20 When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” Matthew 26 Jesus was troubled by the fact that one of the guys he had hung out with for three years, day by day, eating together, ministering together, walking along the way together...one of His nearest and dearest friends was about to betray Him. During the Last Supper, Jesus got up from the table and did something strange: He, the Master, assumed the part of a lowly servant, and washed His disciples' feet. Even Judas' feet. Then He told them that He had given them an example to follow. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. John 13 Just a few short verses later, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus was deeply troubled. 21 Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!” 22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” 25 So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 27 When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night. This is the thing that struck me this morning. Jesus' humanity. It comes through, loud and clear.
He was deeply troubled by the fact that Judas was about to betray Him. This was a person who was (and is) fully God and fully man. Because He is God, He knows all things, and all the way along, He knew that Judas would betray Him. Yet, this night, knowing what was ahead, Jesus did something that proved His humanity. He had to tell His friends. The same thing happens to you and me. We're deeply troubled by some trial in our life, and what do we do? We tell someone. We share our joys and sorrows, our fears and hopes and dreams. It's the nature of being human. None of us is an island. We were created to be part of a body; as Christians the Body metaphor is very meaningful. We're all connected in one way or another, and each of us has a job to do. We're gifted in such a way that we are a blessing to others, as they are a blessing to us. We share our burdens with one another because we are compelled to do so. So Jesus couldn't keep it in. He blurted it out: "One of you will betray me!" The disciples fretted about it, wondering if they were the betrayer. "Is it I, Lord?" Simon Peter had to know! He motioned to John, and the beloved disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus' response again shows us His humanity. He told John "It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl." Then He dipped, and handed the bread to Judas. The Word of God demonstrates time and time again that Jesus was fully human as He walked on this earth. He needed to get away once in a while to rest and to pray. He got hungry and thirsty. He was righteously angry when people turned the temple into a den of thieves. He was compassionate to women as He healed their diseases or forgave their sins, and kind to men who were blind or crippled or lame. He wept when His friend Lazarus died; He wept again over Jerusalem. This is just one more way we can learn that our Saviour, who is Almighty God, who could have called 10 thousand angels to destroy the world and to set Him free, was also, at the very same time, an ordinary man. He loved His friends. He needed them. And in the next few hours, all of His closest friends would desert Him. He still went to the cross. He still paid the penalty for our redemption. He was the only One who could.
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January 2020
AuthorJanet Matthews Roth loves words. Categories |