Playing the Part
At the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples He knew one of them would betray Him. Each asked Jesus if it was him. The Pharisees had paid Judas to betray Jesus, yet in Matthew 26:25: Judas, who would betray him [Jesus], answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”
Judas was still playing the part of an apostle while having no understanding that Jesus knew everything. Judas was saving face by parroting what the other apostles asked Jesus – “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 So when Jesus said, “You have said so,” was Judas surprised? I mean, how blind was Judas?
Spiritual Amnesia
Do we sometimes find this same spiritual amnesia crippling us? Do we “say grace” over our meals at home but refrain from doing so in restaurants? Do we tell co-workers, “Good luck” but tell fellow Christians, “I’ll be praying for you?” Do we cheer at sporting events but stoically sing, “Amazing Grace?”
If not amnesiacs, then perhaps we’ve learned to be chameleons, not even aware that we take on the color of our surroundings. I include myself in this problem. One of the outstanding characteristics of my dad was that if you knew him, you knew him. He was the same person as a university professor, a member of the faculty senate, a deacon in his church, a Sunday school teacher, a farmer, a business partner, a dad, and a grandpa. He was not universally liked. He was a Christian. It was your choice how you reacted to him.
Is it I?
As a child of God, I need to be acutely self-aware. In every situation, and among all people, I need to be “all in” for Jesus and His Gospel. May I never ask Jesus, “Is it I?” when I know it is.