“But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.” (Luke 22:21)
The chief priests and scribes were secretly planning to have Jesus arrested. But He knew exactly what they were doing, what they were saying and even what they were thinking. After all, He was God! That’s why He also knew that Judas, who had spent three years with Him, was involved in the plot. How terribly that must have hurt.
The Lord Jesus had never harmed Judas. On the contrary, He was willing to sacrifice His own life to offer sinful people like Judas eternal life. But Judas was not interested in that. He had hoped for political and/or financial benefits from his friendship with Jesus. When his hopes were disappointed, the friendship was over. Judas was willing to betray Jesus for a few silver coins — so that he would still have some gain from his fellowship with Jesus.
It is hurtful when you are treated badly by strangers. It’s even more painful when your own family or friends reject and betray you. Have you ever experienced something like that? How did you deal with it?