Jesus and Judas

1. Jesusand Judas' - 14th
December2015
“I am notreferring to all of you;I knowthose I have chosen. But this isto fulfill thispassageof
Scripture: ‘He whoshared my bread hasturned againstme”( John13:18).
The main reasonthatJesuscame toearth wasto be,as John the Baptistsaid,“the Lamb of God,who
takesawaythe sinof the world!” thatwe can readin John 1:29, “The next day Johnsaw Jesus coming
toward himand said,“Look,the Lamb of God,whotakes awaythe sinof the world!.We can
understand thatJesusknewalot aboutthe detailsof the planto provide atonement formankind.
Throughthe bible we canlearnof the eventsof the daysbefore the Passover orwhat we refertoas the
Last Supper. OnSundayit wasthe where JesusenteredJerusalemonadonkeyandthe people were
saying,Hosannainthe highest!Hosannato the Sonof David inreference toMessiah!
A fewdaysbefore Thursdaybeingthe dayof the lastSupper,JudasIscariotwentto the Jewishreligious
leadersandconspiredwiththemtobetrayJesus.Some saythatJudaswas a scapegoatand that he was
predestinedtobetrayJesus.Thatisthe reasonhe was born theysay. But we can know that Jesus
offeredJudasmanyopportunitiestoabandonthis betrayal andto repentof thissin.Jesusknew Judas’
plansand yethe calledJudasto be presentwiththe twelveDisciplesatthe Last supper. We can learn
thisinMatthew 26:20, “Wheneveningcame, Jesus was recliningat the table withthe Twelve. 21
And
whilethey were eating, he said, “TrulyI tell you, one of youwill betray me.”
Thursdaynightand Fridaymorninghas beencalledthe longestnightinthe Bible.Same amountof time
like othernights,butsomanyimportantwordswere spokenthatnight,somanyimportanteventstook
place,thatit musthave seemedthe nightwouldneverend. Asstatedabove inJohn13 we can learnthat
Jesusknewthe spiritual conditionof everyoneinthatroom. “Iam not referring to all ofyou; I know
those I have chosen.But thisis to fulfill thispassageofScripture: ‘He who sharedmy bread has turned
againstme”(John13:18). Jesusknewthatthere wasone there whowasnot hisdisciple eventhoughhe
was one of the 12 thathe had chosen.
We can readin John13:21, “After he had saidthis,Jesus was troubledin spiritandtestified, “Very
truly I tell you,one of you isgoingto betray me.”- It wasverydifficultforJesustoacceptthe fact that
one of the 12 was aboutto betrayhim.The knowledge of Judas’crime didnotrelieve the Lordfromthe
stingof it. Jesusforetoldthe betrayal,notonlyforthe sake of the rest of the disciples,but aswe know
Jesus’characterit wassaid for the sake of Judashimself,thathe mighttake warningandrepent.Itwas
not toolate to walkaway fromthe snare of the devil.EventodayJesuscontinuestoextendtosinners
hisofferof salvationeventhoughhe knowsthatmanywill rejectHimandcontinue intheirsin.
No one suspectedJudas. We canlearnthisin John 13:22,“ His disciplesstaredat one another,at a loss
to know whichof them he meant”. They were troubledtohearthatone of themwouldcommitthis
betrayal. We can read inthe same passage “
One of them, the disciplewhomJesus loved,was reclining
next to him. 24
SimonPeter motionedto this discipleandsaid,“Askhim whichone he
means.”25
LeaningbackagainstJesus,he asked him,“Lord,who is it?”(John13:23-25). To understand
thispart we needto be aware of the seating arrangementsatthe table.Thisdiscipletalkedof invs.23 is
John.At thistime people ate atlowtablesastheyreclinedoncushions.Jesus,the host,hadthe favored

2. position.OnJesus’rightside wasJohnthisbeloveddisciple.OnhisleftsidewasJudas.The disciples
were anxioustogetthe Master to explainhimself,andtotell themwhomhe meant.Fromacrossthe
table PetermotionedtohisfriendJohntogethimtoask Jesusto identifythe betrayer.Johnasked
“Lord,who is it?” the questionthat wason everyone’smind. We canlearnJesus’replyin
John13:26, “Jesusanswered, “It isthe one to whomI will givethis piece of bread when I have dipped
it in the dish.” Then, dippingthepiece of bread, he gave it to Judas,the son of SimonIscariot. 27
As
soonas Judastook the bread,Satan entered into him”.
We see here the graciouswaythat Christtreateda man whowasin the processof betrayinghiminto
the handsof enemies. JesustreatedJudasaskindlyasany asJesuswas displayingHisownteaching
abouthow to deal withenemies. “SoJesustoldhim, “Whatyouare aboutto do,do quickly”(John
13:27). JesuslaststatementtoJudas istoldkindlytohim “ go do whatyou have to do” Inessence Jesus
issaying:“Your betrayal cannotthwart mymissionandmy kingdom.” Whenwe readonwe can learnin
John13:30, “As soonas Judashad taken the bread, he went out…Andit was night”. Judasleftina
hurry maybe he had to getto the religiousleadersandthengathersoldiersandthengetback to where
Jesusandhisdiscipleswere toarrestJesus.Whyatnight?Like mostevil dealings,Judasneededprivacy
and secrecy.
We can readin Matthew 26:24, “The Sonof Manwill gojust as it is written abouthim.But woe to that
man whobetrays the Sonof Man!It wouldbe better for himif he had notbeen born.” A questionthat
comesinany Christian’smindis“WhydidJudasbetrayJesus? The bible doesnotgive usthe reason. But
we can knowthat Judaswas the keeperof the moneyandhe usedto helphimself.We canlearnthisin
John12:6, “He didnot say this becausehe cared aboutthe poorbut because he was a thief; as keeper
of the money bag,he used to help himselfto what wasput into it”. A theorybut wasit the 30 piecesof
silverpromisedtohim?Thenagain maybe atfirstJudaswas excited withJesus buthisenthusiasmbegan
to wane as time whenon.One steponthe waydownwas greedandstealing.Mighthave started
innocentlybutthissindampenedhisspiritasadisciple of Jesus andhisattitude begantochange and
eventuallybecame the one tobetraythe sonof Man… “It wouldbe better for himif he had not been
born.”
.
“I am notreferring to all of you;I knowthose I have chosen. But this isto fulfill thispassageof
Scripture: ‘He whoshared my bread hasturned againstme”(John13:18).