HOW LIFE FEELSThe Lenten Journey | Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles | 2016

Can a complete

stranger betray you or does it usually

involve someone you

know and trust? Why?

because betrayal is a

violation of trust it typically

involves people we know well

A Trust BetrayedPsalm 55 & Luke 22

–Victor L. Cahn

TRUST, v. to lay oneself open to deception.

Psalm 551-3 Open your ears, God, to my prayer; don’t pretend you don’t hear me knocking. Come close and whisper your answer. I really need you. I shudder at the mean voice, quail before the evil eye, as they pile on the guilt, stockpile angry slander.

Psalm 55

4-5 My insides are turned inside out; specters of death have me down. I shake with fear, I shudder from head to foot.

Psalm 556-8 “Who will give me wings,” I ask—“wings like a dove?”

Get me out of here on dove wings; I want some peace and quiet. I want a walk in the country, I want a cabin in the woods.

I’m desperate for a change from rage and stormy weather.

Psalm 5512-14 This isn’t the neighborhood bully mocking me—I could take that. This isn’t a foreign devil spitting invective—I could tune that out. It’s you! We grew up together! You! My best friend! Those long hours of leisure as we walked arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation.

Psalm 5520-21 And this, my best friend, betrayed his best friends; his life betrayed his word.

All my life I’ve been charmed by his speech, never dreaming he’d turn on me.

His words, which were music to my ears, turned to daggers in my heart.

Where Betrayal Often Occurs

marriage family friends work

teams social groups church

there are times when we are the betrayed

there are times when we are the betrayer

Psalm 5522-23 Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders—he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out.

He’ll never let good people topple into ruin. But you, God, will throw the others into a muddy bog, cut the lifespan of assassins and traitors in half. And I trust in you.

Jesus was also betrayedWe can trust him because he understands how it feels and will

restore our ability to love and trust again. It just takes time.

Luke 221-2 The Feast of Unleavened Bread, also called Passover, drew near. The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way to do away with Jesus but, fearful of the people, they were also looking for a way to cover their tracks.

Luke 223-6 That’s when Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot. He was one of the Twelve. Leaving the others, he conferred with the high priests and the Temple guards about how he might betray Jesus to them. They couldn’t believe their good luck and agreed to pay him well. He gave them his word and started looking for a way to betray Jesus, but out of sight of the crowd.

14 When it was time, Jesus sat down, all the apostles with him…

Luke 2221-22 “Do you realize that the hand of the one who is betraying me is at this moment on this table? It’s true that the Son of Man is going down a path already marked out—no surprises there. But for the one who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man, this is doomsday.”

23 They immediately became suspicious of each other and began quizzing one another, wondering who might be about to do this.

–Anonymous

“Trust everyone until you have a reason not to.”

Luke 2239-40 Leaving there, he went, as he so often did, to Mount Olives. The disciples followed him. When they arrived at the place, he said, “Pray that you don’t give in to temptation.”

Luke 2241-44 He pulled away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?” At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face.

Luke 2245-46 He got up from prayer, went back to the disciples and found them asleep, drugged by grief. He said, “What business do you have sleeping? Get up. Pray so you won’t give in to temptation.”

Luke 2247-48 No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a crowd showed up, Judas, the one from the Twelve, in the lead. He came right up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said, “Judas, you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Luke 2249-50 When those with him saw what was happening, they said, “Master, shall we fight?” One of them took a swing at the Chief Priest’s servant and cut off his right ear.

51 Jesus said, “Let them be. Even in this.” Then, touching the servant’s ear, he healed him.

My most trusted friend has turned against me, though he ate at my table. Psalm 41:9

–Anonymous

“It is an equal Failing to trust everybody and to trust nobody.”

–Jesus

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.”