John 13:14-31

Great, so we're back again in John's Gospel and following on from last Thursday, we're in the last 24 hours of Jesus' life, aren't we?

We're at the beginnings of what is known as the farewell discourse where Jesus prepares his disciples for his death and resurrection, for his departure.

Farewell.

And tonight is the night when the plan to betray Jesus and have him killed gets into full motion.

It is a dark, dark moment in the life of Jesus and in the Gospel.

Literally, isn't it, John tells us at the end that it was night time, meaning that it was a spiritually dark time as well as the time of the day.

This is the night when the greatest evil that has ever been committed on the face of this earth is about to transpire.

A dark, dark moment.

But, if you can see it, it is a passage full of encouraging light.

Evil done against Jesus and plotted against him and his people in its most concentrated form, we see here is under the control of Jesus himself.

You may have heard the story of a man called Glenn Chambers and he wanted to go and serve as a missionary overseas to South America in the 1940s.

He'd spent months preparing and eventually he was ready to leave.

It was likely that he wouldn't return home for a number of years.

And so just before boarding the plane, he scribbled a quick note to his parents, thanking them for their support and prayers and expressing his excitement at serving as a missionary abroad.

That night, though, the plane that Glenn Chambers was on got into difficulty.

Turbulent air currents caused the plane's engines to lose power and despite the pilot's best efforts, all of the passengers, including Glenn Chambers, were killed in a crash.

A few weeks later, after Chambers' funeral, the short, scribbled notes had amazingly survived and it was delivered to his parents.

They opened it.

And on the back of the magazine that he'd torn the corner off, happened to be printed one word in bold letters.

Why?

Why?

Why?

That is the question that the disciples would be asking in about 24 hours, wouldn't it?

In this night of darkness, when tragedy comes into our lives, into their lives, why?

That's the question we ask.

But we see here Jesus' approach to evil and why it's so different

and why it helps us to trust in him when we're faced with it.

I want us to see three things in the passage.

First of all, Jesus' own experience of evil.

Jesus' own experience of evil.

We see, don't we, that he is a God who doesn't simply know about evil in an analytical sense,

but in Christ, he has experienced evil.

And amongst the many things that Jesus did suffer, he suffered betrayal.

It's one thing for the religious leaders to hate Jesus, isn't it?

And we come to expect that in John.

But it's another for a close friend to plot his death.

And we're introduced to Judas, aren't we?

One of Jesus' inner circle.

At the beginning of the passage, Jesus quotes from Psalm 41.

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

The one that has shared bread with me is going to kick me.

And verse 21, Jesus was troubled in spirit.

And he testified, he said, one of you is going to betray me tonight.

You see, Jesus is not immune, is he, from the emotion and the experience and the distress of evil.

And in this case, of people letting him down.

Just think, Judas is someone who's enjoyed an intimate friendship with Jesus.

He's somebody who's eaten bread with him.

He was invited and included at this supper.

He's enjoyed it.

He's been part of Jesus' inner circle.

He's been an evangelist, hasn't he?

One who's shown outward signs of affection to Jesus.

And so this evil is particularly painful for him.

He is someone who Jesus has honoured.

Apparently, dipping bread and giving it to a guest is a sign of honour.

He is, presumably, somebody that has had their feet washed along with all the other disciples just moments ago.

In Christ, then, God doesn't just know about evil from afar.

He experiences it.

In his relationships, in his interactions with people.

And this is an evil of a particularly dark nature.

It is concentrated evil.

John tells us that it was to do with the direct involvement of Satan himself.

Verse 27.

Satan entered Judas.

Satan, not just a demonic possession, but Satan himself, came and entered in Judas in some way.

Just think about that for a second.

Because Satan is not omnipresent.

He is not everywhere.

Like God is.

He is not like God in any way.

He is a creature.

His forces are in different places, maybe.

But Satan can only ever be in one place at one time.

He is not God.

He is a creature.

And tonight, he chooses to concentrate his presence in this one place.

And in this betrayal.

He is present most especially at this moment.

This is the night of the power of darkness.

And Jesus then is experiencing an intense satanic activity.

Luke calls it the hour of the power of darkness.

And that's why John says that he was troubled in his spirit.

It is an intense awareness, not just of human betrayal, but of the power of Satan.

And so he experiences undiluted evil.

You might know the story of Julius Caesar.

Where no treachery is worse than that of a family member.

Caesar was murdered, wasn't he?

But among the conspirators who assassinated Julius Caesar was Marcus Julius Brutus.

Great name, isn't it?

And the thing with Brutus was that Caesar trusted him.

He treated him like a favoured son.

And Caesar managed to resist the first assassination attempts.

But the last straw was when his beloved friend Brutus approached with a dagger.

And at that point, Julius Caesar stopped struggling and famously asked,

You too, Brutus?

It's quite a pitiful image, isn't it, of Caesar.

And as Jesus is betrayed by his closest, we can think that it's like that story,

where he experiences this terrible evil, and he's able to sympathise with us,

but he's sort of caught off guard by it, isn't he?

Like Caesar was.

Like when things happen to us, and we're not expecting them.

And we can't see them coming.

That he was shocked that Judas was going to do this.

He experiences evil, though, but not exactly like we do.

Because we also see, secondly, Jesus' foreknowledge of evil.

Jesus' foreknowledge of evil.

If you look at verse 18,

Jesus speaks of betrayal, doesn't he, in that quote from the psalm.

He who ate bread has lifted his heel against me.

And here's the point in verse 19.

He says to the disciples,

I'm telling you this now, before it takes place.

That when it does, you will believe that I am he, your Messiah, your Saviour.

I want you to know, disciples, that this evil betrayal is not a Brutus moment.

In 24 hours, when you ask the question, why,

you will know that I knew.

I knew about it before it happened.

Evil events are not a surprise to me, even when they are to everybody else.

Notice how in the narrative, no one else had a clue what was about to happen.

Jesus says, one of you is going to betray me.

And they all look at each other, don't they?

Dumbfounded.

They haven't got a clue who the foggiest he is talking about.

None of them have seen it coming.

None of them are thinking, ah, Judas, I knew it.

I knew it all along.

There was something different about him, wasn't there?

They hadn't seen that.

But Jesus knew it.

The enemy was devising a plan, but Jesus knew the plan.

There's no sort of bunker, there's no secret cabinet war room,

there's no hidden code that Satan, that Jesus' enemies,

can use to hide their intentions from him.

God reads him like an open book.

And the dark enigmas that we face when evil things happen are as clear as day to God.

And when no one else understands what's being said,

they think Jesus is talking about Judas going and buying the meal, don't they?

They are totally unaware of the presence of evil in the room.

They're unaware of the threat that is posed to their king and themselves.

But the king knows.

Jesus knows, and he identifies the betrayer.

He dips bread and gives it to Judas.

And he makes John a witness to that identification, doesn't he?

It's worth mentioning the role that John himself has here.

There's this funny little exchange, isn't there, between Peter and John,

when Jesus says, someone is going to betray me.

Peter kind of looks at John and motions to him and says,

who's he talking about?

And John, he's close to Jesus,

and he's told the secrets of the Lord's mind, isn't he?

And this fills us in a little bit on John's role

in being made party to the deep, penetrating truths about Jesus.

It's part of his role later on in writing this gospel.

A deeply spiritual, a deeply penetrating gospel.

And that relationship between John and Jesus

is given airtime here to help build our confidence

in the words that we're reading here.

These are not just words of a biographer,

or even of an eyewitness,

but of a close friend and a confidant,

who was made witness to the inner workings

of Jesus' mind and character.

So we've seen with Jesus,

he is a God who suffers evil,

who feels it,

but he isn't ignorant of it like we are.

And there is this foreknowledge of it.

But lastly, and most encouragingly,

I think Jesus doesn't just know what is going to happen,

he controls what is going to happen.

He is master over it.

Thirdly, Jesus' sovereignty over evil.

This betrayal is not a surprise to Jesus,

but neither is it just blind fate.

Neither is it just destiny.

There's a Greek myth about a guy called Oedipus.

And he's the main character in a story

where an oracle predicts

that he will kill his father

and then marry his own mother in the future.

And Oedipus hates this idea.

He doesn't want that to happen,

so he tries to avoid that.

But all of his schemes to avoid that

simply end up hastening it.

The destined end is reached

despite his and everyone else's efforts around him

to avoid it,

because it's fate.

It's destiny for Oedipus.

And we can be a bit like that.

We can know something bad is going to happen,

but have no power to change it

and be drawn unavoidably towards it.

But again, that is not how Jesus experiences this evil.

That's not how he knows evil

or anything else evil

that is going to happen in the future for that matter.

Because John shows us

Jesus' absolute control

and his initiation of events.

Notice that the initiative

comes from Jesus himself.

Not Judas

or even Satan.

The cue

for Judas

to set things in motion

comes from Jesus

in the passage.

Did you see that?

Verse 27

Jesus gives Judas

the morsel of bread.

Then

Satan

enters him.

And then verse 13

After receiving

the morsel of bread

then

Judas went out.

Do you see?

It is Jesus

who gives the signal.

It is Jesus

who decides

when

Psalm 41

is going to be fulfilled.

It is Jesus

who gives the signal

for the betrayal.

The signal

for Satan

to enter in.

The signal

for Judas

to leave.

He says to Judas

now

go and do

what you're going to do.

And Judas

leaves.

And here's the irony

he's possessed

by Satan

and yet

Judas

still has to obey

Jesus

doesn't he?

Jesus

is the one

giving the orders.

He is the one

giving the cues

and the signals.

he is setting

the times

and the events

he is in control.

Jesus

identifies

his enemy

his betrayer

and Jesus

sends him away.

Jesus

tolerates

Judas

until the time

is right for Jesus.

Not before

and not after.

Jesus

sets the timetable

even for

Satan's activity.

Somebody once

said he may be

the devil

but he is

God's devil

and he's

on a leash.

And we see that

all over the Bible

don't we?

We see it

if you're familiar

with the book of Job

in the Old Testament.

Satan ruins

Job's life

for a time.

But it's all

under the limitation

and permission

and sovereignty

of God

to whom

Satan

has to give

an answer.

It was

the hour

of darkness

Luke says

but earlier

in John's

gospel

Jesus says

to Mary

at the wedding

in Cana

you can remember

all the way

back there

it is

my hour

my hour

has not yet

come.

So 24 hours

after

this supper

not only

will the disciples

remember that

Jesus knew

that it was

all going to

happen

but that he

was Lord

of all that

was going to

happen.

It is

my hour

it is

my time

it is

my betrayal

it's

my death

I lay

my life

down

no one

takes it

from me

I lay

it down

of my

own

accord

and so

can you

feel

there is

this

tension

isn't

there

the Lord

Jesus

who is

sinless

God

whose eyes

cannot bear

to look

upon

evil

controls

and initiates

evil

for his

purpose

Peter

who was

in the

room

that

night

he would

later

preach

in Acts

2

after the

resurrection

and he

says

this

Jesus

delivered

up

according

to the

definite

plan

and

foreknowledge

of God

you

crucified

and killed

by the

hands of

lawless

men

do you

feel the

tension

there

and who

was it

who sent

Jesus

to the

cross

who

was it

who

betrayed

who

arranged

the

betrayal

from

Judas

I suppose

you could

say

well

it might

have been

a little

bit of

God

but it

was mainly

man

wasn't it

it was mainly

people

that did

it

so

20%

God

80%

evil

men

or

you could

say

it was

50%

God

50%

evil

men

but

John

13

and

Acts

2

tell us

quite

clearly

even

though

it's

hard

to

grasp

that

actually

it was

100%

evil

man

and it

was

100%

God

there

were

lawless

personalities

like

Judas

and

Satan

who

were

responsible

for

his

betrayal

and

death

they

were

the

ones

who

actually

killed

him

yet

they

were

always

under

Jesus'

rule

without

removing

the

responsibility

they

had

for the

actions

since

Judas

and

the

killers

did

only

what

their

own

hearts

were

moved

to

do

what

they

wanted

to

do

it

wasn't

that

Judas

was

turned

into

a

puppet

that

night

kind

of

like

a

robot

he

was

moved

down

the

road

of

his

own

desire

to

betray

Jesus

and so

without

removing

responsibility

God

works

through

people's

own

desires

and

actions

however

evil

they

might

be

to

perform

his

good

purpose

it

wasn't

fate

as if

Judas

was like

that guy

in the

Greek

myth

and he

really

didn't

want

this

to

happen

and he

wanted

to

avoid

it

but he

couldn't

because

someone

made

him

do

it

God's

sovereignty

does not

work like

that

rather than

working

against

our

choices

and

despite

them

God

works

through

people's

choices

and

actions

to work

out

his

will

he

doesn't

just

know

what

people

are

going

to

do

he

kind

of

arrange

things

around

that

he

sovereignly

ordains

what

people

are

going

to

do

and

that

goes

for

this

betrayal

and

for

any

evil

thing

that

happens

in

the

world

it's

hard to

get our

heads

around

isn't

it

Jesus

Christ

was a

real

victim

of

real

evil

he

experienced

it

really

and

fully

as

any

one

of

us

would

feel

it

and

yet

he

knows

beforehand

it

is

going

to

happen

and

he

rules

when

it

does

happen

I just

want to

say

as we

close

that

I know

some

of you

are going

through

especially

hard

things

at the

moment

housing

issues

loss

heartbreak

and there

will be

plenty

of

things

that

nobody

else

knows

about

as well

in your

lives

and if

we look

at each

other's

lives

on a

Thursday

afternoon

there will

be plenty

of things

that none

of us

have got

a foggiest

clue

about

won't

there

and there

will even

be things

in our

own

lives

that we

haven't

got a

clue

about

that are

coming

up in

the

future

evil

things

or

threats

that might

happen

and lie

ahead

and when

they do

happen

the question

we ask

is why

well

Jesus

knows

and all

is open

to him

the dark

moments

as well

as the

light

moments

are as

clear as

day to

him

and things

are never

left to

chance

things are

never left

to fate

with him

and you

are in

the situation

you are

in

because

he is

in control

of it

and when

evil comes

and if

evil comes

and if

there is

an evil

hour

or many

evil hours

in your

life

Jesus

says

no

this

is

my

hour

if

you are

trusting

in

him

and all

things

are

worked

out

for the

good

of those

who

love

him

aren't

they

always

meticulously

timed

and controlled

and signalled

and motioned

by the

Lord Jesus

he is

Lord of

all

even of

the devil

he is

on a

leash

for his

perfect

and good

purposes

just as

they would

be on

that

dark

night

and in

that

dark

hour

for

think

about

the

good

that

would

come

from

his

betrayal

and the

killing

because

it was

according

to the

definite

plan

and the

full

knowledge

of

God

we

don't

know

the

reasons

why

often

do we

we

might not

be able

to think

of the

reasons

why

but that's

okay

it is

because it

doesn't mean

that there

isn't a

reason

and when

we're

struggling

with hard

things

we are

to look

to this

betrayal

to this

passage

and to

the cross

and see

right here

the God

who feels

it with

you in

Jesus

but not

just that

the God

who knows

it all

beforehand

and who

controls

it all

for good

and so

let us

trust in

him

let's pray

to him

now