June 30, 2024 - How to Handle Painful Relational Experiences - Pastor Paul Vallee

One of life's most painful experiences is being betrayed by someone close to you. It is a devastating experience. What is interesting is that Jesus knew all along that, given the right situation, Judas would betray him. So, why did Jesus keep Judas on as one of the twelve, knowing what he was doing and was about to do? A couple of things come to mind. First, Jesus is showing the depth of his concern for humanity by constantly reaching out to those who were his enemies, including one who was in his closest company of followers. The second thing we can learn from this is that Jesus was concerned about fulfilling the word of God and bringing glory to the Father. In obedience to these concerns, Judas was allowed to be a part of Jesus’ leadership team. We know from the biblical text that Jesus knew that betrayal would be a part of the experience from Scripture and that through His death, Jesus would bring glory to the Father. Warren Wiersbe shares this insight regarding Judas' moral responsibility in light of the amazing exposure that he had with Jesus. “Judas was exposed to the same spiritual privileges as the other disciples, yet they did him no good. The same sun that melts the ice only hardens the clay. Despite all that our Lord said about money and all of His warnings about covetousness, Judas continued to be a thief and steal from the treasury. Despite all our Lord’s warnings about unbelief, Judas persisted in his rejection. Jesus even washed Judas’ feet! Yet his hard heart did not yield. Jesus had spoken before about a traitor (John 6:70), but the disciples did not take it to heart. Not only had Judas not taken to heart all the warnings from Jesus and responded in repentance, but it is also apparent that the disciples were not paying much attention to Jesus’ warnings about a traitor in their midst. As they approach the last Passover, which Jesus will celebrate with his disciples, we find a dark undercurrent flowing. Jesus is carrying the weight of what he is about to experience but also addressing two very painful relational experiences that we may encounter at some point in our lives. How will we handle them? How did Jesus handle it?  How do we handle betrayal and rejection?