Being human is a challenging proposition. There are a lot of reasons for that, and all of those reasons ultimately come down to the fact that we live in a fallen world. But in the day-to-day, one of the things that makes being a human so difficult is, honestly, other humans.
In these verses from Luke today, we are hard-pressed to find a single human who does anything right. The disciples fell asleep, then someone pulled a knife, then they ran away, then Peter denied Jesus, and then they all disappear from the narrative. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. All night the soldiers mocked and beat him. In the morning, the council assembled, and the humans who might have been best equipped to recognize Jesus intellectually as the fulfillment of Scripture, were blinded by their own agenda.
It’s through human sin that Jesus was put on a cross, and it is from our human sin that Jesus came to save us.
Sometimes people wonder whether it would have been different if Judas hadn’t betrayed Jesus. The answer is no. Jesus’ agenda from the day he was born was to die for us. You and I are just as complicit in Judas’ actions as he is, and understanding and accepting that is the key to accepting his grace. If we fool ourselves into thinking we wouldn’t have been Judas or Peter or the soldiers or the council, we underestimate our own propensity for sin. And underestimating our propensity for sin leads us directly to underestimating our need for grace.
Jesus knew our condition. He wept for it. He knew that even in the lives of those who would follow him, sometimes deep in our hearts, we would reject him. He went to the cross anyway.
Reflection:
- Spend a few moments in confession for the things done and the things left undone. Ask for forgiveness and know that in the name of Jesus, your sins are forgiven.
- Take a look at Psalm 34:1-7. Lift these words up to God as a prayer of thanksgiving.