Gospel Reflections #386: Jesus is the one who loves us through and through.

Luke 22:47,48 "While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd appeared, and one of the Twelve, Judas, was leading the crowd and approached Jesus to kiss Him. Jesus said, "Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"

In Matthew's Gospel, Judas had a meeting that the one he was to kiss was Jesus.

While kissing has largely been reserved for men and women, or for parents kissing their young sons and daughters, in the Middle East and many other parts of the world, it is still practiced as a friendly greeting.

Thus, Judas betrayed Jesus here by using a kiss to indicate an act of affection. This is exactly what it means to say, "I love you!"and hugs him, (when in fact he has a knife and stabs him in the back.)

Jesus knew all this.

Here Jesus says, "Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" but after these words, I am sure Jesus said, "I still love you. I continue to love you, forgive you, and have compassion on you no matter what the circumstances".

Jesus is not one to change the way we love based on our actions.

He does not give up on us even when our motives are bad.

Judas would later realize that love.

God loves us to the very end.

Jesus is the one who loves us through and through.

That is the love of God and the cross of Jesus.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.