Jesus Knew

The message given in the Maundy Thursday worship service in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on April 6, 2023.  The Bible verses used are John 13:18-30.

            Last night we read Jesus’ Farewell Address to His disciples.  What we read tonight comes right before that.  And as with last night, I’d like to put yourself into the story.  I’d like you to imagine yourself there, as one of the disciples, in the upper room with Jesus.

            You are sharing a meal.  Jesus has just washed everyone’s feet.  Such a special thing.  Such a startling thing, that Jesus–the divine Son of God–would take on the role of the lowest servant, washing everyone’s feet.  He has told you that this is an example to you, showing you how you should serve each other.

            That was strange enough.  But then, Jesus says some more strange things.  He quotes Psalm Forty-one, and says, “He who has shared my bread has turned against me.”  And then He makes it even more plain.  He says, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray Me.”

            The disciples don’t really understand what Jesus means.  Then comes something that I think I’ve noticed before, but I’ve never really thought about it much.  Peter says to John, ask Jesus which one He means.  John does so, and Jesus says, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.”  Jesus then takes the piece of bread, dips it in the dish, and gives it to Judas.

            The Bible then goes on to tell us about Judas, but here’s the thing.  John had to see that, right?  And I would assume he told Peter, too, since Peter was the one who wanted John to ask in the first place.  And yet, neither John, nor Peter, nor anyone else, seemed to do anything about it.  In fact, we’re told that none of the disciples even understood what was going on.

            What was there to understand?  I mean, it seems really clear to me.  Jesus says the one who’s going to betray him will be the one He gives a piece of bread to, and He gives the piece of bread to Judas.  That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?  Does that not seem like Jesus was letting John know that Judas would be the one to betray Him?  How could John and Peter not understand that?

            There are some possibilities, of course.  It could be that they understood Judas was the one to betray Jesus, but they did not understand what that betrayal would mean.  Maybe they thought it just meant that Judas was going to abandon them.  And of course, Judas did leave immediately after receiving the bread from Jesus.  So maybe that’s all they thought that the “betrayal” was going to amount to.

            And then, too, it’s possible that Jesus told Peter and John not to do anything about it.  We’re not told that, but the Bible does not tell us every conversation between Jesus and the disciples.  It could be that when Judas got up and left, Jesus told them to let him go.  After all, Jesus told Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”  So it may be that Peter and John understood that they were not supposed to do anything about this.

            But whatever John and Peter may or may not have understood, there’s one thing we know for sure.  Jesus understood.  Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen.  Jesus knew who was going to betray Him, He knew when they were going to betray Him, and He knew how they were going to betray Him.  Jesus knew what would happen.  And Jesus allowed it to happen.

            As we’ve said before, Jesus could’ve stopped it in any number of ways.  He could’ve used His divine power, of course, but He would not have had to.  All He’d have had to do, really, is say to John or Peter, or any of the disciples, really, “Hey, Judas is about to betray Me.  Stop him.”  And I’ll guarantee they’d have stopped him.  Judas would not have had a chance.

            But Jesus did not do that.  Jesus allowed it to happen.  He allowed Judas to betray Him.

            But that’s not all Jesus did.  Knowing that Judas was about to betray Him, Jesus did not treat Judas any differently than He ever did.  He did not treat Him any differently from the way He treated any of the other disciples, either.

            Look at what Jesus did.  Knowing what Judas was about to do, Jesus still allowed Judas to share the Passover meal with Him.  This would be Jesus’ last meal before He was killed–that’s why we call it the Last Supper, obviously–and Jesus chose to share that meal with the one who would betray Him.

            And even that’s not all Jesus did.  Right before the passage we read tonight is the famous passage in which Jesus gets up from the meal and starts washing everyone’s feet.  One of the lowest, dirtiest jobs there was.  One of the most extreme acts of servanthood there could be.  And of course, Judas was there.  That means that Jesus, knowing that Judas was going to betray Him, washed Judas’ feet.  Jesus took the role of a servant even for Judas.

            We talk sometimes about loving our enemies, and how hard that is for us to do.  The next time we think about it, let’s remember this.  This is extreme loving your enemies.  Washing the feet of the person who is going to kill you.  Not personally, maybe, but who will knowingly and deliberately do something that directly leads to you being killed.

            There are not very many of us who will have enemies like that.  And yet, Jesus loved Judas.  If Jesus can do that, so can we.  It may not be easy.  I suspect it was not easy for Jesus.  Yet He still did it.  

            And thinking about how we struggle to love our enemies, the natural question to ask is:  how did Jesus do it?  How could Jesus love His enemies?  And is there something we can find in that to help us love our enemies, too?

            You could, of course, say, well, Jesus could do that because He’s Jesus.  He’s the divine Son of God.  And of course, that’s true.  But as we’ve said before, Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine.  That means Jesus had all the same feelings and emotions we do.  It had to be tempting for Jesus to stop Judas, or even to take revenge on him.  But He did not do that.  Again, how did Jesus do it?

            And we could also say, well, Jesus could do it because He knew the future.  Yes, He knew He was going to go through some misery, but He also knew it would be over soon.  And then, He would come to life again.  So He knew this death Judas had planned for Him was not permanent, anyway.

            And that’s true, too.  But you know what?  You and I know that, too.  As Christians, we know that, for us, death is not permanent.  We know we will come to life again, too.  We know that, if we have faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior, we will have eternal life in heaven;

            We know that, and we believe it.  And I’m serious about that–I’m not questioning anybody’s faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior.  It’s just that–well, sometimes we forget.  And sometimes we doubt.  You know, faith and doubt can exist together.  That’s what the guy meant when he said to Jesus in Mark Chapter Nine, Verse Twenty-four, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”  

            We know we have eternal life with the Lord in heaven.  It’s just that–we cannot picture it.  We don’t know what it’s going to be like.  And so there’s an extent to which it seems not quite real to us.  This life on earth is real.  We know what it’s like.  And so it’s important to us.  We cling to it.  And when it does not go the way we want it to go, we get upset.  And when people don’t treat us the way we think they should, we get angry with them.  We want to get back at them.  And we most definitely don’t feel like loving them.

            Jesus knew His life on earth was temporary.  Jesus knew He would return to heaven to be with God the Father.  And that helped Him love His enemies while He was on earth.

            You and I know our life on earth is temporary, too.  You and I, by our faith in Jesus Christ and by God’s love and grace and mercy, will go to heaven to be with God the Father, just like Jesus did.

            Maybe knowing that, and believing that, and remembering that, is the key to loving our enemies the way Jesus did.  Remembering that our lives on earth are temporary.  Remembering that, as the old hymn says, this world is not our home. Maybe looking ahead to that eternal life with God the Father in heaven will help us love our enemies in this life on earth.

            John and Peter may not have understood what Judas was going to do.  But Jesus did.  And Jesus loved Him anyway.  He loved Judas so much that He washed Judas’ feet.  He loved Judas so much that He allowed Judas to be part of His last meal before His death.

            Jesus loved His enemies to the end.  May we find inspiration in that, and find ways to love our enemies, too.