Betrayal

   

John 13: 21-33, 36-38

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.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

³¹ When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. ³² If God is glorified in him,^[a] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

³³ “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

The scene is set for Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial:  not a happy moment at the Last Supper, but nevertheless a reality..Treachery and weakness are present at this holy supper when Jesus would give us his body and blood under the appearance of bread and wine, and wash the feet of the men who would scatter, one who would sell him for 30 pieces of silver, and another who would deny knowing him.  A fine crew for the foundation of what would become the Church.  It is thus that we even today continue the work begun by Jesus, we, weak and sinful instruments HE has chosen.  And for all their faults, we, the people of God continue to pass on his message and the hope of eternal life..  It is through the weak that the message becomes most evident and effective, for it becomes clear that it is the work of  God, not of men. May we not lose heart as we look in the mirror and see these same sinful traits in our own image, and yet know that somehow and for some reason God has chosen us to carry on his work. We know and the world knows it is not ours but HIS, and that's why it succeeds. 

Bro. Rene