“While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”” Luke 22:47-48 ESV
Reflection: why is being two-faced necessary in order to betray someone?
You might have noticed that there has been quite a bit of talk about “treason” in the news. Treason used to be a word you rarely heard; mostly just in wartime, or a spy selling out secrets of their country. But what is being discovered is the many fraudulent, possibly treasonous acts, have been done for years to impact or even change elections, to suppress certain information, to harm the population for financial gain, among other things. Back door deals done through various shell companies that divert money for overt use and kickbacks. What is a common theme in all of this, is the “overt” or “deceptive” nature of it all. “Two faced”. It cannot be done “in the open”. For instance, an organization like USAID is presented as doing a lot of good work. But behind the scenes, money is being diverted to other things, not disclosed to the public. Because those things would never be approved by the public. This overt action might be illegal, but at a minimum it is “betrayal of a trust”, which is one of the definitions of treason.
And saying one thing but doing something else is a form of lying. Being deceptive.
And betrayal might be about the most hurtful, perhaps the worst action that can be done to a relationship between two people. Because it breaks the bond of trust. The story of Judas betraying Jesus is a great example for us to think about. Remember that Judas was one of the twelve, the inner circle of Jesus disciples, whom he had poured himself into for about three years. He had built the deepest trust, confidence and relationship with these twelve, and they had witnessed who Jesus really was. On the surface, externally, Judas was a disciple. But on the inside, something else was going on. And while Jesus might have known from the beginning that this was the man who eventually would betray him, Jesus still poured himself into Judas. And when Judas finally made a decision to formally betray Jesus, we get a glimpse of the hurt Jesus must have felt, saying
“Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
The kiss on the cheeks, a common greeting between friends in that culture. Why acting like Jesus was still a friend to him? Why giving the appearance that all was well between them? Judas had led a large group of people, temple guards and religious leaders during the night, to capture Jesus. Judas could have simply pointed to Jesus. But he kissed him. Betrayed him. And Jesus also calls out the religious leaders of their behavior. “Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”” During the night. Done in darkness.
Layers of lies and deception, all done in the darkness.
So other than the obvious, somber message about the betrayal and capture of Jesus, what else can this message teach us today? From the story of Judas, and even what we see now unraveling with the government every day, we can understand how dark, how evil betrayal really is. But, if we do some self reflection, are we being “two faced” in any way with those around us that trust us? Having the appearance of one thing, but planning or plotting, even saying or doing something else? Let’s humble ourselves before the Lord, and be truthful and transparent in all our actions.
Let us never become a Judas. Jesus said, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”Matthew 5:37 ESV