Betrayal

Thanks so much, Alistair. My name's Archie. I'm the pastor in training here.

And it's my job this morning to open God's word for us and to let him speak.

And before we do that together, why don't I pray just to prepare our hearts to hear from him.

Heavenly Father, as we hear from you in your word this morning, as we look to your son,

I pray that by your Holy Spirit, the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts would be acceptable to you this morning.

Amen.

I want to begin this morning with a story.

And this story is a completely made up story, but hopefully it gets us feeling some of the weight of this passage.

It's a story about Ahmed. Ahmed grew up in inner city Birmingham.

He was a happy kid, happy at school. He had lots of friends.

But when he was six years old, his best friend, Jonathan, was moving away.

He was moving to Carlisle.

Ahmed and Jonathan stayed in touch. Their parents got on quite well.

They even went on holiday together over the next couple of years, that kind of thing.

But school definitely wasn't as good now for Ahmed now that Jonathan had left.

They were still best friends, but life was just that little bit sadder.

A couple of years later, and the good news, one day Ahmed got home from school.

His parents sat him down.

His mum had got a new job.

It wasn't far from Carlisle, and they were going to be moving.

And so at the end of the summer, they were going to be moving up there.

Ahmed was going to get to go to school with his best friend, Jonathan, again.

They were on holiday together that summer, just a couple of weeks before the move.

And the boys were so excited.

You can imagine them planning their first day back at school together again.

And then the day came.

Ahmed arrived at this new school in Carlisle, and it was strange.

See, his school in Birmingham was just really multicultural.

Lots of kids that looked like him, who had families like his.

But here, it was just so obvious, as soon as he arrived in the playground,

all of the other kids at this school were white.

And when he got to registration, he realized that he wasn't going to be in Jonathan's class.

And everyone there was looking at him and whispering, some of them openly pointing and laughing.

No one said hello.

No one welcomed him.

No one sat next to him.

He could not wait for the first break time to get out into the playground to find Jonathan.

The bell goes.

It's break time straight out into the playground.

And there's Jonathan.

He's with a group of friends.

And Ahmed notices that some of them in this circle were those in his class.

Some were even those who had been pointing and laughing at him.

So he nervously approaches his best friend.

And Jonathan just totally ignores him.

The other kids ask if Jonathan knows this new kid.

He says he's never seen him before.

And he turns his back.

It's a horrible betrayal, that, isn't it?

I wonder if you've ever been betrayed.

Maybe betrayed like that.

Just think for a moment how that feels.

Betrayal is horrible, isn't it?

Very often when we're teaching children the gospel, we use this sort of metaphor, that Jesus wants to be your friend.

You've done things that would upset him, but he's willing to forgive you.

He wants to be your friend.

And that can be quite helpful, I think.

But if I can put it like this.

If you are a Christian here this morning, and Jesus is your friend, well, have you ever been a Jonathan-like friend?

I know I have.

Privately, Jesus and I are best friends.

But when it comes down to it, faced with temptation, in my weakness, even the merest temptation,

so often I can pretend it was as though I never knew him.

This passage that we're in today, we're told that both Judas and Peter are going to betray Jesus in their way.

Judas is going to hand Jesus over to the authorities.

Peter is going to deny that he ever knew him.

And if you're at all familiar with that story, it's very easy to sort of take the emotion out of it, but it's horrible.

This is a brutal story.

And my prayer for us this morning is that we would feel that.

And that we would respond rightly to it.

Key question for us then is this.

What might it mean to betray or deny Jesus today?

And when we do, what next?

Maybe you've explicitly done that.

A co-worker or a friend at uni or at school is asked,

are you a Christian?

And your response, what, me?

A Christian?

Maybe it's more subtle than that.

Well, yeah, I am a Christian, but I'm not one of those Christians.

We might not have done it with our words like that, but there are ways.

I think there are lots of ways for me that we betray Jesus,

that we deny that we belong to him,

that we do that in the way that we live.

Right?

If we're honest, Judas, in this passage, his betrayal is going to send Jesus to the cross.

But my sin, it hammers in the nails.

To betray Jesus, it means that you've chosen to follow him,

that you are a Christian, and yet you continue to deny it

in what you say and in what you do.

But the message here this morning is not, and so take a good look at yourself.

Clean up your act.

Commit a bit more earnestly, and don't you dare deny or betray again.

That is not the message here at all.

Instead, as we answer this question,

when we betray or deny Jesus,

when you experience the crushing weight of guilt,

where do you go with it?

Where are you going to run?

That's what we're going to do this morning.

That's where we're heading.

But where have we been in this series in John's Gospel?

We've returned, I guess, almost every week to chapter 20 near the end of the book.

John gives us his purpose.

He says this,

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples,

which are not recorded in this book.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah,

the Son of God,

and that by believing, you may have life in his name.

In other words,

John wants his readers to see all the incredible stuff that Jesus did,

and to understand that all of it was supposed to point to something much bigger.

And so when John records Jesus turning water into wine,

when Jesus heals the lame and drives out a demon,

when he feeds a crowd of people,

when he walks on water,

it's all supposed to point to something about who Jesus is,

and the big thing that he came to do.

And throughout this book,

as if to make that really clear,

John repeats this phrase,

his hour had not yet come.

Nine times that phrase is repeated through the book,

his hour has not yet come,

until at last,

in John chapter 12,

John 12:23

verse 23,

we saw this a few weeks ago,

the hour has come.

For the Son of Man,

that is just a title for Jesus,

for the Son of Man to be glorified.

The hour has come.

It's just around the corner.

And we saw last week with JT,

as chapter 13 starts back in verse 1,

Jesus knew that the hour had come

for him to leave this world

and go to the Father.

So you see,

we're in this new section in John's Gospel.

You might even divide John's Gospel into two halves,

chapter 12, verse 23,

kind of from the hour has not yet come

to where we are now.

The hour has come.

And we're in this room

in the passage that Alistair has read for us.

We're in this room that we first saw that last week with JT.

It's the same room in verse 2.

Jesus and the 12,

they're enjoying the evening meal together

and it's Passover.

JT helped us see last week

how the foot-washing episode

in the first half of the chapter

is both a wonderful example

of loving service

and also a symbol

of the cleansing for sin

that will be available at the cross.

That Jesus wants his disciples,

that he wants those who follow him

to likewise serve one another

and to point one another

to his work on the cross.

That's where we've been so far.

And here's where we're going this morning.

That passage that Alistair has just read for us.

I think it's got quite a clear structure.

Verses 18 to 30,

Judas is going to betray Jesus.

Verses 31 to 35,

Jesus is going to the cross.

And verses 36 to 38,

Peter is going to deny Jesus.

So first, Judas is going to betray Jesus.

See in verse 18,

Jesus has just been explaining

the foot-washing thing.

And he says in verse 18,

he says,

this isn't all of you.

I know those I have chosen,

but this is to fulfill

the passage of scripture.

He who shared my bread

has turned against me.

And if you're not in the Pew Bible,

you might have something like

he lifted his heel against me.

And that's just kind of a cultural way

of saying he stuck

the middle finger up at me.

He betrayed me.

And Jesus is quoting from Psalm 41,

where King David's own son betrays him.

In other words,

and we'll talk about this

a bit more in a second,

it's a family betrayal.

One who sat at the table with me,

shared food with me,

he will be the one to betray me.

And notice in verse 21

that that troubles Jesus.

He knows it's coming.

Of course he does.

He's the sovereign God of the universe.

But he has taken on human flesh

and he knows what it is

to feel the pain of that betrayal.

Just as you and I might feel it.

Just as you can imagine

Ahmed in that story

would have felt it.

But the disciples don't know

who he's talking about.

I see in verse 22,

they stared at each other.

You can picture it wide-eyed,

looking around.

Which one of us is it going to be?

And then in verse 23,

have a look at verse 23.

One of them,

the disciple whom Jesus loved

was reclining next to him.

Simon Peter in verse 24

tells this disciple

to ask Jesus who it is.

And then verse 25,

that's exactly what he does.

Just a brief aside here.

The disciple whom Jesus loved

is John,

the author of this gospel.

He's referring to himself.

It might not be obvious here,

but we get it explicitly

right at the end of the book

in chapter 21,

verses 22 to 24.

If you want to do that,

check that out in your own time.

But it is a very strange way

for someone to refer

to themselves, isn't it?

What is John getting at?

Is he somehow

especially loved by Jesus?

Jesus?

I think that's how I had always read this.

Almost like a kind of

humble brag from John.

You think you're loved?

Check me out.

But I don't think

that's what it is at all.

Instead, what I think

he is actually saying is this.

This is the most important thing

about me.

It might be true of you as well,

but I am loved by Jesus.

That's who I am.

It's why I'm writing.

It's my motivation.

It's my identity.

In fact, it's all you need

to know about me.

Jesus loves me.

And so knowing that Jesus loves him,

verse 25, he asks,

Lord, who is it?

Who is it that will betray you?

And Jesus responds, verse 26,

it is the one to whom

I will give this piece of bread

when I have dipped it in the dish.

Apparently, that was a sort of sign

of honoring someone,

a bit like we might raise a toast

to someone at a dinner today.

And Jesus, still in verse 26,

he dips the bread,

he gives it to Judas.

It's a special kind of honoring.

Yes, he's saying,

you will betray me,

but he honors him as he does that.

And remember I said that Judas' betrayal

was a family betrayal

and the Passover feast

that they're sharing together,

that was a family meal.

And here, Jesus is sharing it

with his closest followers

as if to say,

this is my family.

And Judas is included in that.

Jesus washes Judas' feet

earlier in this chapter.

And Jesus, as he quotes from Psalm 41,

he says, just like David,

in fact, in fulfillment of David,

I'm going to be betrayed

by my own family.

And more than that,

as he hands him the bread,

as he honors him in that way,

he says, Judas,

you are part of my beloved family.

He extends grace and honor

and the offer of life to him,

even in that final moment.

And it is final for immediately,

verse 27,

as Judas takes the bread,

he decides finally to betray Jesus

and Satan entered into him.

I don't think that's to say

that he's now possessed by Satan

or something like that

and no longer responsible

for his actions.

It's not as though Judas was innocent

up until this point.

In chapter 12,

John tells us that Judas used to

help himself to the money

and the money bag.

And in verse 2 of our chapter,

we saw that the devil

was already at work on Judas

to betray Jesus.

But this is a final rejection,

a rejection of Jesus's offer of love.

It sort of seals the deal,

signs the fated betrayal

as Judas finally allows evil

and darkness to overcome him.

In other words,

I think this is the point

of no return.

His heart is now so hard

that there is no going back.

The disciples,

as is typical of them

in John's gospel,

continue to fail to understand.

See in verse 29,

they think Jesus is sending Judas

out for supplies

or maybe to give to the poor.

He was the money bag guy after all.

But Judas,

he takes the bread

and he heads out into the night.

As Satan enters Judas,

so Judas enters into the darkness.

Earlier in the week,

Cater told me about this painting

that's on the screen.

It's an amazing painting.

It's currently hanging

in the National Gallery

down there on Princes Street.

You can go and check it out.

It's by a French artist, Poussin.

And just see the way

that he uses light

to tell the story,

just like John does

in his gospel.

That's Judas there on the left

as you look at it.

He's in the dark.

His back is turned to Jesus

and the disciples

and he's heading out

into the night.

Judas is going to betray Jesus.

Next, Jesus is going to the cross.

And we'll see here

that the cross is glorious,

that the cross is necessary

and that the cross is love.

Have a look at verse 31.

When he was gone.

In other words,

now that Judas has left the room,

Jesus can really get going

on his teaching and prayer

that will come

in the following chapters.

And Jesus says,

now the Son of Man

is glorified

and God is glorified in him.

If God is glorified in him,

God will glorify the Son

in himself

and will glorify him at once.

Now, those verses

are obviously quite difficult

to understand

and see the logic of,

especially I think

because on the Pew Bibles

they're over the page

from one another,

aren't they?

So it's hard to follow.

But let's just try

and see the logic of this.

First, the Son of Man

is glorified.

That is Jesus the man,

the human,

shown to be glorious.

And then God is glorified in him.

That I think is the divine nature

of Jesus.

God the Son

will be glorified

in Jesus the human.

It's true in that direction.

The second half of the verse

just says this is true

in the other direction too.

That is to say,

Jesus' humanity

and his divinity

will both be glorified

and what is to come.

But what does it mean

to be glorified?

I think it might be helpful,

first of all,

to say that you and I

cannot add to God's glory.

Maybe you've heard that

like a sports person

after they've won a match

or something might say,

all glory to God.

Or songs that we sing

where we say

we glorify his name.

When we do that,

it's vital for us

to understand

that we're not adding to God

something that wasn't

already there.

Instead,

when we say

that we glorify God,

we're revealing

or showing

something that already is,

showing God to be

who he already is,

who God really is.

In Isaiah chapter 6,

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

Isaiah sees the Lord

in his throne room

and the seraphim

calling to one another.

And here's what they say,

holy,

holy,

holy.

Three times they say,

holy.

That is who God is

in himself.

As he sits on his throne

in his splendor

and his majesty.

In other words,

God's holiness

is kind of like

his infinite worth.

God is holy.

And the seraphim say,

holy,

holy,

holy is the Lord almighty.

The whole earth

is full of his.

And you'd expect them

to say holiness,

I guess,

wouldn't you?

And maybe that phrase

is familiar to you

and so you know

that that's not what they say.

What they say is

the whole earth

is full of his glory.

In other words,

God's glory,

for God to be glorified,

it is for his holiness,

his infinite worth,

to be made public,

to be visible

in all the earth.

And so in Exodus chapter 33,

Exodus 33 · chapter mention

where Moses asks God

to show him his glory,

he is asking God

to make his holiness,

to make that known.

And here is how God responds.

I will cause all my goodness

to pass in front of you

and I will proclaim my name,

the Lord,

in your presence.

I will have mercy

on whom I will have mercy

and I will have compassion

on whom I will have compassion.

What does God's glory look like

as he reveals it to Moses?

It is his goodness.

It is the name,

Lord Yahweh,

the name that says,

I am faithful to my promises.

It is his mercy

and it is his compassion.

And so here in our passage

this morning,

Jesus is saying

that the glory of God

will be seen

in what he is about to do.

For God to be glorified

is for God to be seen

for who he is.

And nowhere in all of scripture

and nowhere in all of history

is that more true than here.

At the cross.

Notice in verses 31 and 32

of our passage

that this glorifying,

it happens now

at the start of the verse

and it is at once

at the end of the verse.

This is the hour

at which he will be glorified.

It's the cross.

Nowhere does Jesus look

more humiliated and defeated.

Nowhere does he look

less like God himself.

And yet nowhere is his glory

more evident than this.

At his lowest point,

he is raised up.

At his most defeated,

he is defeating death.

On the cross as he dies,

pouring out mercy

and compassion

and making a way

for you and for me

to know the Father.

When he looks most human,

he is most gloriously God.

Good and faithful

to his promises

and merciful and compassionate.

Do you see how glorious

the cross is?

And the cross is also necessary.

See how tenderly

Jesus speaks to his disciples

in verse 33.

He says,

my children

or little children.

And he tells them

that he won't be with them

for much longer

and that they can't come with him.

We saw back in chapter 8

of John's Gospel,

Jesus,

as John refers to here,

said the same thing

to the Jews,

that they can't follow him

where he's going.

Why does he say it?

Well,

in chapter 8,

he says specifically

it's because they will die

in their sin.

In other words,

Jesus is going to be

with the Father,

eternal resurrection life

and it is impossible

to follow him there

if you remain

wrapped up in sin.

That was true

of the Jews.

It's true

of the disciples

as he speaks to them here

and it is true

of us today.

This is the great problem

to which the cross

is the answer.

Here's why

the cross is necessary.

We are human beings

wrapped up in sin.

We all are.

It's the default position.

And because of that,

we cannot go

where Jesus says

that he is going.

We need the cross.

It's necessary

because notice

down in verse 36,

he says,

you cannot follow now

to Simon Peter.

You cannot follow now,

but you will follow later.

In other words,

if you want to follow me,

you need me to go first.

You can't come to the Father

and enjoy eternal resurrection life

unless I first go to the cross

and deal with your sin.

This is the gospel's answer

to that great problem

for the Jews,

for Peter,

for the disciples,

for us.

None of us can enter

into eternal life.

None of us can follow Jesus

to the Father

unless he has dealt

with our sin on the cross,

unless he has been shown

to be glorious in that way

as he takes all of our sin

and our shame

and our betrayal

and denial of him

and he bears the weight

of the guilt of that

on his shoulders.

And unless we look to him

in that moment,

unless we recognize his glory

and humble ourselves

and trust him,

only then will we follow him

through death

to resurrection glory.

The cross is glorious.

The cross is necessary.

And finally,

the cross is love.

See, Jesus gives them

this command

in verses 34 and 35.

A new command I give you,

love one another

as I have loved you.

So you must love one another.

By this,

everyone will know

that you are my disciples

if you love one another.

This command isn't really new at all.

Loving your neighbor

was central

to the Old Testament law.

God had always commanded

that they love one another.

But of course,

there is a sense

in which it is new.

Jesus isn't lying.

And as Jesus literally

puts meat onto the bones

of that command,

he takes it

and he lives it

and he makes it flesh.

It's a new command

insofar as Jesus

has given it a context

as I have loved you.

And that is ultimately

expressed at the cross.

The incredible,

self-sacrificial,

life-giving love.

As Jesus lays down

his life in love

to give life

to those who follow him.

The cross is love.

And as he explains this,

Jesus is really preparing

his disciples

for his departure.

He says,

this is how you are to live,

to echo the self-giving love

of the cross amongst you.

And this is how those

in your community

will know

that you follow Jesus

as you love one another

like this.

And we talked about this

a bit last week with JT.

Maybe you talked about it

in your growth groups

this week too.

We did.

Because this remains true

for us.

As we love one another

in various ways,

so we point one another

to the love of Jesus

on the cross.

The glorious cross.

The necessary cross.

The cross where God's love

is ultimately expressed

for us.

But Peter,

he still can't get over

what Jesus has said

in verse 33.

He can't get over the fact

that Jesus is going to leave.

And so this is where we move

from Jesus is going

to the cross

to Peter is going

to deny Jesus.

This is our final point

and it won't take very long,

I promise.

See in verse 36

Peter's question.

Where are you going?

Where is Jesus going?

Why can't we go with him?

Again, Jesus' response.

We've seen it already.

You can't follow now

but you will follow later.

Peter doesn't understand

and he says in verse 37

I will follow you.

I would even lay down

my life for you.

See how zealous

and forthright Peter is

but he's misunderstanding.

He thinks Jesus is going

on some earthly journey

that might result

in his death.

He doesn't realise

that he needs Jesus

to die for him

and instead

he wants to die

for Jesus.

Peter wants to do

the saving

and Jesus says

verse 38

you can make

all your promises now

but you will deny me.

You will disown me

three times

before the rooster crows.

Peter will deny Jesus

as we read on

over the next few weeks

we'll see he does

just that.

I began this morning

with that story

of betrayal

of Ahmed

and Jonathan

the betrayal

and denial

of a best friend.

It's brutal

and it's brutal

here in John's Gospel too

as we've seen

the big movements

of the plot

in this passage

as Judas

is going to betray

Jesus

as Jesus

will be glorified

at the cross

and as Peter

will deny

Jesus too.

Two of his

closest friends

it's brutal

but as we

put all of that

together

notice the importance

for us this morning

because it is also

brutal when we

betray

and deny Jesus

and in some ways

we could describe

all of our sin

like this

as we deny

the one who

created us

and I think

especially brutal

if you're a Christian

here this morning

adopted sons

and daughters

of our creator

in him

followers of Jesus

and yet there are

ways aren't there

that we continue

to betray

and deny him

still

and so what

do we do?

We've reached

the end of the story

here

the climax

the last hour

we have these

two men

Judas

who followed

Jesus

but never

trusted him

who never

confessed him

as the son

of God

the Messiah

the Christ

who never

repented

we have Peter

often

misunderstanding

always zealous

always the activist

he wants to lay

down his life

for Jesus

and not have

Jesus lay down

his life

for him

but despite

that Peter

who trusted

Jesus

who confessed

him to be

the son of God

the Christ

the Messiah

and who we'll see

in a few weeks

time

does repent

the question

for us

this morning

then is not

simply

will I betray

or deny

Jesus

the question

is when

I betray

and deny

Jesus

will I be

Judas

or will I

be Peter

where will

I run

because if

like Judas

you continue

out into

the dark

this is what

happens

as your

heart

becomes

increasingly

hard

it will

become

easier

and easier

to continue

in your

sin

you will

continue

to convince

yourself

that there's

no harm

done

and it

will be

harder

and harder

to return

to him

and it's

very easy

for us

to be like

Peter

too

to want

to save

ourselves

when we

betray

or deny

Jesus

we want

something

to do

don't we

to a

prayer

to say

or an

action

to perform

something

concrete

to pin

our renewed

faith

to

and it's

subtle

but wrapped

up in that

instinct

is that we

want to

earn our

way back

instead

when we

betray

or deny

Jesus

would you

remember

what you

have already

received

look at

the glorious

cross

notice how

this passage

is structured

with the

betrayal

and the

denial

either side

but with

the glory

of the

necessary

and loving

cross

in the

middle

it's as

if John

is saying

the answer

to the

betrayal

the answer

to the

denial

the answer

to all

of our

sin

it's here

it's

Jesus

glorified

on the

cross

shown

to be

the loving

faithful

merciful

and compassionate

God

that he

is

making a

way for

all of

our sin

to be

forgiven

and making

a way

for us

to know

him

it is

the centre

of this

little bit

of John's

gospel

but it

is the

centre

of history

and it

is the

centre

of your

story

if you're

a Christian

here this

morning

let me

close

with this

this poem

Glenn Scrivener

wrote this

poem

I gave

my life

to Jesus

it's

brilliant

it's

well worth

looking it

up

that's

just

the

first

verse

but notice

how it

begins

I gave

my life

to Jesus

about a

thousand

times

and he

tells the

story of

how he

committed

his life

to Jesus

at a

camp

as a

teenager

and then

he walked

away

and a few

months later

another

camp

another

conversion

and the

cycle

kind of

repeats itself

throughout the

poem

a cycle

that ultimately

was all about

Glenn

about Glenn's

coming to

Jesus

about Glenn's

sin

about Glenn's

prayer

and Glenn's

response

until one day

he started

reading the

Bible for

himself

and he

saw there

that he

wasn't the

centre

of the

story

at all

he'd

always

been

taught

that the

important

thing

was his

response

about what

he might

do

but as

he read

God's

word

he saw

that the

gospel

wasn't

about Glenn

but about

Jesus

and this

is how he

finishes his

poem as he

says to

those who

taught him

you say

give your

heart

this says

Christ

is the

donor

you say

yield your

life

this says

he was

always

the owner

you say

get on

fire

he says

this says

you are

the light

you say

keep running

to God

this says

walk

in Christ

you say

dare to

be a

missional

intentional

incarnational

contextualized

no compromise

countercultural

radical

red letter

fully devoted

disciple

this says

follow

you say

get hungry

for God

this says

take

eat

swallow

you say

press into

God

this says

you're

hidden

in Christ

you say

be a

world

changer

this says

live a

quiet

life

you say

surrender

all

this says

you're not

your own

you say

step up

to the

plate

this says

you're

raised

to a

throne

you say

burn out

this says

shine

you say

you've got to

work on your

relationship

with Jesus

this says

I am

my beloved

and he

is

mine

let me

pray

heavenly

father

I pray

that as we

have opened

your word

to us

this morning

we might

have seen

the glory

of your

son

there

and I

pray for

each of

us

that you

would help

us to

receive him

with open

hands

that we

might humbly

accept what

he has done

for us

and I

pray that as we

go from

here your

holy spirit

would continue

to work in

our hearts

revealing to

us the

ways in which

we betray

and deny

your love

for us

and pointing

us to

what you

have already

won for us

on the

cross

Lord I

pray that we

would each

of us

know

your new

mercies to

us

day by day

in Jesus

name

Amen

name

In

name

In