Luke 22:21-23 - The betrayer revealed

The Lord was clear about His mission. He was certain of what would soon happen. Wanting to prepare the disciples for His departure, He openly told them that one of them would betray Him. The presence of the betrayer was not a random thing. He was not a sub-plot. His role was predetermined in God's program and foretold in Scriptures. Verse 21 tells us that he was one of the disciples, who was on the table with Him.

While the betrayal was part of God's program for the Messiah's mission, the man who betrayed the Lord would be miserable. However, all praise be to God for His unsearchable wisdom. He ingeniously turned a sin into a glorious plan - the salvation of mankind. We all may well sneer at Judas' betrayal of the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. But we should be careful and not be carried away. If we scrutinize our own actions in life, we may well discover areas in our own life where we had compromised our position for a morsel of bread.

Verse 23 reveals that the other disciples didn't know about Judas' intention. The fact that they did not know shows the goodness of the Lord. For one, he would not be ostracized by them. And perhaps the Lord was giving him the time and opportunity to ponder and change. As we think of Judas and his betrayal of the Lord, we should also do a search to see if there are areas in our life that the Lord is waiting for us to change too. Do not be so blind ended by a passion that we fail to see the obvious! Don't wait too long till it's too late to change! Let Psalm 139:23-24 be our constant prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.