Grains of Sand

pando.com (Google Images) There is no wound so painful as that inflicted by one who has been a friend. David writes in Psalm 55: “ If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God ” (54:12-15). Earlier in the passage, the psalmist expresses his feelings about the situation. He is troubled and distraught (vs. 2). He is in anguish. It feels like a death has occurred—and it has (vs. 4). A close relationship has been affected, perhaps destroyed forever. He is fearful and horrified (vs. 5). He wants to run away and hide (vss. 6-8). These verses are often quoted as descriptive of what would later occur in the New Testament in the relationship between Jesus and Judas. The man who had walked with the Lord for three years, seen His miracles, heard His words, and observed H...

Google Images If ever there was a low point in Jesus’ life, it came that last night before His death. As if knowing what was about to happen wasn’t enough, the frailties of those closest to him added weight to an already overwhelming burden. As He sits at the table to celebrate that last Passover supper, the gloom of the evening is made even gloomier by the atmosphere in the room. The disciples have heard their Master say that one of them will betray Him to the authorities. The very fact that they all would ask “ Surely not I, Lord? ” demonstrated their own insecurity about the strength of their commitment to Him. “ Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ Jesus answered, ‘Yes, it is you.’ ” (Matthew 26:25). What do you do with that? He knows that he knows that He knows.... What was in His eyes as Jesus gazed into the face of the man who now with a certainty must have felt naked before his Master? This is your chance, Judas, to confess what you’ve done...

" But go, tell his disciples and Peter... " (Mark 16:7). How do you feel, Peter, when you hear those words? Shame . Singled out because you know what you have done, the horror of it, and pain of it. Anxiety. Why are you separated from the rest of the disciples? Does that mean that you have been cut from the roster? Fear . What if the Lord is going to tear a strip off you in front of the men you have lived and worked with for the last three years, the men who looked on you as their lieutenant.  Relief . You hope this means that there is a reprieve at the end of this. You pray that there is forgiveness for your betrayal. A myriad of thoughts go through our minds when we know that we have failed the faithfulness test. To Peter was added the shame of having made a public promise to go to the cross with His Lord if had to. Instead he not only walked away physically but he walked away verbally as well. As public as his promise was, the betrayal was just as public. We know how th...