Betrayal, Love, and Denial All Around the Table (John 13:21-38)

Please remain standing and pray with me.

Father in Heaven, we do praise you.

We thank You that you have shown Your grace and Your mercy to us

for those who are in Christ. We praise You for that grace of

illuminating our hearts and minds and enabling us to trust

Jesus to take you, Christ at Your word, to receive You alone

for salvation. We pray, Holy Spirit, that you

would do that very work even today.

We thank you for the mission that you've called us to and the

power that you've given us to be your ambassadors all over the

world. We thank you for Nancy and Derek

too, for their work in Taiwan. We thank you for the calling on

their lives, first as your children and then to serve and

make known the name of Jesus Christ as they serve at Christ

College Type A. Father, I praise you that as we

open your word today, you have promised to be at work.

You are going to feed your sheep and as we are fed we will then

come to another feast to set at your table to partake in the

elements that you have given us, to be encouraged to walk as you

called us to walk, filled with your Spirit.

Lord, do this all for your glory and for our good.

We pray in Jesus name, Amen. Well, this morning, Derek to his

wife Nancy, they're going to be doing a luncheon right after the

11:00 service. If you don't have lunch plans or

even if you do, maybe change them and come and listen to the

work that God is doing in and through our brother and sister

in Taipei. He's going to read the scripture

passage for us today, which is in the Gospel of John chapter

John 13 · chapter mention

13, beginning at verse 21. We're in the fell farewell

discourse of Jesus. We will be spending a number of

weeks focusing and then on John 13 through 17.

Thank you brother. All right, please remain

standing for the reading of God's words.

I'll begin reading chapter 13 beginning in verse 21 here.

Now the word of the Lord. After saying these things, Jesus

was troubled in his Spirit and testified.

Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.

The disciples looked at one another uncertain of whom he

spoke. One of his disciples whom Jesus

loved was a reclining at the table at Jesus side.

So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was

speaking. So that disciple leaning back

against Jesus, said to him, Lord, who is it?

Jesus answered, It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread

when I have dipped it. So when he had dipped the

morsel, he gave it to Judah, the son of Simon Iscariot.

Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him.

Jesus said to him, What you are going to do too quickly now.

No one at the table knew why he said this to him.

Some thought because Judah had the money back, Jesus was

telling him buy what we need for the feast or that he should give

something to the poor. So after receiving the morsel of

bread, he immediately went out and he was night.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man

glorified, and God is glorified in him.

If God is glorified in him, God will also glorified in him, in

himself, and glorify him at once.

Little children, in a little while I'm with you.

You will seek me. And just as I said to the Jews,

so now I also say to you, where I'm going, you cannot come.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another just

as I have loved you. You also ought to love one

another. By this all people would know

that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.

Simon Peter. As Simon Peter said to him,

Lord, where are you going? Jesus answers him where I'm

going. You cannot follow me now, but

you will follow afterward. Peter said to him, Lord, why

can't I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you,

Jesus answered. Will you lay down your life for

me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the

rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

This is the word of the Lord. You might be seated.

Thank you, dear, the beginning of the service.

I mentioned about my time in Florida a week ago just how

encouraging it was to see so many students praising the Lord,

asking deep questions about the word I spoke Monday night,

Tuesday night, Wednesday night. Will Washington did a remarkable

job teaching Sunday night and Thursday.

Thursday morning I had the privilege of doing AQ and a

time. I was just telling Tim Jeffers

about that this morning. Kids could ask any question they

wanted. One group from A from 10:00 in

the morning to 11. The second group from 11:00 to

12:00. And the questions were deep,

that they were really profound. What was really so shocking to

me though was when we are finished at noon, lunch was

offered and free time on the beach.

I said I'll stick around and answer any other questions and I

did. And this is not a pat on the

back, it's a praise of the Lord. For 2 1/2 hours, students stayed

in the room asking questions, confessing sin, asking how they

can know for sure that they're in Christ, asking how they can

fight the temptations that they face.

Brothers and sisters, thank you for praying.

You would have been so encouraged.

Keep praying, though, for good soil to be present.

Today we're entering into our continuing.

I guess Sam took us there last week into this farewell

discourse from Jesus. This is a very rich passage

theologically, as are the next several chapters.

Their farewell discourse is only here in the Gospel of John, John

13 through John 17. And here's what I want you to

understand. If we did not have this section

of Scripture, we would not know the emphasis that Jesus was

placing up on love as a new command.

We would not hear Jesus's high priestly prayer.

We would not have his teaching on the Holy Spirit.

Today's Pentecost in two weeks I'm going to focus on what Jesus

said about the Holy Spirit at the Spirit will discourse.

John is taking us to this meal. The Holy Spirit carried the

Apostle John along to write these statements.

These statements are profound because what John is doing is

he's narrowing his audience. The Gospel of John, he tells us

he's written that you may believe.

And from John 1 to 12, Jesus has had his public ministry.

He has done more remarkable things, so many different

miracles. He has raised Lazarus from the

dead. He has calmed the seas.

He has changed water to wine. He has done so many things in

this public ministry, and in doing so, time after time, he

says I'm only doing the will of my father.

His focus on the intimacy of that union and desire to please

the Lord and bring him glory is everything.

But now John shifts. And I want you to understand

this is kind of a survey of what's coming.

John shifts the focus. The focus moves from the larger

audience now to those who are his most intimate followers.

He is going to focus in on explaining to them how they need

to be prepared for what is coming next.

The other thing that's remarkable about this farewell

discourse is it closely follows the pattern of Moses's

discourse. And at the end of Deuteronomy,

if you want to really see the beautiful way that picture the

Scriptures connected from Genesis to Revelation, spend

some time over the next few weeks looking at the end of

Deuteronomy. Look at the book of Exodus 33

and 34. Pay attention to the covenant

language that you see, because you're going to see very similar

language right here as we move through John 13 through 17.

We are not going to rush. In fact, today I'm not going to

get through this whole narrative.

We're going to spend 8 weeks at this table seeking to understand

all that Jesus wanted his closest, most intimate followers

to understand. The audience changes.

The farewell discourse gives us profound insight to how we need

to be prepared as Jesus is preparing his disciples.

So what I want to do this morning is I want to speak about

the prophecy of the betrayal. I want to look briefly at where

Christ anchored himself. I want to look briefly at the

new command and then end with the prophecy of denial.

So let's go to the betrayal. Turn again in your Bible to John

John 13:21

13 verse 21. John says after saying these

things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit.

Today, when we understand what's happening in this this meal, we

already know the end of the story.

We already know that it's Judas who betrayed him.

We already know that Jesus is going to die on the cross.

But they did not know this. You have to read this with the

eyes of the original audience. So it says Jesus was troubled.

John is making sure that we don't miss the profound human

experience that Jesus was happening, knowing that one of

those who have been following him for 12 years is about to

betray him and one, the leader of the group of the 12, is going

to deny him. Jesus, John tells us, was

troubled in spirit. The word trouble has to do with

a stirring, a shaking. It's the same word that was used

to describe the waters that were turning when the invalid in John

5 sought to make his way there. It's the same word used to

describe Herod's emotional turmoil when he learned that a

king had been born. It's the same word used of the

disciples when they saw Jesus coming towards them walking on

water. It's the same word that

describes Jesus when he discovers that Lazarus is dead.

And it's the same word that Jesus uses of his own

contemplation of his own death. Jesus is troubled.

And what you and I need to understand is that trouble soul

was real. The turmoil inside Christ is a

man fully man is heavy. He's broken hearted that there's

one in their midst who is going to turn away from the living Son

of God. One who has seen what Jesus has

done, who was on the boat when he walked on the water, who was

there when Lazarus came out alive.

This man, Judas, is going to reject Christ and choose evil

and darkness. This is powerful.

Jesus is troubled. This is the fourth time in John

13 that John shows us about the betrayal.

Give your Bible and it's open. Turn to verse 2.

This is during supper, when the devil had already put it into

the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him.

Jesus, knowing the Father had given all things to into his

hands and that he had come from God, was going back to God, rose

from supper. He laid aside his outer garments

and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

And what did he do? He began to wash their feet, but

that included the feet of the very man who was about to leave

that table and turn Jesus in. Jesus is showing this profound

humility and extreme love. The betrayal comes up again in

verse 11 for he knew who was to betray him.

That was why He said not all of you are clean.

Then again, in verse 18, Jesus says, I'm not Speaking of all of

you. I know who my whom I've chosen,

but the Scripture will be fulfilled.

He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.

And now in verse 21, John says Jesus was troubled in the spirit

and testified truly, truly, this is a very important statement.

What I'm saying is true. What I'm saying matters.

Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.

Jesus was deeply troubled. Think of for a moment in your

own life, and you're not perfect.

Have you ever been betrayed? Has somebody ever done something

heinous to you, said something to you, spoke behind your back?

Jesus never did one thing wrong, never had one wrong thought,

never did anything to Judas that would cause Judas to say I am

turning him in, I'm going to betray him.

Jesus is troubled. And what about the disciples?

The word that's used to describe the disciples in verse 22 says

they looked at one another uncertain of whom he spoke.

The word uncertain doesn't mean doubt because it's the words of

Christ, but it means they're confused.

And I think we need to understand this.

They did not know it was Judas. Judas and his duplicate

personality was able to disguise this.

They had no idea who it was that Jesus was speaking about.

They look at one another. The other gospels tell us that.

They each begin to say, is it I? They're broken hearted,

confused, looking around this table.

So let's set the table. Let's set the scene.

The table that they're at essentially is 3 tables.

It's in the shape of AU. In this time period, people

would lean on their left side with their head towards the

table, feet away from the table. The servers would come into the

middle of EU and then provide the elements for the meal.

Jesus is leaning there on his left side.

John the Baptist, the beloved one.

This is the first time that's referred to.

He's referred to that way in the gospel.

He's to the right of Jesus. Most likely.

Judas is to the left of Jesus, making it easy for Jesus then to

take the morsel that he dips and hand it to Judas.

This is a fulfillment of prophecy.

The prophecy is Psalm 41. Nine.

Listen to this. Even my close friend and whom I

trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

These disciples don't know who it is that Jesus is speaking

about. South Peter motions to John.

John again, is at the right of Jesus.

Ask him who it is the beloved disciple.

Ask Jesus, who is it that you're speaking about?

Who is the one that's going to betray you?

Jesus does not offer a name, but he does say the one to whom I

will give this morsel of bread when I dipped it.

So when he had dipped it, the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the

son of Simon Iscariot. In doing that, the disciples

still didn't get it. They didn't know that Judas was

the one who was going to betray, John tells us.

They thought he was going to go use that to buy something from

the money bag to provide for the meal.

But John clarifies what happens. It's at that moment, that moment

that the morsel is dipped and handed to Judas, that Satan

enters into him. What a dark statement.

Satan entered in to Judas. At some point in Judas's life,

he began to make the decision that I am not going to follow

the man that I have been following for three years.

The seed had been planted, that seed had taken root.

And now as Christ symbolically and literally dips this morsel

and gives it, Satan enters him. And Jesus quietly, because the

disciples still don't understand what's happening, says to him

what you are about to do, what you are going to do, do quickly.

Now, no one at the table knew why he said this.

So Judas gets up and he leaves. And how powerful are the four

words that John gives us? And it was night.

Jesus was troubled. The disciples were confused.

Judas, here's Christ's instruction.

The reason this is important is because though Jesus was deeply

troubled in his soul, he was never out of control in His

sovereignty. The plan of God is unfolding as

this man gets up, filled with Satan, entering into the

darkness. The movement towards the hour is

now in full. He leaves the room.

It's as if the evil that was present, the disciples don't

really understand. All of it is purged.

And now Jesus in earnest begins to give his farewell discourse.

What does he say? First, it's about his glory.

Second, he issues a new command. And 3rd he makes another

prophecy. I'm just going to say a sentence

about each of these now until next week, verse 31.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, now is the Son of man

glorified and God is glorified in him?

If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him and

Himself and glorify Him at once. It might be easy to move past

that, either because we don't understand what it means or we

just think it sounds religious. This is the essence of

everything Jesus is doing. Everything that He's doing for

the glory of His Father. And His Father is most glorified

when he's radiating through Christ as Christ is troubled in

His spirit, as He has been before.

Each time He's anchoring Himself in the glory that He shares with

the Father, and the place where this glory is going to be most

radiant is on the cross when Jesus is going to do everything

that was necessary to die for sinners like us, like me, like

you. Then Jesus says in verse 33,

little children, this is an intimate statement to those who

are around the table, his most close followers yet.

A little while when I'm with you, you will seek me.

And just as I said to the Jews, and I also say to you, where I'm

going, you cannot come. And then he says a new

commandment I give you that you love one another just as I have

loved you. You also are to love one

another. That doesn't sound like a new

command. We've been told to love God with

all of our hustle, strength of mind.

We've been told to love our neighbors, ourself.

What's different? Jesus.

He's ushering in this new covenant, this new promise, and

the pattern of Moses in the Old Testament.

Moses dies not leading the people into the Promised land.

Well, like Moses, Jesus dies, but unlike Moses, he will rise,

and as he rises, as the new Joshua, he is going to lead his

people into the Promised land, the ultimate promised land, to

use John's language to prepare a place for them, which you'll

speak of in John 14. This is remarkable stuff.

Here Christ says you're to love one another, but here's what's

different, the motive and the model.

You are to love as I have loved you, laying down my life for

you, humbling myself to wash your feet, being a servant.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve

and give us life as a ransom for many.

The motivation has changed, the model has changed, and then

Jesus gives great clarity to the mission of the church by this

kind of love. All people know you are my

disciples. This is a survey.

We're coming back to all of this.

And then Jesus says in response to Peter, Lord, where are you

going? Jesus answered him.

Where I'm going, you cannot follow me now, but you will

follow afterward. Peter said to him, Lord, why can

I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.

It's almost as if Peter missed what Jesus said about love and

was focused on the statement that Christ said you can't

follow me. Peter wants to know why can't I

follow you? Why can't I follow you now and

then? Classic Peter.

And he says this because he believes it.

I will lay down my life for you. Jesus speaks prophecy of

betrayal earlier fulfilled, now prophecy of denial.

He gives Peter a question. Will you lay down your life for

me truly, truly, once again, what I'm singing to you is true,

Peter. It's important.

I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me

3 times. There's no way Peter believed

that could be true, but it was. John does not record a word from

Peter. Again, in the farewell

discourse, it's mostly Jesus speaking, but there are times

that the disciples ask a question or make a statement,

but not Peter. We'll see Peter in the Garden of

Gethsemane, where Peter will take out his sword and strike

the servant, cutting off his ear.

Then we will hear Peter speak and Peter will speak these 3

words three times. I am not, I am not one with Him.

I am not one of his followers. And on the third time of denying

that he's a follower, the rooster will crow.

This is amazing passage of Scripture, all of this taking

place around this one table. Jesus is speaking to His most

intimate followers, preparing them for what they need.

And this is just a survey of what we're going to see over the

next 8 weeks. We're going to come back to this

table and listen to what Christ is saying.

Friend, today in this place you have heard of a man who followed

Jesus for three years. He looked like he believed.

He looked the part. How easy is it for us in a

community like this to simply look like we are part of the

fellowship? But in truth, we've never really

surrendered our life to Christ. Friend, today you have heard the

good news that in Christ Jesus there's forgiveness.

Have you come to saving faith? Today's we come to this feast.

This table is for all those who trusted Jesus as their Savior.

This is a table just for those who believe in Christ.

If you don't believe in Christ, you've not trusted Him today.

Listen to what you have heard, preached, what we have sung, and

may this be the day that you would surrender to Christ and

say, I believe today. We don't come to this feast

except by the grace of God and in obedience to what He's given

us. We don't come as perfect people.

Jesus died for sinners. Isaiah 53 says We all, like

sheep, have gone astray. Not just some.

All of us, we all, like sheep, have gone astray.

Each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on

him. That's Jesus, the iniquity of us

all. Friend, we come to this table

often so very troubled, troubled by our own denials, troubled by

our own patterns of sin, troubled by all sorts of things

that we experienced in this broken world.

Christ died so that the ultimate trouble of our life, a broken

relationship with Him, could be restored.

So that every time we come to this table, no matter what's

troubling our hearts, no matter what's stirring in US, no matter

what storm we feel like we're riding on, Christ reminds us

that he died to completely restore that relationship that

was broken. And why?

For his glory. For his glory, for his glory,

and if it's for his glory, for all who trust in Him, it's

always for our good. So as we come today in obedience

to Christ calling us to take and eat these elements, believer and

trust, and the one who gave us this farewell discourse, He fed

us even today with the hope of who he is.

Lord Jesus, thank you again for your word and Holy Spirit for

your illumination. Now as we get ready to come, I

pray for those who are hearing things such as this for the

first time, who may have not believed.

O Father, show mercy wherein today might be the day in which

you would profess faith in Jesus.

Simply acknowledge what you've heard today, that you're a

Sinner in need of a Savior. There's no sin that you've

committed that Christ will not forgive you for.

I pray this day you would trust him and Lord for those who are

in Christ, so many of us, we give you praise and ask that you

would bless this meal overwhelming us.

Holy Spirit, by your presence, the very presence of God in our

midst, we pray this all in Jesus name, Amen.

Please stand.