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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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 being 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?
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.
But back to the story. Just to reinforce this fact of Jesus’ foreknowledge of events, John lets us in to 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.
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.
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."
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.’
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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."
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.
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.
For more sermons from this source go to:
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~sttheos/sermindex.htm
