Luke 22:14-23 <- Click to read now

Here he is. Judas. A name so popular, but for all the wrong reasons. In the Gospels, Judas is shown to be a crooked, greedy, betrayer. He stole from the money bag Jesus and the disciples lived on, he berated the woman who blessed Jesus with expensive perfume, and he was pointed out as the one who would betray Jesus.

I imagine after Judas betrayed Jesus, anyone with this same name felt a bit uneasy. In the Gospel of John, another Judas is quoted. Instead of giving a surname, he is described like this. “Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name)…” They wanted to remove all doubt. “Not that Judas. Not the betrayer.”

It’s hard to wrap our minds around what would bring this particular Disciple to the point of rejecting Jesus in such a way it led to his death. We can guess and make speculations all day long about him misunderstanding the intent of the Messiah, or being so greedy he felt 30 pieces of silver was worth it, or simply the fact that Satan entered his heart. But I do wonder, was there remorse? Was he sorry he did this?

Whatever he felt after this betrayal and rejection, it was so sharp, he ended up taking his own life. I also wonder if he thought since he rejected Jesus in this way, then Jesus would also reject him. We can make guesses about that, too. My guess is, if he had waited long enough to see the Risen Christ, if he had truly known Jesus, he would have figured out there was forgiveness available, even for him. All he would have had to do is seek it.

This is our prayer for any who actively reject Jesus today. We want them to truly know Jesus, so they can realize the depths of God’s love and forgiveness. We want to make known how Jesus loved and served those around him, even washing the very feet of the man who would betray him.

Today, let’s direct our prayer in such a way that we lift up those who reject Jesus. Let’s pray for God to move in their hearts and lives in such a way they see and experience the love of Christ, and let’s even dare to show this love toward them in all the ways we can. Jesus can and will make a difference in the hearts of those we least expect.

Heavenly Father, we know Jesus prayed from the cross for forgiveness upon those who were mocking him, rejecting him, and in the process of killing him. He said they didn’t know what they were doing. God, we can only imagine those who reject Jesus today don’t truly know what they are doing. Warm their hearts. Open their eyes. Let them see the love and light of Christ in us, so they might turn from rejecting Jesus and turn toward Your arms of mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.