| Photo by Alicia Quan on Unsplash
As we get ready for Easter in a couple of weeks, we will get our new Easter clothes, plan for family gatherings, and church activities. But for Jesus to get ready for Easter meant He would have to prepare for death on the Cross. Try to imagine all that Jesus was dealing with spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
We see in Luke 22 that the preparations for Easter had begun. We see in verses 47-53 that Jesus would be betrayed by one of His own disciples and arrested.
We read in verses 47-48, “But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet Him with a kiss. But Jesus said, “Judas, would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Jesus would face betrayal by one of his own disciples, friends, and people whom He invested in. Sadly, many of us will face betrayal by the people who are closest to us. When someone close to us hurts us, betrays us, stabs us in the back, it hurts. Jesus was betrayed, but this was all part of God’s plan. If you have been betrayed by someone, then leave it up to God to deal with them. Do not get bitter and backslide over what people do, because they did this to Jesus, and He still went to the Cross.
The other disciples see that Judas betrayed Jesus, and that they came to arrest Jesus. They asked Jesus, “Should we fight, we brought swords, and Peter took out a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave. What does Jesus do? Luke 22:51; “But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And He touched the man’s ear and healed him.”
Jesus was going through betrayal, being arrested, and knowing that He was going to die. He was willing to bring healing and not hurt to a situation. Are we more about living in our hurt, pain, betrayal, and responding by hurting others? Or are we, like Jesus, bringing healing in the most difficult situations of life?
Lord, help me to prepare this Easter to be ready to surrender everything to You. Help me prepare for the sacrifice of the Cross, before the Resurrection can happen in our lives!
Lord, help me to really take the journey of following Jesus!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws on many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and from significant emotional experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. The daily devotion appears in this publication.
