The Collect

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Let us remember those who have requested our prayers:

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: we humbly beseech you to behold, visit, and relieve your sick servant Eva, for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon her with the eyes of your mercy; comfort him with a sense of your goodness; preserve  her  from the temptations of the enemy; and give her patience under her affliction. In your good time, restore her to health, and enable her to lead the rest of her life in your service, and to your glory; and grant that she may dwell with you in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Readings:

Isaiah 50:4–9a
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+50%3A4%E2%80%939a&version=KJV

Psalm 70
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+70&version=KJV

Hebrews 12:1–3
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+12%3A1%E2%80%933&version=KJV

Gospel: John 13:21–32

21 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.

22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.

23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved

24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.

25 He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?

26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.

29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.

30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.

Commentary:

“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.” (v. 21)

“Though John pictures Jesus as in control of the situation he does not want us to think of Him as unmoved by the events through which He is passing.” (Morris) Some theologians have tried to make the argument that Jesus was not omniscient, that he did not know or have absolute knowledge of everything. They argue—such as in the case of Judas—why would Jesus choose Judas as a disciple if he knew Judas would be a betrayer.

I disagree with this premise, in fact I was shocked when I first read of this argument. I do believe that Jesus was omniscient, that he knew all things. As God, made into man, Jesus knew everything. If this is not true then the first three verses of this Gospel are meaningless. “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) This Word, that John speaks of is Jesus. Jesus was with God from the beginning of time and Jesus knew what his mission was and what it entailed from the very beginning.

Remember that Jesus chose all the disciples, they did not ask to be among this group. He knew when he chose Judas, what Judas would do; and that is why he chose him.

Throughout the Gospels, we find the writers making the statement that Jesus knew what was in the hearts or what was on the minds of others as in the case of the Pharisees. He always knew what they were thinking and what they would say before they said it, as we see in the scriptures. Jesus wasn’t a psychic, he was omniscient.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you” Jesus states unequivocally, as a matter of fact, “that one of you shall betray me.” Jesus was in absolute control, through his omniscient knowledge, he knew that Judas was going to betray him.

Here we find that Jesus is deeply troubled, not because of his knowing of Judas’ intention to betray him, but because Jesus knew what would become of Judas’ soul due to the betrayal. God gives us freedom of choice, just as he gave Judas freedom of choice. Judas could have denied his own self-centered interests and repented, but he freely chose to betray the Son of God. Jesus knew what choice Judas would make but he none the less was deeply troubled by this chain of events.

“Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. 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. He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.” (vs. 22-26)

“The fact that Peter beckoned to the disciple whom Jesus loved in an attempt to obtain information about the identity of the traitor suggests that he was not next to Jesus; otherwise he could have spoken to Him directly.” (Tasker)

Peter’s question to John (here mentioned as the disciple whom Jesus loved) may have been prompted by a desire to take preventative action. Remember when Peter tried to intervene when Jesus first told of his impending execution, Peter tried to stop it. Also when they were on the mount during the transfiguration, it was Peter who suggested that they build tabernacles or places of abode for Jesus, Moses and Elias (Elijah) presumably in the hopes that Jesus would remain there in relative safety, and not go on to his death. Here we see the intimation that Peter was once again ready to intervene on behalf of Jesus. Having been rebuked by Jesus for being prone to intervene, Peter couldn’t ask directly so he asks John to find out who the traitor is.

John referred to himself with this phrase (the disciple whom Jesus loved) four times in his Gospel, each connected with the cross in some way.

  • Here in the upper room (John 13:23).
  • At the cross of Jesus (John 19:26).
  • At the empty tomb (John 20:2).
  • With the risen Jesus at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:20).

“We know that it must have been John, for many reasons; but still he does not say so. He hides John behind the love of Jesus, which proves that John gloried in the love of Christ, but did not boast of it egotistically.” (Spurgeon)

“He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him” “At a special or ceremonial meal like this they would lay on their stomachs around a U-shaped table, leaning on their left elbow and eating with their right hand. It seems that from John’s position next to Jesus, he could lean back and be close enough to speak quietly to Jesus and still be heard.” (Guzik)

“The normal posture at a table was sitting, as rabbinical sources indicate, clearly enough; reclining was the posture reserved for special meals, such as parties, wedding feasts, and the like.” (Bruce)

When we think of the last supper, we almost always think of Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of Jesus and the disciples being gathered around a tall table, such as is common in our modern world. But even today in some cultures, people gather around a low table, sitting not on chairs, but on the floor or cushions, or reclining as is suggested in these accounts of the event.

“The verbs for ‘reclining’ suggest that, although this meal fell ‘before the (official) festival of the passover’ (John 13:1), it was nevertheless treated by the participants as a passover meal.” (Bruce)

“The place of honor was to the left of, and thus slightly behind the principal person. The second place was to his right, and the guest there would have his head on the breast of the host. Plainly this was the position occupied by the beloved disciple.” (Morris)

“Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.” The “sop” was a piece of bread dipped into wine or other food product. In their tradition, giving someone a dipped piece of bread was similar to our tradition of making a toast; this was a mark of courtesy, esteem, a way of designation a special honor. Giving this “sop” to Judas, implies that Judas was to the left of Jesus in a place reserved for a guest of honor, as we already know John was on the right of Jesus.

“It seems not unlikely that Judas was in the chief place. From Matthew’s account it seems clear that Jesus could speak to him without being overhead by the others (Matthew 26:25).” (Morris)

“When Jesus offers Judas a special morsel from the common dish, such as it was customary for a host to offer to an honoured guest, it is a mark of divine love which ever seeks to overcome evil with good.” (Tasker)

“Sometimes we imagine people are against us when they are not and it makes us suspicious, unpleasant, and afraid. Jesus knew Judas was against Him yet His love and goodness seemed to become greater instead of lesser. Jesus even gave Judas the chance to repent without revealing him as the traitor to all the other disciples. ” (Guzik)

Jesus has identified the traitor to John, apparently without making this drama obvious to the other disciples. To them, he has given Judas an honor by giving him the “sop” which (to them) would not be indicative of making an accusation. They simply think Jesus chose to honor Judas at that moment in time, for whatever reason.

“And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.” (vs. 27-30)

“In accepting the sop Judas shows himself completely impervious to the appeal of love; and from that moment he is wholly the tool of Satan.” (Tasker)

“Satan could not have entered into him had he not granted him admission. Had he been willing to say ‘No’ to the adversary, all of his Master’s intercessory power was available to him there and then to strengthen him.” (Bruce)

The moment that Jesus gave the “sop” to Judas, he became possessed by Satan. Judas had already made up his mind to betray Jesus (see John 13:2) but during this proceeding, Jesus had given Judas every opportunity to repent. Jesus had washed all the disciples’ feet (13:5), including those of Judas. One would think that by Jesus humbling himself enough to wash the feet of Judas, Judas would have felt remorse for his thoughts and repented; but no, he could not.

“Two things, then, appealed to him at the moment: one, the conviction that he was discovered; the other, the wonderful assurance that he was still loved, for the gift of the morsel was a token of friendliness. He shut his heart against them both; and as he shut his heart against Christ he opened it to the devil.” (Maclaren)

“That thou doest, do quickly.” Jesus knew that Judas had failed the test, Judas had ignored all the opportunities Jesus had given him. Again we state unequivocally that Jesus knew Judas would refuse to repent, Judas would not have a change of heart, but none the less Jesus tried to give Judas a chance to save himself from eternal damnation.

“Jesus knew Judas was now past any appeal to conscience or heart. Set on his course, it was best to get it done with. Judas believed that he was the master now; that Jesus would have to deal with what Judas did. The sooner this delusion reached its end, the better. ” (Guzik)

“Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.” Again, the disciples were oblivious to the drama unfolding in front of them; knowing that Judas was the one that carried the bag containing the ministries’ funds, they simply presumed that Jesus had sent Judas on an errand to take care of business or to buy provisions for the poor and needy.

“He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.”

“With the taste of the piece of bread that showed the love and favor of Jesus still in his mouth, Judas left his fellow disciples, left his Master and went out into the night. Perhaps the events earlier at the dinner made Judas decide that he didn’t want anything to do with a foot-washing Messiah, with a Messiah who would perform such a humble act. ” (Guzik)

“His act, however, was more than an incidental act of treachery; he sold himself to the power of evil.” (Tenney)

“Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.” (vs. 31-32)

With the departure of Judas, Jesus knew that the final act of this great drama had begun. The chain of events leading up to his gift of sacrifice was set into motion. But none the less he spoke of what was to come as his glorification, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” (John 12:23)

“It was not that the presence of Judas, as some have thought, hindered the great consummation imported by this glorification, but that the work on which he was gone out, was the ACTUAL COMMENCEMENT of that consummation.” (Alford)

“ Jesus made five references to glory in the space of two verses. With good reason, the world looked at the cross and could only say, humiliated, disgraced, cursed. Jesus looked at the cross and knowing what would be accomplished at it could truthfully say, glorified.” (Guzik)

“If His death is His glorifying, it must be because in that death something is done which was not completely by the life, however fair; by the words, however wise and tender; by the works of power, however restorative and healing.” (Maclaren)

“Jesus is looking to the cross as He speaks of glory. Origen employs the striking phrase ‘humble glory’ to express this idea of glory.” (Morris)

“He calls his death his glory, esteems his crown of thorns more precious than Solomon’s diadem; looks upon his welts as spangles, his blows on the face as ingots, his wounds as gems, his spittings on as sweet ointment, his cross as his throne.” (Trapp)

With good reason, the world looked at the cross and could only say, humiliated, disgraced, cursed. Jesus, through his selfless sacrifice for us, could look at the cross, and knowing what would be accomplished, he could look at it and truthfully say, glorified.

Benediction

Almighty God, you have revealed to your Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace to continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

Men would strip Deity of His omniscience if they could – what a proof that “the carnal mind is enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7)! The wicked do as naturally hate this Divine perfection as much as they are naturally compelled to acknowledge it. They wish there might be no Witness of their sins, no Searcher of their hearts, no Judge of their deeds. They seek to banish such a God from their thoughts.

–A.W. Pink (English Bible teacher and author; 1 April 1886 to 15 July 1952)

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