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John 13:2 - During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him,…
John 13:21-22 - When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me." NASU
Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Judas was a part of the group known as the 12 disciples. We could say he was a part of the inner circle. He betrays the friendship he had with Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. He was a thief. He was greedy. He was the type of person who permitted the devil to have access to his heart. You would not want to associate with him. He would be exactly the type of person you would warn your children to stay away from him.
The pain that comes from betrayal is unique and it is so devastating it even hurt Jesus. Look at what the text says, "When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit,…" The word troubled means agitated. Jesus' spirit was agitated after he informed the disciples that Judas was going to betray Him. What He said to His disciples was this: John 13:18-19 - I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.' He prophesied His betrayal. He wanted them to know He knew it was going to happen to Him when He says, the one who was eating with Me was going to lift up his heel against Me. "Lifting up your heel" is a reference to a horse that lifts up its heels against the one who feeds and takes care of it.
Betrayal tells you a lot about the person who did the betraying. In Judas' case, he was not worthy of the spiritual gifts he possessed. Look what Luke 9:1-2 says, And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. Judas was one of the twelve as I stated earlier. Look at the power he possessed. He could cast out demons and heal people, but no he would rather give access of his heart to the devil and betray Jesus. What does this say about Jesus? Jesus, the one betrayed, offered one special ingredient to the relationship and that was TRUST. Jesus "trusted" His disciples offering them friendship and love and Judas cast all of that aside because he was greedy and not worthy of the spiritual blessings and benefits offered to him. If you don't ever want to be betrayed then you are going to have to go through life never trusting anyone. That doesn't sound like the way I want to live. I would rather trust people and if they betray me so be it. At least I trusted them. As my mom taught me "it is never wrong to do right." Let's be like Jesus and trust people. Think About This: Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. - William Shakespeare Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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John 12:3-8 - Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair;… But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me." NASU
Mary anoints Jesus with $24,000 worth of perfume. John says, "Costly perfume of pure nard…" What a display of love. What an act of selfless giving. What have I ever given to Jesus that was that costly? Nothing! Wow! Mary loves Jesus with a love that is truly amazing, and totally superior to any of my minor acts of love. But what does she receive for her self sacrificing act of love? She receives criticism and ridicule. The disciples treat her with indignation. Their actions remind me of what John said about Cain: 1 John 3:11-12 - we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous. Many times I have seen Christians harassed from evil people and John informs us why this has happened because the motive of the person who is doing the harassing is evil.
Isn't it amazing today how one Christian can do something for the Lord out of pure love, like Mary and this very same act will be called into question by other disciples? I can tell you right now from 35 years of experience in the local church I would rather have a congregation full of Mary's than even one Judas. She loves and it was evident by what she gave. Judas was filled with greed. He was a thief and gave nothing to help the cause. There are two lessons here for us the first is to be careful who you allow to influence you in life. Be influenced by loving and giving people and not greedy hateful people. The second lesson is don't allow criticism to stop you from doing good to others. Be like Mary and do all the good you can for Jesus and His creation. Jesus said, what Mary was doing was the right thing for her to do. Can you hear God telling you what you are doing is the correct action? Think About This: A Christian is the one who makes it easier for other people to believe in God. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Heb 1:8-9 - But of the Son He says,
"YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM. "YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS." NASU
Luke 22:41-42 - And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." The definition of "righteousness" is: Holy and upright living, in accordance with God's standard. The word righteousness comes from a root word that means "straightness." It refers to a state that conforms to an authoritative standard. Righteousness is a moral concept. God's character is the definition and source of all righteousness (Gen. 18:25; Deut. 32:4; Rom. 9:14). (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers) Jesus lived according to God's standards and He never sinned because He loved doing the right thing every time. He knew righteousness was a part of God's character and He mirrored God while here on earth perfectly. This is how the Hebrew writer states it about Jesus: "…And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature,…" (Heb 1:3). When we love "righteousness" or doing what is "holy and right" every time, in every situation, we will sin less. When we imitate Jesus we will be imitating the Father. When we imitate them we will sin less.
He had such a hatred for lawlessness this hatred led Him to be obedient to God's laws and not just some of them but ALL of them. Because of His hatred for lawlessness, this led Him to be sinless, and therefore, He was able to offer Himself as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind. I hate that Jesus had to die for me but I am very thankful He did because this means by me accepting Him as my Lord and Savior I will not have to spend eternity in Hell separated from the God of all creation. Thank you Jesus for loving "righteousness" and hating "lawlessness". I am thankful now and will be thankful for all eternity. I hope you my Pump Up readers have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you have any questions please respond to this email with them I will do my best to help you receive an answer to your question. Think About These: The road to heaven is never overcrowded. There is a way to stay out of hell, but no way to get out of hell. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 2:15 -16 - When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger." NASU
I send this Pump Up out every year at this time for all my new subscribers. I have made some updates to it this year. May you have a very Merry Christmas.
What some may not know is the meaning of Bethlehem. It means "house of bread." Jesus was the Bread of Life or the Bread of God that came from the "house of bread" to give spiritual life to the world. John 6:33 - "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." John 6:35 - Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:41 - So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” John 6:48 - "I am the bread of life." John 6:51 - "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” Jesus was and is the Bread of Life. If you are spiritually hungry Jesus is the One who can take away all of your hunger pains. If you have been wondering - "What is my purpose in life?" Then look to Jesus for your answers. I did and have never regretted looking to Him for guidance in this life.
The sheep were offered on the altar were special as they were sheep without a blemish. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said this about Him. John 1:29 - The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John saw Jesus as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world and this Lamb was born in Bethlehem where a lot of other lambs were born and would sacrifice their blood. But only the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, could atone for the sins of mankind. I hope and pray you have allowed the blood of Jesus to wash away your sins.
What greater gift could anyone receive? Truly, Jesus is the Gift that keeps on giving. Think on This: Jesus is the reason for the season. The Christmas season is only as meaningful as we make it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word 1 Corinthians 2::2 - "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." NASU
He was going to learn about Him by studying the Old Testament. In Paul's day, the writings were not called the Old Testament. They were called The Law and The Prophets. Matt. 5:17 - "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." After Jesus' resurrection but before His ascension when talking with His disciples He names the Law, the Prophets and adds the Psalms as a way of description. Many years later the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms will become known as the Old Testament. Lk 24:44-45 - Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." When you read the writings of Paul you will find him quoting numerous scriptures from the Old Testament, which indicates he was studying the scriptures because he wanted to know all he could about Jesus Christ. I did a very quick scan of the book of Romans and I identified 38 different quotes from the Old Testament scriptures. Paul studied the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms because he was determined to know Jesus Christ. Here is what Paul has to say about the Old Testament in the book of Romans 15:4 -"For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." You are never hopeless if you are reading God's Word.
What greater goal could you have for yourself? I have started to study the book of Ecclesiastes in my personal life and the main theme of this book is really simple and straight to the point. Everything we do is meaningless except to have a loving relationship with God. Solomon says it this way: "Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person." NLT I would like to explain the word "fear" as it doesn't have the same meaning as the definition of fear that generally comes to our mind when we hear it. It is not the "fear" you would have if someone were robbing you at gunpoint or you encountered a rattlesnake on a path where you are walking. The Hebrew word is "yare" and it means "to revere or show reverence". When I was young we were taught to take off our hats when the National Anthem was played. If you didn't have a hat on you were to put your right hand on your heart, stand still, and don't talk to show reverence. The older I become the happier I am that I gave my life to the Lord Jesus Christ and I believe the best thing we can do is show Him reverence by learning as much as we possibly can about Him. Think About These: Our goal should be Service, not success. If God is kept outside, something must be wrong inside. Fix it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago |
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