This has been the longest night of my life! Let me tell you all about it, but before I do, I need to start from the beginning.
Really, it all started when Jesus called me about 3 years ago. I must admit, I was quite honored to be called by Jesus. I didn't really understand what he was all about, but I knew there was just something about him that I wanted to be a part of. When he talked about God being his Father, and when I would hear him teach, and see him heal, I thought surely this was the ONE. The Chosen One, the One who would restore Jerusalem to its rightful place. I was so confident of it that I followed him wherever he went. Besides it was an honor to be chosen as one of the twelve. Can you believe it, me, out of all the people he could have chosen, he picked me!
There was also Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the other James and Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and then there was me, Judas. I am the one from Iscariot. I was chosen to be the treasurer of our little group. My main responsibility was to collect the money from willing donors and distribute it accordingly to the poor. I took on the responsibility with pleasure, besides, I sort of liked being around the money.
But, anyway, those years of following Jesus were pretty exciting. Between the healings, the teachings, the confrontations, and the daily struggles our lives were filled with excitement. There really was never a boring moment. There were a couple of times that stand out in particular. Like the time that we were up near the Sea of Galilee..... Then there was also the time when we got word that Jesus buddy, Lazarus, was near death ..... Which reminds me of another time that Lazarus sister, Mary, burst into our evening meal uninvited .....
We would travel all the way from the northern tip of the kingdom to the southern most part of the kingdom. And as time went on, my confidence in Jesus continued to grow. And I was just waiting for Jesus to take his rightful place on the throne, I was just waiting for him to rise to power and overthrow the Roman Pigs. Anytime now I would think to myself day after day, week after week, month after month, but the time never seems to be coming and I was growing extremely impatient. And the more I grew impatient, the more I was determined that it was time to take matters into my own hands. Besides, Jesus is the one, he just needs a little encouragement. So I'll be the one to help him along. So I devised a plan and what a plan it was.
Your wanting to know the plan, aren't you? Well let me tell you. I thought and I thought. "What would push Jesus over the edge? What would it take for him to take his rightful place as the King of Israel?" So I thought some more, and I thought, what if I were to point out Jesus to the Pharisees and all the religious leaders, what if I were point him out to the ones who doubted him the most, the ones who were most antagonistic towards him. Then they would seize him and arrest him, and that would be enough for Jesus to prove to everyone that He is who he claims to be. That would be enough for Him to rise to power and overthrow the Romans. Besides, I'm sure the religious leaders would pay some pretty good money for me to lead them to Jesus. The money would be for the poor, of course! So with all of this in mind, I went to work. I met secretly with them, told them that I would point him out and they in turn offered to pay me, 30 pieces of silver. Now that is some big bucks. For the poor, of course!
We decided that Thursday night would be the night. Somehow I'll sneak away from the rest of the group and I would lead them to Jesus. We decided that a kiss on the cheek would be the sign. It seemed appropriate since a kiss on the cheek is a customary greeting. So it was a done deal, the plan was in motion and it was a good one I thought. There was no way that it would fail, they would arrest Jesus, force him to rise to power, the people would crown him, and he will be king! Oh I was excited, I am excited, in just a few more hours, I will rise, I mean Jesus will rise to power.
Now about tonight, a night I will never forget. You see in a few days it is the Passover feast so all of us disciples along with Jesus were getting ready for the evening meal. The table was set and we were reclining just enjoying each others company. I was sitting close to Jesus and everyone expected it to be just like any other evening meal. But it would turn out to be anything but a normal meal.
As we were reclining, Jesus rose to our surprise and took of all of his outer clothes, and the only thing that kept him from nakedness was a towel wrapped around him. He then proceeded to pour water into a basin and as he was doing this we were all in complete shock. We knew what he was about to do, but we couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe it. After all, this was supposed to by our King, our Ruler, and here he was near naked doing the work of a slave. Not just any slave, but the lowest of the low. Think about it, its the end of the day which makes for a long day of dust and dirt building up on our feet. I mean our sandals can only cover so much. Not the cleanest job in the world and here was Jesus kneeling down, loin cloth around him washing our feet and drying them with a towel. Shock and disbelief are good words of description. But for me, I was down right angry. This is not what he came to do, this was not his purpose. Oh, you should have heard Peter, he couldn't believe it and so as he always does, he blurted out a bold statement, but as always it didn't phase Jesus. And despite our attempts to stop him, he continued one by one to wash our feet. And I watched in disbelief as he washed Peter and Andrews feet, then James and John, then Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James and Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and then my feet. And all I could do was watch as he knelt down before me, water and towel gently rubbing my course, dirty, smelly feet. And the more he rubbed my feet, the more angry I became.
After he was finished with his little display. Jesus said something that took us all by surprise. He made the claim that one of us was going to betray him. We had no idea what he was talking about. We all just looked around at one another with looks of confusion trying to figure out what or who he was talking about. The silence was disturbing and the tension was high. Nobody said anything until John finally asked him who he was talking about.
The silence was piercing and the anticipation was nerve wracking. Who was he talking about? Who would are betray Him? Surely not one of us, surely not me! Then he spoke. He said that the betrayer was the one he handed the bread dipped in the cup to. Then he dipped the bread in the dish and he handed it to, he handed it to .... me! I couldn't believe it, I was in complete shock and so privately, since I was right next to him, I whispered, "Surely not me, teacher." And he responded, "Yes it is you."
YES IT IS ME, how is that possible, how could it be me! He was wrong, dead wrong. If he is speaking about my plan, he is misunderstanding me. What I am doing is not a betrayal, I am simply helping him fulfill his original purpose. It makes sense right, you do understand? Jesus came to rule the world with power and authority, and I am helping do that.
Well, I guess it's time to go, there waiting for me and they are not very patient. You'll see that I am doing the right thing. You'll see that he cam to do more than wash people's feet.
