HOLY WEEK - Part Three

There are many voices to hear during Holy Week, and many different characters in the drama of these days. We will be drawing on these for the focus of our prayer. We will focus on the: 

• The Voice of Jesus
• Voices From the People
• The voice of Satan (speaking through various people)

.................... Journey to Calvary ....................

In our previous Post, we heard this chilling account in John's gospel:

          “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

          “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
           So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
           son of Simon the Iscariot.

           After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.

           So Judas took the morsel and left at once. 

           AND IT WAS NIGHT.

 Once again we take up these events in Matthew's gospel.

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,

          “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?”

They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked 

for an opportunity to hand him over.

When it was evening, Jesus reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, Jesus said, 

          “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another,

          “Surely it is not I, Lord?”

He said in reply,

          “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.
           The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
           but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
           It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”

Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,

          “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”

Jesus answered,

          “You have said so.”

Points to consider in your meditation:

• Satan enters one's heart, through the mind, as of an open door, unlatched from within, granted access freely.
• It is the mind that reasons what are the highest values to spend one's life on.
• Satan enters the discussion as a friend, with only your best interest to propose.
• He found wealth and power highly regarded in Judas' mind.
• Satan argues that neither wealth nor power will be achieved by following Jesus.
• He argues, abandon Jesus now, and gain favour with the powerful; and money.
• The argument bought, the latch is opened, Satan freely enters and the heart fills with the darkest of reasoning, "... and it is NIGHT.

Consider:

• ... your own history, the things you bought into because they seemed so reasonable and appealing to you at the time; things that you now regret. 
• ... how your turning to prayer and seeking to know the Lord and his will for you is changing the way you approach making decisions.  
• ... that much more is to come as you seek to put on the mind of Christ.

Remember there are two knocking at your door. Who are you letting in?

.................................... footnotes ....................................

O God,
who willed your Son to submit
for our sake to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants,
to attain the grace of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.