Never say never?

While they were at the table eating, Jesus said, ‘I tell you that one of you will betray me-one who is eating with me’.
The disciples were upset, and began to ask him, one after the other, ‘Surely you don’t mean me, do you?’
Jesus answered, ‘It will be one of you twelve, one who dips his bread in the dish with me. The Son of Man will die as the Scriptures say he will; but how terrible for that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would have been better for that man if he had never been born!’   (verses 18-21)

Read Mark 14:12-26

To those aloof in their self-security Jesus’ penetrating words come as a shock: ‘One of you will betray me’. It seems that Jesus’ fate lies not in the hands of the politicians, not in the hands of the influential and powerful, but in the hands of his disciples – in the hands of you and me.

But the greater reality is that our fate lies in the hands of Jesus. More often than not, our Christian lives are an ongoing cycle of broken promises and bitter failure. In the face of adversity and opposition we succumb to doubt and needless worry. In the face of temptation and selfish gain we cast faith aside and deny Christ. If we were left to ourselves we would surely bring our own faith and the faith of others to destruction. If we were left to ourselves we – we who eat with the Lord in his supper – would surely abandon him. How great our need is for God’s mercy!

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner. Never let me fall away from you. Amen.

by Adam Cooper, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)

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