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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”
Matthew 26:47-50
Just as He was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
Mark 14:43-45
While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Luke 22:47-48
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The kiss has always been a symbol of love and caring, one for another.
From the moment a mother holds her newborn baby in her arms, she lightly plants kisses on her child’s head and face, an action she would repeat over and over again as her child grows up into adulthood.
That child will have their own loving relationships in life, exchanging kisses with partners until that day when they find their forever mate, a mate who will then have all their spouse’s kisses reserved for them.
Couples then have children of their own and continue to plant kisses of love in what becomes an ongoing perpetuation of loving and caring.
In many places of the world, kisses are exchanged as a polite way of greeting another person in a spirit of friendship, one kiss on each cheek, starting on the right and then moving to the left, a practice observed by both males and females. Many believe this tradition started back in biblical times and indeed we find the Apostle Paul encouraging the readers of his epistles to “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” Peter would follow suit exhorting others to “Greet one another with a kiss of love.”
Yes, kisses have always been seen in a very positive light, a special gesture shared between two people out of love. But as we join Jesus in the final hours before His death, we see a kiss used in the cruelest, devilish way possible, in an act of horrific betrayal.
The scriptures tell us that Judas, taken over by Satan, had gone to the Jewish religious authorities and agreed to sell out Jesus for the price of 30 silver coins. He then waited for the opportunity to betray His Lord.
As we see in our three Gospel passages for today, Judas decided that Gethsemane’s garden would be the best to do his act of deceitfulness. It was well after dark and Jesus was alone in the garden with the exception of His three disciples, Peter, James, and John. The guards would be able to take him into custody without incident or resistance.
And so as Jesus was still talking to His disciples, Judas arrived on the scene along with a large crowd armed with weapons, swords and clubs. We read where the men with Judas had been put together by the chief priests, teachers of the law, and the elders, and they had been given instruction by Judas as to who they were to arrest. For there were four men in the garden but only one was Jesus and so to make sure the crowd knew who they were to arrest, Judas told them he would kiss the man as a signal.
And with that, Judas came up to Jesus and greeted Him with the title of Rabbi but before he could unleash his kiss of betrayal, he found out Jesus was onto his scheme as He said:
“Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
It had to send a shiver down Judas' spine but he carried on with the plot and kissed Jesus, not out of any sense of love or caring for Him but rather in an act of wicked sinfulness, an act that was endorsed and propagated by none other than Satan himself.
What would happen next?
Well, there would be sudden drama in the garden as the armed men tried to arrest Jesus, drama instigated by one of the disciples who took action in defense of their Master despite the odds being stacked against them. I hope you’ll come back tomorrow to see how things played out after the kiss of betrayal. Blessings to you always.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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