Is it I, Lord?

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

IS IT I, LORD?

Matt 26:17-25

17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" 18 He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'"  19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."  22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?" 23 Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."  25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."   

NIV

Again let us not get into the fray of wondering about the timing of the Passover and its relationship to the Sabbath. We must remember the Passover is tied to the timing of the first full moon after the vernal equinox, this may or may not be near the Sabbath. Besides this is not germane to the point of the passage. What jumps out at us is the question each of the disciples asked. “Surely not I, Lord?” In the Greek it may better be said as “Is it I, Lord?” It is not they were emphatic that it was not them, but they were questioning honestly, as if with the fear it was them. Their love for Jesus was unmeasurable, they had left everything to follow him. They had seen so much of his divine nature demonstrated. They knew he was the Messiah, the Christ. They still may not be aware his kingdom was not going to be one that overthrew the Roman occupying force. They may still have thought they would be a part of this new ruling class in his kingdom. But they loved him and were devoted to him. So when he told them one of them was going to betray him, they were gripped with fear and could not believe it would be one of them. So each asked the question. We are not told that Jesus assured each one they were not one who would betray him. But he told them how they would be able to tell. Judas must have dipped his hand in the bowl the same time Jesus did and then he asked if it was him. How could he be so deceitful? He knew it was him. He had already made his deal with the chief priest for thirty pieces of silver. It is interesting that thirty pieces of silver is the fixed price for a slave, a person of little value. This shows us the chief priests’ contempt for Jesus, as well as how Judas would betray him for any price. In modern money that would amount to about fifteen dollars. Judas betrays Jesus for the price of a slave. But the disturbing thing is that he sat there with the rest of them pretending to be just as aghast at the thought one of them would betray him. He asked the same question, most likely with the same demeanor as the rest. This brings us to how do we live. Do we look good on the outside, saying all the right things, showing our love for Jesus, but inwardly we are still trying to serve ourselves, our selfish ambitions and goals, our greed for financial security, our self-pleasures and desires for material things? The question is if that is a form of betrayal. If we are, which we are, to love the Lord our God with all, not some, of our heart, our soul, our spirit and our strength, then what exactly does that look like? Can we love him, be devoted to him and still be devoted to our selfish ways? Are we betraying his death on the cross for our redemption when we act in ways which benefit our own selves rather than the kingdom of God? Surely we have to work for our sustenance, that is a command God gave to Adam, to toil the ground all the days of his life. We too must then toil the ground, work for the food on our table all the days of our life. We cannot be so selfish to think we can store up enough for our selfish needs so as to not to work for our sustenance. Is that a form of betrayal? What about all the good deeds we do in church? What about all the times we give in the offering? What about all the things we have given up, those lists of do’s and don’ts? Do we trust him completely with every aspect of our lives?  Surely we have changed a great deal from how we were before we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That has to count. But is there still areas in our life that would be a form of betrayal, all the while we are looking so good on the outside? It would seem the worse of it is that he wanted not to be exposed, but desired to remain hidden in his agenda. Yet Jesus, knowing all things, being divine knew all about Judas and his plot to betray him and he exposed him in front of the rest of the disciples. It would be best if we fessed up to the Lord any area in our lives that is not in conforming to his will. It would be best to be completely honest with God, as he already knows anything. Surely we would not want to be exposed before others for our failures, our sin, and our betrayal. So let us honestly ask with reverent fear, “Is it I, Lord?”