By His Wounds: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The Betrayal

Very sad part in the Passion of Our Lord. I mean, Jesus loved Judas LIKE CRAZY. Yet Judas would have rather had money than be a forever Son of God. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his soul?" Remember, choosing Jesus over every day things is the best choice you will EVER make.

Now, speaking about the story. How do you think I captured the characters? How was Judas? Peter? Please let me know! Does the Jesus I have in this part speak to you as the real Jesus who is alive and well today, sitting on his Throne in Heaven? Please review!

Oh, and you know when you are walking barefoot and you step on a patch of rocks?  Yeah, Jesus had to do that.  Large, pointy rocks.  And even those small little pebbles that you step on right on the pad of your foot, and hurt like crazy.  And imagine stepping on giant thorns, but not being able to pull them out of your foot.  Imagine being shoved to your knees on a patch of giant thorns.  Jesus went through that.  For YOU.

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The Betrayal

Peter watched as a band of Roman guards and soldiers hastily approached the foursome. They carried lanterns, torches, and...what was that? Weapons. Swords. Clubs. Peter clenched his teeth together. He turned to John, who was just as confused—if not angry—as he was. Why was Jesus doing nothing about this incident? Why were all these soldiers even here, and in the dead of night? It was an unheard of action.

Jesus remained calm as he watched the soldiers draw near. He said, "Whom are you looking for?"

They stopped, quite shocked that a man had actually asked a question to them. One soldier called out, "Jesus the Nazorean."

"I AM."

The man looked away, towards the end of their group, at someone, but they then turned back to Jesus.

Jesus, still calm, said again, "Whom are you looking for?"

They replied. "Jesus of Nazareth."

"I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go."

The soldiers turned once more, grabbed someone behind them, and shoved him forward. The man stumbled to the ground, face pushed into the dirt. He gingerly looked up.

It was Judas.

Confused more than worried, Peter watched as Judas regained his balance and slowly walked towards Jesus. He looked him straight in the eye and said, "Hail, Rabbi!"

Judas kissed Jesus on the cheek.

For anyone else, a kiss on the cheek was a sign of friendship and happiness. Peter was beginning to realize that this meeting was not a happy one. He continued to watch the scene laying out before him.

Jesus tilted his head, eyes sorrowful, and said, "Judas, my child. You betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"

At that instant, Judas stumbled back and touched his lips. He turned and looked at Peter. Peter glared at him with such anger. Betray?

Obviously anguished, Judas came to a balanced stand. By the light of the lantern, Peter saw Judas' eyes fill with tears. He turned and ran off then, without another word to any of them.

At the moment Judas disappeared, the Roman soldiers came at Jesus with their swords and clubs. They grabbed Jesus by the shoulders and thrust his hands behind his back, about to tie rope around his wrist. Peter saw this and grabbed the sword he had kept leaning up against the tree. He charged into the crowd, waving his sword at those who tried to harm his Lord. He heard a cry of great distress, meaning he had injured someone. Two soldiers turned away from Jesus and came after Peter. Peter called out, "Run!" but before he could get the entire word out, the soldiers had ceased him as well.