Matthew 26:14-16, 47-50 (NIV)

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

⁵⁰ Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”

Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.

The Risk 

The gift of friendship is also the risk of friendship.

• Friendship requires us to lower our defenses. We let people see us, know us, and get close to us.

He who shared my bread has turned against me. John 13:18

Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me. Psalm 41:9

Psalm 41 gives voice to the pain of being betrayed by someone who was once trusted. The betrayal is especially painful because it comes from someone who shared the table. The psalm is often associated with David’s experience of betrayal during Absalom’s rebellion, when his trusted adviser Ahithophel turned against him.

Betrayal

When friendship fails, the hurt can begin to shape how we see every relationship that follows.

Note: Forgiveness does not mean pretending the betrayal didn’t happen, excusing harmful behavior, or immediately restoring trust. Healing and reconciliation may take time, honesty, and changed behavior.

How does Jesus show us another way?

Even as Judas betrays him, Jesus calls him “friend.”

The word friend is striking. It does not erase Judas’s betrayal or mean that the relationship continues as before. But it reveals something about Jesus: even in the face of betrayal, he does not abandon his own character.

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 



Before beginning your time in the passage this week, consider the following prompt as a conversation starter: Have you ever swapped a token or symbol of friendship with someone like an interlocking friendship necklace, a friendship bracelet, or in a “blood brothers” pact? Do you have a memory of a specific moment that solidified a friendship.

CONNECT WITH GOD 

Hints on How to Pray: “A Simple Regimen of Private Prayer” from George Buttrick. This week, we focus on contrition, God’s pardon, absolution and new freedom. Read the section on “New Freedom in His Grace” from the link below.  

 “But true confession is a cleansing of the soul.”

https://renovare.org/articles/hints-for-how-to-pray

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER

• Together: Pray in expectation of the passage being read. Read together Matthew 26:14–16, 47–50. 

• Alone: Read the passage once more, in The Message version.
• Reflect/journal on one of the following prompts: 
• When you think about betrayal, what comes to mind for you? 
• What is challenging about friendship. 

• Together: Share your reflections in pairs or as a whole group. 

CONNECT WITH SCRIPTURE 

If needed, read Matthew 26:14–16, 47–50 again. Then select the best questions or customize the questions for your group. 

• Review the message notes. 
• Which themes within the message most resonated with you this week? 
• What is the background and setting of this passage? Is there anything that feels important to lift out about the setting? 
• Psalm 41:9 describes the pain of being betrayed by someone who shared your bread, so why does betrayal by someone we love and trust hurt so deeply?
• Have you ever experienced a friendship that disappointed or hurt you, and how did it affect you?
• When someone hurts us, what makes it difficult to let go of resentment or the desire for revenge?
• Even as Judas betrays him, Jesus calls him “friend,” so what does this moment reveal about Jesus and how he responds to betrayal?

ENGAGE AND EXPLORE 

This section is a launching point for deeper conversation, allowing for flexibility in conversation and diversity of perspective while exploring what it means to be faithful in our lives today. Together: Read the question and quote below.

"Friendship requires that we place our lives in the hands of others, giving them the power to destroy us. Yet it is only through such vulnerability that we learn what it means to be saved."

— The Peaceable Kingdom, Stanley Hauerwas 

Christian friendship mirrors God befriending humanity in Christ. That divine friendship was met with betrayal (the Cross), yet Christ responded with forgiving love rather than abandonment.

Is it possible for us to follow this way? What will it cost us?

PRAYER 

Pray together for one another and for the world. Then, close your time by reading together this prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive, 

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.