The Trail of Betrayal

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. (Acts 4:27-28, TNIV)

One of the most painful experiences in life is betrayal: the breach of a trust or disloyalty. Betrayal tears the strength from us and rips our hearts. Who can forget the look on Mel Gibson’s face in Braveheart when he pulls off the helmet of his enemy only to reveal Robert the Bruce, his supposed friend? There was no fight left in him; the pain was too deep and it seemed his very will to live was sapped from him. In fact, it takes a great deal of effort to think of any movie or TV show that doesn’t have some form of betrayal as the bedrock of its evil whether it be abandonment, treason, adultery, etc. But we don’t really need the entertainment industry for this; most have experienced betrayal first hand at one time or another. The immediate emotions after being betrayed run the gamut from bitter sadness to blind rage to complete detachment; later we become jaded or apathetic. How does Christianity fit in with all of this? Should our reaction be any different than a non-Christian? The difficulty is that our thinking can become so irrational after we are betrayed that we are nearly immobilized. Worse yet is that the closer the person is to us, the more painful the experience and the greater likelihood that the person who betrayed us is one that we would be asking for comfort and support.

Suppose that we are relatively strong in the faith, then what? Maybe we can get our intellect to agree that whatever betrayal we have suffered is much less than the betrayal that Jesus suffered at the hand of Judas (Matt. 26:14-23); but we don’t feel any better. We know that God, in his sovereignty, has permitted our pain and we begin to be angry with God. To add to the difficulty we may even be technically “justified” in our feelings toward our betrayer because quite possibly we have genuinely been wronged; so we nurse our bitterness along. In my life I’ve found that when I’m angry with my friend and angry with God I’m generally angry with the world too. Just like if you feel heat, smell smoke, and see your shirt aflame you should stop, drop and roll; so also when we find ourselves angry at the world, our friends, and God we need to stop, drop and pray. Unfortunately, in this condition I find it most difficult to pray, mostly because I know God can fix it but I wonder why He doesn’t; I know that he is omnipotent, I just don’t know if He cares. I also know that I’m acting like a kid throwing a temper tantrum because God’s not doing things exactly the way I wanted – so clearly I’m not walking in His will. Of course just because I’m aware of these things doesn’t make it any easier to pray; I just know that I should.

Regardless of how badly we don’t want to pray, we must! We pray for the Comforter to dwell in us; Him who helps us in our weakness and intercedes with groanings too deep for words (Rom. 8:26-27). We must open our Bibles to hear the words of God: “…let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16) and “…humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Pet. 5:6-7) I find that too often another impediment to prayer is that I can’t see a solution. This is very ironic since it is exactly the times when our backs are to the sea being pressed by an insurmountable force that we need the waters to part. Our cry should not be the one of the Israelites, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, so as to bring us out of Egypt?” (Ex. 14:11) Rather we should take heart from the words of Moses, “Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today…The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.” (Ex. 14:13-14) I want to make it clear that the danger that faces us and hems us in does not come from our betrayer. I don’t mean to minimize the pain caused by betrayal, but a great danger exists of bitterness springing up and defiling us (Heb. 12:15). Beware of feeling too emotionally exhausted to pray, too mentally exhausted to read and meditate, and too angry to care; these are warning flags that we’re on a slippery slope and we must not give the Devil a foothold (Eph. 4:26-27)!

The question still remains, what about the betrayal? We didn’t deserve this! It seems that throughout the course of God’s dealings with mankind He has used man’s betrayal to show His grace and power; He is not thwarted by the plans of men (Prov. 19:21). Let’s start with Abel; he was betrayed and murdered by Cain, his own brother, because Cain was jealous of Abel’s righteousness (Gen. 4). God’s will was not impeded; Abel still speaks through his faith (Heb. 11:4; 12:24). It must have seemed to Abraham that God Himself was betraying him when asking for the sacrifice of Isaac. God’s purpose stood; He chose to bless all nations on the earth through Isaac (Gen. 22:18, Gal. 3:16). Isaac was betrayed by his wife and son to give the blessing to Jacob instead of Esau (Gen. 27). But even here God’s will remained unchanged; the blessing was given to the one God intended (Gen. 25:23). Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery (Gen. 37) in Egypt. His good behavior was rewarded by betrayal from his master’s wife when he refused to let her betray her husband, which resulted in Joseph serving years in prison. God was not usurped; Joseph was made ruler of Egypt second only to the Pharaoh (Gen. 41) and because of it he was able to aid his family during the famine. His words to his brothers are ones that we should remember when we’re betrayed, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life…to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God.” (Gen. 45:4-8) The list could go on with many others; the point is that many of the turning points in the lives of people of faith began with what was or looked like unjust betrayal but God made all things work together for the good of those He called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

Ultimately, it was through Judas betrayal of Jesus that salvation comes to us. If he had not died we could not live! We see that the faithful of old have been betrayed. We acknowledge that it is implicit in becoming a Christian that we will be betrayed (e.g. Matt. 5:11-12; 10:34-39; 24:10; 1 Pet. 4:12-16), as ones following after Christ. But how should we treat those who betray us? The clear and tall order is this: “…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matt. 5:44) Even the words of Jesus, the only truly innocent one, on the cross reflect this, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) I don’t write these things because I have mastered them but rather because I want to know how to be holy, even when I am hurting. I have no doubt that I’ve betrayed people, hopefully only accidentally; but most of all, my sin is betrayal of God. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ that he came to save His people from their sin (Matt. 1:21). So the practical answer to the question of how to deal with our anger about someone hurting us is best summed up by Paul: get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger. I know this doesn’t sound like the popular notion of expressing and validating our feelings, but it’s the mandate of Scripture because they separate us from God.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love… (Eph. 4:31-5:2, TNIV)

...and justice for all?

Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity…for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. (Psa 96:10,13 ESV)

The following is my effort to try to work out what true justice is from the counsel of Scripture, spurred on by the questioning of my brother Royce. My purpose is to first establish that God is just and as such defines what it means to be just. I see the justice of God in three manifestations: Jesus death that justifies us sinners, God’s promise to call every deed to account and to reward and punish accordingly, and finally the justice with which God deals with nations. Given that foundation I will move on to consider its implications for the justice that we are to display towards others as well as the justice we ought to expect from a government.

Before considering the justice of God it is necessary to understand our own sinfulness lest we deceive ourselves and find the truth is not in us. This understanding entails more than agreement that we are not perfect; it involves the realization that on our merits alone we have no business standing before the living God. The Bible takes for granted the sinfulness of man and I have no delusions that I will convince those who think themselves sinless. If we agree that we are sinful we recognize that we need mercy also, not merely justice. True justice, at its core, is characterized by equity: impartiality and fairness. But I would add that the equity God metes out goes deeper than mere outward acts; God looks on the heart and the attitude (1 Sam. 16:7; Matt. 5:27-28; Luke 16:10-15). His word is sharp, penetrating the soul and spirit and nothing in all creation is hidden from His sight, to whom we must give account (Heb. 4:12-13). Of course if we received equity apart from Jesus’ sacrifice we are in dire straits, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), there are none who seek Him (Ps. 14:2-3), and by works of the law no flesh will be justified (Rom. 3:20). For us, as human beings, justice slays us at life’s starting gate (Ps. 51:5). We were dead in our sins but God who is rich in mercy made us alive in Jesus Christ, being saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:1-9). Put simply, in the absence of an atoning sacrifice we stand before God as sinful and worthy of his wrath (Rom. 3:9-19). We warrant death if God does not show mercy; but in his mercy He is still just (Rom. 3:21-26)!

How then is God still just in justifying sinners? Why is it just for God to accept the suffering and death of the innocent, namely Jesus Christ, so that sinners might come confidently before the throne of God to ask for mercy and help in time of need? In response to this I forcefully state a part of the doctrine of the Trinity: Jesus is God. The Old Testament looks forward to the day when God, not man, will justify the people by atoning for them (Ps. 65:3, 79:8-9; Duet. 32:43; Isa. 43:25, 44:22-23, 48:20, 53:1-12); He does this in the person of Jesus. It is instructive to note that Jesus in fact means “God saves” (see Matt. 1:21). Since much has been written regarding this doctrine I’ll simply refer to John 1:1-14. Coupling the fact of Jesus deity with the understanding that our sin is first and foremost sin against God gives us the answer to the above question. David knew this very well when, after committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering Uriah her husband, he rightly cries out, “Against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” (Ps. 51:4) The question is then answered: God is just in His mercy because He bears our sin; sin that is ultimately against Him. Thus He is uniquely able to uphold justice and show mercy by unjustly bearing our iniquities in the person of Jesus on the cross. In other words, the One whom we have sinned against chose to display His mercy by dying in our stead. It is crucial that we see that it was the offended party, God, who extended mercy; Jesus was not a random innocent man that God picked to die for the people, rather he was God himself.