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“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). With these words, the Apostle Paul simplifies the concept of salvation, something that was otherwise a mystery for many of the Jews who had always been bent on earning righteousness through their observance of the Law. When we read those words and even confess “Jesus is Lord”, we do so somewhat loosely. We have no problem uttering the words even if our lives do not agree with what we are confessing. We use the word “Lord” almost like it is part of Jesus’ name, rather than his rightful position in relation to us. For the Jews, it was much harder and thus meant much more when referring to Jesus that way, because they used the term “lord” to address others, including angels and earthly kings.

Notice that we refer to Jesus as Lord with a capital “L” signifying that he is the only one, whereas the Jews in the Old Testament would have many different “lords” depending on where they lived and who they served. This is why what we confess and demonstrate about how we see Jesus in our lives means everything. At this time of year, most of us are transitioning back to “normal” life after all the festivities and celebrations associated with Christmas. In addition, we are wondering what the new year is going to bring, and possibly what individual changes we need to make. One of the main reasons why I love this time of year is because the publicity of Christmas causes nearly every individual in our culture to answer a personal question that affects how they will live their lives going forward: “How am I going to respond to Jesus?”

It is that very question that was answered differently by one of Jesus’ twelve closest disciples than it was by the other eleven during one of the most famous events recorded in the New Testament. No, I’m not saying that somebody walked up to the disciples and asked them directly how they respond to Jesus. I am, however, saying that there is a lot more to the story of the Lord’s Supper than just the bread and the wine if we take a closer look at the characters and imagine what it would be like if we were in their shoes spending time with Jesus right before he was tortured and crucified.

As Katie mentioned in a blog earlier this week, the story of this event is recorded in all 4 of the gospel accounts, with different elements and perspectives in each writing. Today, I want to focus on Matthew’s account, found in Matthew 26:17-30. Right before this story, in verses 14-16, we see the agreement made between Judas Iscariot and the chief priests that would eventually lead to the capture and crucifixion of Jesus. Judas was one of Jesus twelve closest followers, yet he betrayed him into the hands of those who wanted to kill him. Before that would be carried out, however, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his “small group”. Did they know it would be the last time they would do such an activity with him this side of heaven? Even though he told them over and over again what would happen to him and even told them at the end of this story that it would be the last time on earth (v. 29), the answer is that they probably did not understand. I don’t say that to speak negatively of the original disciples, for I know there have been many times in my life when the Holy Spirit was clearly guiding me to truth and I chose instead to believe lies because they were easier to understand. But for Judas, the one who would betray Jesus, it was more than lack of understanding. It was lack of believing.

What I love about Matthew’s account of this story is that it’s the only one that records Judas’ response to Jesus after Jesus exposed the sin in his heart. We read in v. 21 that Jesus was reclining at the table with his disciples and suddenly said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me”. Matthew records in v. 22 that the other disciples were sad and each began to respond to Jesus with, “Surely not I, Lord?” A few sentences later in v. 25, Judas’ response is recorded. “Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’” Did you catch the subtle difference between Judas’ response and those of the rest of the disciples? He simply declared Jesus to be his rabbi, or teacher, whereas the other disciples were willing to call him what he is – their Lord! We often don’t see things like that if we are reading Scripture just to get through it, but putting ourselves in the story when we read might give us a chance to understand the hearts of the characters a little better.

Just to make sure it wasn’t an error in my English translation, I checked the Greek. The other eleven disciples addressed Jesus as “kurie”, which means “Lord”, while Judas used the term “rabbi”, which is translated as “honorary teacher”. Don’t get me wrong. Judas had great respect for Jesus – as a teacher. But that’s as far as he was willing to go. And without Jesus being his Lord, that throne was open for anything else in Judas’ life that he wanted to place there. So, when an opportunity for financial gain arose, even the respect he had for his teacher wasn’t enough to help him resist the temptation.

So, what about you? Are you willing to boldly declare that Jesus is more than some guy who walked the earth for a short time 2,000 years ago proclaiming peace and good morality? Are you willing to confess with your mouth that he IS Lord and believe it so strongly in your heart that it affects change in every single area of your life in this new year of 2013? I’ve got news for you. No matter what you speak, Jesus already knows what you truly believe. In Judas’ case, Jesus answered his response with “you yourself have said it”. Friends, Judas tried to live one way with Jesus and another way when it benefitted him to do so. But because he did not consider Jesus to be God, he failed to realize that Jesus was able to know his heart and know the words he had already spoken in agreement with the chief priests to betray him.

You may be asking yourself why Jesus would then allow an unbeliever who was bent on betrayal to dine with him at his last supper with his closest friends. The answer is simply because he loved Judas anyway, just as he loves each and every one of you regardless of what you believe about him at this point. It’s always a little frightening to surrender control to someone else, but knowing that someone loves you and knows what is best for you brings the peace that passes all understanding. I encourage you to make Jesus the Lord of your life this year, trusting him in all the areas of your life that you previously tried to control. If you do this, a supper or any other time spent with him will truly be the “Lord’s” time, and you will experience and understand his love for you like never before!