Skip to main content

Conversations on the way to the Cross 5: The Betrayal



 The disciples discuss Jesus' comments at the Passover meal


"What did he just say?"

"One of us will betray him?  He can't mean it!"

"Why, we're his closest friends, we've been with him for years.  We'd hardly turn on him now, would we?"

"It's not me, is it Lord?  It's not me?"

"Well, it won't be me.  I'll stick to him till death!"

"Yes, Peter, no one could imagine you being a betrayer!  But if he's right, it must be somebody in this room."

"What did he mean, 'the Son of Man goes as it has been written'?  Written where?"

"Don't ask me, Andrew.  I bet Bartholomew'll know.  Barty?  Did you hear what Jesus just said?"

"Eh?  Sorry?  Oh yes, it just reminded me of something.  Here it is, Psalm 41: 'Even my best friend, that I trusted and shared my food with, has kicked me in the teeth.'"

"That's just horrible!  I wouldn't do that!  Would I, Jesus?  What a thing to say at the Passover meal, too.  It's meant to be a celebration!"

"This one's not been much of a celebration though, has it, John?  Jesus has had something bothering him ever since we got to Jerusalem.  Look at him now - we might as well not be here.  He's got his mind on something else entirely."

"And Judas Iscariot has been acting funny the last couple of days, too.  Didn't you notice?"

"That's right, he really didn't like that woman at Simon's house, did he?  With the perfume.  And he did seem a bit jumpy this morning.  He's just young, though, he'll get over it."

"I don't know, I think this whole Jerusalem trip hasn't quite worked out as he was hoping for.  And disappointment hurts pretty bad at that age.  Poor kid."

"Yeah.  Jesus was the nearest thing to a father he ever had, I reckon.  Complete hero-worship."


"Where did Judas go, anyway?  Did you see, Andrew?  I didn't notice him slip out."

"No, I didn't either.  Judas?  Judas?  Where could he have gone?"

Luke 22:14-23

Other Conversations from the Cross
1: The Donkey
2: The Commotion
3: The Authority
4: The Anointing

6: The Burial
7: The Precaution 
8: The Resurrection

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Supercars and Selfies on the South Coast

We drove south on a wet, wet Saturday in August. The windscreen wipers swished endlessly back and forth, as we debated whether it was worth stopping anywhere except for the overcrowded motorway services. By the time we reached Winchester, the wipers had subsided to an occasional flick across the screen. We decided to stop. Of course, as soon as we left the car park there was a brief shower, but we ducked into the City Mill, now a National Trust property. There was a large room full of the usual kind of displays about flour milling; a recently renovated garden; and downstairs, the mill race running at full tilt. The mill is built right across the River Itchen. Winchester City Mill garden The mill race Water wheel (awaiting renovation) We stayed dry as we explored further into Winchester. There was even some blue sky for our selfie by the cathedral! But as we walked back to the car the rain hit us like a hose on full blast. An overhanging building provided some slight shelter, but the wa

Reading for Spiritual Formation 2023-24

I wasn't sure whether to read another set of theology books this year. Could the time I spend on it be better spent on something else? At what point does it become reading for the sake of it, without having much impact on my wider life? It's difficult to tell. However, as usual, I had a growing list of books I wanted to read. I do need to think about what I'm doing as well as what I'm reading, and I don't expect to continue this specific discipline indefinitely. But I decided there was space for at least one more year of Reading for Spiritual Formation. So, without further soul-searching: The Books. Three Mile an Hour God Kosuke Koyama Japanese theologians are few and far between; Christianity is still very much a niche religion in Japan. Kosuke Koyama was Japanese and appears to be both influential and accessible. Not every theologian is both! So I'm excited to read his recently republished book Three Mile an Hour God. It was originally written in 1979, and is

National Forest Way: Calke Abbey to Ashby de la Zouch

All the best walking blogs have maps on. I finally figured out how to add a route map to mine. If I get time, I'll add them to the previous posts as well, so you can see where I went. So, here are the two walks which made up the next stretch of the NFW. Walk 1  I started from the National Trust property and walked along by the lake, up the hill by the deer park, and down to Staunton Harold reservoir - all very familiar. Calke village postbox featured a highland cow on top. Lake at Calke Abbey Herd of deer   A short stretch on the road took me to Dimminsdale, which was new to me. There are records of mining at the site from the 13th century until the end of the 19th century. It's incredible to think that people worked there for so many hundreds of years. Now it is a secluded landscape of still pools and shaggy trees. Dimminsdale   I crossed a small section of the Staunton Harold estate, then went up a private lane with some rather nice houses. My turning point was where the Nati