John 13:21-30 (Teaching)

[0:00] Morning. Good morning. Good morning. Back in John 13 this morning. Last week we got up through the 20th verse in John 13.

[0:16] I'm actually going to back up a little bit and reread. I started in verse 18 before we get into the passage. For this morning, last week we read again, we've been on for a couple of Sundays now, this being the Passover feast, the Last Supper, as some refer to it as, that Christ is having with his disciples before the betrayal, before the crucifixion, these things.

[0:54] And last week, we went through verse 20. And verse 18 begins Jesus talking about the betrayal that's about to happen, of course, by Judas Ascariot.

[1:14] And that's where we're going to pick up a reading this morning. I know I went through 18, 19, 20 briefly last week. But these verses need to be read with the passage that's going to be before us this morning.

[1:26] So John 13 and verse 18 says, I speak not of you all. I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled.

[1:36] He that he that is rare with me hath lifted up his head, healed against me. Now I tell you before it comes that when it has come to pass, you may believe that I am he.

[1:48] Verily, verily I say unto you, he that receive with whom soever I send, receive with me. And he that receive with me, receive with him that sent me. So cross begins in verse 18 says, I speak not of you all.

[2:02] I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. And that's what we have to remember here, that the scripture may be fulfilled.

[2:12] He that he that is rare with me hath lifted up his heel against me. And this, of course, is a quote from Psalm chapter 41 that Jesus is referring to here.

[2:24] In fact, in that Psalm, if you turn there and read it yourself, it would say, my own friend has done this. His own friend had lifted up his heel against him.

[2:38] And again, verse 19, now I tell you before it come, that when it has come to pass, you may believe that I am he. Christ here gives the reason why he is telling the disciples who it is to betray him.

[2:52] He says, I'm telling you this so that when you see it come to pass, because we read here in the next few verses, the disciples don't understand what's going on. They don't understand what Christ has told Judas.

[3:03] They don't understand why Judas has gotten them going out. But he tells them here in verse 19 that when it comes to pass, when the betrayal has come to pass, when you see these things happen, that you'll believe on me that it will basically fortify their faith.

[3:21] This showing that Christ is truly God. He has foreknowledge not only of who will betray him, but when they will betray him, how they will betray him.

[3:34] So this shows the truly God side of Christ. And we know he was truly God and truly man. So we'll pick up in verse 21 in John chapter 13.

[3:45] He says, when Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit and testified and said, verily, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. So we just talked about how Jesus' foreknowledge of this situation shows that he was and is truly God.

[4:05] But here it says, when Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, this shows that Christ was truly man. He was troubled in spirit.

[4:17] He has foreknowledge of the situation, foreknowledge of his own betrayal, of his own friend, lifting up his heel against him. But the scripture says that he was also troubled in spirit.

[4:31] So this shows the similarity, not similarities, but it shows that Christ was truly God and truly man. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit and testified and said, verily, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me.

[4:50] One of you, not all 12 of you, not two of you, not three, and then two will recant. One of you shall betray me.

[5:00] This is showing the detail of the foreknowledge that Jesus had of this upcoming situation, verse 22. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.

[5:15] In other words, wondering of whom he spake. You turn to the other gospels and they start saying, Lord, is it I? Is it I, Lord? Heard a whole sermon one time preached on that.

[5:26] Is it I? And that's a wonderful thing that the church needs to ask itself sometimes. That the church members, the church congregants, the parishioners, they need to say, instead of pointing the finger at the pastor, instead of pointing the finger at other parishioners, instead of pointing the finger at the song leader or at the world or anybody else, they need to ask the question, is it I?

[5:51] Is it me that has the problem? Just like the disciples here did. And we'll get into that here. But like I said, in the other gospels, in fact, specifically in the Gospel of Matthew, Judas himself says, master, is it I?

[6:08] Referring to Christ as master. He says, master, is it I? So here, then the disciples looked one another doubting of whom he spake.

[6:20] Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.

[6:32] He then lying on Jesus' breast, sayeth unto him, Lord, who is it? And this one laying upon Jesus' breast, this disciple whom Jesus loved, we know, was the apostle John himself.

[6:46] This is John's cameo appearance in his own gospel that he is writing here. And this was very common back in this day, especially in Greek literature, for people to write in such a manner that they would insert themselves not necessarily by name, but by something else.

[7:06] Mark does this in his gospel as well. But again, in verse 23 says, there was one leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

[7:18] That doesn't mean that John was the only one that Jesus loved. It just said, one of the disciples whom Jesus loved. We know John wrote the gospel of love. We know that John is the disciple whom Jesus loved.

[7:30] But he loved the other disciples as well. Verse 24, we read Simon Peter, therefore, beckoned to him. Some of the other English translations actually have this as Simon Peter, where Peter gestured to John to ask Jesus who he was talking about.

[7:51] Ask Jesus who this betrayer was. And I can't help but wonder in my head if it wouldn't be like how we would gesture nowadays, instead of actually saying, why don't you ask Christ who this betrayer is?

[8:04] John or Peter kind of looking at John, you're closer to him, you're leaning on his breast. He looks at John's, does something along those lines. I don't know that that's what happened.

[8:15] I don't know that at all. But in the original Greek, there is room that it could have been a gesture instead of an actual vocal asking of John, or Peter asking John to inquire as to who it was to betray him.

[8:35] But Simon Peter, therefore, beckoned to him that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. Folks, this shows, I hate to use the word innocence, but it really does, because none of us are innocent.

[8:49] The disciples weren't innocent. We're all guilty. We're all guilty sinners. But in this context, it shows an innocence of the disciples. They had no clue that there was a traitor among them.

[9:03] Peter himself, who was probably the most vocal one of the group from what I can gather from the Gospel accounts, and on end to acts, Peter himself didn't know.

[9:14] He would have been the one you would think would have been the most inquisitive to all the other disciples going around to their different knapsacks when they're sleeping underneath the stars in whatever town or region that they're in, inquiring how close are you to Jesus, how close are you to following Jesus.

[9:35] But even Peter has no idea, no idea, that there is a traitor among them. And he gestures or asks John to inquire to Jesus as to who this betrayer is.

[9:51] Verse 25, he then lying on Jesus' breast, saith unto him, Lord, who is it again? This would be the disciple, John, the apostle, John, saying, Lord, who is it?

[10:02] Jesus answered, he it is to whom I shall give a sob when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sob, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

[10:13] Jesus plainly tells John here, and I'm sure that it was within the airshot of the other disciples. He plainly tells him, he it is whom I shall give this sob to after I have dipped it.

[10:28] Folks, this is sad scripture that we are reading here. It's horribly sad because the Passover feast was taking place. The Passover was a celebration of the Israelites being delivered out of bondage, out of the slavery of Egypt.

[10:47] And it was an ordinance that God had put into effect for the Israelites forever and forever for them to celebrate that deliverance. And that's what they were sitting here at this table celebrating at this time was the Passover feast.

[11:03] And suddenly there's betrayal that's brought into the picture. Jesus brings up that there is a traitor among these people. In the middle of a celebratory feast, this is brought up.

[11:15] And Christ even tells them who that betrayer will be. He says, the one whom I give this sob to after I have dipped it. Says after he had dipped the sob, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, verse 27.

[11:29] And after the sob, Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, that thou doest do quickly. After the sob, Satan entered into him.

[11:42] After Christ had dipped, and after he had given it to Judas, this is when Satan entered in. And folks, that tells me, knowing that Satan hadn't entered into Judas at that time yet, he had not completely, as we recall it nowadays, possessed Judas Iscariot.

[12:05] He wasn't in possession of his body. He wasn't in possession of anything like that. Once he entered in, he was. But that tells me there had to have been a spiritual battle going on with Judas Iscariot and with the devil, with Judas Iscariot and the lie, which was and is Jesus Christ.

[12:26] There was a spiritual battle in the other gospel accounts. You see that Judas actually went to the scribes and to the Pharisees and pretty much bartered this deal with them before this supper ever happened.

[12:41] But Satan had not entered into him even at that point. Judas, it kind of tells me Judas was flip flopping. Should I serve Christ? Should I serve Satan?

[12:52] But once the sob was given, and we must remember what we read just a little while ago, it was that scripture should be fulfilled. It is not that God created Judas Iscariot just to betray the Son of Man, just to betray Christ.

[13:09] That is not why Judas Iscariot was created, but God in his foreknowledge and God in his omniscience, he knew what would happen in the future.

[13:20] And that scripture would be fulfilled is why this supper was dipped in, why this supper was handed to Judas Iscariot. At that point is when Satan himself entered in to Judas Iscariot.

[13:35] Folks, there's a spiritual battle that goes on out there. There's a spiritual battle that goes on between this and save people, and there's also one that goes on with lost people.

[13:47] I'm giving my testimony here I know several times over that God dealt with me for three days before I got saved, and I was miserable for those three days.

[13:57] I was miserable for those three days before I finally gave in, if you want to call it that, before I finally repented of my ways, believing the gospel that I had heard preached.

[14:10] But there was a spiritual battle going on with someone who wasn't even saved. Satan was pulling me one way, the Holy Ghost seemed like he was pulling me the other way.

[14:20] And that's exactly what would have been happening with Judas Iscariot here. But folks, it shows the finality of a decision that Judas Iscariot made.

[14:33] Folks, this would have been in regular context, this would have been a gesture of friendship and of communion that Christ would have handed us up, would have handed bread under someone else that was there.

[14:49] It was a gesture of friendship, as I said. This could have been the last opportunity that Judas had to repent of what he had done, gotten in his mind to do, and Christ hands him to God.

[15:07] But when that happened, it was final. Once those gears were put into motion, there was no going back from that. And even after the fact, we all know the account of you're a Bible reader, we all know after the crucifixion that Judas went to those that had paid him to silver and he threw the silver down, he was miserable at that point, but there was nothing he could do.

[15:32] There was nothing that the betrayal had already happened. Scripture had already been fulfilled. There was nothing that could be done at that point. After the psalm Satan entered into him, then said, Jesus, in that thou doest do quickly, what was he to do?

[15:49] That thou doest do quickly. We read here in just another couple of verses that Judas went out into the night. But I don't think that's precisely what Christ was talking about.

[16:01] We read it before we got started with this passage, what he's doing, what Christ is referring to here, again in verse 18, when he quotes Psalm 45, he that he that hath read with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

[16:17] Christ says, that thou doest do quickly. What is Judas doing? He is fulfilling Scripture. He is fulfilling Scripture, that thou doest.

[16:28] This betrayal that you're going to do, your heel that you are lifting up against me, do it quickly, do it quickly. Go on your way.

[16:38] Your decision is made. Do it quickly. Verse 28, now, no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. Folks, Christ had just told the disciples, he whom I'm going to share this sock with, he whom I'm going to dip and I'm going to hand it to him.

[16:55] This is the one that is going to betray me. And in verse 28, he says, now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.

[17:06] And it's not because that they didn't hear Christ. That's not it at all. It's that they didn't understand why he said what he did.

[17:21] Why he said that thou doest do quickly. Why he talked about the sock? Why he said the one that I hand it to is the one that will betray me. Verse 29, for some of them thought because Judas had the bag that Jesus had said unto him by those things that we have need of against the feast or that he should give something unto the poor.

[17:41] These are the thoughts that were going through the disciples' minds. Things that they had likely seen over and over as they were sitting and breaking bread with one another, breaking bread and sharing and communing with one another.

[17:56] These are things that they likely would have seen over and over and over again in the three plus years that led up to this point. And that's why they would have thought, well, he's just sending him out.

[18:10] He's telling him to go find some poor people and give him some money. Or telling him to buy things against the feast, buy things that we stand in need of ourselves.

[18:22] But that's not what it was at all. Why would Christ not want them to have understanding of what was going on? I guarantee you at least one of those disciples, Peter by name, had he understood Judas was the betrayer, he would have been the first one up from the table and pummeling Judas.

[18:46] The folks' scripture had to be fulfilled. It had to be fulfilled. And that's why Christ said the things that he did, but they did not understand. We see it several times throughout the Gospels.

[18:58] We've read about it in John leading up to this point, how that people's understanding was closed. People didn't get what was being said, although it was plain as day right before then.

[19:11] But they didn't understand it because their understanding had not been opened by God himself. Therefore, that's why they thought the things that they did.

[19:24] One more verse. He then having received the psalm went immediately out, and it was not. And it is no coincidence.

[19:36] It's no accident. It's not just words that are thrown in here to take up ink on paper that John records it was not.

[19:47] This dinner, this feast, would have begun somewhere around the 6 PM mark. That's when it would have began. And over there, just as over here, 6 PM, it's still somewhat daylight outside.

[20:05] But this had been going on. Remember what else we've read in John chapter 13? Christ had gotten up from the table and taken time to wash the disciples' feet one at a time, including the feet of Judas Iscariot.

[20:20] He washed all of the disciples' feet. I don't know how long it took him to do that. But I have a feeling it's no like foot washers that we see nowadays, where somebody just takes a little bit of water and splashes it on the foot, takes a towel and dries it off and says, OK, you're clean.

[20:36] Let's say Christ took his time showing the disciples, because he was showing them exactly what was to be done, showing them how to serve.

[20:47] And here it says that Judas, then having received the salt, after Christ had told him, he who receives it, he who I share this with, is the one who will betray me.

[20:59] He then, having received the salt, went immediately out. And it was not. Oops, this is eye-opening, not only in this scripture, but it is eye-opening now.

[21:11] Now, this has got a very current application. He went out and it was not.

[21:22] This is... It goes along with other things that we have read in the Gospel of John. We know from John chapter 1 that in him was life, and that light was the light of men.

[21:35] We know from John chapter 3 that men love darkness rather than light. We know from John chapter 8 that Christ is the light of the world.

[21:47] And Judas chose, he chose to break communion with not only the light, Jesus Christ himself, but all the luminaries that were there in that room with him, the other eleven disciples.

[22:01] He chose darkness rather than light. And he did what? What would we call this? What does the Bible call it? The Bible calls it falling away.

[22:12] The Bible calls it apostasy. The Bible calls it all kinds of things. And folks, breaking communion with the people of God is the first step normally in apostasy.

[22:28] When you break communion with the congregation, when you neglect church services, when you neglect and just outright shun going to church, being around those that have a locked faith.

[22:41] When we don't do these things, that is the first step toward apostasy. That's exactly what Judas here has done. Again, we can point our finger at whoever we want to.

[22:55] Judas could have pointed his finger at Satan all day long, but it bowed down to the fact that Judas made a decision. And he made, and as I said in the other Gospel accounts, he had already connived and formed conspiracy with the scribes and with the Pharisees to do this very thing, but Satan had not entered into him at that point.

[23:22] Satan didn't enter in until the Sop was passed, until the Sop was given. And Judas went out into the night, went out into the darkness.

[23:34] Why? Because men love darkness rather than light. He was in there amongst the light, the very light of the world, once again, with all the luminaries, all the other 11 disciples.

[23:48] And as I said, and we read it just a little while ago, he said, I know whom I've chosen, but one of you will betray me. Those chosen were the luminaries that I'm speaking of here.

[24:02] He had received the Sop, the Sop went immediately out, immediately out to do what, to fulfill the scripture that we read in verse 18.

[24:12] He, my bread, lifted up his heel against me. And I said, if you turn us home, it says, my own friend has done this.

[24:24] Folks, this shows, one, the grace of God. It shows the grace of Christ. Christ could have done any number of things, he being God, he could have done any number of things and guilted Judas Iscariot.

[24:44] Or he could have just changed the way things were going had he wanted to. But this is just one more example within the scripture of God using humans to accomplish his will.

[24:57] His will was that Jesus Christ come and Jesus Christ be crucified and be killed and be resurrected to his own glory. And Judas Iscariot was just as much a part of God's redemptive plan as the crucifixion of Christ was.

[25:16] It was a fulfillment of Old Testament scripture. And people don't like that. People don't like that God used one in a negative way to accomplish his goal or accomplish his will for that matter.

[25:32] Folks, it's not just here that we read it. We read about things like that all throughout the Bible. God used Pharaoh to accomplish his will over on the book of Exodus.

[25:45] Sometimes you read that Pharaoh's heart was hardened. Pharaoh hardened his own heart and sometimes you read that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. It flipped back and forth through that account.

[25:57] But nevertheless, nevertheless, God gave chance after chance after chance through his man Moses for Pharaoh to repent and for Pharaoh to let the people of God go.

[26:11] Judas here in this scripture was given chance after chance after chance to repent. And even in what's normally a friendly gesture of passing bread to one, a gesture of communion between one person and another between a group of people, even in that that shows the grace of God that shows the grace of Christ.

[26:37] Cross could have backhanded Judas. Cross could have killed him. Cross could have allowed Peter or one of the other disciples to have done it, but no scripture must be fulfilled.

[26:47] That's what I've got this morning. Anybody got any questions or comments?