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The Sting of Betrayal John
13:18-30
Have you ever felt deceived?
Some of you, I am sure, have bought a car that has disappointed you and
you recognize that you bought a lemon. In case you don’t know it, there
are sure “Signs The Car You Bought Is a Lemon.”
10. As you leave the used car lot, you see the owner rush out with a
gigantic smile and high-five the salesman.
9. You notice that the car phone they threw in "for free" has a direct
line to Moe’s Towing Company.
8. The booster cables are not in the trunk but are permanently soldered
to the battery.
7. The hood has been equipped with a push-button device for quick and
easy opening.
6. The "Purchased From" sticker on the back of the car has been removed.
5. You get a "Good Luck" card from the previous owner.
4. As you drive up to a service station for gas, the mechanic opens the
big door and waves you in.
3. When you leave for work the next morning, you notice a tow truck
parked about a block from your driveway. As you go by, it silently falls
in behind you.
2. The little "Service Engine" warning signal in the dashboard comes on
and reads "Me Again."
1. Your spare tire is a pair of running shoes.
It is one thing, though, when a car betrays us. It is another when it is
a person.
You know, when we are betrayed, it elicits much negative emotion. We
feel angry. We feel angry, because it is only a friend that can take
true advantage of our vulnerability. Friends are designed to defend,
love and support us. We trust them. So when they take advantage of our
trust, we will always be visibly shaken.
As we return to John 13 today, we find this is the very type of
situation Jesus was facing…
Last week, we saw that Jesus washes the feet of all the disciples.
Culturally, we are unaccustomed to the washing of feet. But these men
were not. As Jesus and the disciples had come into the room there had
been no servant to take care of the customary duties. These were people
that traveled by foot, walked in sandals and made their way on dusty
roads that were cluttered with various nasty and disagreeable things. If
there was no servant, it was the custom that the first one or two who
arrived would wash the dirty feet of the rest of the guests. But it is
apparent that nobody in this group was in the mood for it. They were
enjoying the success of the week and began to be filled with bravado. No
one was willing to take the towel and basin.
But the love of Jesus is so strong, so radical…that He rises up to do
so.
Their Rabbi…
Their Master…
Their Messiah…
Their Redeemer…
He will wash their feet.
He is showing the eternal difference service makes.
As Jesus makes His way around the room, He is teaching them about the
event that is about to take place. He is teaching them about the service
of the cross. For in eternity, it was decided that He would leave the
fellowship of the Godhead. He would come to humanity and meet them on
their level. So, He laid aside His heavenly garments, and left the glory
of heaven. He became God incarnate. He became Immanuel, God with us. He
humbled Himself, taking the form of man, so that He might serve mankind.
Just as He was pouring water in the basin, He was foreshadowing that He
was about to pour out His own blood in death. And just as He had washed
feet, He was showing that He had come to wash hearts. So that, by the
blood of Jesus, we are made clean.
Now that Jesus has finished the demonstration, He makes a startling
revelation He announces a deceiver is in their midst. (18-22)
I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the
Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel
against me.’ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when
it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to
you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives
me receives the one who sent me.” After saying these things, Jesus was
troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one
of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain
of whom he spoke.
Jesus cannot hide it, and His voice gives it away. He is grieved. He is
hurt and distressed. For someone He has loved and trusted is not who he
says he is. Someone who has claimed loyalty will not fulfill it.
What is interesting for us to note is that this betrayer has acted well
because the disciples react with surprise.
No one had ever caught on to this liar and fraud. Every day, this person
has been a part of this band. He has laughed. He has cried. He has been
fearful. He has been proud. He has been one of them.
And what is also interesting to note is that Jesus had treated him no
differently. He has been his friend. He has been his teacher. Jesus has
washed his feet. He has loved him just as He had loved the others.
So curiosity is certainly aroused. Who can it be?
Who would do such a thing?
Peter, of course, is curious about the identity. (23-25)
One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table close to
Jesus, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was
speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him,
“Lord, who is it?”
(Picture of Last Supper)
The seating around this scene of the Lord’s Table is not like the Da
Vinci painting. They were not sitting in chairs, but rather reclined on
the floor with pillows, leaning on their left arm and eating with their
right.
Jesus would have been at the head of the table. To his left would have
been the position of honor, and to his right the secondary position.
Interestingly, it is not Peter that is sitting in the most favored seat.
John is on Jesus’ right in the secondary position, and it is Judas that
is on the left, in the position of honor.
Peter signals to John to find out who it is. Knowing Peter, he would be
ready to take on the betrayer, but as the scene unfolds, he does not
figure it out. But John is told, if he understands it.
Jesus reveals the betrayer. (26)
Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when
I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to
Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
Only John would know and hear, for what Jesus says is really intimate
conversation. You would have to be very close by to understand what was
being said. So Jesus, privately reveals to John it would be the one he
gives the morsel of food. When Jesus gives it to Judas, sitting in the
seat of honor, to the rest it would appear to be an act of tribute and
respect. But what only John and Jesus know at this moment is that it
marked the betrayer.
It is hard for us to understand Judas. It is apparent that he had a good
head for business and perhaps a reputation for honesty, for he was
chosen to be the treasurer for this small band. It is also probable that
he was ahead of the rest culturally. He had more education. He had more
social standing. He had more class compared to the rest. But we also
know that he was increasingly greedy as he kept skimming off the top of
the treasury to fill his own pockets.
Why he agreed to join the group is a mystery. Perhaps it was a chance to
fulfill a dream. Like so many Jews, he would have dreamed of a world
government flowing from Jerusalem and not from Rome. But if that was his
dream, it was fading. So, it may be that he became resentful and bitter,
for he was unable to control Jesus, and so he turns against Him.
As Jesus passes the morsel of food to Judas, it is a private moment as
Jesus looks into Judas’ eyes. It is an opportunity for Judas to repent.
For he is receiving the special honor. It is the gesture of friendship
and unity of mind and thought. It is Jesus reaching out, in love, to his
betrayer. As the hymn writer wrote:
O the deep, deep love of Jesus – Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me.
Even though the deal has been cut and the conspiracy is complete, Judas
can still turn back. Jesus hands him the morsel, it is as if Jesus
pleas, “Come on old friend. I know. It doesn’t matter. Turn now.”
This is, quite literally, the moment of truth. Judas is confronted with
a choice. (27-28)
Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said
to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now no one at the table
knew why he said this to him.
Here is Judas’ chance to retreat. Here is his chance to fulfill His
commission and do the work of the Kingdom.
But the answer is Silence.
Judas never opens up. He never admits what he is thinking. He keeps up
the false front with his phony façade.
Judas chooses evil. (29-30)
Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling
him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something
to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately
went out. And it was night.
He takes the morsel and eats and lives the lie. There is no remorse.
There is no confession. There is no repentance. And Judas passes the
point of no return.
It is like going over a cliff. You are not dead when you go over, but
you are going to be.
It is at this point that Judas is gone. His choice of silence activates
the enemy, and Satan takes the opportunity to fully own Judas. And Jesus
knows it, and gives Judas this instruction, “Get on with it.”
Living in darkness is an awful and sad choice.
“And it was night.” Judas has chosen his own place of darkness. He has
entered into doom. How alone he was! Forever, he is now separated from
Christ. He has rejected the One who loves him.
Among the conspirators who assassinated Julius Caesar on March 15, 44
B.C. was Marcus Brutus. Caesar not only trusted Brutus, he had favored
him as a son.
According to Roman historians, Caesar first resisted the onslaught of
the assassins. But when he saw Brutus among them with his dagger drawn,
Caesar ceased to struggle and, pulling the top part of his robe over his
face, asked the famous question, “You too, Brutus?”
Judas will see Jesus again in a few hours. And he will betray him. It
will not be with a poison pen. It will not be with a pointed finger. He
will betray Jesus with a kiss.
And when he comes to his senses, it will destroy him. Seized with
remorse, and the realization he has betrayed innocent blood, he will
hang himself, unsuccessfully dealing with his treachery.
APPLICATION:
One of the things I have discovered about the church is that we like to
see Judas in others. We like to point out how others are disappointing
Jesus. We like to point out the apostasy of others. We gladly share how
someone is improperly dressed, or is too emotional, or is compromising
the faith by an inappropriate relationship with the world. But you know
what? We will never be right with God with that method. Anytime we
present ourselves as a finished product, we are on the wrong path.
For…
Instead of being concerned about others, we should examine ourselves.
What we do best is deceive ourselves into thinking that we are all
right, and it is everyone else that is wrong. When we do this, truth
becomes increasingly distant from our lives. We live lies instead of
truth.
But Jesus beckons us to confront the truth of our wayward ways. For His
truth and His love go together. His arms are open. The morsel is
extended. His friendship is offered, even in the midst of our failures
and sin!
We must face our own betrayals.
We must! Each one of our sins is a betrayal of God’s person and His will
for us. And repetitive sin sets ourselves against God. As a result, we
become increasingly resistant and hostile.
For Judas, one of the deciding factors for him was his love of money.
And it is not less true today. People kill for it. People prostitute
their bodies for it. Families split over it. Enemies are made over it.
Do not be deceived. The love of money may be causing you to betray Jesus
today.
Please do not be deceived. Do not deceive yourself. We can consistently
come to church. We can sing with gusto. We can teach the truth of God’s
Word. We can give a portion of our salary. We can help and serve others.
And still leave heading into the night.
We choose daily to live in light or darkness. Where are you living?
Examine yourself today…don’t look at others, look at yourself, take a
good hard look at yourself, and be ready to be confronted by the Holy
Spirit who will open your heart and reveal the sin and betrayal that
lies deep in it.
Repent of your betrayals…don’t make excuses, don’t set them aside,
confess them and repent of them, recognize them for what they
are…treason against the Almighty, treachery against the Lord Jesus.
And choose to live in the light…don’t get caught in the night, don’t
walk away from Jesus, and miss the opportunity to be right with Him, and
pass up the joy of eternity.
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