Betrayed By An Enemy

if God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn back once again to John chapter 13. And if you
would allow me to just briefly set the context, we are in the
upper room. We find Christ there with his
12 apostles. He has just Finished washing
their feet and I want to point out I want to remind you because
it was one of the shocking features that we discovered During that
passage in the first 17 verses Judas was present which means
that the Lord Jesus Christ in the course of performing this
this act that was a rebuke to His own disciples, Judas was
among them. And I say that because if there
was ever an opportunity for Judas to repent of the plan, the plot
that he had already put in place. He had already struck a deal.
He had already negotiated the sum. He had already agreed to
turn over Christ. And you know the most absurd
thing about that whole thing? The Jews didn’t need Judas. The Jews didn’t need Judas to
point out Christ or to arrange a meeting. And you know what?
God didn’t need Judas. God didn’t need Judas to do this. And the Jews were perfectly capable. They knew exactly who Jesus was. They knew where they could find
Him. They knew it was an eventuality
to come across Him. It is absolutely astounding.
And if you look at chapter 13, look at verse 2. During supper, Here they are preparing for,
not only the Passover, but in that same context, the initiation
of the Lord’s Supper. A very solemn moment, and it
says, during supper, the devil, having already put into the heart
of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him. It was
already in his heart. When Jesus went about, man to
man, washing their feet. If you’re in that same context,
look down at verse 10. Jesus said to him, he who is
bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean.
And you are clean, but not all of you. The point that he was
making there with Peter who was contending, challenging him to
the foot washing, the point that he was making is that, look Peter,
you’re already saved. You have already been spiritually
washed. This foot washing is not symbolic
of a new salvation, it is instructive. It is instructive of something
that should have been done by all of you and wasn’t done by
any of you. Not all of you are clean. Not
all of you are spiritually clean. And he alludes once again to
Judas. For he knew, verse 11, the one
who was betraying him. For this reason, he said, not
all of you are clean. Judas had a condition. Judas
had a disease that is endemic to humanity. It goes beyond heart
disease, which is also one of the sad features of our physical
state. What Jesus wants to point out
is the deceitfulness of the human heart. And Judas had a bad case
of heart deceit. But we come to beginning in verse
18 and all the way down through verse 30, is the betrayal of
Christ by an enemy. And as we’ll get into this passage
today, we will see the aspects or the features of a darkened
heart. The features of a heart that
is so beset with deceit, it can’t even detect it. Here is Judas’
opportunity once more to repent. And Jesus will confront him time
and again. And Judas’ heart is so deceived
that he doesn’t even see his need. If God’s people would begin
with me in verse 18. Where John records, I do not
speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But it is that the scripture
may be fulfilled. He who eats my bread has lifted
up His heel against me. From now on, I am telling you,
before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe
that I am He. Truly, truly, I say to you, he
who receives whomever I send, receives Me, and he who receives
Me, receives Him who sent Me.” When Jesus had said this, He
became troubled in spirit. and testified and said, truly,
truly I say to you that one of you will betray me. The disciples
began looking at one another at a loss to know of which one
he was speaking. There was reclining on Jesus
bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter gestured
to him and said to him, tell us who it is of whom he is speaking. He leaning back thus on Jesus
bosom said to him, Lord, who is it? Jesus then answered, that
is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.
So when he had dipped the morsel, he took and gave it to Judas,
the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then
entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him,
what you do, do quickly. Now, no one of those reclining
at the table knew for what purpose he had said this to him. For
some were supposing because Judas had the money box that Jesus
was saying to him, buy the things we need for the feast. or else
that he should give something else to the poor. So, after receiving
the morsel, he went out immediately, and it was night. We come to one of the most terrifying
features of our humanity. The fact that we can be so deceived,
we don’t even know it. There are countless scores of
humanity that don’t know that they need a Savior. That is a
form of heart deceit. That’s not at all what I’m talking
about. What I’m talking about is being very much like Judas. In with the twelve. At the table with the Lord. You’re here this morning. And
I’m here to tell you that it is entirely possible that there
are some that are here this morning whose hearts are deceived and
that they are not truly saved. They are not right with God.
They have not placed their faith fully and completely in the Lord
Jesus Christ alone for salvation. They still entertain some notion
of trying to please God, trying to live up to His standards,
They are heart deceived. They are deceived in heart to
the point where they really believe that they are saved, and they’re
not. Examine your own hearts this morning, especially as we
draw near to the Lord’s table. This was a shocking thing for
Jesus to address. This was troubling not only to
Him, it was troubling to His disciples. And as we come into
this section of the betrayal of an enemy, and that’s all that
Judas was from the very beginning, it’s not that he fell. He never
really truly was an apostle. He never truly was a disciple
of Christ. He never truly was saved. He
was an enemy from the start. And he was an enemy to the end.
And I want to look this morning at dreadful aspects of a darkened
heart because Judas is not alone. Judas is not alone. Deceit of
the heart is commonplace throughout humanity. As we begin to look at the dreadful
aspects of a darkened heart, note first that deceit of the
heart is ordained by God. The seed of the heart is ordained
by God. Look at verse 18. Jesus said,
I do not speak of all of you with regards to this faith, this
endurance. I do not speak of all of you.
I know the ones I have chosen and people he is not here speaking
of the doctrine of election. One of the things that does great
damage to that doctrine is taking passages completely out of context
and foisting them onto that argument. What he’s talking about here
is election to the apostleship. I know the twelve that I have
chosen. And Judas is included in that
number. As he will go on to say, I know
the ones that I have chosen but it is that the scripture may
be fulfilled. He who eats my bread has lifted
up his heel against me.” In other words, God has ordained that
one of the twelve would be part of this plot. One of the twelve
has his heart so deceived that he cannot possibly see that what
he’s doing is wrong and evil. When he says that the scripture
may be fulfilled, he points there to Psalm 41 verse 9. The psalmist there was very likely
referring to a man named Ahithophel. You may remember him from your
study of Samuel. In 2 Samuel Ahithophel suddenly
turns, he joins league with David’s son Absalom and he turns against
David and very treacherously undercuts him. 2 Samuel 15 12,
Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gileanite, David’s counselor
from the city of Gilo while he was offering sacrifices and the
conspiracy was strong for the people continually increased
with Absalom. In other words, Absalom, David’s
own son, holds sway and now he’s beginning to build a coalition,
but it includes one of David’s former friends. Later on, in
chapter 16 of 2 Samuel, it records that the advice of Ahithophel,
which he gave in those days, was as if one inspired of the
word of God. So was the advice of Ahithophel
regarding both David and Absalom. This was a trusted man, a sound
counselor, and he betrayed David mercilessly. The Psalms speak of this kind
of betrayal. Perhaps you’ve read it yourself.
Perhaps you’ve had these heart-rending situations that occur in Christian
relationships, where someone so close does something so evil. Psalm 55 says, it is not an enemy
who reproaches me. Then I could bear it. Not a big
deal to be mistreated by the world or by those who hate God. Nor is it one who hates me who
has exalted himself against me. Then I could hide myself from
him if I only knew. But it is you. And you can hear the
psalmist’s heart breaking as he says this. It’s you, a man,
my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. And then he says this. We who had sweet fellowship together
walked in the house of God in the throng. We went to church
together. We sat at the same table. We
enjoyed fellowship together. The point that Jesus is making
when he says that it’s he who lifted up, or he who ate my bread
has lifted up his heel, he brings in this idea of a meal. that to eat a meal with one,
especially to eat a meal which someone has provided, and then
to lift up your heel against them, to take action against
them, to show hatred or dislike or disfavor towards them after
they have shown you kindness. It’s just unthinkable. Judas has here another opportunity.
Jesus Christ has just washed His feet, and still He pursues
His course. Here Jesus tells him that there
is a problem. He tells him that one of the
twelve is going to betray Him, and in a very real sense, Judas
already has. If there was ever an opportunity
to repent, it’s now. But Judas doesn’t take the opportunity
to repent. Jesus, in addressing this, basically
says that Judas has fixed his course. Judas is locked on to
his plan. Jesus is pointing out the sovereignty
of God in this when he says that the scriptures are going to be
fulfilled. This was part of God’s predetermined
plan and foreknowledge. Jesus wasn’t announcing himself
as a victim of a pending surprise attack. He says that this is
all part of God’s plan in Judas and his betrayal is part of it. Jesus characterized the act of
this betrayer. And it’s, there’s two elements
to it. First of all, there is this deed
that is part of God’s sovereignty. It doesn’t take Jesus by surprise.
God needed no one in order to get this done, but he had so
worked the plan of redemption that there was a part to be played
by somebody in the act of betrayal. The sad part of that was there
was an all too willing participant in a man named Judas. This whole
thing was completely formed in the predetermined plan and foreknowledge
of God. But Judas was absolutely responsible. He was fully responsible. And
we see that in scripture all the time. God is sovereign. And man is responsible. The two things are absolutely
true. In Luke’s gospel, It’s fascinating
that all four of the Gospel writers address the outing, if you will,
of Judas. All four of the Gospel writers
address this scene. Each of them pick up different
nuances. But all four of them also point
to this truth that God is sovereign and man is responsible. All four of them. Matthew says it this way, the
Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him. It fulfills
God’s plan. It’s part of God’s predetermined
plan as a sovereign God. The Son of Man is to go just
as it is written, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man
is betrayed. You have both God’s sovereignty
and man’s responsibility. Matthew’s gospel closes with
a severe indictment of this man, Judas. It would have been good
for him if that man had not been born. All four of the gospel writers
address this issue of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, but
I want you to note Luke’s, just in your mind’s eye, Luke chapter
22, verse 22, listen. The Son of Man is going as it
has been determined by God Himself, but woe to that man by whom He
is betrayed. Very simple. God is sovereign.
Man is responsible. It’s not only a declaration of
judgment, but it’s an expression of pity on this man. The counsels of God were not
caught off guard. They weren’t surprised. The Messiah
himself wasn’t surprised by this turning of Judah, by this act
of betrayal. It was a fulfillment of God’s
plan. They knew someone was going to step into this role. And by Judas’s own choice, he steps
in and fills this role of the betrayer. Even though Jesus accepted His
suffering as the Father’s plan, His sovereign plan, Judas wasn’t
absolved of his guilt. Matthew 26.15 says this. It points that Judas knew precisely
what he was doing. Matthew 26.15 He said, what are
you willing to give me to betray him to you? He knew exactly what
he was doing. Mark’s gospel, chapter 14, verse
18 says that Jesus was fully aware that this was Judas’s plan
from the beginning. Mark 14, 18 says they were reclining
at the table Jesus said, truly, truly, I say to you that one
will betray me, one who is eating with me. Jesus had known all
along about Judas’ plan. But the interesting thing here
in Luke’s gospel is that now Judas knows that Jesus knows
his plan. There is this truth woven throughout
scripture and we have this tendency to want to dichotomize all of
life either into the sovereignty of God and say that everything
just happens according to the sovereignty of God or that everything
is the responsibility of man when both things are true scripture
doesn’t do this in fact scripture so often so beautifully blends
the two together Luke chapter 17 verse 1 just remember this
verse or jot it down Jesus speaking said to his disciples, it is
inevitable that stumbling blocks come. It’s inevitable. It’s part of God’s sovereign
plan. There will be stumbling blocks in life. There is the
sovereignty of God, but woe to him through whom they come. That
you should cause someone to stumble, that you should make them to
trip and fall, harming them, spiritually speaking, is a great
sin. things that cause distraction
and difficulty to others, they’re not only according to God’s sovereign
providence, they are inevitable, but the perpetrators of those
offenses, stumbling blocks, are blameworthy. You see the sovereignty
of God and the responsibility of men also in Acts 2.23 discussing
the very element of the plan of redemption. There in Peter’s first sermon, Luke records that men of Israel
listen to these words Jesus the Nazarene attested to you by God
with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through
him in your midst just as you yourselves know this man delivered
over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God there’s
the sovereignty of God delivered over by the predetermined plan
and foreknowledge of God you nailed to the cross by the hands
of godless men and put him to the death. The crucifixion of
the Lord Jesus Christ was brought about not only by the sovereign
plan of God, but by the evil deeds of godless men. One pastor said the wickedness
of Judas was foreknown and foreseen and permitted by God in his infinite
wisdom. Yet Judas was not the less guilty
in God’s sight. God’s foreknowledge does not
destroy man’s responsibility or justify man in going on in
wickedness under the excuse that he cannot help that he is sinning. It’s a terrible argument, he
says. Nothing can happen in heaven
or on earth without God’s knowledge and permission, but sinners are
always addressed by God as responsible, free agents. They are free to
sin, and they will. If you’re in John chapter 13, glance
down at verse 19 as we course through this introductory Jesus
just says, from now on I’m telling you, he’s playing the role of
pastor here, comforter. This is a distressing thought
to even entertain that one of them is going to betray Christ. He had already hinted at the
fact that he’s going to be arrested, crucified, and one of them is
going to play a role in this? That had to be a distressing
point. Is everything going to fall apart?
everything that they’ve been trained to do, everything that
they’ve been called to do by God Himself. Jesus says, let
me play the role of pastor. From now on, I’m telling you
before it comes to pass so that when it does occur, you may believe
that I am He. He wanted to engender their faith.
He wanted to grow their faith. He wanted to encourage them. Jesus knows That when this treachery
is discovered, when Judas is seen for what he is, the disciples
are just going to be beside themselves. They can’t even conceive of things
going so badly as what Jesus here is hinting. It’s going to
be worse. Truly, truly, I say to you, Jesus
says, he who receives Whomever I send receives me. He who receives
me receives him as sent. The plan hasn’t changed, is what
he says. I still have sent you. You’re
still going to go. People are going to receive you,
receive the gospel. When they receive you, they receive
me. When they receive me, ultimately
they are responding to Almighty God’s plan of redemption. Nothing
has changed. If you’re here this morning, And you don’t know exactly where
your heart is. You may or may not have truly
and fully given yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ. This point
has to be pondered. The deceit of the Lord is ordained
by God. There are some who are just embracing
out of God’s plan that their hearts would be deceived and
misled. They are believing in a lie actively even as we speak. God may indeed be calling you
to repentance and to faith. You may be in a heart deceived
condition even this morning thinking that all is well when the truth
of the matter is your heart is far from the Savior. as we consider the dreadful aspects
of a darkened heart, not only is deceit of the heart ordained
by God, secondly, deceit of the heart is truly grievous to the
Lord. It’s not that God is up there
sitting there careless of who responds to the gospel and who
doesn’t. Welp, I guess he missed his opportunity. What a terrible and a crass way
to consider the heart of a loving God. And it was no less true
with Judas himself. Look at verse 21. Deceit of the
heart is truly grievous to the Lord. When Jesus had said this,
he became troubled in spirit and testified and said, truly,
truly I say to you that one of you will betray me. This was overwhelming to Christ.
This was hurtful to Christ. This was heartbreaking to Christ,
that one of His 12, that anyone would not believe in Him, that
one of His 12 has a deceived heart. This is the third time and the
fourth for John that he is referred to the traitor, Judas. In the
previous references, it just has been almost general, not
by name in some cases. Jesus now specifically points
to this one traitor that among the 12 disciples, his closest
friends, someone is going to betray him. Just briefly. Back again at verse
2. During supper the devil having
already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon
to betray him. This is John. This is the Apostle
John creating this narrative under the direction of the Holy
Spirit and he says here is the point of departure. Here is that
story that we’re all familiar with. You don’t even need to
know his last name. though it’s provided over and over again
by John, the mere word, the mere name Judas is enough, isn’t it?
Jump down to verse 10, as we’ve seen just moments ago. He said to him, he who has bathed
needs only to wash his feet. He’s completely clean. You are
all clean, but not all of you. For he knew the one who was betraying
him. Again, this is John’s comment, pointing out that Jesus is alluding
to a betrayal Jump down, if you would, to verse 18, which verse
we started at this morning. I do not speak of all of you.
I know the ones I have chosen. It is that the scriptures may
be fulfilled. He who eats my bread has lifted
up his heel against me. You know what? The apostles right
now just have to be absolutely baffled. What are you saying? Who are you talking about? but it was the grieved heart
of Christ that had to have seized their attention. Only John uses this word of Christ
and he only uses it a few times to be troubled of heart, overburdened. Perhaps you’ve met a friend or
a loved one who normally carries themselves in a right happy frame. But something has happened. And
you can see it on their face, right? You see it almost, you
know it immediately that something has happened. They’re burdened
about something. That’s this word. That’s what
it’s pointing to. And what it was pointing to is
that The pain and the sorrow that Christ would ultimately
experience on the cross was beginning here. This is the agony of the
cross. This is the agony of going to
the cross for sinners. And in this case, one of the
ones that he had just spent three years discipling is now found
to be a betrayer. And note that it says that he
was deeply troubled in his spirit, not in his soul. This is one
of John’s devices throughout his gospel, is to constantly
point back to Jesus’ humanity. His thirst, his fatigue, and
now, even humanly speaking, he was troubled by this. This hurt
him. And this is the fourth or fifth
time in as many chapters John has pointed this out, remember,
when in the scene of Lazarus, Lazarus dies and he sees Mary
and Martha and he is troubled, deeply moved in his spirit. Ultimately,
two verses later, remember, Jesus wept, the shortest verse in the
Bible. But it’s in that context that
he was deeply troubled. And so when the disciples look
on Christ and they hear these words, that he became troubled in spirit,
burdened, torn up, they know that something profound
has taken place. People, God doesn’t take delight
in the death of the wicked. And if your heart this morning
is in a deceived condition, Jesus Christ is not ambivalent about
your state. He’s not ambivalent about your
condition. He’s not ambivalent about your
standing eternally. He’s grieved that you have not
repented. He is grieved that you have not
placed your faith in Him alone for salvation. But there’s a third dreadful
aspect of this darkened heart. Not only is deceit of the heart
ordained by God and truly grievous to the Lord, thirdly, deceit
of the heart is undetectable by people. It’s undetectable
by people, that’s what makes this so vexing. Is that we can come day after
day, year after year, we can continue to go through the motions,
and everybody who sees us goes, there goes one of the finest
examples of a Christian I know. All I can tell you is, don’t
ask them, ask God. Watch what happens in verse 22. The disciples began looking at
one another at a loss to know of which one he was speaking.
There was, reclining on Jesus bosom, one of the disciples whom
Jesus loved. So Simon Peter gestured to him
and said to him, tell us who it is of whom he’s speaking.
They had no idea. Judas wasn’t a suspect. He, leaning
back thus on Jesus bosom, said to him, Lord, who is it? Jesus
then answered, this is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel
and give it to him. And all eyes were riveted on
Jesus dipping a piece of bread. And to whom would he give it?
So when he had dipped the morsel, he took and gave it to Judas,
the son of Simon. They had no idea up to that moment,
no idea at all. Jump back to verse 22. The disciples
began looking at one another. Can you imagine this scene? You
know you talk about suspicion and doubt and questioning. They were in utter shock. Luke’s gospel points out that
they began to discuss among themselves at which one of them it might
be. What did you do? I think it’s Peter. That’s how
it went. It’s running rampant now. In that particular culture in
the Mideast at that time, it was absolutely unthinkable to
eat with someone and then do them any kind of harm. And here
they are at not just any meal, this is one of the most solemn
occasions in the Jewish calendar and one that was added to by
the Lord’s table which Jesus was going to introduce. Who could possibly do this thing
as they begin to interview one another? Matthew’s gospel points
out, being deeply grieved, they each one began to say, surely
not I. They didn’t even know. They didn’t
even know where their own heart was, much less where their friends
were. They thought it might be me.
And remember, think this through. Peter has just had this episode
where he had a contention with the Lord Himself about foot washing.
Maybe it’s me. They didn’t know. The questions basically fall
into three simple categories. Is it me? Doubtful introspection. Hypocritical misdirection. You
know, even Judas himself says, surely not me. Total hypocrisy. Innocent curiosity eventually
takes the stage. Who is it? Tell us who it is. verses 23 through 25 paint that
picture. There’s no doubt that the disciple
that is alluded to here leaning on Christ’s chest is John, the
beloved apostle. It’s a device that John uses.
John does not want a place in this gospel, but he’s writing
the gospel. And he’s a first-hand eyewitness account. He doesn’t
want to even name his name, but he has to tell his story. And so Simon Peter gestures to
the one who is reclining on Jesus’ bosom. Since John was in closest physical
proximity to Jesus, Peter quietly and somehow secretly urges him,
maybe with a head nod or an eye gesture, a gesture with a hand,
ask him who it is. Peter needed to know. With this thing that had just
happened between he and the Lord, Peter maybe is even wondering
if it’s him. Look at verse 26, then Jesus
answered, that is for the one for whom I dip the morsel and
give it to him. Perhaps given the proximity to
the Passover itself, this could have been a piece of unleavened
bread. merely dipped in broth, a mixture of bitter herbs, what
have you. And to give a morsel like that,
and this is strange to our culture, I understand that. Somebody dips
something in gravy and hands it to you, I’ll pass, right?
But in this culture, this was a mark of goodwill. This was
a mark of affection. This was a mark of honor. You
know what this is? This is one final call to repentance
to Judas. Judas, take my act of kindness. Take my act of affection and
honor of you. The apostles probably even hardly
noticed that Judas is being honored tonight, all well and good. that as the discussion takes
place, all Mark records is that Jesus says, it’s one of the 12.
It’s one of the 12 of you. Matthew records, he who dipped
his hand with me in the bowl is he who will betray me. All things considered, these
men suspected no one Up until Jesus cryptically identifies
the betrayer, every man suspected everyone else, including himself. While you may be sitting here
this morning, with everyone in the room, believing wholeheartedly
that you are a true Christian, yet in the deepest recesses of
your heart, you know, you know that this is not the case. Not
with you. You’ve managed to pass yourself
off, present yourself, sell yourself as a Christian. But the dreadful thing is you
know deep in your heart it isn’t true. You’re a pretender and
you know it. There’s a fourth dreadful aspect
of a darkened heart. Not only is the deceit of the
heart ordained by God truly grievous to the Lord, undetectable by
men, but deceit of the heart is an open door for the devil
himself. It’s an open door. Look at verse
27, after the morsel Satan then entered into him, Before, even
at the start of this passage, there have been suggestions,
there have been hints, there’s been pressure. There have been
ideas, suggestions that the devil has made to Judas. There has
been this unfolding plan that the devil is certainly behind.
And Judas has entertained them, participated. But there is also
this overwhelming opportunity to repent
time and time again through this one scene. One pastor said it this way,
let us note the reality, personality, and awful power of our great
spiritual enemy, the devil. There are degrees in His power
and dominion over us. It is, if His first temptations
are not resisted, He may in the end gain full and entire possession
of every part of our soul and lead us captive to be His slaves. Now James, writing in his amazing
letter, James summarizes the whole plan of sin in much the
same way. You say, where does sin come
from? James nails it. When lust has conceived desire,
it gives birth to sin. When sin is accomplished, it
brings forth death. In a very like manner, what Jesus
points out here is that deceit of the heart, if it isn’t recognized
and eradicated by confession and repentance, throws the door
open of the heart to the devil himself. And if you think the
sin that you’ve just committed is bad, infinitely worse awaits. Infinitely worse is coming. J.C. Ryle put it this way, once
let a man begin tampering with the devil and he never knows
how far he may fall. Trifling with the first thoughts
of sin, making light of evil ideas when first offered to our
hearts, allowing Satan to talk to us and flatter us and put
bad notions into our hearts. All this may seem a small matter
to many, It is precisely at this point that the road to ruin often
begins. He that allows Satan to sow wicked
thoughts will soon find within the heart a crop of wicked habits. Happy is he who really believes
that there is a devil and believing watches and prays daily that
he may be kept from his temptations. It wasn’t the case with Judas.
And Jesus says to him, just in almost a transition, therefore
Jesus said to him, what you do, do quickly. Go do what you’ve
purposed to do, what Satan has now filled your heart to do.
Jesus is recorded by John here as just pointing to the fact
that Jesus acknowledges that the die is cast. All is set. Judas will not repent of his
sin. And nobody at the table, even
still, even still, it says that, look verse 28, no one of those
reclining at the table knew for what purpose he had said this
to him. They don’t know what the plan is. They know that Judas
is betraying them. Few know that it’s the same one
that took this bread. They don’t know what the plan
is. They don’t know how far Judas has gone or to what ends he will
go. Some thought that he was going
to buy groceries. Well, come to verse 30, which is the
close of this section. After receiving the morsel, he
went out and immediately it was night. Now there were some that
just merely characterized this as John pointing out, oh, by
the way, it was dark. I don’t think that’s the case. Judas knew. Judas knows full
well now that Christ knows about his wicked plan. And when it
says that he went out immediately, I take that in a big, hot hurry. Remember, they were just preparing
to eat dinner. Dinner is already underway. He
leaves in the middle of dinner? He can’t bear to stay. And he
flees would be an appropriate image, interpretation of that
description. He knew that he was found out.
He knew that he was discovered. And so out of shame, he flees. But when it says it was night,
this is one that is baffled and even to a degree entertained
commentators for a long time. Some said that Judas here was
just waiting until darkness to accomplish his deed. He was waiting
for darkness, and now that it’s darkness, John is just noting
that, oh, by the way, that fits Judas’ plan. Others said that Judas slinked
off at a time when nobody could see where he went. He needed
darkness to cover his tracks, so to speak. But in the gospel,
where light and darkness are so prominent because they become
spiritual symbols. Jesus being the light of the
world and darkness being that moral blackness. When it says
that Judas went out immediately and it was night, I believe that
it points from the fact that Judas left the very presence
of the light of the world into the very element of darkness
itself, spiritual darkness. And this is the most serious
crossroad for someone who is unsettled with the Lord, because
it’s either one way or the other, this way or that. It’s either going to be the devil’s
way or God’s way. For Judas, Judas flung the door
open wide and Satan walked right in. Judas had countless opportunities
to repent, to turn from the evil that so far he had only plotted. But Judas doggedly stayed his
course. He committed himself to that
way and the devil was only too happy to accommodate him. If you are not in Christ, you’re
at that same crossroad that it’s either going to be the devil’s
way or it’s going to be God’s way. But you have to recognize
your deceit of heart. You have to recognize and acknowledge
that you’re not truly a Christian. God is grieved if that’s the
case. He’s not indifferent to where
you are with the Lord. You may have fooled everybody
in the room. You may have fooled people for
years and years and years. But you haven’t fooled God. Repent. Let’s pray. Our merciful God, as we prepare
our heart for the Lord’s table, Lord, we know. That there are
some with hearts very much like Judas deceived. And we plead
with you, Lord, even now bring them to faith. Lord, it doesn’t
have to be. hard like so many denominations
and so many world religions make it a religion of works, religion
of doing. When Lord, you have already done
what was most needed in sending us a Savior who paid for our
sin. Ours is to place our faith completely
in Him. And when we do, even as we sung
this very morning, we take on Christ’s righteousness. We are
seen by you in Christ’s righteousness, not in our own, because our own
is worthless. Lord God, we pray, if there are
any, as we draw near to the Lord’s table, who do not know the Lord
Jesus Christ as their Savior, Strip away any heart deceit. Confront them in their sin. Bring them to repentance. Bring
them to a true and lasting relationship with the Savior. It’s in Jesus’
name that we plead. Amen.