Two Words

 February 2, 2023

I listened to a sermon this morning that really caught my attention. The preacher was expounding on Matthew 26. 

“Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”” —Matthew 26:21-22, 25 

Did you catch it? When the disciples asked Jesus if he were the one who would betray him, each one addressed Jesus as Lord; “Lord, is it I?” Asking the question in any form is more than most of us would do today. In the constant stream of political sewage coming out of Washington these days, not once have I heard anything that could remotely be construed as self-awareness with the possibility of culpability. Finger-pointing has been elevated to an art form. Peter didn’t ask Jesus if John would be the betrayer, and Matthew didn’t suspect James. Even Judas asked, “Is it I?”

But there is a subtle but important difference in how Judas asked the question. He said, “Rabbi, is it I?” The others by this time recognized Jesus as their Lord; Judas only saw him as a teacher; one with great ability and authority perhaps, but still only a teacher. The difference in their naming of Jesus seems insignificant, but it marks the difference between denial and betrayal, between human weakness and human resistance. 

There are many who see in Jesus Christ a great teacher alongside Socrates, Buddha, or one of our great philosophers, but few are willing to acknowledge him as Lord because that involves bending the knee which in turn requires a recognition of sin and the need for repentance. Our pride balks at such a thought. Two different words reflecting two different loyalties. 

Two words. That’s all; but this small difference in wording is the beginning of a great divide that in the end leads one to either heaven or hell. Two words and two destinations. Which one we speak makes all the difference in the world. And the next.