"Is it I? Lord, is it I?"

"20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table

with the twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said,

'Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.'"

Matthew 26:20 NIV

This past Sunday my church did an illustrated sermon, The Living Lord's Supper.  As we were preparing for this, the 13 men that played the parts of Jesus and the Disciples were placing themselves in the various roles.  I told each of them that I wanted them to truly take on the persona of their respective character.  And as I told them this, I felt the Lord speak to me that I needed to take on the same.  So as each of these amazing men would come to the stage to play his part, I tried to imagine how that disciple must have felt.  When Jesus said that one of His own chosen would betray Him, each of them must have been pierced in his own heart thinking that it could be him.  I imagine Peter...hot-headed Peter...taking his sword and threatening to pierce the one that would betray the Master.  I imagine Andrew, the one that brought so many people to Jesus.  Surely he must have wondered if he would now betray the One that he had served so faithfully.  Each of the 12 men must have had the past 3 years run through their minds.  Each of them must have wondered, "Is it I?  Lord, is it I?"  

Sometimes I think we read over the story quickly and fail to realize that it is so much more than a story.  This is an event in the lives of 12 men that had trusted in Jesus and had lived together for 3 years.  They depended upon one another.  They became family.  And now, one of them would betray, not only Jesus, but the entire family of men.  I cannot imagine the tensions in the room that night.  I can't imagine how each man must have felt as he looked around the dinner table wondering who was the betrayer.

On this Thursday before Easter, take a few minutes and try to imagine the scene.  Put yourself in the picture.  See, Judas was the betrayer, but in all reality, each and every one of us has probably been a betrayer of Jesus...maybe not to the magnitude Judas was, but certainly each of us has had opportunity where we have turned against Jesus.  Remember, it is OUR sin that put Him on that tree.

I pray that you truly put some serious thought into that last supper.  Let God speak to you through this event.

Have a blessed Easter.  Remember, He was crucified and buried but on the 3rd day...HE ROSE AGAIN!!!