Day 17 :: Escape
Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, was full of remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.
Matthew 27:3-4a(3-10)
I am more like Judas than I want to admit.
I follow a good and faithful Lord, yet I regularly betray Him in multiple ways; idolising money, prioritising my comfort above His calling, forgetting His teachings and the list goes on.
But I think the way I am most like Judas is in how I react when things go wrong. (v4) Once Judas realised what he had done he tried to fix it himself. And when I realise the mess that my sin has created, I do the same. I might take a step in the right direction and say a quick prayer, like Judas throwing the silver back, but then I turn and run to my own strength and worldly solutions. But just as we see in these verses those only lead to distress, despair, and destruction.
Instead, we should be running to our good and faithful Lord, focusing on Jesus without turning to anything else. When we are faced with how great our betrayals are against God our only option is to ask for forgiveness and repent.
Jesus took the punishment for our sins on the cross, so we do not have to stay in our despair but can be fully forgiven.
I follow close to you;
your right hand holds on to me.
Psalm 63:8
Then like David in Psalm 63:8, when we follow close to the Father, we can trust that he is holding us.
Today’s verses end with a beautiful reminder that despite how much we mess up God is in control. The silver Judas was paid for betraying Jesus was then spent by the priests on a field, as prophesied in Jeremiah. Even a small, seemingly insignificant detail is in Gods plan. And in His goodness and faithfulness he continues to work out His plan in our lives.
Passages to read: Matthew 27:3-10, Psalm 63
A thought to remember: Jesus is the only solution to our constant betrayals.
A question to ask: How have you betrayed Jesus this week, and how can you find comfort and encouragement in his gracious forgiveness?
A song to sing: Running