Luke 22

In this reading we see 2 people who decided not to change their minds:

 

Firstly there’s Judas. I find it really difficult to understand that anyone who had spent 3 years hanging out with Jesus would turn against him. I think of Jesus as being so charismatic that everyone wanted to follow him. Mind you the Pharisees didn’t but that was because they were completely tied up with their own view of things. How often have you been disappointed when things haven’t worked out as you planned or expected? Maybe that’s at the core of what happened with Judas. Maybe he had an idea in his mind of the type of Messiah Jesus would be – one who would defeat the Romans and restore the temple to its glory days. But Jesus wasn’t about land or buildings; he was about hearts and minds. He even cared enough to warn Judas at the last supper of the consequences of his choice. But Judas wouldn’t shift, he wouldn’t change his mind. He wouldn’t lift the lid on how glorious Jesus’ kingdom would be compared to the one he had in his mind. What a tragedy and sadly Judas realised it was a tragedy once the deed was done.

 

Then there was Jesus. He came to earth for the express purpose of dying so that we could be made right before God. He would take our sins and undergo our punishment so that we would be forgiven and saved. God (Father, Son and Spirit) had decided that this was the only possible way to overcome our sin. But Jesus also came as a man and we see him on the Mount of Olives struggling to retain his purpose while his humanity is screaming “I don’t want to do this”. What does he do? Where does he go? To the only person he could be sure of; to his Father in prayer. Was it easy? Not one bit. Does he win through with his Father’s help? Yes … and it’s my belief that this is the moment when the matter was decided. There would be no turning back. He would go to the cross to save you and to save me.

 

May God be praised.