Last week, we asked you to imagine yourself sitting down for the Passover meal with Jesus and the disciples. (Miss last week’s devotion? Catch up here.) This week, we find ourselves still seated at the table, but the conversation today isn’t quite as hopeful. In fact, it’s a little disheartening.
Start this week’s devotion by reading Mark 14:17-19:
“In the evening Jesus arrived with the Twelve. As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.’ Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, ‘Am I the one?’”
Whether this is your hundredth time to hear the story of the Last Supper or you’re reading it now for the very first time, pay very close attention to how the disciples reply to Jesus’ revelation. The four words they utter reveal a lot about the atmosphere in that moment.
Their primary concern wasn’t when, how or why this betrayal would happen. Their response doesn’t convey that they were pointing fingers at each other either. Instead, they each asked Jesus, “Am I the one?” It was as if they were doubtfully seeking assurance from Jesus that this horrific betrayal would be someone else’s crime - and not their own.
The implication here is that the disciples were afraid of their own capability to turn on the very one they believed to be the Messiah. The one whose miracles they watched as they were performed. The one with whom they chose to walk daily and follow at all cost - even to their own death.
Before you judge the disciples as weak or foolish, ask yourself - could there be a little bit of Judas in you, too? It is painful to say, “yes,” but deep down, we are all capable of extraordinary sin. The good news is that found among that upper room full of unsure, uneasy, sinful men was the One who was perfectly sure, perfectly steady and purely without sin. Because of His sacrifice, no matter how great our sin may be, God’s grace is even greater.
So as we find ourselves one week closer to Easter, meditate on this thought - we all have a little bit of Judas in us that, in the right circumstance, would probably make its way out. But greater than our sin is a mighty Savior who is more than willing and capable of rescuing us from our own self-destruction.