Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
A Walk with the Master Series
Betrayal
Mark 14:10-11
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. Mar 14:11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.
What a sad portion as we see the heart of one of the twelve disciples turn away from the Lord to betray Him. When Judas saw that Jesus was not going to take the place as the king of Israel, and with it Judas’ possibility of becoming one of the leaders of that nation, his greed took over and led to his betrayal of the Lord Jesus. As we said yesterday, he was a thief at heart.
The scene turns to Judas bargaining with the High Priest for the life of Jesus. Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him (Matthew 26:14-16).
This was a fulfillment of a prophecy in the Old Testament that was made nearly 600 years prior to it happening. It is found in Zechariah 11:12-13, Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter.
After Judas realized that Jesus was to be crucified, he took the money back to the High Priest. Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” (Matthew 27:3-4). The attitude of the priests was another picture of betrayal. They did not care that an innocent man had been condemned to death. What a shame. To make things even worse, they said that the money could not be returned to the treasury since it was the price of a man’s blood. So, they used it to buy the potter’s field. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers (Matthew 27:6-7).
Our lesson from this is that we should be careful to keep our focus on Jesus and not let riches or anything else cause us to be guilty of betraying our Lord.
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Bible Reading for the Year
May 21st, 1 Chronicles 8-10; John 8:37-59
Prayer Needs
Please continue to pray for Jimmy and Donna Dixon. Jimmy’s father passed away last Thursday afternoon. The funeral was held Tuesday the 19th in Roanoke Rapids.
Thank you for praying for Dr. Joe Jordan. He has been transferred to a rehab facility. This will be an intense time of recovery, and he covets your prayers for strength and stamina throughout the process.
Please pray for Shirley Deans. Shirley saw the ear, throat, and nose doctor about her throat cancer. She had a PET scan on Friday, May 15th over her entire body. On the 27th she will see the cancer doctor about the PET scan, and on the 28th she will have surgery to biopsy a lymph node in her neck.
Please also pray for Kenny Deans. He is continuing treatment for his leg. He will also be seeing a doctor about possible kidney stones.
Please continue praying for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. She is having stomach issues caused by the medication. Please continue to pray for complete healing.
Please pray for Peggy Warren. She is still in a lot of pain.
Please continue to pray for Robbie Harvey who has MAC lung disease. He fell and broke several ribs, but he is feeling better now. He has started a new medication for his lung disease.
Please continue to pray for Marvin Silverthorne for his eyesight to improve.
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Pray for our Missionaries!
Sue Singleton and the mission in Cambodia
Dr. Joe Jordan and the CBM (Cross and Bible Ministries)
Travis and Caroline Fennessy – IBM missionaries to Southeast Asia