Key Verse: "Even
My close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared My bread, has lifted up his heel
against Me."
Psalm 41:9;
John 13:18B
History has
painted Judas as evil personified. In doing this, however, we lose the sense of
brotherhood that was present that night. Even though Jesus knew what Judas was
about to do, He sincerely referred to Judas as, "friend," and that
view of Judas by Jesus does not change. If you have ever been betrayed by
someone close, in whom you have trusted, you can understand Jesus' emotions at
this point. John says that "Jesus was troubled in spirit” and testified,
"I tell you the truth one of you is going to betray Me." (John
13:20B) This was not an easy thing to accept for our Lord, especially after all
they had been through together.
For our best
understanding of the sequence of events that follow, I am going to rely on the
three eye witnesses, Matthew, Mark, or (John Mark relaying Peter's account),
and John. They are all very clear that the meal was in progress. Before
drinking the second cup of wine, they had recounted how God had used the
plagues on Egypt to bring about their deliverance.
After
drinking this second cup, it would be time to share some matzo or, the bread of
affliction. The bread is symbolic of the haste in which the people left Egypt.
The leader, in this case Jesus, would take the unleavened bread and break it
into pieces. Before distributing it, He would dip it in a bitter paste, horse
radish is used today, to remind them of the bitterness of their slavery in
Egypt. Jesus dipped the bread, or matzo like substance in the
"maror," and then handed the first piece to the one sitting in the second
place of honor, to His left, Judas. Then, John tells us, "As soon as Judas
took the bread, satan entered him. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he
went out; and it was night." (John 13:28-&-30) Remember, not even the
disciples suspected a thing at the time. In fact, they were all wondering if
Jesus were talking about them, when He said, "One of you will betray
Me." No one appears to have suspected Judas above anyone else of being
capable of such evil. So, in hindsight, I'm sure that all of them had a sense
of betrayal, but for now, only Jesus knew what was really happening.
Judas left
after observing the history of the Jewish deliverance from physical slavery in
Egypt. He missed out on what was to come, history in the making as God set his
people free from slavery to sin and death. He had participated only in
religious observance and he had gone as far as religious observance could take
him. This will be true for all of us if we rely on religious practices to save
us.
Yet, as we
will see, Judas, even after all this, still had choices to make. It is never
too late. In Christ, while there is life there is hope. The decision is always
ours. Judas could go no further in this last meal with Jesus because of the
choices he had made. Poor Judas, if he had only known his Lord.
Hymn: "God and Man at Table Are SatDown"
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