Read: Matthew 26:20-25
Is it I, Lord? (v. 22)
Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion sets Matthew’s text of the passion story to dramatic music. When the soloist singing Jesus’s words announces to the disciples that one of them will betray him, an agitated chorus immediately breaks in with the disciples’ question, “Lord, is it I?” The choir sings that phrase exactly eleven times, because there was one disciple who didn’t have to ask Jesus who the traitor was.
What can Judas teach us? For one thing, he shows us the danger of what John Bunyan described in the character he called Formalist. Formalist is outwardly religious but inwardly unconverted. Formalism is having the appearance of faith without the reality; it’s talking the talk without walking the walk.
It is sobering to remember that Judas was one of the Twelve, a member in good standing of Jesus’s inner circle. He had all the advantages of his position: he had heard Jesus’s teaching, seen his miracles, even served in his mission. Judas was present in the Upper Room, had his feet washed, even participated in the communion meal. To all appearances he was another faithful disciple. When Jesus announced there was a traitor in their midst, no one asked, “Lord, is it Judas?” But all this time Judas’s heart was unchanged. He loved money more than Jesus.
Church attendance, Bible reading, charitable giving, works of service—these are all good things. But if your heart hasn’t been changed, none of them matter.
As you pray, ask God to deliver you from every competing love, and make you wholehearted in your devotion.
About the Author
Rev. David Bast
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, includingWhy Doesn't God Act More Like God,Christ in the Psalms, andA Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
