Mark 14:17-21-- Healthy Self-Doubt

When it was evening He came with the twelve. As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray me— one who is eating with me." They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, "Surely not I?" And He said to them, "It is one of the twelve, one who dips with me in the bowl. For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."

Jesus and his disciples are in the room that Jesus borrowed (or rented?) from someone in Jerusalem.  This is the scene of the “Last Supper” which takes place during the festival of Passover.  

At this meal, Jesus makes a startling announcement—that one of his own would “betray” him, or literally, “give over.”  This means the handing over to authorities.  It is assumed in the text that Jesus knew because God told him what Judas had agreed with the leaders of chief priests.  Jesus is specifically emphasizing that it is one of his twelve whom he chose.  

At this, the twelve around him were stunned and they began to have self-doubts.  They thought that perhaps one of them would hand him over by accident.  However, this humility of theirs is refreshing—they recognize that they might fail Jesus easily, even though they would not want to.  

Jesus then makes a statement about his betrayer—that though Jesus’ fate was not good, in comparison the betrayer’s fate is terrible.  The only other place where Jesus pronounces a terrible woe like this is on those who cause a “little one” to “stumble”—the one who causes a disciple to fall away from the faith (Mark 9:42).  It seems that those who cause the innocent to be condemned suffer a worse fate than others.

In our society, we want to teach our children to have self-esteem, to be confident.  And we need a certain amount of confidence and boldness to make positive changes in the world.  However, we also must keep our eyes open to our own human failings and weaknesses.  No one is perfect, no one is right all the time, there is not a single one of us that cannot make an irrevocable error. 

With our healthy self-esteem must come a dose of healthy self-doubt.  And our lives must walk a balance between our strengths and our weaknesses, what we can do for God and others and our limitations.  Pray that we do not deceive ourselves to think that we can do or be that which we cannot.