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JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
John 13:27-35

Mark 14:18-21

 

“…That thou doest, do quickly.”

 

JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS
 
Jesus delivered a very hard saying concerning Judas, “The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written (as it was determined) of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.” God had predestined that Judas should betray the Lord Jesus, and yet at the same time it is not God who is blameable but Judas. How do we reconcile this? To illustrate this mystery of predestination, Rev Dr Timothy Tow tells his banana skin story, “Suppose I invite you to dinner and you break your knee cap on the way by tripping on a banana skin. Who is liable?” Not the remote (i.e. God) but the immediate cause (i.e. Judas) is liable.
 
Jesus told Judas to carry out his treacherous plan quickly. This reveals Jesus’ readiness to enter into His hour of suffering. After Judas had left under the cloak of darkness, Jesus announced that the time had arrived for the Son of man to be glorified, and for God to be glorified in Him. The Son glorifies the Father by obeying His decretive will in fulfilment of His redemptive plan. The Father in turn glorifies the Son by raising Him from the dead, and exalting Him above all His creation. The Father’s glorification of the Son will also redound to His own glory: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11).
 
Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment that they should love one another as He had loved them. Of course, the command to love one another was not new. It was already in the Old Testment (Lev 19:18). The newness of this love command lies in the words, “as I have loved you.” The disciples were about to witness the greatest demonstration of love ever seen in history. The Cross is God’s symbol of love. It defines in concrete terms what true love is and how far it must go.
 
THOUGHT: God is not the author of sin.

PRAYER: Thou art sovereign, O Father!

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