The Gospel of John Lesson 51 (10-27-2013) John 13:18-32

The Gospel of John Lesson 51 (10-27-2013)

Lesson 51 – John 13:18-32

In v. 18-20 Jesus says to them that He is telling them beforehand about His betrayal and crucifixion because when it happened it will appear like He/they had lost it all and that all He had taught and told them would appear invalid. He tells them in these verses in essence not to be shaken, encouraging them to go in the position and power of ambassador given to them and that this position is given and bestowed on them with such authority and power it is as if Jesus Himself were present as they went. In these verses He also reminds them to receive others that will come to them in the same position for they too are coming to them as if it were Christ. In saying this it is good to be reminded of Jesus’ words to His disciples in John 12:26 that in doing so we come ministering as if Christ was ministering His will and not our own.

In v. 21 He comes back to the betrayal. After sharing with His disciples great Kingdom principles that are to come, He comes back the realities at hand… the nitty-gritty and difficulties of the present realities of this fallen world. Soon this reality would be over and finished for Jesus, for soon He will have completed His work going on to better things so to speak. But, for now, choosing to be a part of, and living in this fallen world, this was His reality…betrayal, rejection, death and suffering.

In considering this, a question comes to mind. ‘What are we looking and striving for?’ At times I think that so much of our efforts and pursuits are focused on trying to find that elusive supposedly ‘sweet spot’ for life, that ‘life is good’ place having all or almost all of the pain and difficulty of this present world removed. It is as if we are looking for Heaven on earth in this present age. Although, trying to improve our place in life is not a bad idea, going after and pursuing what could be called ‘the prefect life’ may prove to be not only futile, but also frustrating. It has been said that the definition of happiness is when reality exceeds expectations. For myself, I have come to a realization that the sweet spot of life does not exist during this time… at this moment… on planet earth.

At this point in John 13 v. 21 for Jesus He knew all too well of the reality of colliding with this world in its present state. There was no external environmental peace to be found for Him in ‘this’ present world. He would soon find His peace in the pain of Cross. For now, He was at war with the world around Him. Jesus did not live in a bubble of bliss while here on earth. However, soon He would be fully free of this world’s difficulties having fully conquered them in the Cross.

Like Jesus we need to be careful not to expect to find external peace here. It is true that we are promised peace in our heart from God that passes all understanding (Jn. 14:27), but bliss or external peace should not be expected here… yet… at this time for us.

Hebrews chapter 11 verses 13-6 makes it clear that we will not find our place of rest here at this time. Jesus soon would complete His work, but at the end of this chapter and the beginning of chapter 14 He will tell His followers the even though He would leave for a season they would remain, in a world that would be hostile to them yet for a season. Jesus’ work would soon be complete, but our work in this hostile world environment would continue. We should not expect it to be without difficulty. Even as such, however, He would not leave us alone or abandon us completely.

Again, in v. 21, Jesus tells them that someone at the table would betray Him. In vs. 22-5 the disciples doubting their own faithfulness question who it would be that would betray Him. In v. 24 Peter, not wanting to ask the Lord directly probable for fear of Jesus saying that it was him, asks the one sitting next to Jesus to ask Him who He was referring to. I have wondered at times why Peter did not receive a reply back from this person telling him to ask Him himself. But, instead he decides to carry out Peter’s request.

In v. 26 Jesus plainly tells them how to identify the one who the betrayer would be. However, in the verses to follow we read that they apparently miss it all together. The way John chapter 13 verses 26-9 read it seems that it should have been easy to identify the person that Jesus was referring to, but to them it was not that obvious. Maybe they were preoccupied with other things at the dinner table.

In v. 26 Jesus dips the morsel or sop and gives it to Judas. This is a turning point in Judas’ life. It appears to be a point of no return for him. After dipping the sop and handing it to Judas, v. 27 tells us that the seduction of Judas is now complete opening him fully to the work and will of Satan. What a dark moment!

Jesus knowing what is about to happen tells him to go and do what is intended in his heart telling him to carry out his plan quickly. Apparently what Jesus had said to Judas was loud enough for the others to hear for they took note of it. However, it appears that they really didn’t understand the intent with which it was spoken. Some at the table actually assumed that Jesus was giving Judas some last minute instructions concerning the Passover dinner or had asked him to go buy something that they had need of for the poor. V. 30 tells us that after receiving the sop that Judas went out quickly into the night to do the evil that was now firmly planted in his heart. It is interesting that when he went out that it was dark, Judas himself going out into the darkness.

One would think that now that the wheels were set in motion, Jesus knowing what was about to happen, would just seemingly helplessly wait out His fate. But, the verses that follow do not give us that impression. Vs. 31-2 give us a different perspective giving us unique insight into Jesus’ perspective. Jesus’ death on the Cross is often referred to as His Passion and these verses bear that out telling us that from His perspective that He saw it as His moment of glory and was one not of defeat.

What we might see as a moment of defeat He saw as His reward now receiving His crown of what He called ‘His glory’. It is interesting that what He would receive as His crown would be a crown of thorns. He had finally won. This moment was what He had been waiting for throughout all history and time. In the verses that follow we find that not only was He Himself finally glorified in what was about to happen, but so was the Father also glorified in it. Even though He all too well knew the pain that was before Him He embraced His position and what Judas was about to do as a win. How do we see the difficulty found in our life as a follower of Christ in this world? I am not one to willingly receive pain when it is coming my way. Maybe Jesus’ example could teach us something.