Living The Loyal Life

Last week we started in a new direction as we began talking about being closely connected to Jesus. We said that in order to be more like Jesus, we need to exhibit a life of humble service. Today, we will talk about living a life of loyalty.

When a couple is going to have a new baby, it is their right and privilege to give that baby whatever name they decide. There are some very different names out there. But one thing is for sure, I have never met anyone named Judas. When Caran and I were choosing names for our three boys, the name Judas never crossed our mind. It never made it to the list.

Even today when the baby naming creativity has gone wild, we just don't meet any baby Judases. That's because Judas was the most famous betrayer in history. He didn't betray just anybody, Judas betrayed God Himself and he pushed Jesus, the one who came to save us, closer to the resurrection.

Judas may be an uncommon name, but betrayal is a common behavior. We talked about betrayal a few weeks ago in detail. We encounter it in nearly every area of life. Sometimes we even see it in ourselves. We might even see betrayal in the people of God.

In John 13 we are going to meet up with Judas, but we will also meet up with Jesus. We will see Jesus's glory on display, even on a heartbreaking occasion such as this. We are going to have the opportunity to rekindle our own loyalty to Jesus as we try to live a life that is connected to Him.

PRAYER

John 13 begins with an account of Jesus's last meeting with his 12 apostles before His crucifixion, and it included awkward and even painful moments. We probably have all been in meetings that involved uncomfortable conversations. But this discussion between Jesus and the men he had chosen to change the world suddenly went from feet washing and servant leadership to accusations of betrayal. You might remember from last week in verse 10 where Jesus openly stated that not everyone in the group was clean. He was referring to what is now going to happen.

John 13:21-27 – “21 When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in his spirit and testified, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

22 The disciples started looking at one another—uncertain which one he was speaking about.

****23 One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining close beside Jesus. 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to find out who it was he was talking about. 25 So he leaned back against Jesus and asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

****26 Jesus replied, “He’s the one I give the piece of bread to after I have dipped it.” When he had dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son. 27 After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan entered him. So Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.”

Jesus spoke clearly when he said, “one of you will betray me.” Can you imagine your boss saying that in a meeting? The reaction of the disciples was much like what you would expect, regardless of the context. They wanted to know who it could possibly be. Who's the betrayer? How does Jesus know there's a betrayer? What will the betrayer do? Am I the betrayer? Clearly, the disciples were confused. In fact, Peter signals to John, who was sitting next to Jesus, to find out who Jesus was talking about. Someone in that very room was disloyal.

John asked Jesus who the traitor was, and in response, Jesus dipped a piece of bread into the bowl they shared at the table and handed the bread to Judas. After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan entered him, and Jesus dismissed Judas to carry out his plan of betrayal.

Now here is a mind opener for you. It's important to recognize that we don't have to be named Judas to be disloyal to Jesus. We only have to be sinners, and we are. This passage should cause our hearts to break for Judas, but it should also cause us to look for the disloyalty in our own lives. Since Jesus is who He says He is, and since He has done what the word says He has done, He is worthy of 100% of our hearts. He is worthy of our complete devotion. Does Jesus have 100% of your loyalty and devotion?

Jesus was both fully God and fully man. We'll see evidence of His divinity in the next few verses, but here we see evidence of His humanity. We are told in verse 21 that Jesus was troubled in His spirit.