“The Sad Story of Judas” (Pt. 4 of 8)
- glynnclen
- 2 days ago
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“The Sad Story of Judas” (Part 4 of 8)
From The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White
Adapted by Gary L. Clendenon, May/June, 2020
(All Bible quotations from the NIV, unless otherwise stated)
“The Redeemer does not want to lose one soul; His experience with Judas is recorded to show His long patience with perverse human nature.”
(Christ Object Lessons, p. 74)
Chapter 4: “The LORD’s Supper!”
Judas the betrayer was present at the communion service. He received from Jesus the emblems of His broken body and His spilled blood. And sitting there in the very presence of the Lamb of God, the betrayer brooded upon his own dark purposes, and cherished his gloomy, revengeful thoughts.
At the feet washing, Christ had given convincing proof that He understood the character of Judas. He said, “you are clean, though not every one of you.” (John 13:10) These words convinced the false disciple that Christ read his secret purpose. Now Christ spoke out more plainly. As they were seated at the table He said, looking upon His disciples, “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’ (John 13:18/ Psalms 41:9)
Even now the disciples did not suspect Judas. But they saw that Christ appeared greatly troubled. A cloud settled over them all, a premonition of some dreadful calamity, the nature of which they did not understand. As they ate in silence, Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” (John 13:21)
With the most painful emotion, one disciple after another inquired, “Lord, is it I?” But Judas sat silent. John in deep distress at last inquired, “Lord, who is it?” And Jesus answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” (Matthew 26:23-24) And now the silence of Judas drew all eyes to him. Amid the confusion of questions and expressions of astonishment, Judas had not heard the words of Jesus in answer to John's question. But now, to escape the scrutiny of the disciples, he asked as they had done, “You don’t mean me, do you, Rabbi?” “Yes, I do,” Jesus replied. (Matt. 26:25 GW)
“As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, ‘What you are about to do, do quickly.’” (John 13:27) In surprise and confusion at the exposure of his purpose, Judas rose hastily to leave the room. He went immediately out: and it was night. Night it was to the traitor as he turned away from Christ into the outer darkness. (See Footnote 1)
Until this step was taken, Judas had not passed beyond the possibility of repentance. But when he left the presence of his Lord and his fellow disciples, the final decision had been made. He had passed the boundary line. (See Footnote 2)
Wonderful had been the long-suffering of Jesus in His dealing with this tempted soul. Nothing that could be done to save Judas had been left undone. After he had twice promised to betray his Lord, Jesus still gave him opportunity for repentance. By reading the secret purpose of the traitor's heart, Christ gave to Judas the final, convincing evidence of His divinity. This was to the false disciple the last call to repentance. No appeal that the divine-human heart of Christ could make had been spared. The waves of mercy, beaten back by stubborn pride, returned in a stronger tide of subduing love. But although surprised and alarmed at the revealing of his guilt, Judas became only the more determined. From the sacramental supper he went out to complete the work of betrayal.
In pronouncing the woe upon Judas, Christ also had a purpose of mercy toward His disciples. He thus gave them the crowning evidence of His Messiahship. “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am.” (John 13:19) Had Jesus remained silent, in apparent ignorance of what was to come upon Him, the disciples might have thought that their Master had not divine foresight, and had been surprised and betrayed into the hands of the murderous mob. A year before, Jesus had told the disciples that He had chosen twelve, and that one was a devil. (John 6:70) Now His words to Judas, showing that his treachery was fully known to his Master, would strengthen the faith of Christ's true followers during His humiliation. And when Judas should come to his dreadful end, they would remember the woe that Jesus had pronounced upon the betrayer.
And the Savior had still another purpose. He had not withheld His ministry from him whom He knew to be a traitor. The disciples did not understand His words when He said at the feet washing, “you are not all clean.” nor when at the table He declared, “He who shared my bread has turned against me.” (John 13:10, 18) But afterward, when His meaning was made plain, they had something to consider as to the patience and mercy of God toward the most grievously erring.
Though Jesus knew Judas from the beginning, He washed his feet. And the betrayer was privileged to unite with Christ in partaking of the sacrament. A long-suffering Savior held out every incentive for the sinner to receive Him, to repent, and to be cleansed from the poisoning of sin. This example is for us. When we suppose someone to be in error and sin, we are not to divorce ourselves from them. By no careless separation are we to leave them a prey to temptation, or drive them upon Satan's battleground. This is not Christ's method. It was because the disciples were erring and faulty that He washed their feet, and all but one of the twelve were thus brought to repentance.
Not a look, not a thought of remorse, escapes Christ’s notice. For the repentant, brokenhearted one He is waiting. All things are ready for that soul's reception. He who washed the feet of Judas longs to wash every heart from the stain of sin.
Source: Desire of Ages, pages 653-56.
STAY TUNED FOR "PART 5"!
Footnotes:
1. On Jesus saying to Judas, “What you do, do quickly!” (John 13:27: And, after the morsel, then entered Satan into him. Jesus therefore says to him, What thou doest, do quickly.” Darby Translation), Alexander McLaren, in his Bible Commentary, says this:
“I hear in these words, first, the voice of despairing love abandoning the conflict. If I have rightly construed the meaning of the incident, this is the plain meaning of it. And you will observe that the Revised Version, more accurately and closely rendering the words of our text, begins with a ‘Therefore.’ ‘Therefore said Jesus unto him,’ because the die was cast; because the will of Judas had conclusively welcomed Satan, and conclusively rejected Christ; therefore, knowing that remonstrance was vain, knowing that the deed was, in effect, done, Jesus Christ, that Incarnate Charity which ‘believeth all things, and hopeth all things,’ abandoned the man to himself, and said, ‘There, then, if thou wilt thou must. I have done all I can; my last arrow is shot, and it has missed the target. That then doest, do quickly.’”
(“McLaren’s Expositions” https://biblehub.com/commentaries/john/13-27.htm)
2. BibleRef.com on John 13:27, says: “Like anyone else, Judas has lived with the options provided by a free will. But he's either ignored or resisted the truth for the entire time he's followed Jesus. He's opened himself to Satanic temptation and influence (John 13:2). Ultimately—horrifyingly—Judas has put himself in a position to be controlled by Satan entirely (Luke 22:3). In this moment, Judas loses control of what he says and does—but he does so explicitly because of the sins and decisions he's already made.”
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