Judas Revealed and a New Commandment

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: John 13:18-35

 

John 13:34-35

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

(NKJV)

 

In this text, Jesus begins what will be His final discourse with the disciples before going to the cross. It begins with Jesus identifying his betrayer with the clueless disciples, not having a clue it was Judas (John 13:18-30). After Judas leaves the room, Jesus then gives the disciples a new commandment to love one another (John 13:31-35). This commandment is still in effect for the Church today, but we must ask how well the Church has obeyed this simple but difficult commandment.

 

After washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus tells the disciples He is not speaking to all of them because one of them will be against Him in fulfillment of Scripture (John 13:18). The reason Jesus is letting them know this is so they may believe He is the Messiah (John 13:19). One receiving someone sent by Jesus is receiving Him and the one sent by Him (John 13:20). Jesus then becomes troubled in His spirit and tells the disciples one of them will betray Him, causing the disciples to become perplexed (John 13:21-22). The disciple whom Jesus loved was leaning on Jesus’ bosom, and Peter motioned for him to ask which one of them would betray Jesus (John 13:23-24). John then asks Jesus who it is (John 13:25).

 

Jesus does not directly identify the one who will betray Him, but says it is the one to whom he will give a piece of bread after dipping it. After giving a piece of bread to Judas Iscariot, Satan enters him, and Jesus tells him to do what he has to do quickly (John 13:26-27). Those at the table had no idea why Jesus said what he said to Judas and presumed it had to do with him having charge of the money and needing to buy supplies or give to the poor (John 13:28-29). After receiving the piece of bread, Judas departed into the night (John 13:30).

 

With Judas gone, Jesus tells the remaining disciples that now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in Him (John 13:31). Since God is not glorified in Jesus, God will also immediately Glorify Him in Himself (John 13:32). Jesus then tells the disciples he will only be with them for a little while and that they will seek Him but cannot go where He is going, just like He told the Jews (John 13:33). Jesus then gives them a new commandment, to love each other like He has loved them, with that being how the world will know they are disciples of Christ (John 13:34-35).

 

Jesus prepares the disciples for his crucifixion and departure from them after his resurrection by identifying his betrayer and giving them the command to love one another as a witness to the world. While the crucifixion will sadden the disciples, they will rejoice when they see the resurrected Lord. Jesus will then leave to sit at the right hand of God the Father (Acts 2:33), but He will not leave them powerless; instead, He will send them the Holy Spirit to empower them (Acts 1:4, 8). As an example of this empowerment, we see Peter, the one who denied Jesus (John 18:15-18), standing in front of a crowd preaching about Jesus. Since this occurred in Jerusalem a few days after Jesus’ crucifixion, there were likely people in the crowd who had cried for Jesus’ crucifixion (Acts 2:14-39). The Holy Spirit within Peter has empowered him to overcome his fears and boldly declare the Gospel with the possibility of following Jesus in crucifixion, something that will happen to Peter, but not until later.

 

The commandment to love one another in the Church is still in effect, but how well has the Church obeyed this commandment? Paul addressed divisions in the Corinthian Church that revolved around people attaching their belief and faith around ministers instead of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). Churches divide today over non-essentials like the style of music played, the order of the worship service, how the pastor dresses, and even silly things like the color of the carpet. When the world sees Church division over issues like these, they see no difference between the Church and the secular world. No wonder they do not want to become part of the Church, and worse yet, accept Christ, who they believe condones such division. Instead of making the message of the gospel and the cross of Christ appealing to the lost, divisions in the Church make the message of the gospel of no effect (1 Corinthians 1:17). The Church must unify around the message of the gospel and love one another. These non-essential differences are not a battlefield for the Church to die on, but items up for discussion.

 

The most important decision anyone must make is whether they believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, receiving the free gift of salvation from God (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; Romans 6:23, 10:9-10). If you are reading this and have never made this decision to accept Jesus as your Savior, or if you have drifted away from the Lord, I encourage you to pray with me now.

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

May God convict, challenge, and empower everyone reading this post.