As we return to John, we left off with Jesus teaching on foot washing and service to the Body of Christ. Jesus, as a servant, ministered to all twelve with 2 main points. First, that we should serve the Body of Christ in humility not seeking honor. Secondly, we need the daily ministry of Christ to keep ourselves clean from the impact of the world.
Jesus, as fully God, in Chapter 12 and Verse 27 said that his soul was troubled at the task of paying the price for our sins. Here, after washing the feet of the Disciples and caring for them, Jesus, as fully man, is troubled again by Judas. I don't mean to indicate any division in the 2 complete natures of Christ but in the first case His divine holiness was about to be assaulted by our sins and in this present case His perfect love of the men called to be disciples is betrayed.
John 13:21-30
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. 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?" 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. 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. 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.
Jesus was fully aware of what was about to happen and how it was going to happen. He didn't just know the general (John 12:27) but here we see He knew specifically how He would walk out being the Lamb of God.
No one suspected that Judas was not truly a believer in Jesus. Remember that these guys didn't fellowship just once or twice a week for an hour. These guys lived together 24/7 being disciple by Jesus as Rabbi and yet Judas was not submitted to the process in reality and never really submitted to Christ as Lord. His superficial behavior was a cloak for a heart that was far from God. It fooled the eleven other disciples but could not fool Christ. Judas, and us as well, are transparent before God. Other men, and even Satan, can't know your thoughts. However, God knows your thoughts before you know them and He knows them fully and perfectly and not as you know yourself only partially and imperfectly.
The disciple "whom Jesus loved" was John and he was leaning against Jesus. Peter signaled for John to ask who it was. It is difficult to know how long all of this took. Jesus told John to watch the bread. To whomever He gave the bread after he dipped it was the betrayer. Matthew tells us in Chapter 26 Verse 25 that Judas had the nerve to ask if he was the one and Jesus confirmed it but it seems it was a private moment and the others didn't know. It is possible that Judas was seated in the place of honor on Jesus left with John on the right. This would have made a private moment possible, passing a piece of bread easy, and explain why Peter needed John to ask who it was. When Judas got up and left it was a normal thing and the others, in general, thought that he was going to purchase something.
Judas had three years with Jesus but it didn't result in redemption. Judas is often viewed as a tragic character and sometimes people attempt to paint him as the unfortunate one because it was his "destiny" to betray and die. When Jesus looked at him and said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly" then Judas was fully given over to Satan. Especially it seems in the last few decades there has been an effort to "justify" Judas and to paint him as a tragic character. He is tragic but he is not "justified."
We use the following argument in various forms …
Romans 9:17-24
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
God will be glorified in each man's life. It will either be by God's patient endurance prior to destruction or by His mercy on those He redeems. Judas was morally responsible for his rejection of Christ. Apart from the riches of His glory in us – as vessels of mercy – we would have been able to spend 3 years with Jesus, sit under His teaching, and sell Him out at the end. We have men who listen to the Gospel over and over in this nation without a change of heart. Churches as a whole – even Baptists as a whole – in our nation have drifted from the doctrines that gave us birth in the Reformation and we are either ignorant or proud or both for rejecting passages of Scripture like these in Romans.
In our culture we have a high and exalted view of each of our wills. We bow up at verses like these in Romans and don't really take it to heart. We should be overwhelmed by the riches of His glory for us as vessels of mercy. But we are not. We are so convinced of our fair mindedness that we "don't understand" how Judas could be with Jesus and not have Jesus as Lord when the opposite should be true. We should wonder at how could the 11 could be with Jesus and accept Him as Lord because they were rebellious sinners like us? Jesus says that it was because of His work to keep the disciples as a good shepherd that they were saved. Our worship becomes diminished because we do not rightly value the riches of His mercy in our lives.
God is sovereign in all aspects of creation and upholds all of creation and there is not an atom outside His sovereign will … but you are morally responsible from your sin.
John 13:31- 35
When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
As Judas departs Jesus says that the Son is glorified, that the Father is glorified in the Son, the Father will glorify the Son in Himself, and that it will happen quickly. Jesus also points to his work on the Cross and His departure to return to Heaven as being almost ready to occur. He steps into the pater familia role here as the head of household for us with the phrase "little children."
So what is new about being told to "love one another?" Well I think it is a contextually new command. When the Church is betrayed and opposed by the religious and secular powers surrounding the Church then your love – expressed as active care for the brethren – is to be the mark of discipleship. This love is a love commanded within the Church to exceed that love we are required to show to all men.
John 13:36-38
Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward." Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
The failure of Judas and Peter should make all of us cry out to God for strength to stand. I don't think the full weight of the failure hits us. We rationalize the failures of Judas and Peter as the failure of men with tragic flaws in their nature. We don't think of ourselves as flawed. I've spoken of the noetic effects of sin before. Sin has an effect on your mind and you don't think as well as you should. This is especially evident in spiritual discussions. You look in the mirror of Scripture and then go away and immediately forget what manner of man you are. Ask God to help you to not think more highly of yourself than you should.
In spite of the treason of Judas, and the pending failure of Peter and all the disciples, Jesus immediately gives some of the most comforting words in Scripture.
John 14:1-7
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
These words come on the bombshell of Peter's bad news and of course at this point John and Peter knew that Judas was a traitor. Jesus says that He is going someplace that they can't go. This is pretty disturbing but Jesus tells them not to let their hearts be troubled. The way to do this is to believe God and to believe Jesus. Jesus looks forward through the Cross to the finish line. Jesus promises a place for us. He promises that He will prepare a place for each of us and take us there.
As Thomas finds out, Jesus is the way and there is no other way. The riches of God's mercy are mediated in Christ. There is no second method of coming to God. There are not multiple paths up a mountain in which all religions meet at the top. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. The Cross is the only way to forgiveness.
John 14:8-14
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father. You can't ask for a different view as Philip did. It is a nonsensical question. It isn't possible to answer the request.
The disciples, just like us, have the perfect words spoken in perfect accord with all of Scripture. Jesus, in effect, says, "Either believe because of the perfect agreement between Me and the Father or else believe because of all the signs the Father gave to testify to my teaching."
The other aspect is that the signs will multiply through the Church to establish it. We have the Cannon of Scripture so we are not in the position of the first century Church in which we require apostolic authority in teaching to be established by signs and wonders. On the other hand, we don't want to be in need because we don't ask for what we need to glorify the Father. Ask the Father in Jesus' name so that we can do what God says, in the way He says, and at the time He says with no thought but for His glory.
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