Luke 22:4-5
“And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.”
When you think of betrayal, you would never consider yourself to be one who would betray. To betray someone is considered the lowest thing someone could do to another. Sadly, Christ is betrayed on a regular basis.
The word “betray” means, to be unfaithful, or to surrender someone over for something. This word truly defines Judas Iscariot. There is no doubt that when you think of betraying that Judas’ name comes to mind. As a Christian, to betray Christ would seem like the unthinkable thing, but many Christians betray Christ on a weekly basis. No, they don’t intend to betray Christ like Judas did, but they do.
What is disturbing is what causes a person to betray Christ. One would think that betraying would happen because you hate someone, but when you look at the life of Judas, I don’t think you see someone who hated Christ. His betrayal happened because he loved something more than Christ. I find in the Scriptures there are three things that causes someone to betray Christ.
Money is the first thing that causes someone to betray Christ. You may say that you would never take any money to betray Christ, but sadly many people do. Again, all it takes to betray someone is to love something or someone more than the betrayed. In other words, when a person loves money more than they love Christ, then they will betray Christ for money. No, they won’t give up Christ to be killed, but they give up Christ for a job or financial success. I have watched people quit the ministry because they want to make money. That is simply betraying Christ. Your desire to have money caused you to give up Christ. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil:…” You must realize that this verse was given to a young preacher. In other words, Paul warned Timothy that a love for money would cause him to betray Christ and quit the ministry.
Peer pressure is the second thing that causes someone to betray Christ. Peter betrayed Christ because he wanted to be accepted by the crowd. Friend, are you so interested in being accepted by the brethren that you will give up the truths of God’s Word? Many Christians have betrayed Christ to be accepted by a group of people. I’m not talking about being an atheist, I’m talking about your desire to be with a crowd more than a desire to walk with God in the Scriptures and prayer. I’m talking about compromising what you believe just because you want to be accepted by the “in” crowd.
Position is the third thing that causes someone to betray Christ. Pilate was so worried about his position that he betrayed Christ. Many Christians have betrayed Christ for a position on a job. They will leave a good church and move to a place where there is no good church in the area, all for the sake of position. Many preachers have betrayed Christ all for the sake of having a leadership position in their movement. There are many Christians who are more in love with a title on their name than they are with doing what Christ commands them to do in the Scriptures.
Have you betrayed Christ? No, you may not have given Christ over to those who want to kill Him, but have you given Him up for money, friends and position? All it takes is for you to love these things more than Christ. When that happens, you will betray Christ. It’s not that you don’t love Christ, it’s that you love these things more than Christ. I challenge you to keep Christ first in your life, for that is the only thing that will keep you from betraying Him.