Matthew 26:25 (NIV)
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely
you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
At Harvard University there was a very learned professor
of zoology by the name of Agassiz.
He was so wise that one year his students went to special
pains to try and put one over on their prof. Oh so carefully they took parts
from a number of different bugs and with great skill attached those parts
together to make a strange creation they were sure would baffle their teacher.
On the chosen day they brought the bug to him and asked
him to identify it. Professor Agassiz inspected the specimen with great care.
The longer the time passed, the more certain the students grew that they had
managed to trick the school's resident genius.
Finally, Professor Agassiz straightened up and said,
"Gentlemen, I have managed to identify your bug."
Scarcely able to control their amusement, the pranksters
asked its name.
Agassiz replied, "It is a humbug."
The last supper Jesus shared with His disciples should
have been a time to give last-minute advice and to reminisce about the
"good old days." For Jesus part of the meal's harmony was marred by
the hidden, upcoming betrayal of Judas.
When Jesus tried to call the traitor back from his
soon-to-be-committed crime, Judas decided to try a bluff by echoing the
question of the other disciples. "Is it I?" It was a mistake. As
God's Son, Jesus knew everything about that plot. Like Professor Agassiz in our
story, Jesus knew a humbug when He saw one.
Jesus isn't playing games, and He identified the traitor
who promptly fled the fellowship.
It's sad so many people follow in Judas' footsteps.
They live their lives acting as if God does not know what
is happening and what they're doing. They believe if they can fool their
friends, they can also fool the Lord. All of us should know that none of our
secrets can be hidden from God. Just as Jesus knew the sin of His disciple, He
knows ours.
In short, like Judas, we are all humbugs and pretenders,
filled with cloaked transgressions. But there is a difference. Because of
Jesus, the Lamb of God, our sins -- no matter how hidden -- are forgiven, and
we remain loved.
Dear Lord, how often have we, like Judas, played the role
of a hypocrite. I give thanks You know a humbug when You see one. Change us so we
are not like Judas pretending to be something we are not. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment