Are You Hiding Out? Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: "Are You Hiding Out?" Keywords: "betray” “born” “Passover" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Mark 14:17-21* 17. And when it was evening He came with the twelve. 18. And as they were reclining [at the table] and eating, Jesus said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me--one who is eating with Me." 19. They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, "Surely not I?" 20. And He said to them, ["It is] one of the twelve, one who dips with Me in the bowl. 21. "For the Son of Man [is to] go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! [It would have been] good for that man if he had not been born." Questions 1. What was this experience like for Jesus?   2. What was the experience like for the disciples as a group?   3. What was the experience like for Judas?   Practical help There are a lot of mysteries in this short passage. Why did Jesus make the declaration the way he did? He could have just pointed to Judas and said, “Buddy, you are going to betray me.” Instead, the rest of his band of followers were filled with dread that each of them might be the man. Why were the ones who were innocent filled with fear? They had done nothing wrong. And finally, why did Judas, who must have known He was speaking about him, remain silent? It reminds me of another story. Have you ever heard the story of Achan? He is the fellow who disobeyed Joshua at the battle of Jericho and took forbidden treasure, hiding it under his tent. In Joshua 7 you can read what happened. First, he caused the death of a number of soldiers who tried to take a small town near Jericho. Unknown to the men, God had removed his blessing from all the people of Israel because of Achan’s act, which resulted in a rout. Think of it. One man’s selfish act caused death and despair for an entire nation. It happens still today. But that’s not the end of the story. Joshua went through a process of drawing straws in order to find Achan. The first straws separated the guilty tribe from the others. The next straw separated the families within the tribe. You get the picture. God was slowly narrowing the search down to the one guilty man. Achan should have seen it coming. He knew what he had done. He should have known that God knew what he had done. But for some reason he stayed hidden. What was he hoping for? That the God who had just brought Jericho’s walls down really didn’t exist, and a straw would point to an innocent man — or possibly another guilty man who was worse than he was? If you have clicked on porn and viewed it, you are guilty. Time does not erase the act, and God is fully aware of your behavior. You might fool those around you for a while, but someday you will give an account for your actions. Now here is the really mind-blowing thing about all of this: God loves to forgive. He longs to pardon. What he wants however is for you to see your guilt and agree with Him that you are wrong. He wants you to recognize that in yourself you have no tricks or defensive moves that will exonerate you in the end. By changing course, you change your future. You become a champion for what God approves rather than a sneak who looks for loopholes. How would the story have ended for Judas if he had just confessed? I have no doubt Jesus would have forgiven him and gone to the cross if Judas were the only one who ever needed him to. The same is true for you as well. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2004 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission." ---