Manifested Love, Pt 5: Betrayal
John 13:21-30 21After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” 22His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” 25Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 26Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
Psalm 139:23-24 23Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
In the 1960’s as color television was becoming the norm, there was a series called ‘ABC’s Wide World of Sports’ in which the opening credits showed anchorman Jim McKay speaking over an image of a disastrous Olympic Ski Jump competition saying, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” The idea was that in any dramatic event things can change at a moment’s notice or without notice at all. These verses shown above come immediately after the grandly loving and emotional scene of Jesus washing the feet of all the disciples, including Judas’; an event as dramatic as any seen so far and a scene which was about to change in an imposing way.
Jesus’ Troubled Spirit
These twelve men had been with Jesus for 3 years and knew Jesus as well as any human can know God. Presumably they knew his moods as well as any friend know the moods of the other. After the lovely scene of the foot-washing we would suppose the mood in the room would have been one of exultant humility as each human in turn had his feet washed by the Lord. But all would have noticed, especially John the beloved, the downcast countenance which must have come upon Jesus’ face. Although not recorded, someone must have asked, “What’s wrong, Lord?” Jesus, knowing what must soon happen and aware of the affect it would have on his friends, dumb founded them all by his words, “One of you is about to betray me.”
“Surely not I, …”
I don’t know how many times I’ve read this passage, and the counterparts in the other Gospels, certainly more times than I have fingers and toes, but never once did I notice the difference between the disciple’s response and Judas’. In the Matthew description the eleven respond “Surely not I, Lord,” and Judas responds, “Surely not I, Rabbi.” Over the years I’ve also wondered about Judas’ motivation in his betrayal of Jesus. How did he get to such a place? Was he inherently evil or just a flawed person? I think a clue lays in the two words. Lord carries the connotation of submission, of recognition of the majesty and divinity of Jesus. The word implies humility. Rabbi doesn’t. It just indicates roles. Judas was recognizing Jesus as his teacher, but not Lord. This reveals a sort of pride or arrogance that itself indicates a fatal disconnect on Judas’ part. His betrayal was a shocker to his fellow disciples; he had totally fooled them. Had he set out to fool them? Or was he just a closed person who didn’t let anyone get too close. We’ll probably never know. Many commentators assume Judas had always been a secret opponent of Jesus; That he continuously was looking for means and opportunity to betray him. But more likely it probably was a series of small compromises, like the tipping of a domino, that led to Judas’ downfall.
Wholesome self-distrust
Did you notice that in response to the beloved disciple’s query, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus never actually says, “It is Judas.”? Why did Jesus go through the drama of handing food to Judas to indicate his guilt? One reason is that the drama instilled into each heart in the room recognition that each was capable of such duplicity. That recognition is a good thing. These men were about to be charged with the responsibility of carrying Jesus’ message throughout the entire world. But they were men, capable of error, certainly carrying a sin nature. Were they carrying any Judas-like judgments or criticisms? What were their motives? Would they allow their doubts to stop them?
The hand that fed him
It seems to me that the second reason for the drama was even more important. Jesus had spent three years with Judas. He had given him an important job (treasurer). Knowing what Judas was about to do does not take away from Jesus’ divine character. He had just washed Judas’ feet and his love for Judas was no less available for him as it was for the eleven. Up to the last second forgiveness and restoration is available for the most seared reprobate. There is an idiom saying one should never bite the hand that feeds you. It was originally used in 600BC by the Greek poet Sappho so was presumably well known in Jesus’ day. It means to be ungrateful to one from whom you have received support or blessing. Jesus is offering a way out for Judas who is about to bite Jesus’ hand. I think about this scene as if it were a Hollywood movie. The tension would be rising; views focused on the questioning tenderness in Jesus’ eyes and the hard determination in Judas’. Redemption is possible up to the point Judas’ hand touches Jesus’ and then, rolls of thunder reeling, Satan enters Judas’ heart and the deed is done!
What about me?
It is tempting to read these accounts and have compassion for Jesus’ turmoil and sadness that Judas’ soul is about to be lost but much would be missed if that is all that is experienced. We all should realize that every single moment in our lives is a domino about to tip over. Every action has a consequence that itself is the next domino. Do we think about what we do? Do we ask God to guide our actions? Are we cavalier? Judas was lost to Satan because one step at a time he took the easy, wide road. He didn’t stay on the narrow road to eternity (see Matthew 7:13-14, Blog on 9/2/22). So what about me? If our focus is on God, whether through praying, or journaling, or writing, or worshiping, we will see things differently as we go through our day. Is our heart troubled? Ask God for help. Are we experiencing temptation? Seek strength through Jesus.
But trouble and temptation come upon us almost continuously. It is mostly beyond our human strength that we overcome them. We must daily go to God. When David wrote Psalm 139 he was expressing his awareness that God is everywhere and also asking God to help him be aware of his own limitations and weaknesses. We often live our lives through automatic response, not well thought out design. I ask you, dear saint, to do whatever you find works best to get in God’s presence as much as possible. So much so that God is your automatic response to every trouble or temptation.