Stone Mountain Park, Stone Mountain, Georgia
Then Judas, the one who would betray Him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.” ~ Matthew 26:25
The further along we go into Holy Week, the more the Gospel writers reported. It’s almost like we’re hurtling to the end – which, it turns out – will be a new beginning!
This day, one of the major events is Judas’ offer to the Pharisees. You have to wonder why. He’s spent three years with Jesus. He knows Him. He knows what He can do, the miracles He can perform that He can read men’s minds. He knows how loving and kind He is. He knows how intelligent He is when confronted by the wisest men in Israel. He knows (especially after Sunday), that many people consider Jesus to be their savior. And even if Judas doesn’t grasp the concept that Jesus really is God in the flesh, he knows these things. So why turn on Him? Judas isn’t just changing his mind and walking away. He knows the Pharisees are looking for a reason to discredit Jesus, and even arrest Him. He’s been present when they’ve tried to trap Him. He knows what will happen if they succeed. And yet, his offer is to give them intel on where to arrest Jesus without raising a ruckus by the hordes of people who adore Him. Those who believe Jesus truly is the Messiah they’ve been waiting for for centuries.
But what Judas also knows is that Jesus has no intention of being the Messiah the people are waiting for. They want a Messiah (aka Christ, aka Anointed One – which really are all the same thing). They want a new king. An overthrower of the Roman government. And Judas knows this is not what Jesus intends to do. Jesus talks of dying for the people, not rescuing them. Jesus talks of sacrifice and of changing the hearts of the Jews, not sacrificing the Romans or changing their hearts. Jesus speaks critically of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, never the prostitutes, tax collectors, sick, disfigured or soldiers. And Jesus now speaks of His death as imminent.
The Pharisees didn’t go to Judas. They didn’t try to bribe or coerce him. Judas went to them and made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Judas wants to get out while he still can get something out of it. Judas was a lover of money. So he goes to the Pharisees to cut a deal, and he does – thirty pieces of silver, or three month’s salary or the price of a slave (as prophesied by Jeremiah roughly 600 years before). And then Judas waits for the right time.
And Judas had help. The evil one, Satan, is more than willing to encourage him in this, and scripture tells us that God allowed Satan to enter Judas twice – once when he went to meet with the Pharisees and again at the Last Supper, just before Judas left the meal after discovering that Jesus knew he was going to betray Him. He didn’t know that Jesus knew. In the end, Judas was so horrified by what he’d done, he tried to return the money he’d been paid and failing that, hung himself.
And unfortunately for Judas, this all works into God’s perfect plan. Could Judas have changed his mind? I’ll leave that for the biblical scholars.
What’s important here, is that, if we stop and think about it, there are times that none of us is any better than Judas. How often do we betray our Lord and Savior? Selling out to those who don’t know Him in order to gain that promotion? In order to try to earn the respect of peers? In order to save being embarrassed by our association with Him, the One Who loves us unconditionally?
For those who haven’t yet fallen in love with Jesus, how often do you set out to prove Him wrong? To attempt to crush the spirits of those who claim faith in Him? To help yourself look or feel better? To get ahead in life?
Jesus loves us – all of us – this I know. Come to Him. Love Him back.
We saw a dog on a leash walking around the campground loop. What we didn’t know (at first), was that the owner was holding the other end – as he drove his truck!
Today was a trip into town – mostly to go to Kohl’s so I could finish my shopping. What Blaine didn’t know, is that proper shopping takes time. Lots of time. More time than he wanted to spend. And this is why when I began my quest for new clothes last month, I took Blaine’s sister, Sandy with me. But I now have everything that was on my list! Including the perfect pair of ‘boat’ shoes!
Oh. And by the way. In the past month, I’ve bought clothes ranging in size from 6 to 2X! And I’ve tried on shoes that actually fit in sizes from 6 to 7 1/2! And wides that weren’t and non-wides that were! This is why I have to try absolutely everything on before I buy it! Crazy!
There are a ton of activities at this Park. Museums, hiking, rides, etc. What we didn’t know, is that you have to buy a $39.95 activity pass – – per person – – in order to be able to enjoy them. And it’s only good for two days! And if you skip the pass and only want to buy admission to one exhibit, you have to pay exorbitant fees. More than likely, we won’t be seeing the memorial museum (about the carving of the stone) because it’s really the only activity other than hiking or kayaking that we’re interested in and they want $15/person.
Once we were done shopping and had things squared away at home, we were anxious to get out and enjoy the day. Blaine chose a five-mile trail that circles around the mountain. Sounds like fun! Besides, it’s the least I can do after dragging him around for about four hours clothes shopping. 😊
What we didn’t know was that it would be more difficult than hiking up that mountain yesterday!
They don’t tell you the difficulty level of their trails, and since it’s kind of a “theme park” here, we didn’t expect anything too strenuous. It wasn’t just that we have hills now. It was the terrain! We really could’ve used our hiking sticks!
Yes. They have a sight-seeing train on the property,
but since we just did the SAM, we won’t be enjoying this one.
We’re looking forward to it,
but with the full realization that it most likely won’t compare to Disney’s Castle show. : )
Subtle differences, like the fact that this one smells heavenly!
I think I wore out the right sides of my tennis shoes – and the toes.
but we figured we may as well while we’re here.
As if the five miles of rough terrain weren’t enough, we did an additional mile across the covered bridge and around the island while we were at it. . . .
But we’re on the other side of the lake . . . .
We couldn’t find any information on it, so maybe it’s just for special events?
. . . . and we stopped at the Grist Mill too (our trail actually went right by it)!
Gluttons for punishment – – that’s us!
We thought maybe the lighting would be different. Not seeing it. How about you?
It was a great day! And we thank God we’re healthy enough to do this!