Mark 14:18-19 "And as they sat and did
eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall
betray me. (19) And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him
one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?"
"Is it I?" Jesus had just made a statement that one of the twelve would betray Him. To this statement, each of the twelve began to question whether he would be the one to betray Jesus. This tells me that human nature is such that any of the twelve were capable of betraying Jesus. Two previous verses in the chapter give us the information that Judas Iscariot was the one who had bargained with the chief priests to betray Jesus into their hands. But the other eleven disciples did not know this had taken place. "Is it I?" Could I be the one to do this terrible deed?
Luke's account of the Gospel tells us a little more about the disciples and their conversation concerning who could possibly be the betrayer. "And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." (Luke 22:24) Their conversation quickly changed from "Is it I?" to "Oh no, I could not possibly be the one to betray Him." In my thoughts, they probably began comparing all their great accomplishments. No doubt, they had all done great things; yet, they understood their own weakness when it came to this statement concerning betrayal.
My thought this morning concerns not the twelve, not even Judas; rather, my thoughts concern the possibility of, "Is it I?" Do I have the capability to betray my Lord? I know Judas betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver. Have I ever betrayed Him for much less than that? I want to be true to my Lord. But I also know that it takes effort on my part to deny myself and follow Him. Jesus said that it takes much energy to enter the kingdom of heaven where we experience peace and joy from doing the right thing. The King James Version uses the words, "the violent taketh it by force." The word violent here means to use energetic force to turn from the way of the world and follow our Lord Jesus.
Heavenly Father, I ask you to please assist me to be energetic in denying the tendencies of my flesh that I might honor you.
"Is it I?" Jesus had just made a statement that one of the twelve would betray Him. To this statement, each of the twelve began to question whether he would be the one to betray Jesus. This tells me that human nature is such that any of the twelve were capable of betraying Jesus. Two previous verses in the chapter give us the information that Judas Iscariot was the one who had bargained with the chief priests to betray Jesus into their hands. But the other eleven disciples did not know this had taken place. "Is it I?" Could I be the one to do this terrible deed?
Luke's account of the Gospel tells us a little more about the disciples and their conversation concerning who could possibly be the betrayer. "And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." (Luke 22:24) Their conversation quickly changed from "Is it I?" to "Oh no, I could not possibly be the one to betray Him." In my thoughts, they probably began comparing all their great accomplishments. No doubt, they had all done great things; yet, they understood their own weakness when it came to this statement concerning betrayal.
My thought this morning concerns not the twelve, not even Judas; rather, my thoughts concern the possibility of, "Is it I?" Do I have the capability to betray my Lord? I know Judas betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver. Have I ever betrayed Him for much less than that? I want to be true to my Lord. But I also know that it takes effort on my part to deny myself and follow Him. Jesus said that it takes much energy to enter the kingdom of heaven where we experience peace and joy from doing the right thing. The King James Version uses the words, "the violent taketh it by force." The word violent here means to use energetic force to turn from the way of the world and follow our Lord Jesus.
Heavenly Father, I ask you to please assist me to be energetic in denying the tendencies of my flesh that I might honor you.