BREAD AND BETRAYAL
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Opening Prayer
Loving Father, help me pursue the wisdom that only you can give. Enable me to understand your call on my life better and how you desire to use me for the sake of your kingdom.
Read JOHN 13:18–30
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’
19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. 20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
Reflect
Begin today with a simple act of confession. Recognize where your faith is sometimes weak or troubled. Ask Jesus for his forgiveness and strengthening.
In Britain, where I live, tonight is Guy Fawkes’ night, an annual commemoration of an unsuccessful plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. It’s primarily an excuse for fireworks now, but it has its origins in an act of treason against the then-king. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is the archetypal example of such behavior. Someone whose loyalty should have been beyond question—who was so close to his Lord that he shared his bread—sold him to his death. Any of us who has ever been betrayed or rejected by someone we thought was a friend will understand how ‘troubled in spirit’ Jesus must have been (v. 21). Be comforted that Jesus fully understands what you have felt too.
Jesus’ situation differs from the treacheries we experience in that Jesus knows the betrayal is going to happen in advance. He forewarns his disciples so they won’t lose faith in him even when he is treated like a criminal (v. 19). His prediction leads the disciples into a guessing game. They try to find out who Jesus’ betrayer will be. Jesus drops heavy hints, but the disciples seem unable to see what we think is obvious. They are left in the dark as to who will betray him.
The British artist Chris Ofili painted a set of 13 artworks displayed together in an installation called ‘The Upper Room.’ It represents Jesus and his twelve disciples gathered together. However, unlike many depictions of the Last Supper, it is impossible to tell which of the paintings represents Judas. Each has the potential for loyalty and disloyalty. As we find ourselves among them, we might wonder: am I the disciple who will at some point reject Jesus, or the one whom Jesus loves (v. 23)? The answer, almost certainly, is both.
Apply
‘… you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.’1 Repeat this aloud, meditatively, until its truth sinks in.
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, please help me examine my thoughts, motives, and actions, and show me if there are any things for which I need to repent and receive forgiveness.
1 Ps 86:15.
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