Read: John 13:1-30
One
of the great ironies captured in John's Gospel is Judas's participation in the
events that took place in the Upper Room.
John doesn't mention that any of the disciples, other than Peter,
refused or even resisted Jesus as He knelt to wash their feet. Perhaps Peter was the first person Jesus
approached. Maybe their exchange defused any resistance the others might have
had. Maybe the disciples were all too
shocked to say anything. Whatever the reason, there is no evidence that anyone
other than Peter argued with Jesus, not even Judas, whose feet were certainly
among those Jesus washed that evening.
That had to be difficult for both men.
Judas, knowing what he was about to do; Jesus, knowing that not only was
Judas going to betray Him but that he was willing to sit and allow his feet to
be washed by the Man he was about to betray. Why didn't Judas resist Jesus'
attempt? He had not failed to voice opposition when Mary knelt to wash Jesus'
feet (John 12:4-8).
Maybe
Judas saw the act of foot washing as the final straw. Maybe it was all Judas
needed to finalize his decision to betray Him.
After all, a real Messiah would never bow down to perform such a lowly
task. Perhaps Judas reasoned that if Jesus was stupid enough to wash his feet,
He apparently couldn't know what was in his heart, and if He didn't know what
was in his heart, He couldn't be who He claimed to be.
Of
course, Jesus did know, and after washing all 24 feet, Jesus revealed that He
would soon be betrayed. The revelation stirred the group, who tasked John with
asking Jesus about the identity of His betrayer. Jesus chose to quietly expose Judas to John
by discreetly handing him a piece of bread. John tells us that as soon as Judas
took the bread from Jesus, "Satan entered into him" (John 13:27). What had only moments before served as a
foreshadowing and symbol of Jesus' broken body, was now the very thing used to
expose the one whose betrayal would result in Jesus' body being broken.
Judas,
with his feet cleansed by Jesus' hands, with his belly full of the bread that
symbolized Jesus' broken body, with his mouth moist with the wine representing
Jesus' blood, left to betray the Savior of the world. John punctuates his account of these events
with the simple sentence, "And it was night." John's phrase is more
than a reference to the time of day. It
takes us back to John's prolog where he told us that Jesus came to bring light
into our darkness. John warned us,
however, that some preferred darkness. Some still do.
Jesus,
Because Your hands have
washed my feet, may my feet walk in Your ways.
Because my hunger has been
satisfied by You, the Bread of Life,
may I use the strength of my
body to serve You.
Because my deepest thirst
has been quenched by Your blood,
may my mouth speak forth
Your praise for all of my days.
Amen
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