Treason is the highest form of crime in the United States. It is arguably the most heinous act any person can commit. Indeed traitors are viewed by society as despicable with scornful eyes, considered to be emotionless. It is tragic to consider that those who in recent times have betrayed a friend, cause, or country have joined the class of Ephialtes of Trachis, Brutus, Benedict Arnold, and the infamous Judas Iscariot. It is difficult to argue that men who at one time were embraced as brothers, yet used that embrace to proverbially stab their friend in the back (because of greed, covetousness, or cowardice) are not emotionless. Unarguably, to experience the betrayal of one to have been believed a friend is a bitter sting and mind boggling. Holy Scripture grants a glimpse of the Lord’s thoughts as it prophesied, “All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt…even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (Psalm 41:7, 9, emphasis added). Verily, having this prophecy present in our mind’s eye immensely magnifies Jesus’ magnanimity as He asked Judas, “Friend, why have you come” (Matthew 26:50a, emphasis added)? Remember that the Lord had already predicted to His disciples that one of them would betray Him that evening, and despite this our Master still calls His traitor “friend.” Thus, because Holy Writ manifests that Jesus is the pattern to follow into heaven, His compassionate approach to Judas must be imitated by His church toward those who follow the path of Judas Iscariot. In our previous article, it was revealed that in Thessalonica wicked men, pretending to be messengers of the apostles, had risen and were spreading false teachings concerning the Lord’s second coming. It was also established that these false teachers had sprouted from within the Thessalonian church and did not enter from the outside. This is the very definition of a traitor and perfectly matches the example of Judas’ betrayal of the Master and his co-disciples. Although their malicious decision brings forth strong emotions of anger and resentment, our Father commands us to remember that “from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:30, emphasis added). This, without a doubt, was the same truth that was in the mind of our Lord Christ as He gave us His example of how to deal with treacherous brethren. Jesus did not condone nor validate Judas’ betrayal; He lamented it. It is wise to note in the context of the inspired scribe’s pericope that the Redeemer made an attempt to dissuade His disciple from going through with his treachery. Scripture describes that after announcing to His twelve disciples that one of them would betray Him, the Lord warned “the Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born” (Mark 14:21, Matthew 26:24, and Luke 22:22, emphasis added). Thus, it is undeniable that even when Judas appeared with the murderous mob who sought the Lord to apprehend Him, that His reference to their relationship not only as Master and disciple, but also as friends was in reality Christ’s final plea to Judas to cease what he was doing. Incredibly, the Master’s love and mercy for Judas overpowered any sentiments of anger, resentment, and betrayal. Behold the incarnation of love, mercy, and magnanimity! Unlike Judas, our Savior never stopped being Judas’ friend and never allowed His emotions to betray His disciple. In the eyes of the Lord, before Him stood a man in need of forgiveness and pity; a lost soul in dire need of guidance and direction. Where His other eleven disciples were only able to witness Judas’ horrid and shocking betrayal, Jesus was fully aware that “after the piece of bread, Satan entered him” (John 13:27a, emphasis added). For this reason, the Son of Man did not ignore nor forget that Judas Iscariot was one of His twelve, regardless of his ambitious treachery. Thus, that five worded question posed by the Lord Jesus was undeniably Him attempting to pull Judas out of his own abyss. The Lord sought Judas and pursued to restore His fallen friend. One witness of this unforgettable moment emboldens all Christians who suffer injustice by a disloyal brother to remember that “since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind” (1st Peter 4:1a, emphasis added). When the apostle Paul instructed the brethren at Thessalonica “we command you brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us” he also instructed, “if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (2nd Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15, emphasis added). Paul’s advice is a description of Christ’s loving compassion toward Judas. We must comprehend that to admonish an erring brother exhibits the love we have for him. Once more, the Lord did not remain silent about His disciple’s decision to betray Him. Recall that He cautioned Judas that “it would have been good for that man if he had never been born” in an effort to convince him to resist the temptation of avarice. Paul, too, lamented over the young man at Corinth who was snared by immorality. The Corinthians, on the other hand, were so focused on their own vanity that they were “puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you” (1st Corinthians 5:2, emphasis added). The premise presented in the apostle’s reprimand of the Corinthian’s attitude toward their erring brother is that they were forgetting “that there should be no schism in that body, but that members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it” (1st Corinthians 12:25-26a, emphasis added). To lose one of our brothers or sisters to false doctrine is like losing one of our limbs to gangrene. Although it is preferable to keep the body intact, sometimes amputation is what is best to protect the whole. Resisting this necessary procedure will provoke the problem to worsen. To be continued…
