Betrayed with a Kiss

Mark 14:45 ~ "And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, 'Rabbi!' And he kissed him."

Judas... the name has become synonymous with betrayal and often the worst betrayal of all--the betrayal of one who was in close friendship. 

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus faced the turmoil of His coming suffering. He was to be the propitiation of all who would believe, satisfying the wrath of God by taking upon Himself the punishment for sins, the innocent for the guilty. The agony He faced was more than any man ever experienced. In the time of His travail, Jesus needed the kisses of friendship and support. And when He went back to His close companions what did Jesus find? Mark 14:37 tells us, "And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, 'Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?'" 

Soon, however, Jesus would receive a kiss from one who was a close companion of His. But it would not be a kiss of friendship, nor a kiss of loyalty and trust. It was a kiss, and it carried with it a bitter betrayal. David knew a taste of this anguish as expressed in Psalm 55:12-14, "For it is not an enemy who taunts me—then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God's house we walked in the throng."

What a tender thing is a kiss. It conveys affection and warmth toward another. It is the mother's remedy for small wounds that life inflicts upon her children. It is the sweet connection of husbands and wives as they share their deep affection with each other. It is the means of communicating love. Even Paul entreats the church to, "Greet one another with a holy kiss" (2 Corinthians 13:12). And what a terrible tragedy it becomes when it is used to mark an innocent man--the only Innocent Man--for betrayal. And, perhaps worse yet, it was given by one who was a close companion.

It is a devilish thing to have the kisses of loyalty and friendship used in such a way as to bring about betrayal and treachery. But, beloved, examine your own kisses of loyalty upon the Savior. Do they come in the full affection of your heart toward Christ, or do they mask a hidden deception that cloaks your real motives in drawing close to Jesus? What a fitting statement of our Lord in Matthew 15:8, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." And that might best describe Judas--with his lips he honored the LORD, but his heart was far away. 

Many have looked to the thief on the cross as the testimony of God's sovereign grace bringing a vile offender to saving faith. And I agree with that. The thief knew Christ for only hours and was transported to glory that same day because of his faith in Jesus. In contrast to that, Judas shows the reality of a man who can be near to Christ, hear all of His words and, in the end, despise the LORD. Proximity to Christ (and now, today, to His people), does not always display affection for Christ or devotion to Him. 

Dear ones, do you draw near with the kisses of church attendance and the observance of the ordinances? Do you show the affectionate kiss of fiscal fidelity and give your portion to the LORD? Have you kissed Jesus with the words out of your mouth as you speak to others? If all this is done out of loyalty and devotion to the LORD, then rejoice. But if you harbor bitterness, envy and strife within, then I would plead with you to repent and offer up not one more Judas-kiss, but only those affections that are from the heart and pleasing to God.

In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

---