one step: Matthew 27.1

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.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.

The law is an impersonal and harsh master. In the story of Judas, Judas came to those who represented the law perhaps looking for them to present justice, provide mercy, give him counsel, or reverse the consequences of his betrayal of Jesus. Whatever the case, they did not give him what he was looking for.* In fact, their response to him was an unfeeling rejection and condemnation based upon the law.

According to the law (Deuteronomy 19:16-21), a false witness was to receive the punishment that the false witness intended for their victim.* In the case of Judas and Jesus, this would mean that the Jewish leaders should have put Judas to death and released Jesus. This did not happen. Not only did they ignore his confession, allowing Jesus to continue to his death, but they told Judas to “see to it yourself.” They were telling him to enact justice himself… they told him to commit suicide.*

Death is quite serious as is suicide. Sadly, suicide is often the culmination of events that present a total lack of hope for the future. In the case of Judas, he could see no way forward; he could see no hope. While he might have expected a death sentence from the Jewish leaders, I doubt he expected to be told to take care of it himself. Though the Romans of the time saw suicide as an honorable way to die, Judas’s Jewish community would not seen it as honorable at all.*

I can only imagine the weight of the horror, devastation, guilt, shame, and torment that Judas carried in that moment as he realized the enormity of the sin that he committed in betraying Jesus. It’s painful to just imagine it. I have known guilt. I have known regret and remorse. I have known shame. I don’t believe that I have ever felt anything as heavy as what Judas felt.

I wonder what would have happened if Judas had just waited until Monday? What if he had heard that Jesus rose again? What if he ran into Jesus on the road to Emmaus or on the shore by the Sea of Galilee? What might have Jesus said? How might that have changed Judas’s perspective of himself and Jesus and the law? How might that have changed everything for him?

Maybe today you are carrying something as heavy as Judas’s load. Maybe you feel the weight of hopelessness, regret, guilt, or shame. Maybe suicide has entered your mind. Please hear this: there is hope ahead. Judas couldn’t see it, and maybe you are having trouble seeing it too, but hope is ahead.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to bring your feelings to Him. Perhaps it’s time to have that conversation with God that you have been avoiding. Perhaps today God wants you to end your shame, regret, guilt, and remorse by handing it over to Him and receiving His forgiveness. Today, God wants you to choose life.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the suicide hotline for help by calling 988.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 691–698, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt Mt 27:1-10).) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: water break

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:7-8

The One Step Daily Devotional is intended to provide just one step each day for your journey with God. Every journey requires water breaks. Here is a water break for you.

There are a lot of myths and stories that fly around these days. In the days of Jesus, the smaller communities that they enjoyed came with the risk of high amounts of gossip. Everyone knew each other’s business. People were known for their families, and most people knew each other for generations. These days, things in America look different, but the challenge not to engage in myths and stories and gossip remains. Many people walk through this life without knowing anyone and without being known, but they have many, many connections. Connections are not the same as knowing, though they do make room for myths and stories about each other.

If we choose not to engage in the gossip, myths, and stories that social media and hyper-connectivity allow for, what are we to engage in? Paul writes to Timothy that we should spend our time and emotional and mental capacity training for godliness. What does this look like?

Compiling Richard Foster’s work in Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth and Dallas Willard’s The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives, we see a list of spiritual disciplines below:

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard Foster

• Inward Disciplines: Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Study

• Outward Disciplines: Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service

• Corporate Disciplines: Confession, Worship, Guidance, Celebration

The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives by Dallas Willard

• Disciplines of Abstinence: solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, secrecy, sacrifice

• Disciplines of Engagement: study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, confession, submission

Knowing more details about these disciplines brings great value, so I encourage you to read these two books if you haven’t. Just looking at this list, though, I’m sure you can find what I can: some area that needs attention.

In my life, I can say that I have not walked in these as Jesus did while here on earth. Different seasons have allowed for focuses on different disciplines. In this season of my life, the spiritual discipline of study is necessary. But what of the spiritual discipline of celebration? It’s easy for me to pause and skip this one because of “all I have to do.”

What if our participation in spiritual growth should not be completely influenced by the current season of our life? What if there are times that the spiritual disciplines that Jesus is calling us to practice go against the flow of our life… on purpose.

What if in a season of feasting God calls us to fast? What if in a season of quiet God calls us to community? What if in a season of spending God calls us to frugality?

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to engage in a spiritual discipline that you haven’t tried before? Perhaps God wants you to use spiritual disciplines to bring you closer to Him. Maybe today God wants you to go against the flow of your season to open the door for spiritual growth.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

one step: Matthew 26.9

Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Entangled inside Peter’s denial of Jesus was a denial of self. Peter had promised himself and Jesus that he would never betray Jesus, yet we see the prophetic words of Jesus fulfilled with Peter betraying Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.

How many times have you made promises to the Lord that you did not keep? How many times have you committed to yourself to do or not do certain things and failed? As humans, our terrible ability to lie extends from others to even ourselves.

Peter may have honestly believed that he would stay true to Jesus, but he did not.

The question is not, “will we keep our word of faithfulness or not?“ The question is, “how will we respond when we don’t?” Peter was seen as the leading apostle during the writing of the Gospels. Strangely enough, his failure was placed into the permanent record and did not disqualify him from leadership.* Why not?

Peter repented. We know from reading ahead that Peter’s separation from the group and tears of bitterness did not lead to isolation or self-punishment. They served as an act of repentance that moved him to return to his community of believers (the disciples).

Maybe you have failed Christ or yourself. I know that I have many times. I’ve been guilty of allowing the call of God on my life to become an idol in my life. I have remained silent when I should have spoken, and I’ve spoken when I should have remained silent. I have disobeyed simple commands and complicated decisions with reasoning and worry. How we respond to these times matters. It impacts our relationship with Christ and our relationship to others.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to spend a moment to recognize your failure to be faithful. Perhaps He wants you to step away from self-punishment and step into repentance and reconciliation to Him. Maybe God wants you to remember that He knows you’re imperfect and loves you anyway.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 686–690, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt Mt 26:69–75).) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 26.8

And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

The silence of Jesus to the false accusations of the witnesses indicates His unwillingness to even acknowledge the legitimacy of their testimony. The high priest’s request, however, was a religious question, inviting a response.*

In Jesus’s response, He offers clarity as to what His role as Messiah really entails.* In this moment and declaration, Jesus is announcing His transition from obscurity to glory.*

Jesus lived much of His life in obscurity. Though the announcement of His birth came via the voices of angels in heaven, it was given to lowly shepherds. Even when Jesus stepped into His ministry after thirty years of relative obscurity, Jesus spent particular energy asking people not to share with others what He had done. In this moment of pain, Jesus emerged, showing His glory.

How many times in our culture are we told that fame matters? How many commercials, celebrities, or job opportunities lead us to believe that we should chase being known about by as many people as possible?

Jesus shows us a life of obscurity that only brought fame through unbearable pain via obedient sacrifice. The question I have to ask myself is, do I really want to follow Jesus into fame?

Obscurity is a beautiful place. It’s an opportunity to serve in peaceful silence. Like John the Baptist, serving in obscurity provides an opportunity to become less while making Christ more in our lives and the lives of others.

One day, as followers of Christ, He may invite us to make sacrifices out of obedience to bring in the glory of His Father. While this kind of fame for Christ is good, it is costly. We must count the cost; we must soberly follow Christ.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to reevaluate the purpose of fame. Perhaps God wants you to reframe the season of obscurity that you are in. Maybe God is inviting you to sacrifice something in your life for His glory.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 677–686, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt Mt 26:57–68).) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 26.7

 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.”

What really happened in this moment of betrayal?

This moment was the first of many that broke Jesus down physically and emotionally as He proceeded to the cross. No doubt dark in the Garden of Gethsemane at this late hour, Judas had arranged a signal with those coming to arrest Jesus that included a kiss. During the time of Jesus, a kiss was a greeting used in the present-day culture, including amongst followers of Jesus.* It was a greeting of friendship and intimacy which could be used between friends or between a rabbi and a disciple. Using such an intimate greeting as a vehicle for betrayal would have cut deep.

Furthermore, Judas wrapped this kiss in an act of disrespect. Judas greeting Jesus first was a statement of equality, something no disciples should assume or self-assert toward their rabbi.* This seemingly small act spoke volumes to the posture of the heart of Judas. While his words called Jesus, rabbi, his actions said, “I do not follow you.”

Finally, Scripture says that Judas came to Jesus “at once.” Other translations say, “straightaway.” This reveals that Judas wanted to provide no opportunity for Jesus to escape; his haste implies a complete commitment to his dark mission and a desire to see it completed.* It’s one thing to betray a friend, it’s another to scheme so diligently as to ensure it’s success.

These acts of insult and betrayal only mark the beginning of Jesus’ difficult journey. Scripture also tells us that the disciples fled. In the rabbinic culture, a disciple fleeing when their rabbi was challenged would have been a great insult.* In this instance, all of the disciples fled, thus magnifying the effect.

Why is it important to note these weighty matters?

Until we understand the reality of the shame and difficult that Jesus endured, we will hold an incomplete picture of the gift that Jesus gave us all by taking His place on the cross and His place on the way to the cross.

Jesus was clear that God would grant Him escape from that moment with convincing and overwhelming power and show of force if He asked, but Jesus knew that His Father had another way. God had a way to the cross. It was for you; it was for me.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remember the cross. Perhaps God wants you to see the shame that Jesus endured and realize the friend that He is to you. Maybe God wants you to remember that Jesus took the shame so that you wouldn’t have to carry it.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 672–677, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt Mt 26:47–56).) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).