The Shadow of Betrayal
[positions: R2 R1 R3 R4]
RF: The Shadow of Betrayal
R1: Psalm 41:9 "Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me."
Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
R2: Matthew 26:6-25 Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant.
R3: "Why this waste?"
R4: "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."
R2: Aware of this, Jesus said to them,
R1: "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
R2: Then one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot-- went to the chief priests and asked,
R4: "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?"
R2: So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked,
R3: "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"
R1: "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.'"
R2: So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said,
R1: "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."
R2: They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other,
R3: "Surely not I, Lord?"
R1: "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 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."
R2: Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said,
R4: "Surely not I, Rabbi?"
R1: "Yes, it is you."
RF: Surely not I?! Surely I would not betray you. But is Judas really all that different from us? Judas had been a follower of Jesus, one of the twelve, one of Jesus' friends. Jesus loved Judas. He had worked with him, shared meals with him, laughed with him, cried with him. And Judas had said the right things, had supposedly agreed with Jesus teaching. But when it came to the end, Judas cared more about money than about Jesus. Jesus wasn't Lord, He was convenience. Judas wanted Jesus to act a certain way. Judas had expectations about what serving God should look like. When those expectations were not met, Judas took matters into his own hands: he betrayed Jesus. What do we do when Jesus doesn’t meet our expectations?
(extinguish candle)
Let us silently meditate in prayer on the betrayal of Jesus.
Song: Knowing You
[positions: R2 R1 R3 R4]
RF: The Shadow of Betrayal
R1: Psalm 41:9 "Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me."
Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
R2: Matthew 26:6-25 Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant.
R3: "Why this waste?"
R4: "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."
R2: Aware of this, Jesus said to them,
R1: "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
R2: Then one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot-- went to the chief priests and asked,
R4: "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?"
R2: So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked,
R3: "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"
R1: "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.'"
R2: So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said,
R1: "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."
R2: They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other,
R3: "Surely not I, Lord?"
R1: "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 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."
R2: Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said,
R4: "Surely not I, Rabbi?"
R1: "Yes, it is you."
RF: Surely not I?! Surely I would not betray you. But is Judas really all that different from us? Judas had been a follower of Jesus, one of the twelve, one of Jesus' friends. Jesus loved Judas. He had worked with him, shared meals with him, laughed with him, cried with him. And Judas had said the right things, had supposedly agreed with Jesus teaching. But when it came to the end, Judas cared more about money than about Jesus. Jesus wasn't Lord, He was convenience. Judas wanted Jesus to act a certain way. Judas had expectations about what serving God should look like. When those expectations were not met, Judas took matters into his own hands: he betrayed Jesus. What do we do when Jesus doesn’t meet our expectations?
(extinguish candle)
Let us silently meditate in prayer on the betrayal of Jesus.
Song: Knowing You