If you have lived for any length of time, you have been sold out by someone. What do I mean by sold out? This is someone who claimed to be your friend, claimed to care about you, love you, and be with you – then they turned on you. They abandoned you, left you, or maybe literally sold you out by giving information to others you entrusted them to keep confidential.

This could happen in many arenas of life. For kids or teens, this could be a friend in class, gymnastics, or Scouts. For adults this could be a close friend, neighbor or coworker. This could be someone in your church family who has abandoned your church. As a pastor I have experienced this before.

As we go up the chain of relationships, this gets more difficult when we talk about family. Family members who are supposed to love us and care for us, no matter what, because, well, they are family. Maybe this is even a parent who did this to you as a child. On the deepest level, this could be a spouse who has cheated on or abandoned you. 

Now, before we move on, let’s stop for a second and ask ourselves honest questions. Sometimes we feel abandoned by someone, but the reality is we have acted in a way that we are poison to someone else. Let’s do a hard check on ourselves to make sure that we haven’t done something or acted in a way that has justified this action or reaction by someone else.

If it is still the case, then we can turn to Jesus, who can help because He gets us. How do we know that? Well, Jesus was abandoned, sold out, and rejected. He ministered to people, fed them, and declared the Word to them, and they left after the free food was gone. His disciples abandoned Him at the cross and scattered, saving their own lives. The way Jesus was abandoned and betrayed by Judas was the largest betrayal. 

Think about the relationship that Jesus had with Judas. They traveled together, camped out together, and had hundreds of meals together. Jesus surely would have answered his personal questions. After a three-year period, most likely Jesus spent several times one on one with Judas. What did Judas do in return? He sold Jesus for a slave wage to the Romans to be slaughtered (see Matthew 26:14-16).

So how can Jesus help? Well, He gets you. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” When we pray to Jesus to respond righteously to being abandoned, He gets us. When we hurt because a friend betrayed us, He understands. We pray to a God who can help comfort us in those situations, because He Himself has experienced those types of pains.

Do you turn to Jesus when people reject you? Do you find comfort praying to a Messiah who was abandoned when you are abandoned? Do you turn to the One who was sold out when you have been sold out? Do it. He understands your weakness and pain and can comfort you.

Thanks for taking time to read this Maddening Theology post. If you enjoyed this content you can find Pastor Tim’s sermons at www.cornerstoneforestcity.org. You can also join us at 520 Marion St. Browndale, PA 18421 on Sundays at 10 AM. To make following the blog easier you can also register. You can also join us on Facebook at Cornerstone Forest City. Also, don’t forget to download our APP on iTunes  or Googleplay.