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The events that unfolded that night in the upper room before Jesus’ arrest, as recorded in John’s Gospel, were not happening “to” Jesus.(1) The plan of redemption had been set in motion by the Father before the beginning of time. Jesus had always known what was going to occur. He knew when He called Judas Iscariot to follow Him as one of His disciples, that Judas would betray Him.
For there to be a cross, there needed to be an arrest. For there to be an arrest, there needed to be a betrayal. For there to be a betrayal, there needed to be a betrayer. But please do not misunderstand – Judas did not betray Jesus because God put it in his heart. Rather, Satan put it in his heart! But God knew Satan would do so … and He knew Judas would make that choice.
But even with that foreknowledge, John tells us that Judas’ action still caused Jesus to be deeply troubled. i don’t believe, at that moment, that He was troubled about the betrayal itself; i believe He was troubled about Judas. Jesus loved Judas. Jesus had walked together with all of His disciples for over three years. They had walked together intimately. They laughed together. They cried together. Jesus poured His life into each of those men – including Judas. Yes, He knew that Judas was about to betray Him. But He also knew, that soon after, Judas would hang himself, stepping into a Christless eternity in the torment of hell.
As Peter would later write, the Lord “does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”(2) “Everyone” includes Judas. In spite of what Judas was preparing to do, Jesus never stopped loving him. Judas chose to turn away from Jesus, but Jesus never chose to turn away from Judas. Jesus extended His love, even when it was not returned. i don’t know about you, but i know i will never have that kind of love that keeps loving even in the midst of betrayal … apart from Jesus.
There are three more observations regarding the interactions Jesus had with Judas that night in the upper room. First, Jesus had just finished washing the disciples’ feet.(3) He had washed the feet of ALL His disciples – including Judas. After washing their feet, Jesus said, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done.”(4) Jesus washed the feet of one whom He knew was going to betray Him that very night. That was a part of the example to follow! i don’t know about you, but i know i will never have that kind of servant’s heart … apart from Jesus.
Second, Jesus treated Judas as the guest of honor. It would have been the custom for the host of a special feast to take a piece of bread, dip it in sauce and present it to the guest of honor. Jesus was not giving the piece of bread to Judas solely to signify to John who the traitor was. He was extending honor and grace to Judas even up to the last moment. Jesus extended His grace, even when He knew it was about to be rejected. i don’t know about you, but i know i will never extend that kind of grace … apart from Jesus.
Third, John writes that as soon as Judas had eaten the bread Jesus had given him, Satan entered into him.(5) By turning away from his Lord, Judas opened his heart to Satan. It is a reminder to each of us that there is no place of neutrality. If we do not turn to Jesus, we are, in fact, turning to Satan. There is no middle ground. Just ask Judas.
Fourth, when Jesus declared to the disciples that one of them would betray Him, John records that “the disciples looked at each other, wondering whom He could mean.”(6) But what is telling is that apparently only Peter and John took the initiative to ask Jesus who the traitor was. That would indicate that each one thought it might be the other, or each one thought it might be himself. But apparently, except for John and perhaps Peter, no one suspected Judas when he got up to leave. So each of the other disciples, apparently believed that any one of them was capable of betraying their Lord, including himself.
That needs to be a sobering reminder to each one of us. Those who at that time had the most intimate relationship with the Savior did not see themselves as being incapable of betraying Him. Before we rush to passing judgement on Judas, we too need to make a thorough examination of our own hearts, lest we fall into the same pit. Each and every one of us is capable of betraying our Savior by our word, our action or our inaction. Don’t think that you’re beyond betraying Jesus. It has been said that we are all one step away from stupid! And this kind of “stupid” is a character issue; it is not a knowledge issue. It is only by His grace and by the power of His Holy Spirit that we can possibly remain faithful to the end. Don’t take that for granted. The disciples knew they were vulnerable, and so are we. Our faithfulness is fragile … apart from Jesus.
One more thing, at the end of this same passage, we are given a very practical example of this same truth about faithfulness. Jesus tells Peter that he will deny Him before the night is out. This comes on the heels of Peter declaring that He will follow Jesus anywhere – even to death. Peter believed he was incapable of such a thing. After all, he was Peter, the one on who’s declaration Jesus said He would build His church. He was Peter, the leader of the other disciples. He was Peter, the first to boldly declare Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He was Peter, one of Jesus’ most intimate followers and friends. If anyone had the right to say he would be faithful, it was Peter. And yet, he was the one who before the sun rose would do exactly what Jesus told him – he would deny his Lord.
Jesus knew that left to our own devices we would fail – just like Judas and Peter. That is why He sent His Helper – His Holy Spirit – to live within us to empower us to walk in His way, evidencing His character – His love, His servant’s heart, His grace and His faithfulness. But we would also do well to heed His warning – “apart from Me you can do nothing!”(7)
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Portions of this post have been taken from my book Taking Up The Cross, chapter 32.
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(1) John 13:21-38 (NLT)
Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and He exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray Me!” The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom He could mean. The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s He talking about?” So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when He had dipped it, He gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. So Judas left at once, going out into the night. As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into His glory, and God will be glorified because of Him. And since God receives glory because of the Son, He will give His own glory to the Son, and He will do so at once. Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for Me, but you can’t come where I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.” Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with Me now, but you will follow Me later.” “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.” Jesus answered, “Die for Me? I tell you the truth, Peter — before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know Me.
(2) 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
(3) John 13:1-20
(4) John 13:15 (NLT)
(5) John 13:27
(6) John 13:24-25 (NLT)
(7) John 15:5 (NLT)
Copyright © 2023 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
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