Desertion & Betrayal

By Ray Gano

Betrayal, it is tough. It cuts like a knife and goes straight to the heart. The pain is real and sometimes it will last a lifetime.

Have you ever lost a really good friend, I mean a best friend, not some casual acquaintance. Someone who you have laughed with, broke bread with, stood with them through thick and thin.

If you are like me, you don’t have many “good, best friends.”

I forgot who said it but they said something like if you have as many best friends as you do you have fingers on one hand, you are very blessed.

I don’t have many super close friends.

A couple of years ago I lost a great friend.

We have known each other for a few years and out of that our friendship grew.

We enjoyed out fellowship. We would talk about bible prophecy and many other things dealing with Christianity. These were really great conversations that challenged both of us.

We would talk about news and other things going on in the world. He worked on the net and so we would talk shop and talk about Prophezine.

He lived in another state, so we were not able to get together often. If I was speaking in his neck of the woods, we would hook up and catch up on what was going on. If he was in Texas, we made it a point to get together and hang out.

He was as trusted advisor in the ministry and we shared a lot.

We made the mistake of getting into business together and do some projects. It was great at first, but then things turned bad and we broke off our friendship.

I was devastated. My heart ached and it took me a very long time to get over that loss. I know that I was partly at fault for the friendship breaking up because I was being a jerk in business. If you have not noticed, I am a pretty “A-Type” personality and I can be pretty bull headed and driven.

It wasn’t till recently that I truly forgave him and sincerely apologized.

We have contact, but not much anymore. I will post a comment on Facebook or send a short email.

But what we have now is not what we had when our friendship was strong and the fellowship was deep.

There are many of us who have gone through something like this. Life as well as people will be deceptive, lie and deceive you. There are some who will do anything to get what they want, or do something to gain at your expense. At times they do not take into regard who they hurt in the process.

The result in all of this is that you find it hard to trust someone and there is always that questioning in the back of your mind. What is this person’s motives or intentions?

Betrayal’s damage is severe and in most cases is destructive in one form or another.

How many of you know what it is I am talking about?

Do you remember the pain that you felt?

Do you remember the broken heart and the emptiness that is almost indescribable?

The hurt is horrible and runs deep.

Remember that feeling?

Now you know the feeling that Christ feels when we betray him.

Jesus’ Betrayal

Probably the most famous betrayal in history is when Judas betrayed Christ. Even though Judas showed remorse later, his name became a symbol for traitors and turncoats throughout history.

His motive seemed to be greed, but some scholars speculate political desires lurked beneath his treachery. What we know is that Judas was a “zealot” and wanted Christ to take charge of Israel and over throw Rome.

Christ made it clear that He was not there to do that and that his time for that had not come.

So if Christ would not be a king, Judas decided to betrayed him and let him be a martyr for the cause.

Judas betrayed Christ with a simple kiss.

Luke 22:47-48 And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. 48 But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

You can see the hurt in Christ’s words here.

Yes, Christ knew that Judas was going to do this, but it did not change the way he felt.

Desertion of the Disciples

Jesus predicted the disciples would desert Him, and it came to pass exactly as He said it would.

Matthew 26:31-34 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. 32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. 33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. 34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

We all know the outcome. All of them deserted Christ in his time of need.

Can you imagine the pain that Christ felt when his friends and disciples, those who professed to follow him to the ends of the earth. These guys loved him and they were all very close friends.

Still when Christ’s time of need came, he was deserted.

Can you imagine His pain?

Not only was Christ betrayed by one of his own, the rest of them deserted him and in fact Peter denied even knowing him, not once, but three times.

Have you been deserted by friends, maybe even family?

Remember that feeling?

Now you know the feeling that Christ feels when we desert him.

Jesus was betrayed by one of His disciples and deserted by His disciples when He was arrested and tried. They were all frightened and ran away scared. He knows what it feels like to be betrayed and lied to both then and now.

The difference is that He forgives us and continues to love us even when we do the horrible things that we do.

The pain is real, we know how it feels.

Now compound that a million times over and it tells us how Christ feels.

Yet, He still loves us, cherishes us, welcomes us and forgives us.

The next time we turn away from Him and choose to sin against Him, remember that pain we felt.

Every time we sin, He feels the pain and it is like we re-nail Him to the cross.

When will we finally submit to Him and stop living one foot in and one foot out of the church?

When will we really dedicate our lives to Him and start living a holy and acceptable life unto God?

When are we going to stop causing the heart breaking pain that we cause our Savior?

When will we at least start trying?

By Ray Gano

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