Have you ever had a close friend of yours turn against you for no good reason? It really hurts, doesn’t it? King David had that experience and he comments on it in Psalm 41:9 where he says “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.” In the east, to eat bread with someone was a sign of friendship and loyalty. In 2 Samuel 9, verses 7 and 13, King David granted to Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, the privilege of eating at his table. Going back to Psalm 41:9, it appears that David is talking about Ahithophel, his trusted counsellor who, in 2 Samuel 16 and 17, conspired with David’s son, Absalom, to have David murdered, but David found out about it. In chapter 13 of John’s gospel, Jesus is in a similar situation. He had just washed His disciples’ feet and they were about to eat the Passover meal together when Jesus quotes verse 9 of Psalm 41. Jesus’ heart is filled with sorrow at that moment, and He is communicating that sorrow to His disciples, including Judas, whom He has just referred to as His “close friend”.
I. JESUS PREDICTS HIS BETRAYAL (verses 18-21)
We see a change of emphasis in verse 18 of John chapter 13, from the topic of humility to Jesus’ prediction that one of them would betray Him. Jesus says, “I know the ones I have chosen”, that is “chosen to apostleship”. Jesus didn’t make any mistakes when He chose His disciples. He prayed all night before He chose them, yet all the while He knew the prophecy that one of them would betray Him, would “lift up his heal” to do violence to Jesus. That description gives me a picture in my mind of a horse lifting its hoof to kick someone. In verse 19 Jesus says that He is going to tell them what will happen to Him so that when it does occur, “you may believe that I am.” Some translations add the word “he” but that word is not in the Greek text. The phrase “I am” is one of the Old Testament names for God and Jesus has used that phrase several times to refer to Himself. Then Jesus gives them a word of encouragement in verse 20, reminding them that they are His ambassadors, just as He represents the Father.
Now in verse 21, Jesus gets very direct with them. Have you ever watched a mystery movie or read a mystery novel that had a scene in which there were several people in a room, and the detective looks around at each one of them and says, “the murderer is in this room?” The scene is very similar here in verse 21 where Jesus says, “One of you will betray me.” By saying those words, Jesus may have been giving His betrayer an opportunity to abandon his evil plan. The word “betray” is the translation of a Greek word that means “to deliver up” or to deliver over someone to imprisonment and death.
II. THE DISCIPLES’ RESPONSE (verses 22-25)
Verse 22 tells us that the twelve were looking around at each other in surprise. Matthew 26:20-26 adds that each one of them was also looking inward at his own heart. Each disciple asked Jesus the same question, “Surely, it is not I , Lord” with the exception of one disciple – Judas, who said, “Surely, it is not I, Rabbi.” He wasn’t willing to call Jesus “Lord”. Since Judas was reclining on a couch next to Jesus, he must have whispered those words in Jesus’ ear and Jesus whispered back saying, “You have said it yourself.” Jesus was saying to Judas, “Yes, you are the one who will betray me.” None of the other disciples heard their conversation. After hearing those words whispered to him by Jesus, Judas now knew that Jesus was aware of his plot to betray Him.
Now this was the night before the feast of Passover as Jesus and His disciples were eating this meal. Normally, the people sat to eat, but on special feasts, parties, and weddings, it was proper to recline on couches at the table on your left side, leaving your right hand and arm free to eat and pass food. John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, must have been reclining to the right of Jesus in order to be able to lean his head on Jesus’ chest. Peter is a short distance away and makes some kind of gesture to John, urging him to find out who the betrayer is. In verse 25, John must have whispered the question in Jesus’ ear, and Jesus must have replied in verse 26 in a low voice that only John could hear. Jesus said, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I have dipped it in the dish.” It was the Jewish custom at the beginning of the Passover meal for the host to reach over with a piece of bread, take out the choicest piece of lamb, wrap it with bitter herbs and give it to the guest of honor. By making Judas the honored guest, the Lord Jesus again offered Judas His grace and love if Judas would repent of his sin, abandon his plan, and believe in Him In verse 27 we see that Judas rejected the offer and became a willing instrument of Satan, motivated by greed. Jesus said to him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” Judas leaves and the eleven disciples are left wondering just what Jesus meant and why Judas left. They probably thought Jesus sent Judas on a mission to give money to some poor people since he was the treasurer and had the money bag.
The rest of the story is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapters 26 and 27. In Matthew 26, verses 48 and 49, Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss, and in chapter 27 we read that Judas “felt remorse” because he knew that Jesus was innocent. He regretted what he had done but never truly repented. Repentance means abandoning one’s pride, and it leads to faith, salvation, cleansing, and new life, but Judas went and hanged himself. This is also what David’s friend, Ahithophel, did when his advice to Absalom wasn’t followed.
Pastor Ray Stedman shared some things that are important for us to know. He said, “Judas did not have to be that traitor. He was not doomed, chosen, or foreordained by God for that role. He, like all human beings, had free choice – the ability to choose either good or evil. He could have turned and repented at any point. If Judas had not fulfilled that prophesy of Psalm 41:9, it doubtless would have been fulfilled in some other way by someone else. . . . But one fact is clear: Judas was never forced into the role of traitor. It was a role he chose for himself by the daily moral choices that he made.”
Something else we learn about Judas is that he was “the great pretender”. He was the most successful hypocrite of all time. He played his part so well that no one except Jesus Himself knew that Judas was a fraud and a pretender. He hid behind the camouflage of hypocrisy and no one but Jesus recognized it. Judas never received Christ as his Lord. He never yielded his heart; he never turned over his will to Jesus. For three years, Judas was in close association with Jesus and experienced Jesus’ love for him and for the other disciples on a daily basis. He was even sent out, along with the other disciples, and given the power to cast out demons and cure diseases, yet his inward life hadn’t changed. His Lord was not Jesus, but Satan.
The story of Judas is a message for those who attend church and hear the clear teaching of God’s Word, but have never responded by repenting of their sins and following Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Judas associated himself with spiritual light but chose to walk in spiritual darkness. The story of Judas should cause us to examine our own hearts toward God. Is Jesus Christ the central focus of our lives? The story of Judas is also a reminder that we can deceive people by our outward actions, but there is no hiding from the eyes of God. Proverbs 15:3 says, “For the eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.” His desire is to know us personally and intimately so that He might accomplish His purposes in and through our lives as we are filled and controlled by Him. The apostle Paul said it well when He described His purpose for living from an eternal perspective. In Philippians 1:21 he said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Who are we looking for? Are we living for Christ or for ourselves? How can we know? You might want to ask yourself a few questions. What do I spend most of my time thinking about? What do I spend most of my time talking about? What am I looking for in life and have I found it? In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon was unhappy and he went down many dead-end streets in the pursuit of happiness. In each case he said it was “striving after wind.” At the end of the book, Solomon said, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear (or worship) God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” True joy, peace, and contentment come into our lives when we put Christ first and follow Him with all our hearts.
CONSTRUCTION SITE: MORE TO FOLLOW SOON. . ,