by Derek Gitsham
"For I have received of the Lord,
that which I also delivered unto you,
that the Lord Jesus the same night in
which He was betrayed took bread. And
when He had given thanks, He brake it
and said, ‘Take eat: this is My Body
which is broken for you: This do in
remembrance of Me." 1 Corinthians 11:23-24
The Communion service is one of the ordinances
instituted by the Apostles for the Church.
It was to be in remembrance of Him, and to
“show forth His death till He come” (verse 26).
Betrayal was at the heart of the Lord’s death.
Betrayal and sin began in heaven with one of
God’s creations, Lucifer, rebelling against
God and being cast out. What had initially
taken place in heaven, for sin began in heaven
not on earth, again took place on earth in the
life of Jesus. Behind all that was going to
take place in the life of Jesus, leading Him
to Calvary was going to be prompted by an act
of betrayal. When Judas came to bring the
accusers of Jesus, to signal Jesus out to them,
he kissed Him. Judas betrayed Him with a kiss.
It is interesting to note that betrayal and
intimacy go together. David, in the Psalms,
and also quoted in John’s Gospel, says that
they hated Him without a cause (Ps. 18:7;
John 15:25). Hate needs no cause, hate is
the cause. Jesus knew He was being hated by
men. He informed His disciples He was being
hated, therefore, they would be hated.
The Apostle Paul in our text uses the word
"betrayal." The Lord is forcing us to face
the fact that unless we have been purged by
the Blood of Christ deeply; the possibility
of betrayal lies in us all. Betrayal is a
dark thing. ‘Judas then left them and went
into the night.’ The end of Judas is relevant.
He hung himself. Dare we suggest that betrayal
lies far more deeply in the heart of man than
Judas’ betrayal of Jesus? Was Judas living a
life of betrayal, so in the finality of things,
found it easy to betray Jesus?
Do we betray the One we love by the way we live?
To have communion with the Son of God, and one
another, we must be clear of the possibility of
betraying one another. Jesus said, ‘He that
lifts up his heel against Me is the one who
will betray Me.’ This is an elusion to a restive,
ill-natured house, which sometimes kicks even
that person that feeds and takes care of him.
Jesus said of Judas, ‘he that eats bread with me’
meaning that Judas was intimate with Jesus.
Jesus is our deliverance. He will keep us
from betrayal and rebellion, only as we seek
to be all His and His alone, having no other
agenda, but to be His Life in a godless world
where betrayal is the norm.
Communion with Jesus will free us from betrayal.
Being betrayed, He communed. It is the antidote
to betrayal. God keep our hearts locked unto Him
and Him alone.
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