The End of Wrestling with Betrayal - Daily Treasure - August 13

The End of Wrestling with Betrayal

Karen Grant, Guest Writer

TODAY’S TREASURE

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it (Psalm 22:19-31).

It is time to bring our wrestling with betrayal to the foot of the Cross, where Jesus was made ransom for our sins. This and His victorious resurrection are the apex of history. We who believe, trust, and hope in His finished work on the Cross are beneficiaries of eternal life that can now be filled with joy, hope, and purpose.

Recall his betrayers: Judas plotted, Peter denied him, his disciples abandoned him. Religious leaders who should have known him from prophecy relentlessly harassed him. The crowds cried, “Crucify him!”

Yet Jesus gave Himself willingly in our place. I have wondered what I would have cried in the courtroom or even from a neighboring cross if unjustly punished. Would I have defended myself, tried to set the story straight, even to the last?  

I can evaluate that by considering how I handle betrayals today. Do I overlook, or forgive, or let them go so that they no longer come to me in the night, or when betrayers “cross the street,” or more likely the grocery aisle to avoid me?  

Mark 15:34 tells us that at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Did Jesus, in His frailest moment, express that God betrayed Him? Was separation God’s betrayal of His own Son?

Read the familiar words of Psalm 22:1 that Jesus quoted as David poured out his heart to His Father: 

Why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

This gives us insight into the very thoughts of our dying Savior. He expresses true pain and sorrow upon separation from His Father, not against his betrayers. He reasons, as did David:

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.  In you our Fathers trusted; they trusted… (Psalm 22:3).

Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts… Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.” See verse 19: “But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! (Psalm 22:9-11).

The tenor of this writhing psalm changes in mood: 

I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation, I will praise you (Psalm 22:22).

For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him (Psalm 22:24).

Read the rest of the Psalm carefully:

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.  Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it (Psalm 22:29-31).

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

David and Jesus settled their hearts with truth. Separation occurred on the cross, but even in such misery, our Jesus pointed us to Psalm 22: He has heard. He is righteous. He has done it!  

We can biblically process betrayal by crying out to our Father, but we must not stop there! Don’t stop before the comfort!  Worship Him. Agree that He is on the throne and not us.  He is God. He sees all. Betrayals are just one more picture of our longing to be with Christ – to see Him face to face, to be at the end of focusing on what lies behind us. Until then, in humility, we can bow before Him, tearing our thoughts from deeply ingrained ruts of festering hurts to embrace our calling. We will proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn, the people now surrounding us. That is what concerned our suffering Savior, and it is now our honorable, all-consuming, glorious pursuit. 

PRAYER

Father, may any betrayals we experience lead us to the Cross and remind us we do not belong here. We are on our way Home. May our response to betrayal takes us into deep worship as we consider Jesus as our Shepherd and that He sees, He hears, He redeems. And as a result of experiencing Your healing, may we be ready to share our redemption story as a means of helping turn hearts toward You.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Karen Grant loves being a pastor’s wife at Parish Presbyterian Church. She and her husband have three grown children and six amazing grandsons. A graduate of Covenant Seminary, she also served on the PCA’s multicultural church planting and mercy committee. She and her husband co-founded Franklin Classical School in Franklin, Tennessee, where she continues to serve on the board of trustees. She enjoys studying & teaching the Bible, reading, traveling, cooking, working out with her exercise buddies, and all God’s creation. Karen shares with MARKINC, in this Help & Hope Story: Ministry Wives, Betrayal and Restoration.

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