Judas Moments

I'm about to lose some of you by admitting to watching "Tyler Perry's The Passion" - I blame my friend who told me about it and I blame a lazy Saturday morning, when I should be doing dishes or homeschool prep. I will admit to much of the program being a bit too sensational and cheesy for my taste, but one scene in particular really struck me. The scene of Judas' betrayal and the arrest of Jesus:




We often vilify Judas, perhaps forgetting that he was a follower of Christ - one of the inner twelve who lived, ate, worked and traveled with Jesus for three years before this fateful night. Judas had hope, just like us. He had dreams and goals. He wanted more out of life, to live with purpose, to make a difference. But he was plagued by a darkness he just couldn't shake. We can all relate to that. So he turned to Jesus - just like so many of us have done.

Judas looked to Jesus to fix it - he did well. But Judas saw fixing it with a very limited definition - one which left Jesus with no choice but to leave Judas as he was - with his demons hiding inside. Oftentimes, we turn to Christ in the midst of a crisis, expecting our version of "fixing." How often does our limited vision limit the very healing we are seeking? How often does our insistence that it be fixed OUR way, arrest Jesus - stop him in his tracks, and force us to experience separation from him and his will?

Truth is, we all have Judas Moments. Moments when we wrestle with our lives or our situations being fixed our way or His. Judas shows us how bleak our way is. Our way doesn't lead to anything being fixed at all. Our way leads to devastation, destruction and death. But Christ's way leads to victory. His way doesn't pass over the devastation, destruction and death of this world, it passes through them, thereby conquering them. His way leads to the Cross, which leads to the Resurrection, which leads to His Return, which leads to our Everlasting Glory in Heaven. Oh that we might chose His way.