betrayal

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

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why was Judas chosen if Jesus knew he would betray him? Why did God allow the devil to tempt Job?

Maybe it's only in the face of evil that men can become good. Maybe there can be no faith without some fire.

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Finally, the time has come. You thought it would never arrive. You hoped even that it could be postponed indefinitely. Why now, you wonder? In the dead of night. The Rabbi's disciple gave no coherent reply, only that he felt compelled to act now.

The council is more divided than it appears. However, all agree that simply detaining the Rabbi will accomplish nothing. Those who pledge themselves to him grow in number every day. They have all but crowned him king. And you know he is not one to accept a bribe. All agree that he must be silenced, permanently. This is the only solution. Your own spirit is troubled, but the council has decided. He has signed his own death warrant by going against the council. This troublemaker, what does he hope to achieve? You have heard that he is a man of mercy, a man of miracles, who can raise the dead. And yet he is only a man. In your heart, you believe that this is all in vain. That if the Rabbi is truly from God then the council's plans will be thwarted, just as they have been for so many months. And if God is not with him, then you will bring Him glory by executing a heretic.

He presents himself as being pure and righteous, yet he eats at the table of sinners. He says he is humble and merciful, and yet he dares to accuse members of the council. Because of him your tradition and your law is in jeopardy. He seeks to mislead Israel. Yes. The righteousness of the nation is at stake.

Though the people clamour for him, he is not your king. Not if you can help it. He holds no sway over your actions, or the sovereignty of your thoughts. Of her. Cherished lily in the marketplace. Oh how you love to see her smile as she greets you in the mornings. How lovely she is, her voice bright like glistening nectar. Sweet as honey. Her lips, they glisten with ripeness, like fruit on the vine. How your ache for her burns at night. How you allow yourself to entertain the thought of her in your room, long lustrous hair falling over her uncovered breasts. A waterfall of pleasure caressing her skin. Her softness is almost tangible, her voice thick and breathless, her sighing as supple and delicate as her thighs. How strong your desire is for her, how untamed, how solid is your longing for her that you have slowly created something real out of nothing - summoning her to your room every night, albeit only an image, an apparition.

Here he is now. He is betrayed by a kiss, and yet he calls his traitor friend! Does he not understand what is in store for him? Or does he yet believe that God will deliver him. But no, God has left it to you, this council of priests and elders to judge who is righteous, and the verdict is already decided. The crowd is becoming excited now, a simmering, savage frenzy. The torches cast monstrous, fiery shadows of men about the garden. Oh Rabbi, if you truly are the son of God, ask yourself this - why has He turned His back on you?