Here's Mark's account, chapter
14, 18 and following. And as they sat and did eat,
Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, one of you which eateth
with me shall betray me. And they began to be sorrowful
and to say unto him one by one, is it I? And another said, is
it I? And so on down the line. And
he answered and said unto them, it is one of the 12 that dippeth
with me in the dish. Then flipping to John chapter
13 and verse 21, his account, When Jesus had thus said, he
was troubled in spirit and testified and said, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples
looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was
leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved,
we think that to be John, Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him
that he would ask who it should be of whom he spake. And he,
lying on Jesus' breast, said unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered and said, He it
is to whom I will give a sop when I have dipped it. When he
had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. And after the sop, Satan entered
into him then said Jesus what thou doest do quickly here is
the exposing of Judas as The one that shall betray the Lord
now John's gospel is a unique one It has a lot in it that the
other Gospels do not have and principally aims toward Establishing
the deity and the godhood of our Lord But the chapters from
verse a chapter 13 to through verse 18 are a very unique part
of the Gospel of John for the most part these chapters are
taken up with an account of the Lord in the company of his disciples
after having the Lord's Supper and preparing them for his death
and departure from their midst and out of the world. Now John
takes note in verse 1 of this chapter of the constancy of the
love of Christ towards his elect. Having loved his own which were
in the world, He loved them unto the end. And the events that
are recorded here give a rather extended or lengthy account of
the betrayal of the Lord by one of the twelve and one of the
closest associates of our Lord. Now, this betrayal was necessary,
a necessary forerunner of the death of our Lord. for it was
prophesied in the Old Testament scripture that it would come
to pass. You find it in Psalm 69, 25,
and that's quoted by the apostle Peter in Acts 1 and verse 20. In Psalm 41 and verse 9, my own
familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, lifted
up his heel has lifted up his heel against me you see it again
in Zacharias prophecy chapter 11 verse 12 and 13 so they weighed
for my price 30 pieces of silver and you see that fulfilled in
Matthew chapter 26 and verse 15 what's more the Lord always
knew, being omniscient, who would betray Him. John 6, 64. John
6, 71. And John 13 and verse 11. Furthermore, the Lord Himself
had predicted that He would be betrayed into the hands of men. Matthew 17 and verse 22. Into the hands of sinners. Matthew
26, 45. and Mark 14 and 41. Scripture tells us ahead of time
that he would be betrayed and that he would be betrayed by
Judas Iscariot, John 6, 71, John 12, and verse 4, Judas, which
should betray him. Now the betrayal would lead to
his death. The betrayal of our Lord by Judas
would set in motion the process that would culminate in his being
arrested, taken before the Sanhedrin, condemned, and handed over into
the hands of the Gentiles. Now while Jesus abode in Galilee,
Jesus said unto them, the son of man shall be betrayed into
the hands of men, and they shall kill him, and the third day he
shall rise again. We are not reluctant to say the
betrayal of the Lord was ordained by God, and even the person,
the individual that would be the betrayer. Luke 22, 21, and
22. The Lord tells his 12, behold,
the hand of him that betrays me is with me on the table and
truly the son of man goes as it was determined, but woe unto
that man by whom he is betrayed. The word determined, is the word
horizo and is the English equivalent, they say, of our word horizon. What it means, a mark or a limit
or a bounds or to mark out or set a bound, thus to determine
or to be settled and to be fixed. The word is used eight times
in the New Testament scripture in addition to that one here
in Luke chapter 22. In Acts 2 and 23, the determinant
counsel of God. In Acts chapter 10-42, as ordained.
Acts 17-31, again. In Acts 11-29, determined they
were to send relief. Acts 17-26, determined the time
before appointed of their habitation. In Romans 1 verse
4, Christ was declared the son of power by his resurrection
from the dead. In Hebrews 4 and verse 7, it
is rendered limited. God limited or set a certain
time. The point being the betrayal
of our Lord by Judas was a part of the sovereignty of God in
bringing to pass the death crucifixion and sacrifice of our blessed
Savior. At the same time, the betrayer
is not without his guilt. Just because God ordained it
does not mean that he is free of guilt. Just as those that
crucified the Lord did the will of God in doing so, but are not
innocent of the guilt. They were doing whatsoever God's
hand and counsel had determined before to be done. Acts chapter
4 and verse 28. Yet were they not guiltless in
it? Do any ask? And the question
might come into our mind. Why is it necessary for one to
betray, identify, point out, and lay a kiss upon our Lord? Were not the animosity of the
Jew strong enough to motivate them to kill the prince of life
without a betrayal. Why was it necessary for Judas
to identify the Lord? I dare say everyone that dwelt
in Jerusalem knew the Lord, knew his name, knew who he was. The
Jewish leaders certainly were acquainted with him. The common
people had heard him and seen him moving in and out among them. The Roman magistrates certainly
had evidence or knew about intelligence on this one who caused such a
stir among the people. But scripture, every bit of it,
must be fulfilled. Every jot and every tittle. Not
one word falling to the ground without being fulfilled in all
that is written concerning him in the law. And that is that
the Lord, among all other things, was to be betrayed. He was to
be betrayed by a close one. He was to be betrayed and sold
for 30 pieces of silver, and so forth. Coming now to the effect
of the Lord's words, however, upon the disciple. How they react
to the Lord's announcement. One of you sitting here eating
and supping with me shall betray me." Now, the betrayer was to
be, as we said, a familiar friend. It had been no great shock had
the Lord said that he would be betrayed by one of the Sadducees,
or the Pharisees, or someone else, or the priest, or a member
of the Sanhedrin. But the Lord says, on the other
hand, Matthew 26, 21. And as they did eat, he said,
Verily one of you shall betray me. One of you here in this upper
room. We read it in Mark 14 and 18. One of you that eats with me.
Luke 22, 21, behold, the hand of him that betrays me is with
me on the table. John 13, 21, again, barely, I
say unto you that one of you shall betray me, not an outsider
and not a stranger. The betrayer is in the room.
He is eating. He is partaking of food with
me. He's one of you. His hand is
on the table. He reaches for bread and for
the wine and such like. Now, the shock of the disciples
is evident in the response that they make to our Lord's prediction. And it is noted, interestingly
enough, by all of the Gospel, Matthew 26, 22, they were exceedingly
sorrowful. Literally, they were grieving.
Mark 14, 19, they began to be sorrowful. And John 13 and 22,
the disciples looked upon one another, doubting of whom he
spake. They were perplexed as to who
this one might be that said it bred with them and accompanied
with them. And this note, not a one of the
11 said. Not a one of them said either
to themselves or out loud, I bet it's Judas. Not a one of them
thought that. His purse seems heavier than
one of my said I think he's been dipping in the tail Not a one
of them seem to think of that nor did any of them say well,
I bet it is Peter He's always running off his mouth. He's always
speaking and is so impetuous when he should be listening he
is talking nor did any say Lord I Surely you are mistaken. For these three years have we
followed you and heard you. and listened unto you, nor did
any assert, I don't know who the traitor is, but I do know
it is not me, unless we count Simon Peter, the exception in
Luke 13, 37, I will lay down my life for you, said the impetuous
apostle Peter. It was the words of the Lord
sink in. As they see and as they hear
the solemn pronouncement, they saw nothing telltale in each
other or in any other, not even in Judas that he might be the
Lord's betrayer. But as one said, as it is evident
by their words, quote, each was seized by a sudden and a secret
dread of himself, unquote. Think about that. looking inwardly,
Lord, is it I? Could it be? Is it possible that
it might be me? As seen in Matthew chapter 26,
22, they were exceedingly sorrowful and they began to say, Lord,
is it I? Luke 22, we already read those
passages of the scripture. This thing, even Judas asked,
Matthew chapter 26 25 master is it I Question what hint do
we have here of the falsity of? Judas we'll note it later if
I don't overlook it or forget it but in John 13 and verse 23
through verse 25 Impetuous Simon Peter devises
a means here to learn the actual identity of the betrayer of the
Son, using John, or one that leaned on Jesus' breath, and
his position and proximity unto the Lord Jesus. He said, ask
him, motioning to him, ask him whom it might be. And by the
way, I think that the scripture is pretty clear. It speaks of
John, the beloved, the one that Jesus loved. Now, this gig at
the Roman contention that Peter was the first pope, if I might,
in that he didn't have the highest seat near Jesus in the supper
and in the upper room. So he motions to John or in some
way sends him a message or gives him a sign, a signal, a facial
impression or whatever. that he might learn from the
Lord, if he could, who was the betrayer. Now, the Lord, in verse
26, graciously responds to the inquiry of the beloved one. Though, one, he does not identify
the betrayer by name, he might have just said aloud, Judas is
carrying. or will be the betrayer. Secondly,
he is not bound to answer John's question, and he might have given
him a sharp rebuke at this time, and it would have been deserved.
But it is time, it is his intention to expose the devil that is among
them and has been among them before he does the dastardly
deed. it is into their benefit and
to increase their faith that our Lord knows and predicts it
ahead of time. Now as his sign of his being
the one set forth in the Old Testament scripture in John 13
and 19, I tell you before it comes, that when it come to pass
you may believe and remember that the Lord did foretell such
a thing and how often this was the experience of the disciple
will become evident what he had said in John 6 and verse 70 Have
not I chosen you? Twelve and one of you is a devil. Now let it be noted that these
words follow the confession of Simon Peter. It was said as if
Peter had spoken for the entire group. We, we know. The Lord gives a check to Peter's
broad use of the word we. Indeed, Simon, for there is an
agent of the devil among us here in this room. There is one among
you that is a devil, not one that has a devil, but one that
is a devil. And by the way, this is convincing
proof, I think, that Judas was never a true disciple of the
Lord or a true believer. for some are apt to make Judas
the poster child for falling out of grace, as if once he were
in and fell out, one of you is a devil. Now why would the Lord
choose one, put them among his inner circle, that was not a
genuine believer. Why make this one one of the
circle of the apostle? Why allow a stealth enemy in
the very midst of the camp? And the answer is, it was part
of the sovereign purpose of God who chose Judas to play the part
of a betrayer and to fulfill the scripture, the many scripture
that spake about it. So the contrived circumstances
show that the betrayal by Judas was part of the fulfillment of
those things that were to happen unto our Lord. Now, consider
if you might, the Lord might have filled all 12 spots in the
apostleship with genuine believers in himself. What's more, knowing
the fact concerning Judas, knowing that he sought opportunity and
waited for the time to betray him, he might have destroyed
him and foiled the plot altogether. Or he might have fled the city
and gone as he did at other times. He might have called legions
of angels who might have come and defended him against his
enemy. Instead, he goes to a place where
Judas knew that he frequented, John 18, 1 and 2. He went out over the brook Sedron,
and this was a garden, and verse 2 said, and Judas also, which
betrayed him, knew the place. for Jesus often resorted there
with his disciples and sometime by himself that he might be in
prayer. Thus the Lord went to a place
familiar unto Judas, purposely put himself in the place for
Judas to find him and betray him into the hand of the enemy. Well, let's go back to the supper
in the upper room and see what set Judas's Plot in its final
course where he had already made a deal with the chief priests
to deliver Jesus Under them you find that in Matthew 26 and verse
14 through 16 Matthew 26 and 16 from that time he sought opportunity
to betray him and in Luke 22 and And verse 6 tells us, or
adds the word, in the absence of the multitude. The margin
has without tumult, apart from the crowd, it was done. Mark 14, 11 said, conveniently
betray him. When he could conveniently betray
him into the hand of the Sanhedrin and the enemy. Now before the
supper, Judas had closed the plot, therefore, to betray or
deliver up the Lord Jesus under the chief priest. And one commentator
put it, all that was left was to find the most favorable time
to consummate the betrayal, unquote, for he now had the money in his
purse, and the plot in his heart, and it was settled and fixed.
And when Jesus handed Judas the sop, I understand a sop's a word
maybe fallen out of use, but it was a marshal of bread or
food that had been dipped in sauce or in wine, and it was
to identify Judas as his soon-to-be betrayer. Though in John 13,
28, the disciples did not understand yet what it meant, how often
they did that. But the Lord said to Judas, what
you do, do quickly. Go and be quickly about it. Verse 27 gives us a sober truth. After the salt was handed to
him, the devil entered into Judah. Note back in verse 2 of John
13, the devil put it into the heart of Judas to betray the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what to say? Satan, in some
way, hard for me to explain unto you. entered into Judas's heart. Not by means of a marshal of
bread, not by an incarnation, as we might think, but by some
degree of possession. The devil took hold of Judas,
which I leave to men of greater knowledge and experience than
I to explain. At any rate, that having happened,
Judas went out. He left where the others were
gathered in that room with the Lord. It was night, John 13 and
verse 30, and he got a band of officers, temple police no doubt
they were, and he leads them unto Jesus. in John 18 verse
2 and verse 3, and the disciples and identified the Lord by kissing
Him and hailing Him as Master. Now as the words of Jesus, I
am He. They fell backward, proving Him
to be the Almighty One. Whom seek ye? Jesus. I am He. And they all fall to
the ground, falling backward at the power of the Word, the
power of that great truth. Time is slipping away. So let
us make some application in regard to the betrayal of the Lord by
Judas and with regard to the anxiety of the 11. And the surprising
question of them all, Lord, is it I? First, none of the 11 had
any suspicion ahead of time that Judas was not a true believer,
an apostle, and would become the betrayer of the Lord. They
suspected themselves before they suspected Judas. Even when the
Lord indicated Judas. Still, John 13, 28, no man at
the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. This shows how deceived we can
be. This shows how deceived we can
be about others. that there might be a false one
among the true and they actually not be discovered or go unnoted. That a false one can be counted
as a brother while at the same time a weak brother might be
counted as a false one. In Judas we see the brazen face
and strength an extent of hypocrisy. He joins the rest in asking,
Lord, is it I? Matthew 26, 25. What audacity
as if to be as concerned as the others were about the betrayal. Perhaps the last to ask or else
the author would expose the mendacity of Judas in such a thing as this,
but hypocrisy knows no bounds or limit. There are hints of
a false character, I think, in Judas, such as he is called a
thief in John 12 and verse 6, where the other disciples say,
Lord, is it I? Judas says, Master, is it I? Rabbi, teacher, is it I? How
insulting when we call and consider Christ to be Lord, the Son of
God, the Christ, to hear men of the world speak of our Lord
as a quote, good old boy, unquote. When you hear that, how irreligious
and irreverent is that? We hear God referred to as the
man upstairs, or the old man upstairs. And religionists seem
to never be able to get past Jesus, only as a teacher and
a man among others. Though Judas was what Charles
H. Spurgeon called, quote, a hopeless
reprobate, unquote. It took the Lord to know and
to expose him. It took the Lord to bring this
out in the open. For many faults are discovered
only after a while, or a time, or a sin, or a declension. And
then they go out from us because they are not of us. Now, because we do not fully
know even our own hearts. Will we admit that? We do not
fully know even our own heart. Let us not say, I'll bet it is
so and so. But let us examine ourselves
and let us say, as did they, Lord, is it I? This scene in the supper. It's
contrary to the artist's conception of a raised table and chairs
for most degree that they sat on the floor as they partook
of the supper in that room. But then let's close by just
saying, Lord, is it I? We know our hearts, and I mean,
we don't know our hearts, and we might be apt to say, I wouldn't
do that. I would never do that. I'd never
do this or do that or I'd never say this or I'd never say that.
And that teaches us that we really don't know our heart or accept
the grace of God to act as our restrainer and our guide. Oh,
the wickedness of our own own hearts. Lord, is it I? and the betrayer was exposed,
he came to pass, served the purpose of God, and set in motion the
arrest and crucifixion of our Lord. So here's just another
part of scripture and prophecy fulfilled in and through our
Lord.