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John 13 begins with the wonderful statement:
'Having loved his own who were in the world, [Jesus] now
showed them the full extent of his love.' It's a picture
of an intimate relationship with his disciples, like that
of a loving parent who will do anything for their
children. Yet even as he's saying it, a shadow hangs over
the scene. As he begins to wash their feet we discover
their ignorance of his purpose. As he begins to explain
what he's doing he reveals what only one other of them
knows: that one of this intimate group of disciples is a
traitor. |
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In v10 he
says: (John 13:10 NRSV) "You are clean, though not
all of you." Then in v18 he says "I am not
speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it
is to fulfill the scripture, 'The one who ate my bread
has lifted his heel against me.' 19I tell you
this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur,
you may believe that I am he." It's important for
the disciples and for us to realise that even in this
event, where one of those that he's chosen will betray
him, Jesus is still Lord. He isn't taken unawares.
Despite what popular culture might suggest, through such
avenues as Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus isn't
disillusioned when this betrayal occurs. He's
disappointed, certainly. Look at v21. "After saying
this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared,
"Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray
me." He's emotionally affected by the thought that
Judas would betray him. The image of a person lifting
their heel against another is a reference to the way a
horse or a donkey might kick you when you're not looking.
It's something that's vicious and done with cunning. And
for one of his close friends, one who's shared bread with
him, to do that hurts even more. |
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But he
isn't taken by surprise by it or outwitted by it. In fact
he tells them before it happens so that they'll know with
even more certainty that he is the one: "that you
may believe that I am he." That is, that Jesus is
the promised Messiah, the Son of God. |
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But that
leads him to the next statement, in v20: "Very
truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send
receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who
sent me." It seems to me there are 2 sides to that
statement. First of all it's a comment about Judas. He's
saying, if Judas refuses to accept Jesus, the one sent by
God, he's therefore also refusing to accept God the
Father. You get the feeling that even at this late stage,
Jesus is trying to warn Judas of just how dangerous his
intention is. His action of dipping the bread in the dish
and passing it to Judas seems to be one final attempt to
win him over. But it's not to be. |
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But the
second implication of Jesus' statement is that if Jesus
truly is the Messiah, then the disciples have an
important task before them. It won't be long before
they'll be sent out to preach the gospel and when that
happens they need to know that the authority with which
they go is the same authority with which Jesus preached.
That is, with the authority of God himself. Not that that
will automatically guarantee a warm reception mind you.
In fact he tells them elsewhere that they can expect the
same sort of treatment he received. But even so, they can
take heart from the fact that when they go out to preach
the gospel it'll be as Jesus representatives, his
ambassadors. So when they're welcomed by their hearers,
it's as though their hearers are welcoming Jesus himself.
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Well,
while it was true that Jesus wasn't taken by surprise by
Judas' betrayal, the disciples certainly were. In fact
they can't believe their ears. They look at each other,
wondering who it could be. In fact they have no idea.
They thought there was a solidarity among them. Hadn't
they been through so much together? Hadn't they given up
everything to follow Jesus? How could anyone betray him? |
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This is
an experience many Christians have had over the years.
Someone grows up as a Christian then throws it all in for
no apparent reason. Someone who seems to have such a
strong witness does something to bring the gospel into
disrepute. A couple of years ago, one of my colleagues
decided to throw in a fruitful ministry to have an affair
with his curate. Around the same time one of the most
effective preachers and pastors in England with an
international ministry of preaching and teaching, the
author of a huge range of preaching commentaries,
resigned from his parish, and left his wife, to go off
and live with another man. Recently one of the leading
evangelical leaders in Tasmania resigned over allegations
of sexual misconduct with a parishioner. These are just a
few higher profile examples. And whenever something like
this happens we're caught by surprise. How could someone
we've looked up to betray his Lord like this. How could
someone we've loved and trusted betray us like
that? |
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You can
imagine those sorts of thoughts running through the heads
of the other disciples can't you? And of course what can
happen when something like this happens is that our
confidence can be weakened. Our confidence in one
another; our confidence in the gospel; our confidence in
God even. That's one of those times when we need to
remember the words of Jesus: "I tell you this now,
before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may
believe that I am he." Even when we're taken by
surprise, Jesus isn't. He knows who are his and who are
not. He's warned us that the church is an imperfect
institution. He's told us that Satan will plant weeds
among the wheat, and that we won't know which is which,
in some cases, until the end of time. God has reminded us
from the beginning that humans are flawed instruments,
that we mustn't look to human saviours. So we shouldn't
be surprised, nor should we be put off by those who give
up, who turn their backs on Jesus, any more than we're
surprised by those who reject the gospel in the first
place. |
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But back
to the story. Just to reinforce this fact of Jesus'
foreknowledge of events, John lets us in on a small
interaction between Peter, himself and Jesus. John
happens to be lying next to Jesus at the table. In those
days when there was an important celebration or feast, it
was common for people to adopt the Greek custom of lying
at table, leaning on one elbow with their face towards
the table and eating with their free hand. John, the
disciple whom Jesus loved, is lying next to Jesus, with
his back to him. So he's in the perfect position to ask a
discrete question. Peter waves to him to ask Jesus who it
is. Jesus answers by enacting the prophecy he's already
quoted. He dips a piece of bread in the dish and hands it
to Judas to eat. And we're told this is the final straw.
As soon as he took the bread Satan entered into him. Not
that Satan wasn't hard at work already, but this seems to
be the deciding moment. |
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Jesus is
offering Judas a final opportunity to repent, a final
gesture of affection. Judas receives the bread but not
with love. Instead of softening him and turning him to
repentance, it in fact hardens his heart. 'The light
shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not
understood it.' It's important to remember, by the way,
that the way an act of kindness is received is dependent
on the receiver, not necessarily the giver. There are
times when no matter what we do a person's heart will
remain hard. In fact, as we see here, even the greatest
act of love can become the catalyst for a further
hardening of heart. When you think about it, this is an
amazing act of love and graciousness on Jesus' part, yet
for Judas it becomes the last straw. |
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Who knows
what was going through his mind. Was he looking for a
Saviour who'd be strong in the face of betrayal? One
who'd rant and rave at him for conspiring against him.
Did this final act of apparent weakness simply confirm
what he'd feared all along, that Jesus wasn't the one to
oppose the Romans and bring them victory? Who knows? But
what we do know is that at this point, the final victory
of Satan over Judas' life was complete. "As he took
the bread Satan entered into him." |
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Yet even
here, notice, it isn't Satan who's in control. God is
still orchestrating events, even in the face of
rebellion. Jesus is still Lord. He turns again to Judas
and says: "Do quickly what you are going to
do." Again, none of the disciples understand what
this means, not even John. They think he must be talking
about going shopping. But Judas does. So he goes out and
John tells us 'It was night.' |
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In those
3 words, John brings home to us the enormity of Judas'
decision. For the careful reader of John's gospel, those
3 words ring loud bells. 'It was night.' "The light
shines in the darkness and the darkness has not
understood it or overcome it." (1:5) "This is
the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and
people loved darkness rather than light because their
deeds were evil." (3:19) "Jesus said to them,
"The light is with you for a little longer. Walk
while you have the light, so that the darkness may not
overtake you." (John 12:35) As Judas walks out into
the night, the darkness overtakes him. |
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But if
this is the end for Judas, for Jesus it's the culmination
of all he's come for. He says, "Now the Son of Man
has been glorified, and God has been glorified in
him." The die is cast, the future is sealed. It's as
though there's nothing else to do. From now on,
everything is in God's hand and so the future is assured.
So Jesus begins again to explain what's about to happen.
And again they don't understand. Simon Peter, though, is
as enthusiastic as ever. "I'll lay down my life for
you," he says. But Jesus knows that Peter will fail.
He knows that his enthusiasm won't be enough. In the end,
Peter will be a disappointment as well. His failure won't
be as bad or as final as that of Judas, but he will fail,
nevertheless. |
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This is
what happens when you have to deal with ordinary human
beings. They let you down. They don't live up to their
promise. They weaken when you need them to be strong.
They show their flaws at the most inopportune moments.
This isn't something that's confined to churches of
course. You see it at every level of society. It's just
one of those things we have to learn to live with. |
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But you
know, Jesus knew what we're like. He understood what it
was to be tempted. He understood the human condition
better than most. And so he left us a legacy that would
help us when we were let down by others; a legacy that
would see us through difficult times when the world would
try to oppose the preaching of the gospel; when we'd feel
alone and without support. He left us the legacy of a new
commandment. In fact, as John points out in his first
letter, this wasn't really a new commandment. The whole
law was couched on this one premise. But it is new in the
way Jesus is about to apply it. |
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He says:
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one
another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love
one another. 35By this everyone will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another." How do you deal with disappointing
disciples? The way Jesus did. By loving them. Even when
they turn their back on you, you go the extra mile. You
offer them a piece of bread that you've dipped in the
dish with your own fingers. You offer them the hand of
friendship and love. What do you do when a friend disowns
you, the way Peter disowned Jesus in his hour of greatest
need? You restore them in love. You give them the
opportunity to repent and receive your forgiveness. You
don't hold grudges against them. You don't make them
grovel, or do penance until your damaged pride is mended.
You love them the way Jesus loved you and gave up his
life for you. |
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How do
you survive as a Christian when the world shows it hates
you the way it hated Jesus? You survive by receiving the
love and support of your fellow Christians. |
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And what
effect does that have on the world? It shines out like
light in the darkness. "By this everyone will know
that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another." |
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This new
commandment is to a world changing love. It's to a
radical lifestyle, which says to the world, "We know
that we're not perfect. We know that our Christian
friends will fail from time to time. We know that we'll
be let down on occasion. But we love them anyway. We love
them, not for the things they do for us, nor for the
particular attributes they may or may not possess, but
because they're God's sons and daughters; because they're
part of our family." That's such a powerful message
in a world where relationships are breaking down at every
level. I was reading an article in the latest Alpha
magazine that came this week, where a non-Christian
couple were visited by the woman's brother and his
family, who were Christians. Here's what they say:
"Michelle's brother and his family came to stay with
us. They are Christians and during their stay we noticed
the depth of their relationship, the joy in their life
and their ability to be so close as a family unit. We
wanted what they had, and asked them to help us
understand how we could have that in our relationship.
Their answer was simple - ask Jesus into your life and
your relationship." |
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As we'll
see in a few weeks time, Jesus doesn't just leave us with
a new set of rules to worry about, even if it's as
'simple' as loving each other. He in fact, with this new
commandment, gives us the power to fulfill it through the
gift of his Holy Spirit. That's what David and Michelle
experienced as they asked Jesus into their lives and
their relationship. God filled them with his Spirit
enabling them to express and experience the sort of love
that Jesus is commanding us to have. |
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If we're
to live in this fallen world among failed human beings,
this is the key. To love one another just as Jesus has
loved us. As Peter says in 1 Peter 4, "love covers a
multitude of sins." I guess that's a lesson he
learnt the hard way. So let's pray that we might be a
church where the love of Jesus shines forth to bring the
gospel of Christ to those around us. |
