John 13: 18 – 30
I honor him – he betrays Me
18 “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ 19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. 20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” 21 When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” 22 Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke. 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. 25 Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. 29 for some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
Our Lord has said that people have ears to hear but cannot hear? In other words people are not deaf but based on having their minds not correctly focused on the issue at hand they do not hear exactly what our Lord Jesus was saying to them. We see here in this passage that our Lord Jesus now brings out the astonishing fact that one of His own disciples would ‘betray’ Him. To us the meaning of this is clear for we know precisely what happened afterwards. But we must remember that it would not have been clear to the disciples. Indeed the actual reality would have been beyond their imagination. Thus we learn in the other Gospels that each disciple thought that he might be the one who would betray Jesus. They clearly did not see His words as indicating a deliberate act of betrayal. Rather they all assumed that such a betrayal, whatever the word portrayed, would be involuntary, and probably that it would take place sometime in the future. They would thus have had no reason for preventing Judas from leaving. Let us take a quick look at what the other Gospel writers reported.
Matthew 26: 20 – 25, 20 “When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. 21 Now as they were eating, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” 22 And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” 23 He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”
Mark 14:18 – 21, “18 Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.” 19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?” 20 He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish. 21 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
Luke 22:21–23, “21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” 23 Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.
18 “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’
What The Lord Jesus had done had brought home was something that only He knew, and that was that not all of them were ‘clean’. Please notice that Judas in Matthew’s Gospel didn’t accept The Son of God as his Lord – He calls Him ‘Rabbi’. 25 Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?” He said to him, “You have said it.”
The Lord Jesus knew that there was one among them to whom His past words could have no meaning. For our Lord Jesus was well aware that besides choosing those who, though failing through weakness, would finally stand the test, He had chosen one who was basically weak and would now fail - One whose heart had not been cleansed.
It is a reminder to us that all must be given a chance, even those who will fail, for who knows whether they will make a recovery? Judas had been given his chance, and had been received into the closest relationship, something to which he had outwardly fully responded. There is no reason to doubt that he had also performed miracles in the Name of Jesus. But he was to fail in the end.
The phrase ‘to eat bread’ signified an avowal of friendship. You did not eat bread with an enemy, for it would contravene the laws of hospitality. But there will always be those who betray those who trust them, and who can comprehend what thoughts must have been going through Judas’ mind at this moment?
Nor can we fathom all his reasons for acting as he did. Was it greed for money? Disappointment with the kind of Messiah Jesus was proving to be? Anger at some imagined slight which injured his self-esteem?
All of these possibly played a part in his reasoning. But none really excused him for an act of pure treachery. The ‘lifting up of the heel’ may suggest a recalcitrant animal which kicks out at its owner and friend.
Just as the Psalmist (Psalm 41.9) had experienced betrayal by a close friend, so would our Lord Jesus. It was necessary, for how else could He be said to suffer temptation as we do? He knew that He must go through the experiences of all those who have suffered for God, and that their sufferings were a mirror of His own. Thus was it a fulfillment of the Scripture which portrayed humanity as they are.
We should note the significance of the fact that Jesus performed the physical ‘cleansing’ act on Judas also. He did not see an outward ceremony as having any automatic inward effect. He was well aware that it was symbolic and that it was only efficacious on those whose hearts had truly responded.
19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He
Our Great God Jesus Christ knew that the betrayal which would result in His shameful death would come as a crushing blow to His disciples. He knew that they might then be tempted to think, ‘if Jesus were really from God would He not have known?’ and might finally lose hope. But God would not allow them to be tempted above what they were able. Our Lord Jesus wanted them therefore to be aware that He knew beforehand about His coming betrayal. Thus could they be confident of Who He was.
Please see with me a significant point - ‘From now on’. These words suggests that up to this point our Lord Jesus had wanted Judas to realize that there was still an opportunity for him not to go ahead with his betrayal. He had offered him every opportunity.
Please take a look at some of these Parables of our Lord Jesus and you can see that our Lord was telling Judas that He was aware of what he was doing. If Judas’s heart was pricked then he could have repented but he thought that all that he thought and did no one knew.
Here are a few that I can think of;
. The Weeds among the Wheat.
. The Unforgiving Servant
.The Rich Fool
.The Barren Fig Tree
.The Lost Coin.
. Lazarus and the Rich Man
. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector.
It was only now that The Lord Jesus drew a veil over these attempts, and declared in a way that Judas would understand that for him there was now no hope. He had gone too far. His opportunity had gone. So He was aware of the struggle that was going on in Judas’ head and had seen him finally determine, against every pleading of conscience, that he would go on with his plan.
20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
These words are in strong contrast to the actions of Judas. They stress the carrying on of Jesus’ ministry through His followers. He has groomed them for this and He is no longer necessary. His earthly task apart from His final sacrifice is complete. He will be represented by His own, and reception of them and their message will be reception of Him, and reception of Him in this way will be reception of the Father. Thus will they know that He Is Who He Is.
. 21 When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”
Please take a moment and enter into the heartache that our Master and King Lord Jesus now experiences. He confirms that He knew at this point that Judas had made his final decision. That he had hardened his heart and was now beyond helping. But this was not something that was easy for our Loving and Gracious God Jesus to accept. He had clearly loved Judas and felt deeply betrayed. Think about the possibility that Judas had spent the 3 and one half years in our Lord’s presence. He observed all our Lord’s words and acts. He saw the miracles. He laughed and cried with the rest of the gang. Thus our Lord’s Jesus’ Spirit was troubled within Him, and this forced out of Him the anguished words ‘one of you will betray me’. The plain truth could be held back no longer.
22 Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke.
Nothing that Judas had done had brought Judas under suspicion, although John appears to have been a little unsure of him as revealed in chapter 12 verse 6 which John indicates he felt Judas was tapping the till. But then again John wrote his Gospel around 90 AD so he had plenty of time to think about his time as an apostle with Judas. However, there is a great deal of difference between petty theft and open betrayal.
We do see in this verse that John admits that he along with all the others were totally baffled, uncomfortable, and unsettled. The other Gospels tell us that they asked, aware of their own possible frailty, ‘Lord, is it I?’ They knew Jesus must be right and it awakened their worst nightmares and fears about themselves. They were not, however, thinking of quite such a total betrayal as Judas would perpetrate. They were probably thinking in terms of ‘letting the Lord down’.
23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
Now some people have thought, ‘my, my John, aren’t you special.’ Sure you didn’t identify yourself but we know this is you.’ So, before we also go along with this type of thinking we have to understand that John has previously declared our Lord Jesus’ overwhelming love for all the disciples in the beginning of chapter 13 verse 1, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
John is simply stating that he is one of those guys who have been with the Lord since the beginning of His ministry. Like them he was a disciple whom Jesus loved. It suggests that it was ever a wonder to him that Jesus loved him, and he never ceased, even in his old age, to forget what a marvel it was that Jesus had chosen him (with the others) to be a disciple. As the writer of the Gospel he is wary of using his own name (or that of his brother), so he calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. This is his most treasured thought. Now this makes you think a little different now, doesn’t it?
Now let me say something about John’s remark - ‘In Jesus’ bosom’. A lot of people do not understand this because they are familiar with ‘The Last Supper’ by Leonardo da Vinci. Our Lord Jesus Christ Is very much the focal point of the entire piece and we have a sense of asymmetrical symmetry as he is flanked by His disciples. There are thirteen people in all (including Christ), presumably the figure of Judas Iscariot is to the right of Christ, as he was still present at the meal.
It is a very nice painting but almost entirely wrong. Scripture tells us a different story. The dinner guests were not sitting down at a table with chairs. In fact, they were lying back on their sides at a small table which was ‘U’ shaped. [Figure an upside down horse shoe]. At the top center was the host which was our Lord Jesus Christ.
Every person is lying down at his right hand on cushions, with his legs stretched backwards, so that Jesus, leaning on His left elbow, was looking towards John. In speaking to our Lord John would just lean back and look up, thus his head touched our Lord’s breast. This is the second favored place. The first favored would be on Jesus’ left. It was for the guest of honor. The trusted one towards whom a man could turn his back. Guess who that was? It was Judas
24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. 25 Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
Now thanks to our precious Holy Spirit we find where Peter was at. We notice that he signals John to ask the Lord exactly who is the one who will betray Him? Peter had to be the last one in the seating arrangement. He had to be at the far end of the table in the last seat. There he and John could see each other very clearly.
Don’t forget that Peter was rebuked before by the Lord for being in cahoots with Satan by telling the Lord that He shouldn’t go to the cross. So, possibly he is thinking, ‘Oh no, am I going to be the one in the future who will be the one.’
Please notice that our Lord tells John exactly who the one who will betray Him would be. I am sure you have enjoyed nachos and salsa. The disgusting act is when one double dips his chip into the salsa. Am I right? The apostles and our Lord were enjoying a meal somewhat like this. There was a bowl of meat and other substances where everyone would have some flat bread. The guest of honor would take some flat bread and dip it into the bowl and offer it first to the guest of honor. The bowl then would be passed around the room where everyone would be dipping.
Our Merciful Lord Jesus did not denounce the traitor openly. Now that Judas has delivered himself into Satan’s hands He wished him to carry out his evil deed. Thus while The Lord Jesus made known to John who it was, He did not bring home to him the importance of the betrayal in mind, and also kept the fact from the other disciples.
Now, we have here a great mystery. How come John didn’t tell Peter what our Lord told him. How come John kept silent? How come the other guys didn’t continue to seek the answer?
Well we all can ask John ourselves when we get to heaven.
I do have a few thoughts in regards to all these possibilities. First of all I believe John was confused as to the exact nature of the Lord Jesus’ description of what was going to happen. Our Lord had said, ‘One has lifted up his heel against Me’, and then He also says, ‘I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”
Again when one lifts up his heal against you it means that they are kicking you when you are down. And there are different ways we get betrayed. I do not know about you but I have been kicked and betrayed numerous times when I was down by so called brothers and friends. Has this same happened to you?
As I just described how Peter was rebuked for his careless response to our Lord perhaps the disciples all felt the same possibility that the Lord might say it would be them.
John is told by The Lord that Judas is the one. Yet stop and think from John’s perspective. Judas can’t be doing anything that bad. After all he is the guest of honor at this dinner.
So, to change the whole way of debate the Lord changes the conversation.
27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. 29 For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
This confirms the fact that none of them knew the significance of what had happened. The others merely assumed he had duties to perform. Buying ‘for the feast’ refers to the purchases that will need to be made for the remaining days of the feast of Unleavened Bread, and especially for the next day. The 15th of Nisan was always a ‘Sabbath’ but special concessions were made with regard to preparations for meals on that day. That Judas was thought to be able to purchase at night after the Passover meal demonstrates that food sellers made special provision for providing such goods at that time.
‘And it was night’. Again we should note the double significance. True, it was dark outside, although there would be a bright Passover moon. But the truth is that the darkness was more inside Judas. There had never been such darkness. The blackness of the darkest night was in his heart. He had forsaken the light of the world.
