12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”
19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 “This is my blood of the[c] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
-Mark 14:12-26
Betrayal. While on earth Jesus experienced this in the truest sense. This scene is known as the Last Supper and essentially Jesus’ last meal before he was crucified for the sins of the world. This particular passage focus but on one specific betrayal Jesus would face—from Judas Iscariot—but we need to remember that all the disciples in some way betrayed him. Peter would deny Jesus three times. All the disciples would flee and abandon Jesus when he was unjustly arrested. Jesus knows and has experienced betrayal.
Today there are many in our nation who feel betrayed. We feel betrayed by our society who should treat everyone fairly and equally but don’t. And while this brokenness in our culture and our world has always existed, we sense it more acutely these days.
Our passage today reminds us that our Lord identifies with the betrayed. He Himself was betrayed by an unjust social system and was even killed by it. It reminds me that I need to learn to identify with those who have been betrayed. It convicts me to learn more about the injustice in the world and to identify ways in which I can practically contribute. I just started reading a book dealing with racial reconciliation and I hope it will help better educate me on the issue.
Just as important, this passage reminds me that I’m also a betrayer. I’m a part of the society and culture that have allowed these injustices—these betrayals—to occur. It convicts me to repent for the brokenness in my own heart regarding issues of social justice and racism.
How have you been identifying with the betrayed? How can you go beyond simply posting and re-posting what you’ve seen on Facebook or Instagram? What books can you read to better educate yourself on the issues? Do you need to repent for the brokenness in your own heart regarding issues of social justice and racism?
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