Traitor's Kiss

I had no other thought than working. None.

But, as usual, God had other ideas.

Melissa messaged me: "Can you go through the spreadsheet plans and assign a theme for upcoming magazines according to the Bible lessons in the respective magazines?"

Wow. Quite the mouthful. Okay.

Since most of those Bible lessons weren't written yet, that required me to go through the chapters in the Desire of Ages that correlated to each lesson. And I went in fully intending to skim them.

I ended up reading them. And having my eyes opened like never before.

What really struck me the most though, wasn't Jesus agony in the garden...although I almost choked at that.

It wasn't the nasty treatment of Jesus...

It wasn't the mean words, the hateful spirits, the cruelty and insane madness that possessed the priests and rulers...

It was Judas.

As I read, I saw what Jesus had done to try to help Judas. This man had not even been called or chosen to be a disciple--he'd pushed his way in. But Jesus did not refuse him. Instead, He placed this stubborn, arrogant man where he would be under the influence of Christ's own spirit every day, in every way.

Really, Jesus gave Judas the greatest advantage ever given to any human soul. Ever.

...All the while, knowing that this man for whom He was laboring would betray Him.

There was one thing, however, about Judas and Jesus' treatment of him that hit me like a speeding train, laid me flat on the tracks, and then backed up and ran me over.

I'm serious... it was that bad.

In the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus has just battled with the worst death any of us could ever face. He'd nearly died because of the sin laid upon Him. He'd stained the ground with His blood for our sins, He'd been left alone to agonize while His disciples slumbered in blissful and painful ignorance, and now He was facing a mob, Roman soldiers, temple guards, and priests, all armed with weapons and lanterns. And right out front stands Judas. This man that Jesus has labored for three years for. This man that Jesus loves...He loves him, with a love deeper than any of us can know. This would be enough to break anyone's heart.

But get this... Judas steps forward, pretending to have nothing to do with the ill-meaning crowd behind him, places a hand on Jesus' shoulder, and kisses the face of God. A kiss of betrayal. A kiss of denial. A kiss of treachery.

Anyone...and I mean anyone... would've beaten a person like that away from them.

But Ellen White specifically states that Jesus accepted Judas' kiss. He accepted it.

He allowed it. Received it as though nothing were wrong, as if Judas hadn't sold Him for the price of a common slave, as if he wouldn't go out and hang himself later that day. As if everything was alright.

I couldn'tve done that. Ever.

A kiss is possibly one of the closest acknowledgments of closeness between two people. In our world today, that gift has been perverted, true, but it still remains a symbol of love, warmth, friendship, trust. To even imagine allowing someone who had betrayed me to come that close again is unthinkable.

Yet I found my eyes filling with tears as the picture changed, and in Judas' place I saw myself, stepping forward to kiss the face of God, pretending that I had nothing to do with that great and terrible event so long ago...

Judas is looked upon as the worst man in Earth's history by many Christians.

I have to shake my head.


It was my sin just as much as Judas' that put Jesus on the cross. It was my faults and shortcomings that shed innocent blood... my deeds that crucify Him anew.

I separated Jesus Christ from His Father.


It's not Judas...

I'm the traitor.

Yet, there's hope.

Jesus accepted Judas' kiss, even though it was a betrayal. Jesus still loved Judas, up to the very moment that he hanged himself. Jesus still loves Judas today, even though there is no hope for him....

And Jesus still loves me.

I may fall, I make mistakes... I forget, I worry, I fail. But through all of that, one thing I can know for certain.

Jesus loves me.

I'm a traitor, yes.

I sent Him to His death.

But by God's grace, and His grace alone, the kiss of a traitor can become the kiss of a faithful child.