seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 13:18 “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.
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Here's the link to the commentary I read.
I know whom I have chosen: When Jesus chooses a person He knows them. He does not choose apart from His knowledge of who they are and what they will do. It was important for Jesus to tell the disciples that He was not surprised by the betrayal that would soon happen.
I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am: Jesus didn’t tell His disciples that one of them would betray Him because He just learned about it. He knew it all along. Jesus told them this so the faithful disciples would remain confident in Him.
Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me: By revealing that one of them was a traitor, Jesus showed that He was in control of these events; He was not taken by surprise.
Perplexed about whom He spoke: It was not obvious to the other disciples that Judas was the one. There was nothing suspicious about him in this sense. They wondered if Jesus meant some kind of accidental, unintended betrayal, one that any of them might commit (Matthew 26:22).
Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke: Peter’s question to John (here mentioned as the disciple whom Jesus loved) may have been prompted by a desire to take preventative action. Peter couldn’t discreetly ask Jesus, so he asked John.
Leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him: At a special or ceremonial meal like this they would lay on their stomachs around a U-shaped table, leaning on their left elbow and eating with their right hand. It seems that from John’s position next to Jesus, he could lean back and be close enough to speak quietly to Jesus and still be heard.
It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it: The giving of the dipped bread designated special honor, something like a toast at a banquet. It was a mark of courtesy and esteem.
After the piece of bread, Satan entered him: It was already in the heart of Judas to betray Jesus (John 13:2). Yet when Judas rejected the love and favor of Jesus it broke some barrier within him and Satan entered him.
What you do, do quickly: Jesus knew Judas was now past any appeal to conscience or heart. Set on his course, it was best to get it done with. Judas believed that he was the master now; that Jesus would have to deal with what Judas did. The sooner this delusion reached its end, the better.
He went out immediately: With the taste of the piece of bread that showed the love and favor of Jesus still in his mouth, Judas left his fellow disciples, left his Master and went out into the night. Perhaps the events earlier at the dinner made Judas decide that he didn’t want anything to do with a foot-washing Messiah, with a Messiah who would perform such a humble act.
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Well, I could not lean on a table and eat. I guess I could if that's what I had to do, and it was common to do it. I guess I could if I had done it all my life. But quite frankly, I think it seems awkward. What would a left-handed person do? I've seen awkward moments happen when a left-handed and right-handed people tried to sit in assigned spots. Messy!
Jesus knew what Judas did. It doesn't say, here, how Jesus knew. This is a discussion of human body confining Godly knowledge.
I'm pretty sure Jesus had a plan long before His Father sent Him to be born human and save the world. I bet Jesus had a vision of Judas getting paid off before Jesus ever came to earth. I can almost hear Our Father telling Jesus "See, that's what those humans are capable of. Use this one, he will love money."
Consider the people who get in a barrel and go over the top at Niagara Falls. They hope they know how the voyage they are about to go on will turn out. But they can't get over the falls in the barrel unless someone pushes the barrel to get it going. Judas kicked the barrel for Jesus.
Jesus sopped the bread for Judas. Without Judas turning into the devil himself, there would be no one to get Jesus arrested. He was indeed a "special" person at the table that night. Judas deserved that sop.
Jesus wouldn't have gone to the Cross if He had turned Himself in. They would have said He was insane and chained Him to a cave floor. "Messiah, my foot!", they would have said.
Someone had to do the dirty deed dirt cheap. At least Judas' feet were clean for the dirtiest deed in all of eternity... right?
It says "Satan entered him".
I used to know a man who would get possessed by Satan when he got drunk. While this man was sober, he was the nicest guy you would want to know. He could sooth the soul. But when he got drunk, he became a vicious man with a foul mouth and a horrible temper. Night and day. They said he was Satan possessed.
I guess Judas was a really good guy, until he had to lean to eat at the last supper. I wonder if he was left-handed and felt out of place. I wonder if the other disciples treated him like a buddy, or if he was an outcast from the get-go.
Judas held the money. He was a thief. He never was a true friend of Jesus. He was never a disciple. Satan was always going to run amuck in him. Poor, poor Judas.
He could have been a hero. He could have been somebody. But Jesus knew just how much money tempted him.
The love of money did him in.
