Absolutely astonishing! What shall we, soaked in sin, say to such blood-stained passionate pursuit? If God is for us, who can be against us? Christian and those who will yet trust him, Father God would give up his only Son before he’d give up on you! And, Jesus would betray himself before he would betray you! Christian, as betrayed Jesus’ hands opened for the nails, heaven opened for you.

In the jungles of Irian Jaya, the Sawi people warred with their enemies. The Sawi honored treachery, duplicity and betrayal. Their greatest success? “Befriending” a person and then, when he trusted them, cannibalizing him.

In 1962, Don Richardson and his wife Carol became novice missionaries among the headhunting Sawi, taking their seven-month-old baby with them and adding three more children over the next 15 years.

Don, devoted 8-10 hours each day to learning their language. He reproduced the New Testament in Sawi, teaching the people to read in their native tongue. Carol, a nurse, labored faithfully as “the woman who keeps all the people well.”

However, the Sawi constantly made war with nearby tribes. Finally, for safety, the Richardsons considered moving.

Missionary historian Ruth A. Tucker writes: “As (Don) learned the language and lived with the people, he became more aware of the gulf that separated his Christian worldview from the worldview of the Sawi: ‘In their eyes, Judas, not Jesus, was the hero of the Gospels, Jesus was just the dupe to be laughed at.’”

Friend, is it shocking for you to discover Judas hailed as the hero? Multifaceted betrayal shone like a gem for the Sawi. And for how many others does it subliminally/subconsciously shine? Friend, what if our valuing truth, faithfulness, and relationships is due to the pervasive influence of Christ we have grown to expect? Otherwise, what if “Et tu, Brute” defines reality? Stabbed 60 times, Caesar’s betrayal was a Roman norm. Consider treachery and the history of any nation, say from Vanuatu to Venezuela.

Note, even for us “betrayal” is multi-faceted. We define it as: “unintentionally to show one’s true character” – “to indicate what is not obvious” – “to reveal or disclose in violation of confidence” – “to prove false or violate by unfaithfulness” – “to mislead, delude, or deceive in order to deliver or expose someone to an enemy’s power.”

In “betrayal,” “be” intensifies “tray.” “Tray” is like “trans” – “on the other side of,” “to go across, over, beyond.” “Betrayal” proves a “dear” (“be”) friend to be “very distant” (“trans/tray”) – an “enemy.” The distance of an “enemy” is unveiled by the origin of our word “enemy,” “the opposite of one who loves.” Ruthless!

Now, consider a Greek New Testament word, “paradidómi.”

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