Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends on this Thursday,
I wonder if you’ve ever felt betrayed by a friend or family member? How did it happen? How long did the wound stay raw and bleeding in your heart? How did that betrayal affect your relationships with other people, perhaps even your own self-image?
I left you yesterday in a Jerusalem ‘upper room’ with Jesus and His disciples. Jesus had just stunned them by washing each and all of their feet. Of course, none of them around the table knew what would transpire in those next few hours, but Jesus knew, which is why He stunned them again by saying: “…I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’ I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am… ‘Truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray Me”. (John 13:18-21)
Had a bomb gone off in that room I doubt they would have been more shocked, more stunned than they were as Jesus said those words! In fact, John tells us “His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them He meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to Jesus. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask Him which one He means.” (John 13:22-24) May I point out three really important things in this short paragraph?
First, do you see that phrase ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’? Five times that phrase appears in John’s Gospel, each time it is referring to John the disciple, the author of this Gospel.
Now, why would John use that phrase to describe himself? Did Jesus not love all of them, as He does all of us? Of course, Jesus loved them all, but it appears John was simply overwhelmed that Jesus would love him, a simple, sometimes overly emotional, fisherman. May I ask… are you overwhelmed that Jesus loves you so much that He died for you?
Second, did you notice where John was reclining at the Seder table? Next to Jesus!
I think that is an indication of their deep friendship. I think it’s also an indication that John didn’t want to miss ANYTHING Jesus might say or do that Passover evening. So, I ask another question: how much effort do you and I expend to NOT miss anything Jesus says or does? How do you and I measure our spiritual appetite?
Third, why do you think Peter didn’t simply ask Jesus the question himself? Why did Peter ask John to ask Jesus who Jesus meant?
Do you suppose, just maybe, Peter, knowing his flamboyant, spontaneous personality, which had gotten him in trouble more than once, might have wondered if given the right set of circumstances, HE might betray Jesus?
John reports to us what he did in response to Peter’s question: “Leaning back on Jesus, he asked Jesus, ‘Lord who is it’? Jesus answered, ‘it is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ Then dipping the piece of bread, Jesus gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered him.” (John 13:25-27) Oh my, we need to pause and ponder what’s happening here, don’t we? Do you see the tremendous tenderness and full trust John has in their relationship as he leaned back on Jesus, to ask about the traitor in the room? How does that compare with the relationship you and I have with Jesus?
And what do you think John means by declaring that Satan entered Judas? I think the Holy Spirit of God, when leading John to write this record many years after that upper room, impressed on John’s heart what only God could know about the Satanic harassment of Judas that night.
The phrase John used suggests Satan actually took possession of Judas’ soul; his mind, his emotions, his will, so that Judas took the bread. Why? Because Satan was determined to do anything and everything to prevent Jesus accomplishing the atonement Redemption mission for which God the Father had sent Jesus to earth.
What John writes next is vital for us to understand: “So Jesus told Judas, ‘What you are about to do, do quickly.’ But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. When Judas was gone, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him…” (John 13:27-31) Look closely my friends. What did we just witness?
I’m confident Jesus looked deeply in Judas’ eyes as Jesus extended the bread to him and Judas took it. Those words Jesus spoke in that moment were deeply understood by both of them, even though the others around the table were oblivious. Jesus FULLY understood ALL that was about to happen… both visible and invisible, over the next 18 hours. Judas had no idea how significant his act of betrayal would be for him, and for our world! But Jesus knew it was a vital, essential part of God’s Redemption plan. Jesus must be betrayed by those He loved and served as He became our atonement sacrifice. (Is. 53)
Interesting, isn’t it, that somehow Judas had been selected to be the treasurer of the group, even though Matthew was the tax collector? Also, interesting that evidently John and others knew Judas was a thief, yet no one did anything about that.
And what did Jesus mean by His statement as Judas left the room: ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” Would you consider that God the Father was MOST glorified when God the Son was fully obedient to the Father in every way, even in His heart? Jesus was declaring His full intention to follow through on every painful detail of the Father’s Redemption plan, including betrayal by one of His disciples.
Jesus was also determined to HONOR God by His words, attitudes and actions, even in this very dark experience. Would you agree it is in the deeply dark, painful, difficult times of our lives that the condition of our heart, our attitudes, our words, our actions most honor or dishonor our Savior? Now we need to pause and consider what normally happens when we find our expectations of others are not met, especially if we feel betrayed?
The ‘lessons learned’ notes below will really help us wrestle with the personal application to our own lives of this difficult moment for Jesus. A very powerful worship song will then bring you to Jesus and His never-ending love for us; and I’ll be here in the upper room waiting for you tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: John 13:19-31.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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