In the garden, under the stars, Judas walked up to Jesus with a kiss. A kiss that was meant to show love, but instead, it carried betrayal. The air felt heavy as the moment stretched between them. Judas, with a heart full of doubt and fear, placed his lips on Jesus’ cheek, sealing the plan he had set into motion. But Jesus, with eyes full of sorrow and love, didn’t turn away. He didn’t pull back. He didn’t condemn. He simply said, “Friend.”
“Friend.”
That word, simple but profound, is what stopped everything in its tracks. It wasn’t anger, it wasn’t judgment—just an invitation to love, even in the worst of moments. Jesus, knowing everything Judas would do, called him friend. And in that moment, He showed us the depth of His love. The kind of love that doesn’t run from the darkness, but faces it head-on. The kind of love that doesn’t turn away when hurt, but stays open and reaches out.
Jesus knew what would happen next—the betrayal, the arrest, the pain of the cross. But He still let Judas kiss Him. He didn’t fight back, didn’t pull away. He accepted the kiss because He knew that His love was bigger than the hurt, bigger than the betrayal.
And that love, even in its pain, is the love that we are all invited into. The love that doesn’t leave us, even when we fail. The love that says “friend” when we expect to hear rejection.
In that kiss, Jesus didn’t just show His love for Judas. He showed His love for all of us. It’s the love that calls us back when we turn away. It’s the love that forgives, heals, and never gives up. Even when we fall short, even when we hurt Him, He never stops loving us.
That kiss of betrayal turned into the greatest act of love the world has ever known. And in it, we find hope. Hope that no matter how far we wander, we are never beyond His love.
Zabenthung Dominic 
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