianity? Could it ever get to that point?
I want to have a vital relationship with God in Christ Jesus. That kind of relationship requires honesty. Transparency. Now might be a good time to think about whether my expectations of Jesus are motivated by something other than love.
What do I expect of Jesus? Is it right to expect it? What if I perceive that Jesus fails me?
