Here comes my betrayer!
“Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Matthew 26:46)
There is no one who will not die in the world. People are afraid of death, even though they know will inevitably die once some day. The fear of death might be produced mainly due to anxiety from the uncertain. Because of people’s misunderstanding and ridicule, Jesus’ feelings must have been so sad and painful. How would had great been the pain of going carrying the cross toward Golgotha? Moreover how could we do describe the enormous pain same to dying instantly when a nail was stuck in the living body and a spear was stabbed in the side? We can dare even not to imagine on how great Jesus’ anxiety and agony was, who had known already the things to be occurred next when He prayed at Gethsemane.
Jesus went with the disciples, to pray at the hill of Gethsemane. At that time, Jesus’ heart was full of grief and agony. The sufferings in His mind must have been indescribably great, for Jesus was presuming ahead all things of being caught a little while later and to be suffered. People may be happy in one’s own way if they live without being conscious about the death, but if think on death, it is difficult to maintain a hopeful and pleasant life from then. When would be purely happy most in life, I think it is probably about the time of first and second grades of middle school. I sometimes have seen passing students of the age playing with joy on the street. They look distinctively different from people of other ages because they are some young and lively in life. They don’t have little to worry about their health, learning, employment, and their parents’ problems. Since they are not old enough to worry about death yet, mostly everything will be considered new and enjoyable for them. But, how would it had been hard and terrible for Jesus, who was neither an immature teenager nor an ordinary man, to anticipate and wait for the death of punishment with the burden of sin instead of man?
Jesus said in Matthew 26:38, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” The worries reached the peak, and He was so hard and on the point of death. What do people usually behave, if in the face of a difficult situation like that? Common way most of people take in order to get out of trouble is doing to forget. By drinking or traveling, people do to forget worries and do to stay away from the current situation. But Jesus would not try to forget the difficulties, nor He would avoid them. Rather, He prayed, and asked disciples to stay awake together too. The people who believe in Jesus and follow Him should neither rely on alcohol nor flee reality on the hard roads of living, but would have to pray in Jesus’ name and move forward proudly.
It was a natural mind of Jesus as the Son of Man that wished that the cross of suffering would not come if it possible. Nevertheless, it was Jesus’ conclusion that He hoped it would be as God the Father wanted. Everyone wants to live in peace without any pain. However, it is much more important to live as the Lord of Creation and Redemption wants than to live in comfort. That’s how we can get real value and reward of our life. Jesus bore the cross of pain in order to save men and make them live righteously according to God’s will. But how much do we have lived until now betraying the will of the Lord so often.
When Jesus came and saw, the disciples were asleep because of tiredness. So He said to Peter, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” in Matthew 26:41. Disciples perhaps did wish not to asleep in order to pray, but they were so weak to stay awake for a moment. The disciples fell asleep not only because their body was tired, but because their souls were not in being awaken. Sleep is a good medicine to restore energy that relieves physical fatigue, and a present given to those God loves. But spiritual fatigue and the sleep are the narcotic drugs of Satan that lead to death by preventing them from praying.
Even if the world is confused and unrighteous, we can be alive if we are awake spiritually in God. Jesus was killed by Judas’ betrayal, but He saved man’s life by Resurrection. If we rise and walk with Jesus, we will surely have a successful life. Even if following Jesus seems to be hard like a path of despair and death, that is the true way that guarantees the life of resurrection forever. Don’t be afraid of difficulties, and rise with Jesus and go forward boldly.
(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Apr 10th 2022)