Betrayal and Welcome | Tim Henderson

Alright. So imagine for a minute, if you don't mind, that you are a young Christian man in the late nineties. Okay. Maybe you're a college student, maybe you're not. Probably doesn't make that much of a difference. If that is you, late nineties, young dude, do you know what your favorite movie of all time is? I'm telling you year after year we watch this movie constantly. Does anyone want to throw a guess?

Braveheart. Oh, Shawshank's not bad, but the answer is Braveheart. We watch that movie all the time. Hands down year after year, it's everybody's favorite movie in that window. Braveheart is Mel Gibson's film about William Wallace. He was a Scottish commoner. His parents died when he was a child, so he was orphaned but raised by a really good uncle. And the calling of his life came to be to rise up and to free the Scottish from the tyranny of the English under William Longshanks. As they say in the film, in the year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields at Bannockburn. They fought like, you remember, warrior poets. They fought like Scotsmen and they won their freedom. It is a fantastic film, 10 out of 10. Watch it tonight with your sons.

I remember in particular when my boys were old enough—I'm just barely old enough to watch it—bringing them actually to this church when we set up a video projector in the fellowship hall and the four of us watched it. It is a glorious rite of passage. The movie, I will warn you, does have countless exceptionally violent scenes, one sensual scene, and multiple heartbreaking scenes, including one that we're going to watch this morning that is a little bit intense if any of the little eyes are still with us. I do want you to see it.

William Wallace is a commoner, but he's not fighting for the throne. He's fighting to free his people, and he would be altogether too happy if one of these worthless nobles would rise up—these ones who have proper authority but who are constantly spending their authority on themselves. If one of them would just take the throne and rule the country in righteousness, he'd be pleased. His best candidate for that is a man named Robert the Bruce. He is the only noble where there's a chance. The rest just constantly are compromising with the English to obtain more lands, but Robert the Bruce might be our guy.

And in our scene that we're going to watch here, William Wallace learns something about Robert Bruce's true colors, and Robert the Bruce learns something about William Wallace.

Alright. So two minutes of the greatest movie ever made.

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That is a scene about betrayal, as you may have surmised. That was Robert the Bruce who had turned his back on William Wallace. I show this scene to you just to invoke what betrayal really feels like, because betrayal is the theme of the passage that we're looking at this morning that Bob read to us. And because I think William Wallace's response there captures just how devastating betrayal is.

This morning I want to put this short paragraph in John 13 in its context by overlaying it with the storyline from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And then I want to do a brief study in character as we compare the hospitality and generosity of Jesus with the treachery of Judas. And then briefly, I want to suggest some implications—principally one about how we might conduct ourselves when we have the opportunity to be generous and hospitable even to those who may betray us.

The Passage

So here again is the passage. This is John 13, verses 21-30.

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and he 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 reclining at 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?" And 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 Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you aren't going to do, do quickly." Now, no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him to buy whatever 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 it was night.

The scene here takes place in what we think of as Maundy Thursday. Okay?

Now, John's description of this night, this night before Jesus was arrested has almost no overlap with the way Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe it. Last week, Luke walked us through the heart of this passage, with the setup being of course Jesus washing the disciples' feet. In the synoptics, there's no mention of Jesus washing anybody's feet. Instead, they focus on a different event.

What else happened on this night according to Matthew, Mark and Luke? It is the Passover meal. It is the Lord's Supper. The language that you've heard in this room 10,000 times: "This is my body broken for you. This is my blood poured out for you, for many." All of that is happening this night. John is telling us about these things while Matthew, Mark and Luke told us about this other thing. They're all happening simultaneously.

In John's gospel, there's scarcely any mention of the Lord's table. There is just a barely glancing blow. Almost everything we know about it we learn from Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and then honestly Paul's reflections in 1 Corinthians 11. But John does give us one important detail as we'll see as we unpack this.

Think back to last week when Luke walked us through Jesus washing the disciples' feet, including of course Peter's feet. What we saw is that it is absolutely crucial for Peter, just as it is crucial for us, that we allow Jesus into our darkest and dirtiest and most humiliating places. Because if he does not clean us, then we have no part in him. And right after that whole scene plays out, the next thing that John shows us is that Jesus is deeply troubled. He was fearful because he knew what it would cost him to make us truly clean.

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and he testified, "Truly, truly I say to you, one of you will betray me." — John 13:21

So in his dread, Jesus drops pretty big news. One of you is going to betray me. It's hard to know exactly what the disciples thought of this. We know that they were curious. All four—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—all four gospels show this conversation. Who is he talking about? Is he talking about me? Could it be me? What is it? Who's happening here?

So they're curious. What is less clear is if they really took it to be a serious threat. And I think we could forgive them if they didn't. I mean, why would any of them think that any of the 12 would actually be able to do anything particularly against Jesus? They had seen him heal the blind, raise the dead, calm the storm, deftly walk through crowds that were seeking to kill him. So I doubt that they were all that worried that Jesus wouldn't be able to deal with a betrayal.

The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved

But it is in discussing this that a curious little detail emerges. This is a bit of a sidebar, but just stay with me for a quick second because I don't want to let this pass. This is the moment that, for whatever reason, John drops his famous line: the disciple that Jesus loved. There's broad consensus that this is a circumlocution he uses to refer to himself. If it's not, then John never alludes to himself at any point in this entire gospel, and that should be strange. But he has not used that term up until now. He'd been saving it for this moment, and from here on out, he's going to use it repeatedly. He will be the disciple whom Jesus loved multiple times now. But this is the moment that John reveals his self-conception as the disciple that Jesus loved.

I wonder how you hear that phrase by the way. I think for most of my early Christian life, I heard it as if John was saying, "Jesus loves you, but let's be honest, I'm his favorite." That there's something presumptuous or arrogant about that. But I have not thought that for a long time. I think that John just thought it was the most important thing about himself.

Most of us, if you say "tell me about yourself," you're going to probably tell me about your career or your family, whatever you consider to be your greatest accomplishment. "I'm a doctor. I'm the mother of these two children." But if you ask John, "Hey, tell me about yourself," his answer is, "Jesus loves me." I don't think that's arrogance, I think that is humility. It is a proper understanding that the most significant thing that anyone could ever hope to know about himself or herself is that Jesus loves me and gave himself for me.

So when Jesus says, "One of you will betray me," the disciple whom Jesus loved asked him, "Lord, who is it?" And John reveals to us this private moment in this semi-public gathering. And instead of just saying, "Judas is the betrayer," instead Jesus says this:

"It is the one 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 Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

He could have just said Judas, but he doesn't. He links his identity to this act. Now, remember our context. What night is this? Passover. What meal is this? It is the Lord's Supper. This is the night when Jesus says, "This is my body broken for you. This is my blood that is shed for you."

I want you to realize why that matters. What that means, you guys, is that Jesus served Judas communion with his own hand even though he knew that he was going to betray him. If John is the disciple that Jesus loved, Judas is the disciple to whom Jesus gave the bread. Which brings me to this character comparison I want you to consider.

Look at these two men. Judas is secretly, surreptitiously planning to betray Jesus. We know from Luke 22 that the plan has already been hatched before this meal has started. He's already got everything in motion. And then, as a premeditated act against the one who has only ever been kind to him, whom he has seen heal the blind, raise the dead, care for the lowly, he has grown malignant, disenchanted. Jesus' politics do not conform to Judas' demands. And so he determines to sell him. He comes into the meal all smiles as if he was still one of the 12. But his heart had already turned black and he was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to set the trap and to betray Jesus into the hands of sinners who would ridicule him, torture him and kill him in a method that is so agonizing we can scarcely conceive of what kind of mind dreamt up crucifixion.

And Jesus knows all of this. William Wallace was surprised to take off the helmet and see Robert the Bruce. Jesus is not surprised by any of this. He knows the betrayal, he knows the treachery, he knows the malice and the deceit. Nevertheless, with his own hand that will soon be pierced, in kindness and humility, he offers Judas a piece of bread. And friends, it is not just any piece of bread—it is the very bread over which he will say, "This is my body broken for you."

Do you see the radical hospitality, the humility, the kindness, the condescension in this act? Communion is a meal for believers. And every week when we partake of this, we are partaking of the body that was broken for us, the blood that was shed for us. And here in this moment, the most meaningful piece of bread in the history of the world passes hands. Judas is both causing the breaking and then rejecting the offer that is broken for him. While simultaneously, Jesus is receiving that betrayal and responding to it with the greatest act of love and sacrifice that the world has ever seen. This is a cosmic moment.

The Table Before Us

I want you to consider this meal. This meal that John only obliquely mentions but which we here in this room are about to reenact. I want you to consider that Jesus is about to offer the bread to you. Because that is what happens every week. Every week when Brian stands up on this stage and he recites what we call the words of institution—when he says, "This is my body broken for you. This is my blood shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins"—what Brian is doing is he is performing a one-man play. Brian is cast in the role of Jesus. He is making this offer. He is representing Christ's invitation to you.

And it is an opportunity for we who understand that this body was broken for us, that his blood was shed for us, to partake of it and to reflect on the fact that he died for us. In fact, we are to do this repeatedly, over and over, until he comes again.

Now, we do not come to the table flippantly. We enter this meal with humility and solemnity. But you guys, we also do it with joy because it is a meal that reminds us of our connection to him. We are connected to him like a vine to a branch, like a body to a head, like a bride to a husband. We are partakers of him.

It is also, by the way—as if that were not enough—a celebration of our connection to one another. For we who share the one loaf are members of his body.

Now it is possible for you to think about this meal so hard and so long that you will come to realize that you are absolutely unworthy to partake of this meal. That you have no more business eating it than Judas does. Perhaps you might even have the warnings of First Corinthians 11 hanging over your head. Paul says:

For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. — 1 Corinthians 11:29-30

Now what Paul is rebuking there is the failure to recognize that this meal does not merely represent an individual's relationship with God, but it also represents our relationships with one another. Communion is meant to be vertical and horizontal. The meal itself is drawn in the shape of a cross—it is our relationship to God, and it is our relationship with one another. And ultimately what Paul is saying is, if you neglect the horizontal, you lose the vertical.

He says in First Corinthians 11, when you come together, it's not the Lord's Supper you eat. For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. Go back like an hour. Remember, when we began the service this morning, we all said with truth, although perhaps not realizing the depth of it, we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. And of course, we haven't. No one in this room loves anyone or anything half as much as they love themselves. And for those reasons or perhaps others, you may feel it's too dangerous to come to this table. Now I do believe that those who know him, that those who love him, who come to partake of this blessing should do so with an appropriate level of circumspection. We should come needful of his grace, and mindful of his grace, and desiring his grace. And we should come rejoicing in our relationships with one another.

But friends, don't lose sight of this. It is a joyful meal for his table is generous, and it is welcoming and it is loving and it is gracious. This is a welcoming meal. It is a meal for sinners. And if Jesus offered the bread to Judas, do you think he would withhold it from you? The depth of his grace is unfathomable. And you guys once and probably only once, this meal was shared perfectly. One time, it was shared flawlessly. One time, the celebrant at the table who does all things well, did this thing well. And when he did, with his own hand, it would soon be nailed to a cross. He handed the bread to the one who would betray him.

And what that means is that essential to Christianity is radical generosity, lavish hospitality, unreasonable mercy to people who don't deserve it. To people like me. So, in just a few minutes, we will invite you to come. And when we do, come. All you who long for the mercy and grace of Christ, come. This meal is for you. His table is generous and his orientation towards you is kindness. He is loving and gracious and good and patient. His body was broken for you and his blood was shed for you so that you would feast on him. That you would make your life be centered around him. And I hope that you will never ever ever let fear keep you from coming to him or keep you from receiving from him. Come taste and see that the Lord is good and that his goodness is for you.

And then, consider who is it in your life that needs to experience the love and mercy of our gracious God? We are to be a people who are constantly extending grace and truth both together at the same time. Sometimes the truth is painful and love requires us to say it, but we will say it graciously. We will say it with welcome because each one of us and everyone that you know needs to have the bread of the gospel extended to them. They need the wine of joy, they need the meal of welcome. And like Jesus, it may cost you something to make that offer. Maybe it's forgiveness. Forgiveness is costly. Forgiveness is when you decide to absorb into yourself the consequences of somebody else's sin without reflecting it back upon them. And you feel it when you do it. Maybe it's just another chance, maybe it's welcome and warmth. Maybe what somebody needs from you is unconditional positive regard.

Friends, regardless of what the particular need is, never, never, never forget that the gospel came to you on the way to somebody else. That transformation, that unfathomable mercy of Christ. It should not only penetrate you, not only change you, not only transform you, but it should also flow forth from you to other people who don't deserve it any more than you do. That is what Jesus is modeling at the table and it is what changes lives. It is maybe quite literally the only thing that does. So let us be both the recipients of his grace to us and those who lavishly, unreasonably, generously extend it to others. Amen.

Lord Jesus, who is like you? Lord, you are the great one. You are the loving one. You are the one who was betrayed. And yet, Lord, you turned that very act of betrayal into the redemption of the world. Let us pray that today as we celebrate this meal, we remember again that your body was broken for us, your blood was shed for us. As we think about it and train our hearts to think about it until you finally come again, let us not come with any fear or trepidation but with hope and joy that your love is so immense that it covers all of our sin. Lord, where else could we go if it weren't for that? Would you give us the grace not just to receive it, to experience it, to believe it, to rest in it, to delight in it, but to convey it to others. That this church would be a place, would be a fountain of mercy to other undeserving sinners. Lord, we love you, we love you, we love you. We thank you for loving us. Amen.