—Vaneetha Risner
“It makes us doubt our own judgment. Why didn’t we see the signs? When did things change—or were they ever what we thought they were? Those are the questions of betrayal. So many things can betray us—spouses, friends, family, jobs, ministries, churches. Relationships we never doubted. Institutions we once trusted. When my ex-husband told me he was leaving for someone else, I couldn’t even process his words. I thought he loved me, that our marriage was secure, and that we’d be together for the rest of our lives. But clearly our relationship wasn’t as meaningful to him.
Maybe you’ve felt the same way. What once felt safe is now shattered, and you’re left second-guessing what you were once sure of. Jesus knows the depth of that pain. In Gethsemane, coming with a crowd armed with swords and clubs, Judas said, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him” (Matthew 26:48). That line takes me aback. A kiss—used to betray? And a command to seize Jesus? How could Judas treat Him like a common criminal? Didn’t he know Jesus’s character by now? That’s what betrayal feels like. We wonder if the person ever really knew us. Or if we ever really knew them. We replay conversations. We question everything. We wonder what we actually meant to them.
Betrayal is often followed by abandonment. By the betrayer and by others. In the garden, all the disciples fled, and Jesus was left alone. Yet through this and his subsequent mistreatment, Jesus didn’t retaliate. “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return… but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). That’s our model. We don’t have to avenge ourselves. We don’t have to clear our name. We can trust God to do that, in His time. For years, I had this reminder pinned to my bulletin board: “Faith is trusting God to set the record straight.” Jesus didn’t entrust Himself to the betrayers, but He entrusted Himself to His Father. And so can we.”