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Staying Loyal to Jesus When Betrayal Tempts You

Let’s be honest: Judas Iscariot is a tough one.

His presence in the Scriptures should make us all feel some tension. Judas was in Jesus’ inner circle. He likely listened to many of Jesus’ sermons, healed people alongside the other disciples, and enjoyed the fellowship of Jesus and his closest friends.

But something had been stirring in Judas for a long time. Something evil. The Bible shows that many things contributed to Judas’s handing Jesus over to the authorities wanting to crucify him. Judas was greedy, and the enemy was tempting him to sell Jesus out.

While all four Gospels mention Judas, John includes some important details that give us more perspective about Judas. For example, Judas had prime opportunities to abandon Jesus early on in Jesus’s earthly ministry, but he didn’t. In John 6, Jesus said something that angered some of his disciples, and many of them turned away from Christ and left the fold. But Judas stayed. You could read this ominously, as if the evil in Judas was determined to wait for an opportune time to take Jesus down. Or it simply could be that Judas didn’t have any ill will in his heart at this point in the story.

John also made sure to tell a story about Judas getting angry with a fellow disciple, Mary of Bethany (John 12). Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume, and since Judas was a thief, stealing from the group’s shared funds, he was angry. To Judas, Mary’s extravagant display of devotion was sheer waste. By the time we get to the foot-washing scene in John 13, we know several things about Judas: He was a disciple, he was greedy, he was a thief, and Jesus knew all along Judas would betray him.

If you know the sting of betrayal, Jesus knows what you’ve been through. Your Savior is so attuned to your struggles and your needs. He is committed to you. Jesus intentionally experienced the same. He is a safe person.

And for those of us who have been the betrayer, I pray you find encouragement in the fact that Jesus knew all along that Judas would abandon him. Even still, he welcomed him into his inner circle, journeyed with him for years during his early ministry, and did not lash out when his life was on the line. Your Savior loves you no matter what. Like Judas, you will likely experience hard consequences for your sin, but please don’t forget: Jesus always calls you back.

Remaining loyal to Jesus is not a given. Let’s ask ourselves: Are we standing “with” Jesus or against him? No matter how we answer that question, take heart. Even in the middle of betrayal, Jesus did not allow his loyal disciples to harm Judas. After all, Jesus had just taught his disciples to love one another. When Judas showed no love to Jesus, Jesus still was loving toward Judas, and he trained his disciples to do the same. This is good news.

Prayer: Dear God, I confess that, at times, I am tempted to walk away from you. I also fear being abandoned. Help me to trust that you will never leave me, and to set my heart on staying true to you. Amen.