“… he who shared my bread …”
I said, “O LORD, have mercy on me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die and his name perish?”
6 Whenever one comes to see me,
he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
then he goes out and spreads it abroad.
7 All my enemies whisper together against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 “A vile disease has beset him;
he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted,
he who shared my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:4-9; NIV. Please read Psalm 41.)
He, who is the bread of life, sat with His disciples around a table with bread and wine. He shared the bread - His body - with those men, who knew Him best. All of those men will desert Him - but only one will betray Him. A man at His table - taking bread from His hand - will lift up “his heel against” Him.
I know something of what it means for a “close friend” to betray a friendship (see: www.rexboyles.com/blog); but nothing that I have experienced compares to what happened with Jesus when He was betrayed by ”his close friend”, Judas.
I leave to God - His judgment of Judas, but I beg Him, according to the words of the hymn: “Oh make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be - Lord let me never - never outlive my love for Thee”.
December 31, 2007 at 3:42 pm
I cannot imagine how it must have been for you … to have those you trusted … those you counted as friends … interrogate you, question you, accuse you. At a time when you needed support … not only did you not receive it, but you had the wind knocked out of you.
I cannot imagine how it must have been for Jesus … to have those He trusted … those He counted as friends … deny Him, follow at a distance, doubt. At a time when He needed support … not only did He not receive it, but He had the wind knocked out of Him.
The betrayal He experienced had to be far worse than what those other friends did. The one that denied … claimed Him eventually. The one that followed at a distance … walked side by side with Him eventually. The one that doubted … believed eventually.
But the betrayal … wasn’t able to be amended, because Judas gave up. If He just would have given Jesus a chance …. the story could have been different. The one that betrayed … could have been forgiven.
January 1, 2008 at 12:49 pm
It hurts my heart to read about your betrayal Rex…it’s almost too much to bear. It hurts my heart to think about how Jesus must have felt about Judas…..how He could stand knowing what would happen. If you knew betrayal was coming and who it was coming from…would that not be incredibly hard to bear??
I’ve not experienced anything on the same scale, but I’ve felt betrayed by those “close” to me on a few occasions. It’s hard to get over. The hurt resurfaces far too easily. It’s something I have to drag it to Jesus time and time again…for Him to carry because it’s too much for my heart most days.
I imagine that I have done things in my past where others have felt betrayed by me…I am deeply ashamed of that…and pray that I never ever do anything like that again….Lord help me please.
I’m with you on the words of the hymn…Lord, let me never outlive my love for you!!