Surviving Betrayal

“Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.” [Matthew 26:25 NKJV]

What a dumb question! Judas had already arranged to have Jesus arrested and then had nerve enough to ask Him this question. That is how it is though with the Judas’ of the world. They plan and scheme in the dark and work in the shadows behind our backs. If we happen to suspect we may be the target of their dastardly plan and confront them, we usually get the same response. “Me? Are you saying you don’t trust me?” Of all the hurts and pains and difficult situations in the lives of others that I have tried to console, support and counsel; the most devastating are those who have been betrayed. Betrayal is the sword which pierces the heart from the back. Betrayed spouses say, “It hurts worse than if they had died.” Most never see it coming and yet others see it and think they are just being paranoid. A heart that has been betrayed is left with such a deep puncture wound that the scar tissue which forms in it tends to surround the entire heart. A heart betrayed can take years to heal and even then, has trouble learning to trust again. The initial hurt brings denial, then anger, then hate. Hate is a cancer within the spirit. It does not just go away over time but rather grows: A spiritual cancer which goes deeper than the bones and marrow. There is only one cure for hate: forgiveness. Forgiveness that does not come from our heart, but from the heart of Christ. Our human hearts are not capable of healing themselves from such wounds. Only the One who invented forgiveness in the first place can offer it to others. Look close at the answer Jesus gave Judas; “You have said it.” Jesus said, “Yes, you are the one who has already planned to betray Me.” Jesus knew it was going to happen but still felt the pain it brings. Jesus knows the pain of betrayal; love gone sour. Yet, He never stopped loving. He continued His journey to the Cross; for Judas and for us, and for those who have betrayed us.

You may be a victim of a brutal betrayal yourself. Your heart may have been punctured with that horrible sword from the back. Don’t try to heal on your own. Come to the only One who can heal such a wound. The One who was wounded first. Allow Christ to heal your heart!

Refs: Luke 2:35; Hebrews 4:12; 1 John 4:19; Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)