By Mike Chaffin
But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” Luke 22:48
We’ve all likely heard the phrase, “kiss of death.” The phrase’s origin comes from this encounter in the Garden of Gethsemane when Judas betrayed Jesus. Betrayal didn’t begin there, and it didn’t stop there. Betrayal continues to be a part of our lives in the Kingdom of God and in the Church at large.
Jesus shared a parable about betrayal. He explains how it happens in the “The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares”.
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ” Matthew 13:24-30
The thing to understand is tares look like wheat until the wheat puts forth its fruit, or in this case, the grain that feeds the world. To the untrained eye it would be impossible to rip up the bad without destroying some of the good.
Judas was in the twelve that Jesus kept close to Him, discipled, and trained. He gave them His abilities of healing and the working of other miracles when He sent them out on a mission trip. But while Judas was in the group, he was never part of the group. He wasn’t a believer. Jesus sent them out in pairs and likely whoever went with Judas did the soul winning work.
False teachers and those who pretend to follow Christ are myriad in the church. Many of Paul’s letters are filled with his rebuke of false teachers. Jude’s letter is aimed at those who are teaching falsehoods in the church. John warns us to have no dealings with false teachers. We aren’t to help them or listen to them in any way. It was bad when the church started, and it is worse now.
False teachers and teachings have plagued the church since its inception. This is why we are told to study the scriptures, pray, and seek God’s wisdom so we won’t be swayed by false teaching or bad doctrine. As Jesus pointed out in Matthew 7:21, not everyone who calls him Lord, Lord will enter heaven. Their claiming to be Christian is a lie. Jesus went on to condemn those who mislead believers and non-believers alike.
“But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. Matthew 18:6-7 NLT
Betrayers of Christ are thorns in our side. However, if we know the Word, and live in the Spirit, we will be able to discern truth from error and the tares will not infest our spiritual life.
Contemplation: Am I in a situation where I am hearing false teaching? Do I know false teaching when it is presented? Do I understand the core tenets of Christianity?
