Betray vs Love

Intro

Have you ever watched a baby with his or her eyes open?

Huge eyes that fixate to take in all the details

Something unfortunate happens to most of us as we grow up

Our eyes learn to process our surroundings rapidly

With a quick glance, we can take in an exorbitant amount of information

And from that moment on, very few of us ever slow down our processing

We proceed through life taking in everything at quick glances, but rarely are like the baby who stares at one thing for an extended period of time to take in all that there is to see

The Last Day

In the fall, we looked at the first half of the gospel of John through the lens of the one-on-one encounters people had with Jesus

From Nicodemus to the woman at the well to the man born blind to Lazarus

John does something really fascinating in his gospel

After picking and choosing a variety of these encounters people had with Jesus over the couple years of his public ministry, he suddenly slows way down and zooms in to capture every detail of what happens next

Chapters 1-11 cover a period of a couple of hours

But chapters 13-19 cover one 24 hour period - The Last Day

John 13 starts, where we will look today, in the Upper Room at dinnertime one day and chapter 19 ends with Jesus’ death on the cross less than 24 hours later

In this way, John is working to slow us down to see all the intricate details of what transpires in this last day of Jesus’ life

Paul got us started a couple of weeks ago when he looked at the first part of John 13 when Jesus washed the disciples feet

That message was in some ways a bridge

A message on serving just in advance of the message on our value of Ministry is a Team Sport

But also returning us here to John and the start of The Last Day

My prayer is that this series is an invitation to become like the little baby that, instead of eyes scanning the horizon and taking in the scene quickly, opens his eyes in wonder to take in every precious moment of these final hours

Now through Easter, we are going to go through these chapters to look at The Last Day of Jesus’ life - from the Upper Room teachings to the Garden of Gethsemane to his arrest, his trial, and, finally, his death

One final thought before we read our text for this morning

We are going to ping pong a little bit

Here is what I mean by that

This morning we are starting this series looking at Judas

John 13:21 “After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.””

But then we are going to jump over to chapter 18 where the actual betrayal occurs

We will do this a couple of times in this series as we the fulfillment of statements Jesus makes in the Upper Room come to fruition mere hours later

With that in mind, please turn in your Bibles to John 13

Scripture Reading: John 13:21-30

John 13:21–30 ESV

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

Pray

Upper Room Discourse

Before we dive into a challenging and morally complex story here with Judas, one little clarification I would like to give

I’ve already used the term “Upper Room” a couple of times

Jesus is gathered with his disciples for what we commonly now know as “The Last Supper”

And we know from Mark and Luke that they were meeting in the “upper room” of this house

So we have given the designation of Upper Room Discourse to the teachings of Jesus on this last night of his life with his disciples

Even though they eventually move one from the upper room to the Garden, we still use that term to describe the whole of Jesus’ teachings in those hours prior to his arrest

Basically, chapters 13-17 qualify as “The Upper Room Discourse”

Judas’ Betrayal

Now we can get into the actual passage

And we start with a real gut punch moment

John 13:21 “After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.””

Now picture the scene

Jesus is gathered around the table for dinner with his closest friends

These are the men who had been with him since he called each of them to be his disciples three years earlier

And they just heard Jesus say one of them would betray him

So now they all have their heads on a swivel

“Is it me?”

That they were so unsure only proves that even those who had walked alongside Judas for years had no idea what was truly in his heart

John 13:23–24 “One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.”

I just imagine Peter trying to make eye contact with John and giving the little head nod

“Ask him who he is talking about”

Jesus answers in what appears to be a cryptic way, saying “it is the one to whom I give the morsel of bread,” but then he hands it to Judas

Now this, without going too far, is a fulfillment of Scripture

Psalm 41:9 “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.”

Satan then enters Judas (and we’ll come back to that in a few minutes) and leaves

I told you we would be playing ping pong, so now let’s flip over to chapter 18

John 18:1–6 “When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”

Now remember, though this is 5 chapters later, it is only a couple of hours later

Jesus is in the Garden with his disciples when Judas shows up, accompanied by a “band of soldiers”

Matthew 26:48–49 “Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him.”

And with that fateful kiss, the vilest kiss ever, Jesus was betrayed and arrested

Transition

Ok, so we’ve now walked through the betrayal of Judas

But what do we do with a story like this?

It has to be more than “don’t be like Judas”

After all, none of you have ever been entered by Satan as the passage said

I mean, at least not that I know of…

Matthew 26:24 “The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.””

Jesus never said about any of us that it would be better if we had not been born

So what do we do with this?

Where is the gospel hope and where is the gospel application?

Betrayal

First, let’s talk about the idea of betrayal

I looked up a definition of betrayal and came across these four key components of betrayal

Breach of Trust: The fundamental shattering of confidence in a person, institution, or relationship.

Violation of Agreements: Going against spoken or unspoken rules regarding intimacy, loyalty, or honesty.

Dependence: It is particularly traumatic when the victim relies on the perpetrator for survival, safety, or emotional needs.

Loss of Self: Beyond losing trust in the other person, betrayal often leads to a loss of one’s own sense of innocence, identity, and security.

CounselingToComfort.com

And then hear these words from Tracy Prout on why betrayal hurts so deeply

“Unlike other forms of hurt, betrayal doesn’t just cause sadness or anger; it fundamentally shakes our sense of reality and our ability to trust.”

And our hope here is not that we will avoid betrayal

It is, sadly, a profound effect of living in a sinful world and being in relationship with other sinful people

Relationships are risky - the more you open yourself up and are vulnerable in a relationship, the greater the risk of betrayal

This, sadly, is often a reason people withdraw from relationships

It is a self-protective measure to keep themselves safe from that deep hurt

The challenge is, as we have said in recent weeks, spiritual formation happens best in the context of relationships

The very environment that nurtures spiritual growth can also become the setting where betrayal takes root

No, our hope is not that we will avoid betrayal

But that Jesus experienced it - He knows your sadness, your grief, your inner cries of lament when you are betrayed

Our hope is that Jesus is near to the broken-hearted

That doesn’t make it all better, doesn’t make the hurt go away

Just a few weeks ago I was headed to Starbucks

As I walked up, I saw two guys that had hurt me deeply through the window

And I turned around, got back in the truck and drove away

My whole body tensed, pulled back in an instant to an event over a decade ago

The pain of betrayal may not go away until the New Creation

But our hope is that Jesus, himself well-acquainted with betrayal and sorrow, is near to the broken-hearted

Jesus Chose You

We already read the verse about how it would have been better for Judas had he never been born

But hear these other verses about Judas

John 6:64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)”

John 17:12 “While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”

Or how about this

Matthew 10:1–4 “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

And both Mark and Luke do the same thing, explicitly naming Judas as the “traitor” in their lists of the disciples

It could be easy to allow our hearts to wander into dangerous territory where we see ourselves in the same way as Judas

All of us are capable of betrayal

Betraying a close friend and betraying Jesus

In fact, if we are willing to do the hard heart work, we could probably ask the Holy Spirit to reveal those areas where we have betrayed and hurt those we love

But we are not Judas

Judas was indwelt by Satan

We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the great Comforter

Judas was the son of destruction

We are sons of God

It would have been better if Judas had never been born

You were born to be the object of God’s affection and the agent of his glory forever

The Character of God and Betrayal

And finally, how do we hold in tension the goodness of God and the pain of sin and betrayal?

I think the very next verses in John 13 give us a little insight

Unfortunately for him, Judas left before Jesus spoke these words

But they can offer a great framework for us to engage with deep betrayal

John 13:31–35 “When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

2 insights I would like to pull from this

First, the purposes of God will not be thwarted

Not only did the betrayal of Judas not thwart the purposes of God, but God used it to fulfill the Scriptures and to glorify himself

It was through the betrayal that God the Son was glorified

But here is the caution: We could easily diminish real betrayal, real pain, real sorrow with “good Christian words” about how “God is always in control” and “God works all things for his good purposes”

If we use the idea of God glorifying himself through our betrayals as a way to dismiss, minimize or invalidate our pain, we have missed it

It should, if anything, increase the cry of our hearts for the New Creation

Or in the words of the quote I have used before, “It will not be so in the Mended Wood.”

So just as that is an important caution, so also we don’t want to dismiss the providence of God

He is working his glory and our good in a sinful world

Even in our pain, even in our sorrow, God is still good and he is still sovereign

And truly, holding that tension between the goodness of God and the very real pain of betrayal is difficult

Second, notice the words of verse 34

“Just as I have loved you”

The foundation for us is that we are loved by God

The thing that is most true about you is that you are loved by God

It is not your sin, not the ways you have been betrayed or have betrayed

The most true thing is the sure foundation of the love of God

Betray vs Love

Our message this morning has revolved around two key words: betray vs love

Both betrayal and love require being in relationship

And I want to invite you to consider the question of betrayal with kindness

Where have you been betrayed? What wounds still hurt?

And how can you seek the love of God who, just hours after Jesus said these words, demonstrated his love by his death on the cross?

Where have you betrayed others? What wounds have you caused that may still be open?

How can you heed the command to love one another and go in humble repentance to confess your betrayal?

And how have you betrayed God?

Because you have

And so have I

But the power of the cross is that the love of God triumphs over our betrayal of God

Your betrayal of God is not as powerful as the cross of Jesus

And the resurrection of Jesus guarantees that, as Jesus said, he has not lost one of his own

And if you are in Christ, no matter how deep your sin and betrayal, that includes you

He can’t, and he won’t, lose you

Pray

Communion Setup

1 Corinthians 11:27 “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.”

Every week you hear me say something along the lines of, “If you have not trusted in Christ for salvation, please don’t eat this meal”

That idea comes from this verse

So here is an insight I had on Friday as I was letting the passage sit in my heart

Jesus identified Judas the traitor by dipping a piece of bread and then handing it to Judas

That is, Judas had the bread and the wine - the very elements of the Lord’s Supper - and yet they were guilt upon him

Judas ate that bread dipped in the wine in an unworthy manner - without the gift of faith

This is not to say that those who are guilty of betrayal against God or someone else is unworthy

It is to say that worthiness to partake of this meal rests not in your goodness, but that Jesus chose you and gave you the gifts of faith and repentance

So before we take these elements this morning, let us pause and confess our sins to God

We will pray this short prayer of confession together and then take a moment silently to repent before God for whatever betrayal of the goodness of God is weighing upon your heart right now