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Hypocrisy: Jesus & Judas (13:18–35)—part 2 of 2
"And it was night” is a small phrase of John’s, but it makes a giant impact when you remember that light and darkness are important spiritual images in his gospel. Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12), but Judas rejected Jesus and went out into darkness; for Judas, it was still night. Those who do evil hate the light (John 3:18–21). Judas did not heed our Lord’s warning in John 12:25–26, and lost sinners today do not heed it either. Lost sinners are people who will go where Judas went unless they repent and trust the Savior. As soon as Judas had left, the air cleared, and Jesus started teaching His disciples, preparing them for His crucifixion and His eventual return to heaven. It was after Judas had gone that He instituted the Lord's Supper, something that Judas, as an unbeliever, could not share. Judas was out in the night, under the control of the prince of darkness, Satan, but Jesus was in the light, giving love and truth to His beloved disciples. What a difference! Now the theme changes; it is presently the glory of God (John 13:31-35). From the human perspective, the death of Christ was a dastardly deed of unspeakable suffering and humiliation, but from the divine perspective, it was the revelation of the glory of God. The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified” (John 12:23). The title “Son of man” occurs twelve times in this gospel, and this one in John 12:31 is the last occurrence. This title is Messianic in Daniel 7:13, and Jesus sometimes used it thus (Matt. 26:64). What did glorifying the Father mean for Jesus? He tells us in His prayer, “I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). This is how we all glorify God: by faithfully doing what He calls us to do. In our Lord's case, the Father's will was for the Son to die for lost sinners, be raised from the dead, and ascend into heaven. The Son glorified the Father, and the Father glorified the Son (John 17:1, 5) There would be a time when the Son would be glorified in these disciples (John 17:10), but they could not follow Him then. Peter boasted that he would follow the Lord even to death (Luke 22:33), but alas, he denied Him three times. Jesus told the Jews on two occasions that they would try to locate Him but would not be able to find Him or follow Him (John 7:33–36; 8:21–24). Note that He said to the unbelieving Jews that they would not be able to find Him, but He did not say this to His disciples. The believing disciples would see Him after His resurrection (John 14:1–3), and someday they would go to be with Him. But during His suffering and death, it was important that they refrain from trying to follow Him. I have heard eloquent sermons on the sin of Peter, who “followed afar off” (Luke 22:54), and the emphasis was that he should have followed closer. The simple fact is he should not have followed at all! The statement in John 13:33 is proof enough, and when you add Matthew 26:31 (quoted from Zech. 13:7) and our Lord’s words in John 18:8, the evidence is conclusive. Peter did not listen to the warning, and it got him into trouble. The disciples’ task was to love one another as Christ had loved them. In the hours to come, they would surely need this love, when their Master would be taken from them and their brave spokesman, Peter, would fail Him and them. They would all fail, and their only bond would be their love for Christ and one another. In John 1-12, the word "love" is used only twelve times, but in John 13-21, it is used forty-four times! It is the key word in Christ’s farewell sermon to His disciples and a burden in His high priestly prayer (John 17:26). The word "new" does not mean “new in time,” for love has been important to God’s people even from Old Testament times (see Leviticus 19:18). It is 'new in experience, new.' It’s the opposite of “worn out.” The death of Christ on the cross would provide a new meaning and power to love (John 15:13). But the Holy Spirit would bring a new power to love in their lives. Love is the bookend of this section: Jesus’ love for His own (John 13:1) and the love of the disciples for each other. Love is the true evidence that we belong to Jesus Christ. “See how they love one another?” the pagans said of the Christians, quoted by the church leader Tertullian (AD 155–220). And how do we show that love? The only way we can do what Jesus did is to lay down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16). And the way to begin is to get down and wash each other’s feet in sacrificial service. Hypocrisy: Jesus & Judas (13:18–35)—part 1 of 2
Now a dark shadow came over the scene as Jesus confronted the traitor Judas. It is noteworthy that Judas was no true believer but a hypocrite. He never believed in Jesus (John 6:64–71), he had not been washed all over (John 13:10–11), and he was not one of the elect whom the Father gave to the Son (John 13:18; 17:12). How near to salvation a man may stand and yet be forever lost! Judas was also the group’s treasurer (John 12:6) and was certainly highly regarded by his fellow disciples. At this hour, Jesus had two great concerns: to fulfill the Word of God (John 13:18-30) and to magnify the glory of God (John 13:31-35). It was a quotation from scripture, the 41st Psalm, the ninth verse: "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." When David wrote the psalm, he was probably thinking of his counselor Ahithophel, who became a traitor and joined Absalom’s rebellion (see 2 Sam. 15—17). Both Judas and Ahithophel commit suicide by hanging themselves (2 Sam. 17:23; Matt. 27:3–10; Acts 1:18), which is significant. But Judas did not kill himself to fulfill prophecy, because such an act would make God the author of his sin. Judas made his own choices, and those choices brought to pass the Word of God. Jesus was worried that Judas' betrayal would not shake the faith of His disciples. This is why He linked it to the Word of God: When the disciples saw all of these events fulfilled, it would build their faith (see John 8:28). Judas had been disloyal, but Jesus expected them to be loyal to Him and His cause. He was, after all, God the Son, sent by God the Father. They were ambassadors in the name of Christ, and to receive them was to receive the Father and the Son. What a privilege to be ambassadors for the King! The amazing thing is that the others at the table with Jesus did not know Judas was a traitor and an unbeliever. The Savior whom He betrayed guarded Judas until the last moment of that treachery. Had Jesus revealed what He knew about Judas in public, the men would have probably turned on him. Think what Peter did to Malchus when the soldiers came to take away Jesus (Jn. 18:10)! Jesus knew from the beginning what Judas would do (John 6:64), but He didn’t make him do it. Judas had the same spiritual privileges as the other disciples, but they helped him little. The same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay. Our Lord said a lot about money, and He gave a lot of warning about covetousness, but Judas continued to be a thief and steal from the treasury. Despite all our Lord’s warning about unbelief, Judas went on rejecting. Jesus even washed Judas’ feet! But his unyielding heart would not change. Earlier Jesus had mentioned a betrayer (John 6:70), but the disciples did not pay attention. Now when He spoke openly about it at the table, His disciples were perplexed. Peter looked at John, who was closest to Jesus at the table, and asked him to ask who the traitor was. The Lord’s answer to John was certainly not heard by all the men; indeed they were talking among themselves about who might be the traitor (Luke 22:23). When Jesus broke the bread and offered it to Judas, people considered it a gesture of love and honor. Indeed, Judas sat in the place of honor so that our Lord's actions were viewed in that light. He was giving Judas a special honor. No wonder, after Judas had gone out of the room, the disciples argued over who was the greatest (Luke 22:24–30). This was no small shock to John, but before he could say or do anything, Jesus sent Judas on his way. Judas had Satan in him, but it was Jesus who was in charge. He lived by the Father's timetable and wanted to do what was written in the Word. As Judas was the treasurer, it was natural for the disciples to conclude that the Lord had sent him on a special errand. Judas had hypocritically feigned concern for the poor (John 12:4–6), so he may have been on an errand of mercy to help the poor. Remember Judas knew what he was doing, and he did it on purpose. He had already met with the Jewish religious leaders and come to an agreement to lead them to Jesus in such a way as to cause no public disturbance (Luke 21:37-22:6). He heard the Lord say, “The Son of man goeth as it is written of Him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born.” (Matt. 26:24). But he continued in his treachery and unbelief. |
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